Monday, April 21, 2008

Seriously Chocolate Cupcakes




There are times that call for serious chocolate.

Birthdays, engagements, funerals, Mondays, 4:00 in the afternoon.
The need for serious chocolate must be addressed.

How to address it?

Well, you could go to the grocery store and get some dark chocolate M&Ms and eat them immediately in the car on the way home from the store, that might solve your problem.

You could buy something decadent in the freezer section..gelato or some Ben and Jerry’s.

Or you could make these cupcakes.

I’ll take door number three, Monty.

I was looking for something to do for my mother’s birthday. Cupcakes are all the rage right now and I thought that would be a good thing to do for dessert.

Easy, can be done ahead and seriously chocolate.

I found it.

Flourless. Excellent. More room for chocolate.

This makes a boatload of cupcakes. I made 12 in the muffin tin and poured the rest in a heart shaped silicone pan and made one big heart shaped “cupcake” for the birthday girl.

Who loves you, Nanny!!!!

Seriously Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from a Michael Chiarello recipe for Molten Chocolate Cupcakes


8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
One good grind of black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon gray salt


Preheat the oven to 300.

Line the cupcake pan with paper liners and spray the liners with vegetable spray. Break up the chocolate and put it into a bowl.

Combine the butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and stir gently to melt the chocolate.In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, mayonnaise, cornstarch, cinnamon, black pepper and salt just until the sugar has dissolved.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently mix just until combined. (Mixing too much will prevent the eggs from rising in the oven.) Scoop about 1/4 cup of the batter into each mold, it should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 12 cupcakes and 1- 8 inch heart shaped cake or probably 24 cupcakes.
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Giving chocolate cup cake to others is an intimate form of communication, a sharing of deep, dark secrets and
a chocolate cup cake in the mouth is worth two on the plate.


I do have a chocolate site too, check this out
http://www.sarahs-sweet-fountains.co.uk

Thanks for letting me comment on your site :D

RecipeGirl said...

My hubby, my son and my entire family of in-laws are obsessed with all that is chocolate. Me- I'm a vanilla gal. I do make chocolate treats for others quite often. These look seriously good!

Peter M said...

Wow, mayo in a cupcake...I'm intrigued...gotta try thus method out.

SteamyKitchen said...

me want some chocolate!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm not a huge chocolate cake fan, but do have that hankering from time to time. I'll have to try this. (Love the heart pan by the way!)

Anonymous said...

I'll take a dozen please! Fedex!
:-)

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i am so baking these
the ingredient list is too cool

bookmarked!

Mary Coleman said...

Alex: Beautiful thought! Thanks for stopping by.
Lori: There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a vanilla gal. These are divine.
Peter: The mayo works along the same lines as sour cream, for moistness.
jayden: I've felt that way before!
kate: Isn't that pan great? A surprise from my Mom one day..or maybe it was a hint!
Zen: Too funny!
Claudia: These are so good. Check out Michael Chiarello's orig recipe in the link in the recipe..he reserves some of the chocolate and breaks into pieces, when the cupcakes come out of the oven, he pokes a piece of choc in the top and serves immediately...hence the molten name.
These are the Y word that you hate!

Terry at Blue Kitchen said...

Before reading this, I'd never really thought about chocolate cupcakes always seeming a little light on chocolaty goodness, but you're absolutely right! I'm curious, though. My wife Marion makes a heavenly nearly flourless chocolate cake that is, well, wonderful. It's very dense, though. As cupcakes, do these come across more like brownies? Do you lose some of the airy lightness that I associate with cupcakes? Not that any of that is a deal breaker, mind you. Nothing beats serious chocolate.

Mary Coleman said...

Terry B:
Actually, no, you don't lose the airy feel of a cupcake when done in the muffin tin. It's a creamy lightness, if that makes sense.
The heart shaped cake has more density to it, because it ends up being about an inch tall.
It's a wild ride with this recipe but one worth trying!

Melody said...

Those look scrumptious. I gained 5 lbs just looking.

Anonymous said...

The ingredients have me hooked too, I am also booking this recipe. Love black peppercorns.

Anonymous said...

Ooo. I'm with you on the chocolate-enough front. In fact, I don't know why people bother with chocolate sponge cupcakes. In a small format like that, you need fudgey and rich. These look like the kind that make my cheeks sweat. Is it just me?

Deborah said...

I have never thought of doing a flourless chocolate cake in cupcake form - what a great idea! These sound absolutely delicious!