My favourite place in the world is my gourmet wholesale store. It’s situated in a very crowded, busy (not to mention dirty), wholesale market in Kolkata. But when I’m there, I don’t see the filth and hear the loud noises, I just feel my senses going berserk with all the mesmerizing smells and flavours…cheeses, sauces, essences, vinegars, and chocolate! Yesterday I found these amazing Belgian bitter chocolate chips and I had to have them! Like a child in a candy store, my eyes gleaming with desire, I bought them home and made the most indulgent bitter chocolate cupcakes! Personally, I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but dessert is just incomplete without it!
I was disappointed when I couldn’t get the cupcake to ooze chocolate from within (as per my fantasy), so I made them a second time, without much success again (although these were better than batch 1; almost oozing but not wet enough). I realised that it’s the shape of the mould that requires changing and not the actual technique. Read my bench notes below to understand this concept better. Try them and let me know if you got the stubborn babies to ooze chocolate!
Ooze or no-ooze, this cupcake is just divine. Hence the name black magic (kala jadoo sounds more dramatic though)!
Serves: 12
Prep time: 20min
Cooking time: 40min
Ingredients
Cupcakes
125g unsalted butter, cubed
150g dark chocolate roughly chopped
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp baking powder
50g plain flour, sifted with baking powder
Muffin paper shells
Muffin tray/moulds
Honeycomb
100g caster sugar
50grm liquid glucose
100ml water
1tbsp bicarb soda
Strawberry cream
50ml double cream, whipped
1tbsp icing sugar
50g fresh strawberries, puréed
Strawberry purée
50g fresh strawberries
1tsp caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
30-50ml water
Extra strawberries for serving
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Cupcakes
For the cupcakes, grease muffin paper shells with some unsalted butter, and place in a muffin tray.
Place butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl (use borosil) over a pan of one‑third full gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Stir over medium heat until the chocolate and butter are smooth and combined. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Next, gently fold in the flour and then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin moulds and bake muffins for 12-14min or until risen and just set, but wobbly in the centre. Allow to rest on the bench for 5 minutes, before removing the muffin paper shells.
Honeycomb
For the honeycomb, line a deep roasting tray with baking paper (coming up over the edges).
Place the sugar, glucose and water in a large saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until a pale-golden caramel. Remove from heat and working quickly, whisk in the bicarb soda (it will froth and bubble – don’t whisk too much otherwise you will knock out all the air bubbles). Quickly pour into the lined pan and lightly shake to level out (take care as pan will become very hot). Cool for 45min or until hard. Break into small chunks
Strawberry cream
For the strawberry cream, whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks. Stir through the pureed strawberries and set aside.
Strawberry purée
For the strawberry purée, place strawberries, cater sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and water in a medium saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5min or until syrupy. Remove from heat; allow to cool for a few minutes and purée in a blender.
Finally, remove the cupcakes from the paper moulds, drizzle with strawberry purée, scatter some honeycomb and extra strawberries and serve with a spoonful of strawberry cream.
Bench notes
This recipe requires the use of non-stick dariole moulds which I could not catch hold of, and so I used the usual cupcake moulds. The shape of the dariole mould (like a tiny bucket) is such that it allows the sides of the cake to cook quickly, while the centre remains gooey and oozes out when you cut the cake (12-14min is sufficient for the outsides to cook completely). This is difficult to achieve with the muffin moulds as the shape of the mould allows equal and quick distribution of heat, leaving the centre of the muffin, surely softer that the sides, but not gooey and wet.
However, if you have non-stick muffin trays, don’t use the muffin paper shells. The paper further blocks the transfer of heat to the sides, leaving you with no choice but to wait until the sides get cooked, by which time the centre is no more wet or gooey. If you do use non-stick muffin trays, be sure to grease the moulds generously with butter.
It is important that while melting the chocolate in the double boiler method, you do not let the chocolate boil; stop heating when it melts.
As easy as it sounds, baking involves a lot of science and technique and it’s only when you get your hands dirty will you actually appreciate these subtle intricacies.
No comments:
Post a Comment