CHOCOLATE CAKES

How about some sweet and sensual dessert after having tasted savory food?

Let us have some chocolate cupcakes with fudgy glaze which my daughter baked for her classmate's birthday.  She followed the recipe from Dorie Greenspan "Baking From My Home To Yours" on page 215.

Ingredients :

1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 tspn baking powder, baking soda and salt, 120gm unsalted butter at room temperature, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1/2 pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup buttermilk & 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy.
Add sugar and beat for about 2 mins, until well blended.
Add egg then yolk.
Beat in the vanilla, reduce speed and mix in half of the dry ingredients.
Add buttermilk until incorporated and follow with rest of dry ingredients.
Add melted chocolate and divide batter evenly among paper cups.
Bake at 170C for 22-25 mins until cakes are springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centre comes out clean.
Cool cakes before glazing them.

The cakes cracked due to high temperature at 180C.

For the glaze :

3 ozs bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, 3 tbspn confectioners' sugar, sifted, 30gm cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Melt chocolate in a bowl over saucepan of simmering water
Let it cool for 5 mins
Stir in confectioners' sugar into chocolate, follow by butter
If glaze loses its gross, blow a puff of hot air from a hairdryer before serving

The cakes were delicious and well received.