Choc-Orange Cupcakes
My husband and I have just moved to England from Australia, and I've been feeling a little lost - we're living with my in-laws while we're finding jobs and getting our own place, and it's taking me a lot of time to get used to not having all my baking equipment at my disposal. I got to the point where I was desperate to bake, though, so these are the result of my first UK baking session: Choc-Orange Cupcakes.
I'm really pleased with the result - I've never attempted choc-orange before (they were requested by a friend's boyfriend) and pretty much made them up as I went along. Think Terry’s Chocolate Orange/Jaffas/any other choc-orange flavoured treat you like, and you’ve basically hit the flavour nail on the head. The cupcakes themselves are lovely and moist, the ganache centre is oozy and packed with rich chocolate and orange, and the buttercream is silky and packed with chocolate-orangey deliciousness with real flecks of orange zest. Yum!
Recipe and lots and lots of pictures on my blog (including my first-ever cupcake packaging!): Cloudberry Dreams.
Otherwise, the recipe alone is
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
3 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1 cup cocoa
1 cup cold water
200g softened butter
2 ½ cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
50 mL orange juice (used after cooking)
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius (that’s 340 degrees fahrenheit or Gas Mark 3 -4 for all you international folk!). Line two 12-hole cupcake/muffin trays with 24 cupcake papers.
Sift flour, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. Then place coffee granules, hot water and cocoa into a separate bowl and whisk until well combined. Once the mixture has become a smooth paste, add in the cold water and mix until well combined.
Using the bowl from your electric stand mixer (or using a separate bowl if using a hand held mixture), cream the butter for at LEAST 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Once the butter has become creamy and light in colour, begin to add the castor sugar 1/3 at a time, beating for 2-3 minutes between each addition. After adding the final third of sugar, beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy and most of the sugar has dissolved. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition to combine. Then add the vanilla extract and mix well.
Add a quarter of the sifted flour into the creamed butter mixture and beat on the lowest speed setting to combine. Add a third of the cocoa mixture and beat in. Continue this process, alternating between the flour and cocoa mixtures, making sure that the flour is the final addition. Beat the mixture on low until thoroughly combined, while being careful not to overbeat - it’ll make the finished cupcakes tough and heavy!
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers, filling the papers 2/3 full (this mixture rises quite a lot!). Bake for 20 minutes (though I’d recommend checking on them after 15 if your oven runs hot like mine does!). Cupcakes are done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once cupcakes have cooled slightly, take a skewer and pierce holes in the top of each cupcake, being careful not to push through the bottom.
Carefully spoon 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of orange juice over each cupcake, allowing the juice to soak into the skewer holes. This will keep the cupcakes moist and add some extra orangey goodness. Winner!
CHOC-ORANGE GANACHE FILLING
3/4 cup heavy cream
200g dark cooking chocolate, chopped
50g butter, cubed
Zest of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 orange
Place butter and chocolate into a bowl and set aside.
Pour cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil, allowing it to boil for 30 seconds before removing from heat.
Pour hot cream over the chocolate and butter and leave to sit for 1 minute. Slowly stir the ganache until the chocolate and butter are fully melted and the cream is well combined. Once ganache is smooth and silky, add orange zest and slowly add the juice, stirring gently to combine.
If the ganache becomes quite runny after adding the orange juice, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to thicken.
CHOC-ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
120 g dark chocolate
70 g salted butter
2 cups icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 - 2 teaspoons orange extract
Using either a double boiler or a microwave, gently melt the cubed chocolate until smooth and silky. Once fully melted, set it aside and allow it to come to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on high speed for 1 - 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and extract and beat again for 1 minute.
Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and beat again for 2 minutes until fluffy.
Add the sifted icing sugar, 1/3 at a time, beating well between each addition.
Once the cupcakes are at room temperature and you’ve skewered them and poured over the orange juice, take a small paring knife and cut a cone shape out of the centre of each cupcake. Fill the hole in the cupcake with the choc-orange ganache and cut off the end of the cone so that you’re left with a flat lid shape. Place the lid back on the cupcake to cover the ganache, and repeat this process until each cupcake has been filled.
Frost the filled cupcakes with the Choc-Orange Buttercream (I used a large open star piping tip).
x-posted to bakebakebake & food_porn
I'm really pleased with the result - I've never attempted choc-orange before (they were requested by a friend's boyfriend) and pretty much made them up as I went along. Think Terry’s Chocolate Orange/Jaffas/any other choc-orange flavoured treat you like, and you’ve basically hit the flavour nail on the head. The cupcakes themselves are lovely and moist, the ganache centre is oozy and packed with rich chocolate and orange, and the buttercream is silky and packed with chocolate-orangey deliciousness with real flecks of orange zest. Yum!
Recipe and lots and lots of pictures on my blog (including my first-ever cupcake packaging!): Cloudberry Dreams.
Otherwise, the recipe alone is
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
3 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1 cup cocoa
1 cup cold water
200g softened butter
2 ½ cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
50 mL orange juice (used after cooking)
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius (that’s 340 degrees fahrenheit or Gas Mark 3 -4 for all you international folk!). Line two 12-hole cupcake/muffin trays with 24 cupcake papers.
Sift flour, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside. Then place coffee granules, hot water and cocoa into a separate bowl and whisk until well combined. Once the mixture has become a smooth paste, add in the cold water and mix until well combined.
Using the bowl from your electric stand mixer (or using a separate bowl if using a hand held mixture), cream the butter for at LEAST 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Once the butter has become creamy and light in colour, begin to add the castor sugar 1/3 at a time, beating for 2-3 minutes between each addition. After adding the final third of sugar, beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy and most of the sugar has dissolved. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition to combine. Then add the vanilla extract and mix well.
Add a quarter of the sifted flour into the creamed butter mixture and beat on the lowest speed setting to combine. Add a third of the cocoa mixture and beat in. Continue this process, alternating between the flour and cocoa mixtures, making sure that the flour is the final addition. Beat the mixture on low until thoroughly combined, while being careful not to overbeat - it’ll make the finished cupcakes tough and heavy!
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers, filling the papers 2/3 full (this mixture rises quite a lot!). Bake for 20 minutes (though I’d recommend checking on them after 15 if your oven runs hot like mine does!). Cupcakes are done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once cupcakes have cooled slightly, take a skewer and pierce holes in the top of each cupcake, being careful not to push through the bottom.
Carefully spoon 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of orange juice over each cupcake, allowing the juice to soak into the skewer holes. This will keep the cupcakes moist and add some extra orangey goodness. Winner!
CHOC-ORANGE GANACHE FILLING
3/4 cup heavy cream
200g dark cooking chocolate, chopped
50g butter, cubed
Zest of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 orange
Place butter and chocolate into a bowl and set aside.
Pour cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil, allowing it to boil for 30 seconds before removing from heat.
Pour hot cream over the chocolate and butter and leave to sit for 1 minute. Slowly stir the ganache until the chocolate and butter are fully melted and the cream is well combined. Once ganache is smooth and silky, add orange zest and slowly add the juice, stirring gently to combine.
If the ganache becomes quite runny after adding the orange juice, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes to thicken.
CHOC-ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
120 g dark chocolate
70 g salted butter
2 cups icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 - 2 teaspoons orange extract
Using either a double boiler or a microwave, gently melt the cubed chocolate until smooth and silky. Once fully melted, set it aside and allow it to come to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on high speed for 1 - 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and extract and beat again for 1 minute.
Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and beat again for 2 minutes until fluffy.
Add the sifted icing sugar, 1/3 at a time, beating well between each addition.
Once the cupcakes are at room temperature and you’ve skewered them and poured over the orange juice, take a small paring knife and cut a cone shape out of the centre of each cupcake. Fill the hole in the cupcake with the choc-orange ganache and cut off the end of the cone so that you’re left with a flat lid shape. Place the lid back on the cupcake to cover the ganache, and repeat this process until each cupcake has been filled.
Frost the filled cupcakes with the Choc-Orange Buttercream (I used a large open star piping tip).
x-posted to bakebakebake & food_porn