Tuesday 26 February 2008

Muddy Landslide Cupcakes

It was the American's birthday smack bang in Lent. She has given up all things sweet for 40 days & nights but she relented for the big day and demanded cupcakes - she is from New York I think they are demanding. I couldn't make just any cupcakes as this was her one shot at sweet heaven before lent rules applied again so I figured mix together her favourite cocktail and cupcakes and there is a pretty good chance they will go down well.



Now the favoured cocktail is the mudslide - Tia Maria, Bailey's, Cream, Vodka - all perfect ingredients for a cupcake. Full of anticipation I made Tia Maria chocolate cupcakes but foolishly I used a new cupcake recipe instead of sticking to faithful Magnolia Bakery's. They were bland, they tasted like store cupcakes not home made, organic delights. I couldn't taste the coffee even though I added half a cup of Tia Maria and espresso powder and I couldn't taste the chocolate. You won't be getting the recipe - yuck!



My tasters did think they were good - Bobo however thinks anything someone else has cooked is good and same goes for Sam (I also think they are a little afraid of me). In light of this I figured a strong tasting frosting would be just the tickets so Baileys was the way to go. I was wrong. I did all the usual bits creamed butter added Baileys and sugar and more Baileys and again yuck. Too sweet, and strangely bland as well. Then it started to split and look very unattractive. I didn't take photos. Some poor souls ate them.



I was going to leave it at that but I also wanted to enter Cupcake Hero and knew my first efforts would not make the grade. The down side was I had already baked that week and Bobo tries to keep my efforts to a minimum - organic ingredients + yummy baked goods = shrinking wallet & growing tummy. I had to be sneaky, I planned and plotted and waited until he went out then I raided the kitchen with my well executed plan.


This time round I stuck to the Magnolia Bakery and tinkered adding ground almonds, Amaretto and almond extract. Oh these ones are good! The I made a chocolate buttercream and added Baileys to that and I have no idea how but it was the best textured buttercream I have ever made. Sadly I had made a half batch of these but they all went and Bobo managed 3!



Muddy Landslide Cupcakes (Chocolate and Amaretto Cupcakes)



(Adapted from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)



1 Cup plain flour



1 Cup ground almonds



1tsp Baking powder



180g 70% Cocoa solid chocolate (I use Green & Blacks organic)



245g Soft salted butter



1 Cup golden caster sugar



1 Cup firmly packed soft brown sugar



4 large eggs



1/2 Cup milk



1/2 Cup amaretto



2 Tsp Almond extract



1 Tsp Vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 180C.
In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour and the baking soda and add the ground almonds, then set aside. Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for about 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.



In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar till really fluffy and light, about 3 minutes on the medium speed of an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down and mixing well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the combined milk, Amaretto and extracts, beating after each addition until smooth.



Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for between 20 - 25 mins, it really depends on your oven or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.



Chocolate Baileys Buttercream Frosting



340g Soft salted butter



280g Really good dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)



250g Icing sugar sifted



5 - 6 tbs Baileys Irish Cream or similar



Melt the chocolate over hotwater as before and let cool for 5 - 10 mins so you don't melt your butter. (Although melted butter mixed with chocolate is filthy and gorgeous and I won't tell anyone if you don't).



Cream the butter for a min until smooth then add a spoon or two of the icing sugar. Pour in the melted chocolate and on a lowish speed mix until well combined. The point of the low speed is so you don't add air, you want a dense and velvet smooth frosting and lowish speeds and patience will help. Add a tablespoon of Baileys, mix (low speed) until combined then add a little more icing sugar. Keep going like this until you have added all the Baileys you want (keep tasting!) and all the icing sugar you want. I keep this fairly open as I like less sugar than most people and quiet a bit of Baileys but everyone is different thank God!



Frost your lovely little cakes and eat the left over frosting till you feel ill - I did...




4 comments:

Tempered Woman said...

Wow! Those are gorgeous. I think you should definitely post the other recipe so that bakers can compare. I find it to be a perfect learning opportunity- I like to dissect and figure out the difference so I know how to experiment in the future. I know I'm curious as hell!
And hands down my favorite pic has your furry friend peering over the cupcakes in the background~ too darn cute! Glad you got your entry in.

Tracy said...

I came to check out your Daring Bakers post but found this right after it. Who needs French Bread when you have cupcakes? They look yummy.

Anonymous said...

Hi :),

We would like to feature your cupcakes on our blog and possibly our digital-recipe reader, too.

Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)

You can read more here:
http://blog.keyingredient.com/whats-stirring-up-on-the-back-burner/

Sophie

Yankee in England said...

Glad to know I am not the only one who eats left over frosting till I am ill! These look amazing!