D Clark won our 100th comment contest, and since D Clark has also made it clear for months that I need to make Lemon Chocolate Cupcakes, a la Trader Joe’s cookies that I have never had, that is what Mels and I will be working with.
Recently, while trawling other baking blogs, I ran across this recipe at Smitten Kitchen (where I also found the inspiration for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombs) and knew immediately what I wanted to do.
I was a little intimidated by the souffle-y nature of the recipe, so I made do with the VCTOTW chocolate cupcake standby, which has never let me down.
I did, however, make Lemon White Chocolate Whipped Cream, because I am awesome.
Cupcakes!
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat your oven, line the tins.
Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar, and set aside to curdle. While that’s happening, boil the water, and tiny whisk or fork together the boiling water and cocoa powder. Trust me, this makes everything just a wee bit better.
In yet another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
NOW you mix the chocolate paste with the soy milk, and whisk in the oil and sugar as well. Once that’s well combined, it is time to add in the bowl of dry ingredients.
Whisk together the wet and dry ingredients until no large lumps remain, and fill each liner about 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 20-22 minutes.
So, the whipped cream? Huge pain. Mostly because I insist I don’t need to use actual mixers to make it, but whatever.
This is adapted from this Smitten Kitchen Recipe;
2 ounces (56 grams) white chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Simmer the cream; once it starts steaming, pull it off the heat and pour it over the white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Fork or whisk them together until all the chocolate it melted into the cream, and then whisk in the lemon extract. Set it aside to cool for a few hours, and then get to whipping that cream.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Zest from two medium lemons
a couple tablespoons of lemon juice
3-4 cups powdered sugar
Cream the butter, and then fold in the lemon zest. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, alternating with splashes of lemon juice, until you reach the desired volume and consistency.
I got to use my frosting syringe to put filling in the cupcakes, like so:
That was, perhaps unsurprisingly, very fun.
Then, I piped on the lemon buttercream frosting, and grated a little bit of very dark and bitter chocolate on top.
Sorry it’s so blurry; I was making them pretty late when I was tired, so things got a little foggy.
Also: delicious! D, why are you so far away?
Looks amazing! Would be perfect right now after my trek through the desert. I’m in the same time zone, is that close enough? I’ll be a few hundred miles closer next weekend… You’re awesome :) Thanks Gibbs and Mels
I’ll try to send them to you via my teleportation abilities.