Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Mascarpone Filling and Zinfandel Buttercream
Total Time: 1 hr 49 min
Prep 1 hr 30 min
Cook 19 min
Yield: 27 cupcakes
Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups pasteurized egg whites
2 1/2 cups (5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Mascarpone Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
2 ounces dark chocolate discs, melted and cooled
3 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature, softened with the back of a spoon
Zinfandel Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
3 tablespoons Zinfandel Wine
Chocolate Cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 1/4 cups unbleached pastry flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Chocolate Frosting:
1 cup dark chocolate discs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 to 8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
27 strawberry halves, for garnish
Melted chocolate, for garnish
Directions
Cook's Note: If using unbleached all-purpose flour instead of unbleached pastry
flour, reduce the flour quantity to 2 cups.
For the Swiss meringue buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted
with the whisk attachment, thoroughly whisk together the sugar and egg whites.
Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Whisking constantly, heat to 145 to
150 degrees F. Return the mixing bowl to the stand and whisk until stiff and
the bottom of the bowl comes to room temperature, about 8 minutes.
Change to the paddle attachment and turn the mixer to low speed. Add the
butter, a few cubes at a time, until incorporated. Mix at medium speed until
light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Use 4 cups for the
flavored buttercreams in this recipe, and reserve the remaining 4 cups for
another use.
For the chocolate mascarpone buttercream: Fold the melted and cooled chocolate
and the mascarpone cheese into 2 cups of the Swiss meringue buttercream.
For the Zinfandel buttercream: Blend the Zinfandel wine into 2 cups of the
Swiss meringue buttercream. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a
large straight pastry tip.
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line standard cupcake pans
with 27 cupcake liners.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the
sugar, buttermilk, and oil. Mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing on low
speed until completely mixed together. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking
soda, and sea salt into a separate bowl and whisk together. In a liquid
measuring cup, mix the water with the instant coffee, dissolving the coffee
powder completely. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture just
until incorporated. Mix in the water and coffee mixture. Add the rest of the
dry ingredients, mixing until combined, and then beat for 2 minutes.
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake until golden brown, 17 to 20 minutes.
Cool the cupcakes completely.
For the chocolate frosting: Heat the cream until hot but do not boil. Remove
from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
Set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, beat the butter and salt until smooth. Add 1/2 the powdered sugar,
mixing until smooth. Add the chocolate and the remaining powdered sugar and mix
until creamy. Adjust to desired spreading consistency with additional cream or
powdered sugar, if needed. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
To assemble: Remove a piece from the center of each cupcake and fill the
cupcake with about 1 tablespoon chocolate mascarpone Swiss buttercream. Pipe a
generous amount of chocolate frosting onto the top of the cupcake. Pipe a
dollop of Zinfandel Swiss meringue buttercream on top of the chocolate
frosting. Top with half a strawberry and drizzle with melted chocolate.
This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a
bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not
tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make
any representation as to the results.
~ Have a nice day & Enjoy the recipes ~
Arlette Arthur
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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