Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

"Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
     

 -Lauren DeStefano - Wither

It's fall! Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Where does the time go?

My mashed sweet potatoes

 

As a child, one of my favorite foods at Thanksgiving was the sweet potato casserole. You know the kind. Mashed up sweet potatoes loaded with brown sugar and butter, smothered with those little marshmallows.

 



My dry ingredients on the right, waiting to be mixed with in with everything else.

These cupcakes are my homage to that classic dish.

Before going in the oven - I used mini panettone cups instead of cupcake cups, whatever cups you use, greaseproof is best.

Moist and fluffy cupcakes are loaded with sweet potatoes, filled with yummy, warm, fall spices. The cake tastes like a cross between pumpkin cake and spice cake. The sweet potatoes in the cupcakes aren't used just for flavor, they happen to add to the cakes lightness and moisture level. White potatoes are often used to give baked goods these qualities. I even made a delicious Chocolate Farmhouse Cake that is filled with white potatoes.

The frosting recipe calls for cream of tartar, it helps the meringue become meringue. If you can't find it, it's o.k. to leave it out.

 

The frosting is a fluffy, light and sticky marshmallow frosting, that is broiled for a toasty marshmallow flavor. This kind of frosting is sometimes called a 7 minute frosting.

 

To make the frosting you need to have the bowl of your stand mixer sit over a saucepan filled with a few inches of water.

Seven minute frosting gets it's name because it takes about 7 minutes to whip egg whites into meringue, basically what the frosting is. I really like this frosting. It's actually something I use often since I always have the ingredients on hand, basically just egg whites, sugar and vanilla.



 

I used my handy point and shoot thermometer to make sure I got my mixture to the correct temperature, you don't need a thermometer for this recipe, you just cook it until it's hot. But I love using this thing, I highly recommend getting one if you do a lot of cooking. It's a breeze to take the temperature when making a caramel, or when frying to get the oil to the correct temperature.

I also like it because it can be whipped up quickly, and it compliments most cake recipes.

Beat the meringue until glossy, stiff peaks form - Note - this picture is showing a half recipe of frosting, a full recipe will fill the bowl.

It doesn't need to be toasted, but for this recipe, I highly recommend it. The toasted sticky marshmallow frosting and this cupcake just go amazingly together.

You don't even really need to toast these if you don't want to. If you leave them as is, they will be a fluffy marshmallow frosting or sometimes called a 7 minute frosting, because it takes about 7 minutes to beat.

These would sure compliment a Thanksgiving dessert table nicely. The classic combination of nostalgic flavors will make your guests smile.

Nice and toasty right from the oven.

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Beige vintage fall leaves tablecloth, Anchor Hocking amber cake stand circa 1960, Paragon "Melanie Rose"fine china vintage plates, tan damask vintage dinner napkins, Fenton Silver Crest milk glass candle holders, and Noritake M "The Vitry" teacups circa 1918, available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.


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Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted
Marshmallow Frosting

Makes about 24 cupcakes

An original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist

** Note** These cupcakes after being frosted need to be served the same day. This type of frosting doesn't keep well. Serving them within a 3-4 hours is best, so plan accordingly. The cupcakes, unfrosted can last longer, as I noted below in the recipe.

Also you may need to double the frosting recipe to get as much frosting as I have on each cupcake. But! You can only make one batch at a time, because that is how much frosting can fit in the bowl of a stand mixer. Just be prepared and know you may need to make a second batch. If you use less frosting this amount may be enough.

Ingredients for Cupcakes

32 oz. sweet potatoes or yams (to equal 2 cups (536 g.) mashed after cooking)

2 3/4 cups (377 g.) all purpose flour

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (190 g.) white sugar

1 cup packed (185 g.) brown sugar

1 cup (237 ml) vegetable oil

1 cup (216 g.) yogurt - I used Greek yogurt, full fat or low fat is fine, don't use nonfat

4 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract


Ingredients for Frosting

10 large egg whites

2 cups (380 g.) white granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar - This helps with the stability and volume of meringue, if you don't have this, or can't find it, it's o.k. to leave it out, but I do recommend it, especially if you are new to making a meringue.

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions for Cupcakes

First cook the sweet potatoes. You can do this step a day or up to 3 days in advance. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 6. Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes and pierce them a few times with a fork or a knife. Bake them in the preheated oven until they are soft, about 1 hour. Alternately, you can cook them in the microwave. Wash them and pierce them, and cook them for 8-10 minutes or until tender, turning them over once during cooking. Let them cool, then peel and mash them to equal 2 cups mashed or 536 g.

Start on the cupcakes - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, mix together the 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, the oil and the white sugar and brown sugar, beat it until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in between each addition. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla and the yogurt and beat it until everything is incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat until it is mixed together well, without over beating.

Fill cupcake cups 2/3 - 3/4 of the way full. I used miniature panettone cups I bought at Sur La Table. Whatever type you use, the greaseless cupcake liners are best, since all of my recipes have a high liquid and high oil content, if you use regular cupcake papers they may be greasy or oily on the bottoms, if you use the greaseless kind, that becomes a non issue.

Bake for 22-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes before frosting them.

Cupcakes can be stored unfrosted for 2 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Or freeze them by wrapping them in plastic wrap then placed in a ziptop bag that is airtight. They can be frozen for 6 months at least, if wrapped well.


Directions for Frosting

Place the broiler on your oven on high and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven. Or alternately, you can use a kitchen torch, if you are using a torch, obviously don't preheat your broiler.

Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer. The saucepan needs to be a size that hold the bowl of your stand mixer on top of it, like a double boiler. (I have this pictured above.) When it starts to boil turn it down to medium. Put the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in a clean bowl (the bowl needs to be very clean, there can't be any bit of grease in it or your meringue won't work) of a stand mixer and whisk by hand to combine. Place the bowl over the saucepan (make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl) and cook, whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved and it is hot to the touch (about 120 degrees Fahrenheit, 48 degrees Celsius) on an instant read thermometer, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium for 2 minutes then turn up the mixer to medium high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes more. You need to beat it on medium first, if you were to just beat it on high for the entire time the meringue can become dry, so it's best to gradually bring it up to the medium high speed and not just beat it on high the entire time. Add the vanilla and whisk until it's incorporated.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes.

Broil the tops to make them toasted. If using a kitchen torch, torch the tops until they are slightly brown and toasted. If using the oven, place the frosted cupcakes onto a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Place it on the middle rack of the oven. Broil them for 20-30 seconds, or just until they get brown and toasty. *** THIS IS IMPORTANT*** These can go from being done to burnt in what seems like a second. so don't walk away. Just stand there, even if you hold open the door to the oven slightly, to see what's going on, or you can set a timer for 20 seconds, then check them and see if they are toasted. Toast them until the tops are toasted lightly. It's better to keep checking them, than having them burn and have to start over.

Serve them within 3-4 hours of making them. If you must store a few cupcakes overnight, do so at room temperature in an airtight container. The trouble with storing them is, if you trap a moist cupcake in an airtight environment it's going to make the meringue which needs to be kept dry, wet. So overnight or the next day, the meringue will start to "sweat" or weep, get moist and start to fall off the cupcakes. Or if you were to keep them out in the open with air circulation, the cupcakes will dry out.


I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Happy Baking!

The Best Moist and Fluffy White Cupcake Recipe

  

"When the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: Comfort, love, and a Peaceful Heart."

 

- Mitch Albom from the book, Have a Little Faith

 

"We all want the same thing." We all want to be recognized, and to be acknowledged. Sort of like the scene in the movie, Avatar, where they say, "I see you." If you're an Oprah fan, (like I am), you may have heard her utter those words.

 

Making the base of the frosting, almost like making a thick pudding.

There's one more thing we all want. A moist cupcake. That's the feedback I get over and over, time and time again. That's the main reason people say they don't like cake. They say, "because it's dry."

The "pudding" getting thick! This is added to whipped butter to make the most luxurious, silky and not too sweet frosting that pipes beautifully! It tastes like ice cream.

Moist cake is sort of my thing. It's the number one most important thing to me in cake. My previous go to white cupcake recipe, called appropriately, My Favorite White Cupcakes, is a fabulously moist and delicious recipe. But I knew while they were super moist, they aren't the most fluffy recipe in the world.

This needs to cool down before adding it to the butter.

I get a lot of comments about my cupcakes, and many people tell me it's their go to white cupcake recipe. But I've also gotten comments from people telling me they wished they were a little fluffier. 

 

 

Beating the egg mixture for the cupcakes - I have free range chickens who produce eggs with bright orange yolks, so if you are using supermarket eggs, just know that your batter and cupcakes will be a more pale yellow and not as bright as mine. FYI.

Ask and you shall receive! I'm so glad I embarked on this journey.  Because the results are worth it. And a journey it's been. Finding a cupcake that's super moist, while being fluffy, with the perfect texture, and a nice rounded top. I've been making these cupcakes (with different variations in the ingredients, to get it right) every day for a week, sometimes twice in one day. I never thought I would say this, but I don't think I can eat, taste, or get near one more cupcake. (For at least a few days anyway.)

Weighing the sour cream - When creating a recipe, I measure out the cup measurement, then I immediately weigh it, for those who live in countries who don't use cup increments like we do here in the U.S. Sometimes I'm asked why 1 cup of sugar is slightly different from one recipe to the next, and this is why. It could weigh slightly different from the last time, depending on the barometric pressure and other environmental factors.

 

These cupcakes are oil based. In general oil based cakes are more moist, since butter has some water content, and oil is pure fat. (There are exceptions to that of course, since My Favorite White Cupcakes are butter based.) The other ingredient that makes cake moist is sour cream, and this recipe is full of it. I always use full fat sour cream, and I recommend you do as well. If you live in a country that doesn't sell sour cream, or if it's not available, you can substitute full fat yogurt or full fat Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt would be the closest substitute to sour cream.

 

 

Making the batter

About the fluffy. I've included cornstarch in this recipe, more than you would normally see in any cake or cupcake recipe. The reasoning behind that is, I don't usually purchase cake flour, if I make a recipe that calls for it, I just use the DIY substitute which is a few tablespoons of cornstarch to one cup of all purpose flour. So I knew it would help in the lightness or fluffiness of the cake. Plus, you know when you eat some really good, melt in your mouth kind of shortbread? It's the cornstarch.

Right out of the oven



Seriously, these cupcakes are so fluffy and super moist at the same time, the texture is amazing!

The third universal desire that we all want?

 

 

A frosting that isn't too sweet.

 

I made these cupcakes many times in the last week (tweaking the recipe here and there.) This batch I used grease proof liners, and I recommend you do too.

Seriously. I used to bake for a cafe. I also sold cakes for a living. When asked what type of frosting do you want, more than anything else, people would respond, "something that isn't too sweet."

It's so important to people, sometimes even more important than the flavor.

I love these liners from Reynolds, (they aren't paying me to say this, I just love them) they are lined with foil and totally greaseproof. You don't need to use this brand, but I would definitely look for liners that are greaseproof for this recipe, since one of the batches I used regular liners and the very bottoms got a little bit oily, it wasn't a big deal, but with these liners it was a non issue.

This frosting fits the bill, not too sweet, and tastes heavenly. What it is, is basically thick homemade vanilla pudding mixed with whipped butter. First you make the pudding portion. It's made with sugar, flour and milk. Flour, in a frosting! You may say, but when you think about it, it needs to get body from something other than powdered sugar, like a typical American buttercream would. And, it's sort of like making a roux for a white sauce. Flour is what thickens it. When making a white sauce, you cook the flour taste out of it. Which is something you do here as well. Just make sure to cook it for the full 3-4 minutes and you won't even know that it's there.

Here's the liners I used along with the little pearls, these liners work great, these didn't get oily either. I've used this brand before and I like them, plus with this type of cupcake liner, you can cook them all at one time, since they stand on their own on a baking sheet, no muffin tin needed.

 

This frosting tastes amazing. And, It's a dream to pipe! It keeps it's shape standing tall and proud on a cupcake. It really got rave reviews with everyone I served it to.

My finished frosting

So this is officially my new favorite white cupcake recipe!

The frosting is sort of beige due to the amount of vanilla extract in the recipe, if you want the frosting to be more white, you'll need to use clear vanilla.



 

There's one more thing that everyone wants. A homemade cupcake! Made with care by the hands of someone who loves them. Who wouldn't want that?

 

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Looking for more awesome cupcake recipes?

 

 The Best Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

 

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers

 

Pink Velvet Cupcakes (also very moist and delicious!)

 

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

 

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

 

Super Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes 

 

My Favorite White Cupcakes (not my favorite white cupcake recipe anymore) BUT these cupcakes are topped with one of my favorite frosting recipes in the world, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which is also not too sweet and really delicious.  

 

 

From top left - Indiana Milk Glass Cake Stand, Small German Porcelain Cake Stand with Pink Flowers, Fenton Spanish Lace Milk Glass Cake Stand, and Antique Johnson Bros Plates with Pink Roses, available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

Enter coupon code ALCHEMY for 20 percent off of your order!




The Best Moist and Fluffy White Cupcake Recipe - with Silky (Not too sweet!) Vanilla Frosting

An original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist - Feel free to pin, but **Please do not publish this recipe or use my photos, anywhere on the internet, thank you.

**This frosting is sort of beige because of the vanilla extract. If you want the frosting to be  more white in color, you'll need to use clear vanilla, which is always imitation vanilla (since vanilla beans are naturally brown.)

***This recipe can also be used to make a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake. Make sure your cake pans are at least 2 inches deep. Grease the pans well, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment. The cooking times for cake will be 25-35 minutes.

*** Using greaseproof cupcake liners with these is best, so the bottom doesn't get oily.


Makes about 25 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes

1 1/4 cups (296 ml.) vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (373 g.) white granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract - If you don't like the taste of almond extract go ahead and omit this, or if you have a nut allergy definitely omit it, you probably don't need to up the vanilla extract since there is a tablespoon of it already

2 1/4 cups (340 g.) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (68 g.) cornstarch

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups (366 g.) full fat sour cream OR full fat yogurt or full fat Greek yogurt


Ingredients for frosting

1 1/2 cups (322 g.) white granulated sugar

3/4 cups (113 g.) all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups (532 ml.) whole milk

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) (339 g.) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract (depending on your taste) or 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond extract, or another flavoring if desired. Once I added a Tablespoon vanilla and 1 tsp butter pecan extract, for example

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4. Put oven rack on the bottom third of the oven. In my oven I bake these in the second rack from the bottom. (I found that with this recipe when the cupcakes were baked in the upper racks they got too brown for my liking.)

Start by making the base for the frosting. (It needs to cool down before using, this part of the frosting could also be made a day or 2 ahead.) In a large saucepan on medium heat, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt, and slowly add the milk. Cook, whisking frequently, really almost constantly so it doesn't scorch, until it comes to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium low, and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly, this is to cook the flour taste out. Mixture will be very thick. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Transfer this mixture to another bowl and let cool in the fridge.

Start making the cupcakes.

Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (greaseproof are best) and set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the oil and the sugar. Beat them together for 2 minutes or so, so they are mixed well and the sugar has dissolved somewhat. Add the eggs and both extracts and beat again for another 2 or 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy looking.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat on medium low speed just until it's incorporated, don't over beat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the sour cream and beat on medium low speed just until the sour cream is mixed in well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and beat again just for about 20 seconds to make sure it's all mixed well.

With a spoon or a scoop, fill the cupcake liners slightly over half full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Start checking after 17 minutes.)

Cool on a wire rack. When they have cooled enough to handle, remove from muffin tins and let cool on racks. Let cool completely before frosting cupcakes.

While cupcakes are baking finish making the frosting. Make sure the base in the fridge is completely cool. If it's warm at all, it's going to melt the butter. If it's very cold in the fridge it may very firm. Don't worry, it's fine.

In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again for another minute or so, until it's nice and light and fluffy. With the mixer going on medium - medium high, gradually add the cooled frosting base, about a "scoop" (a large spoonful) at a time. After each scoop, let it mix until it's fully incorporated. Keep adding and letting it mix together until it's all been used. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another few minutes until it's super light and fluffy. Taste it and see if you think it needs a little more vanilla extract, or you can add another extract or flavoring at this time.

Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate any leftover frosting. If you aren't serving these right away, keep them refrigerated but let them come to room temperature before serving. If you have refrigerated the frosting, you'll need to beat it again before using. The good thing about this frosting is that it doesn't totally harden in the fridge like a typical buttercream does, (since butter solidifies when cold.)

Happy Baking and I hope that you absolutely love this recipe as much as I do!

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers

 

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

 

- Anne Bradstreet  

 

Hi everybody! I'm happy to be back to blogging! I've missed you. And I've missed baking. Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement after I posted an update in January. You guys are the best. I'm happy to say I'm feeling a lot better. And now that I've felt the first sun of spring, I feel positively  invincible and that all things are possible. I think I must run on solar. (I am a California girl after all.)

 

 

 

This recipe is full of lemon zest and juice for lots of fresh lemon flavor.

This is a great recipe to kick off spring. Lemons just scream spring to me, and lemon desserts are great for Easter. And it's almost here! These would be awesome for an Easter gathering.

I love lemon desserts, they are one of my favorites. I like my lemon desserts FULL of lemon. I need my lemon flavor strong. These cupcakes reflect that. The cupcakes themselves have a great straightforward lemon flavor. The buttercream is also full of lemon. This frosting would be great on white cupcakes, or even white chocolate cupcakes, yum!

This recipe is super easy. Basically you just add everything to a pot and stir.

If you are using another flavor of frosting and you like a really strong lemon flavor for the cupcakes, I would even say they could be a bit stronger, so I've added instructions in the recipe to do that.

I like to sprinkle the baking soda and salt to the top of the flour and then stir, so it doesn't end up in one lump. I think it makes them incorporate easier. Of course you could stir the dry ingredients together first, but I don't really think that's necessary in this recipe. And who wants to dirty a bowl if you don't need to? ** Edited to add, you will get the best results if you mix the dry ingredients together first (I've noted this in the recipe.)

On the other hand, if you want the flavor a little more toned down you can always decrease the lemon juice and zest to do that.

This is my finished batter. It's bright yellow/orange because I have my own free range chickens and their yolks are bright orange. I mention this because if you are using supermarket eggs your batter will be much more pale. Just an FYI.

Speaking of zest and juice, these are very important aspects to this recipe. You really do need to use fresh lemon juice and the lemon zest needs to be really fine. The best way to do that is to use a Microplane, this is one of my most favorite kitchen tools. I use it to grate Parmesan cheese and chocolate as well as zesting citrus. It allows you to take off only the top layer of the yellow peel, don't get any white pith into your zest or it will be bitter.

These are the cupcake liners I used and I'm loving them! They are thick and foil lined. So the cupcakes are easy to remove. They are greaseproof and I love that they stay true to their color even after they come out of the oven. They are cheap too! I bought these at Walmart. I will definitely be looking for more of these in the future. (Reynolds isn't paying me anything to say this, I just love them.)

For this recipe I took My Favorite White Cupcakes Recipe and adapted it to make it lemon . The great thing about this recipe is how easy it is. Seriously you really just throw it all into a pot and stir. This is the easiest cupcake recipe I've ever made. Which is great for a beginner, or for children. Or for those who don't like a lot of work, but appreciate a great homemade cupcake. (I fall into the last category.)

Pouring the batter into their liners

Another thing I love about these cupcakes is how moist they are. They really are super moist and tender.

Cupcakes cooling on a rack, these smell so good coming out of the oven!

 

 The buttercream recipe is a standard American buttercream, a butter and powdered sugar base. Which usually doesn't excite me and which most people think is way too sweet. But when you add something tart like lemons to all of that sugar, it really balances out the sweetness and turns this frosting into something special. I could eat this frosting with a spoon, I love it so much. In fact I needed to put the bowl in the sink and rinse it so I would stop licking the bowl.

 

 

Making the buttercream

I fed one of these to my husband (who isn't really a dessert lover) and he really loved it. I sent the rest of the batch to his work and they received rave reviews! Especially from the lemon lovers.

I wish you a happy Easter! I hope these cupcakes bring you and your family as much joy as they did for me!

 

 

 

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Edited to Add - Some people were having issues with these not rising, this has been fixed! Thank you for all who helped in figuring this out. I've adjusted the recipe to note the changes.


Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for the Lemon Lover

an original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist

makes about 20 cupcakes, the recipe can easily be doubled if you need more.

Like I mentioned in the post, this recipe has a great lemon flavor and the buttercream also has a strong lemon flavor, I believe they pair very well together as written. But if you are using a different flavored frosting recipe and want the cupcakes to have a really strong lemon flavor, I would increase the lemon juice to 3/4 cup, and decrease the water to 1/4 cup. If you want them with less lemon flavor I would use less zest, about 1 Tablespoon.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) (228 g.) butter

1/2 cup (4 oz)  (118 ml.) fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup (4 oz) (118 ml) water

1 1/2 cups (300 g.) sugar

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup (4 oz) (118 ml.) sour cream or plain yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest, lightly packed

2 cups (250 g.) flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, gas mark 4.

In a large saucepan melt the butter with the lemon juice and water on medium high heat. When the butter is melted remove from heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the sour cream (or yogurt), beaten eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest and whisk together. Let this mixture cool completely before preceding, in the fridge, or room temperature is fine. Just make sure it's not warm. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together, then whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. The batter will be somewhat thin, you will be able to pour it in the cupcake liners.

Prepare muffin pans with cupcake liners. Pour (or ladle) the batter in a measuring cup with a spout (or a similar vessel with a pouring spout) and pour the batter into the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full, this is important to the success of the cupcakes, don't fill them half way full, or fuller than 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

Don't open the oven until 18 minutes have passed. Sometimes recipes say to turn the pan half way through cooking time, don't do this here. The reason is because there is so much moisture in this recipe you need that cooking time before opening the oven or else they may fall, and never rise.

Cool cupcakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely before frosting.


Lemon Buttercream

This recipe has a great strong lemon flavor. I think it's perfect as is. It would be great paired with a different flavored cupcake. If you are concerned about the lemon flavor being too strong, I would start off with less zest, (start with half of the amount) and start with half the amount of lemon juice and taste it. You can always increase the zest and juice to your liking.

This recipe makes enough frosting to generously pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes. I had just a bit left over, (you can see from the pictures how much I used on each cupcake.) If you are spreading the frosting on, or if you know you will use much less, I would halve the recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb. (4 sticks) (456 g.) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 lbs (652 g.) powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon lightly packed fresh lemon zest finely zested from a microplane

1/3 cup (78 ml.) fresh lemon juice


Directions

Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer beat the butter well, about 1 minute with a stand mixer, 2 minutes with a hand mixer. Add about half of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, lemon zest and juice, then beat well, but start off on low until the sugar is mixed in, so it doesn't go flying all over the kitchen. Once it is incorporated add the rest of the sugar, (start on low again) then increase to high speed and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer, or 5 with a hand mixer. If you want the frosting more stiff, add more sugar, if you want it more loose, add a little milk. Use right away. If you aren't going to use it right away keep it at room temperature until you do, for a few hours anyway. If you aren't going to use it until the next day, refrigerate it. The next day you will first need to bring it to room temperature then beat it again. Refrigerating it will make it hard since it is mostly butter. This frosting freezes well for at least 6 months. Make sure it's wrapped very well so air doesn't get into it. When ready to use, bring it to room temperature and then beat again.


I hope you (and those you serve them to) love these cupcakes as much as I do!!

The Best Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

 

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."

 

-Nelson Henderson

 

 

The recipe on my site that gets the most action is my Super Moist Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe. People often write me and ask if I have a regular chocolate cupcake recipe, so here it is!

 

 

This recipe has coffee in it, you melt the chocolate into the hot coffee. You cannot , I repeat, you absolutely can't taste it. I use the pour over method to make single cups of coffee.

In fact the reason that my blog is named, The Alchemist, is because of cupcakes. You see I used to bake for a small local coffee shop. I baked a lot of cupcakes. I baked many recipes of cupcakes looking for the best ones. One day I had baked too many for the shop, (these chocolate cupcakes were included as well as a few other varieties) so I gave the leftovers to my chiropractor at the time, since I had an appointment that day. He in turn took them home to his family. The next day his wife called me on the phone. She told me, "Melissa, you're an alchemist! These cupcakes are the best cupcakes I've ever had."

The chocolate melted into the coffee, before adding it to the batter

 

That was high praise coming from her. She is a successful and well traveled lady. That comment meant a lot to me.

 

 

I use this high fat cocoa from Penzey's, if you have a store near you I recommend it, if not another brand is fine.

That was probably 5 years ago and I haven't made another chocolate cake recipe since. This is my absolute 'go to' chocolate cake and chocolate cupcake recipe.

Before that, I went through a lot of trial and error. I made many chocolate cupcake recipes. I've never had a chocolate cake with as great as a texture as this one, or as moist without being heavy.

Whisking the dry ingredients together

These cupcakes are so amazing. The original recipe comes from a cake recipe from Epicurious. (I've tweaked it a little over time to suit my taste.) These cupcakes are super moist and light at the same time. It's like they melt in your mouth.

 They have a wonderful chocolate flavor. There is melted chocolate as well as cocoa powder in this recipe. The chocolate is melted into hot coffee.

For this recipe I like to use buttermilk (instead of sour milk I  sometimes recommend in cake recipes) I like this Bulgarian buttermilk due to it's higher fat content. It's rich and has more fat than low fat buttermilk.

I know that will worry some people. Don't worry. You cannot taste it at all. I mean it, at all. I promise. However, if it worries you, then don't use it. Just use hot water instead. But I believe it provides a depth of flavor you won't get otherwise.

I weigh the dry ingredients as I go, and note the weight for dry ingredients in recipes, for those of you who live in countries that don't use cups. Sometimes I'm asked why the weight measurements differ slightly sometimes in my recipes, this is why. A cup of flour weighs more or less dependent on the weather, moisture in the air etc.

 

 

Some people will want to leave out the coffee, if you are making them for children or if you don't consume caffeine.

 

 

Mixing up the batter

I've frosted these with a chocolate buttercream that comes from Cooks Illustrated. It's their Foolproof Chocolate frosting recipe.

The batter is on the thin side, so it's easier to pour it into the cupcake papers

 

I like it because it's satiny smooth with a great chocolate flavor. It's easy to make too. You can make it in a mixer or a food processor. I've noted both ways below in the recipe.

 

I used these fancy cupcake papers I purchased when traveling to Vancouver, B.C. There are so many beautiful cupcake papers out there these days, but beware. Don't buy cupcake papers from the dollar store or from a cheap no name brand. The grease bleeds through the paper and sometimes you can't even see the design. Make sure they say "greaseproof" or are from a brand you trust.

Right out of the oven

 

If you like your cupcakes moist like I do, look no further. I think you will love this recipe as much as I do!

 

The frosting recipe has corn syrup in it, if you spray the measuring cup with cooking spray first, it will come out of the measuring cup easier.

 

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I took a picture of the middle of the cupcake to try to capture the fabulous texture of these. They are super moist, as well as being light and fluffy. They just melt in your mouth.

 

 

If you are looking for a different flavor of frosting, try one of these other great frosting recipes.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting from my Super Moist Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe you could also make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting by adding some cocoa in place of some of the powdered sugar

 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream that goes with My Favorite White Cupcakes Recipe

 

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache that goes with my Pink Velvet Cupcakes

 

Caramel Buttercream (or make it salted caramel) that goes with my Apple Cupcakes

 

Whiskey Whipped Cream that goes with my Irish Coffee Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

Antique Electra Pink Teacup available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Best Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

 

adapted from this Double Chocolate Layer Cake from Epicurious

 

This recipe makes more than a standard cake recipe, about 30-34 standard size cupcakes

 

Ingredients

 

3 oz. (85 g.) semi sweet chocolate - I usually use semi sweet chocolate chips

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) hot brewed coffee - or if you absolutely cannot have coffee, substitute hot water, or decaf coffee - but the coffee does bring a depth of flavor that water alone won't

 

3 cups (620 g.) sugar

 

2 1/2 cups (337 g.) all-purpose flour

 

1 1/2 cups (172 g.) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

 

2 teaspoons baking soda

 

1 teaspoon baking powder

 

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

 

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (177 ml) - 1 cup (236 ml) vegetable oil ( I use 1 cup, but the original recipe calls for the lesser amount) the higher amount makes them even more moist, (the lesser amount is also moist)

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) well-shaken full fat buttermilk (if you can find it, if not use low fat buttermilk)

 

2 teaspoons vanilla

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, 150 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 2.

 

Finely chop chocolate (if using chocolate chips you don't have to chop it) and add it to the hot coffee to let it melt. Meanwhile, Into a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly, and lemon colored, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer, or 5 minutes with a hand mixer. Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate is melted and combined. Slowly add the oil, vanilla, buttermilk and chocolate mixture, beating until combined well. Add a quarter of the dry mixture then blend until incorporated, then add another 1/4 and combine, and repeat until all of the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend again just until that is all incorporated.

 

Mixture will be like a thick liquid. Prepare cupcake tins with liners. Pour batter into a measuring cup with a pouring spout. Pour batter into cupcake liners filling about half to 2/3rds of the way full. Don't overfill. These rise quite a bit. Bake for about 28-32 minutes. If the center still looks caved in, or wet in the middle, they are not done. The top should look slightly rounded. They are done when they pass a toothpick test. But don't test them until they look rounded. If you do, they could cave in or fall and never rise again. For this recipe, I don't open the oven till they have been in for 28 minutes or so, or until they look done. Keep in mind the oven temperature is lower than in most recipes, so they take longer. This is especially true when using the higher amount of oil. Also when you prepare the batter, use it right away. While cupcakes are baking, prepare frosting below.

 

Cool on wire racks, and frost when they are completely cool.

 

 

Chocolate Buttercream

 

based on the Foolproof Chocolate Frosting Recipe from Cooks Illustrated, taken from Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum Forum

 

NOTE - If you are piping on frosting like I did, you will need to double this recipe. If you are just spreading it on, this amount will probably work.

 

Note: I made this frosting in a stand mixer, but the original recipe was written to be made in a food processor, I noted both instructions below.

 

Ingredients

 

20 TBS (2 1/2 sticks or about 10 oz) (283 g.) unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. (about 1 cup) (115 g.) confectioner’s sugar

3/4 cup (80 g,) dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder - I used natural

pinch of fine table salt

3/4 cup (177 ml) light corn syrup or (Lyles Golden Refiner’s Syrup and 1 TBS of water)

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz (227 g.) chocolate - milk, semisweet, or bittersweet - melted and cooled to 85-100 degrees Fahrenheit, (29-38 degrees Celsius) I used semisweet chocolate chips

 

 

Directions

 

In a stand mixer: Cut butter into about 5 pieces per stick, and add to bowl of mixer. Add confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, salt and blend on low. Slowly add the corn syrup while mixer is going on low. After it's all added, turn it up to mix it until it's incorporated, then add the vanilla and the melted chocolate. Mix well until completely blended. You can make this up to 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, refrigerate the frosting, covered, and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.

 

In a Food Processor: In a food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, about 5-10 seconds. Scrape down the bowl, and then add the chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10-15 seconds. The big key to this recipe is using a light hand with the processor and not over mixing it. You can make this up to 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, refrigerate the frosting, covered, and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.