Recipes Discovered – Recipes

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Pastry Cream:

• 2 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:

• 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners or grease pans.

In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth and satiny. Divide batter evenly among 24 cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

Pastry Cream: In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Add the cornstarch to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside. Meanwhile in a saucepan bring the milk to boiling over medium heat. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and add slowly to the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.)
Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, continue to whisk constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Let the cream cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Chocolate Glaze: Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Set aside. Bring the cream just to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a 3-5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Set aside until it has thickened to pouring consistency.

To assemble: Fill a pastry bag with the pastry cream. Using a long, narrow tip, press into each cupcake and fill accordingly. Spread ganache over each cupcake. Refrigerate a few hours before serving to allow the glaze to set and flavors to mingle. Allow cupcakes to come to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before serving.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of epicurious.