These cupcakes were my entry to the first Iron Cupcake Madison challenge (COFFEE!)- a monthly competition that brings bakers together for good cupcakes and a great cause (see Iron Cupcake Madison and Iron Cupcake Milwaukee). Not only was it the first Iron Cupcake Madison event, it was also my first baking competition! Imagine my excitement when I took home the Queen’s Choice award (and some sweet prizes)! I didn’t have time, in all of the excitement, to take pictures of the cake myself- but you can see a lovely picture, courtesy of Iron Cupcake Milwaukee Founder, Sandy Ploy, here.
Because I tend to make things difficult for myself, I didn’t choose any easy cupcake to enter (even though I had to make at least 12 dozen mini cupcakes). I promise, all of my recipes are not this involved! All in all, I’d say it took about 10 hours to make them (7 of those were the night before the competition!). You can make a nice manageable batch, however, in about an hour.
I created a brown sugar coffee cupcake with a coffee cream, mocha ganache and handmade hazelnut biscotti topping. There’s a lot going on in this cupcake but the flavors work so well together- it’s your morning coffee break in a cake!
I’ll break it up into different parts to keep it as simple as possible.
the cake: Brown Sugar Coffee Cupcake
I use a variation of Colette Peter’s Snow White Cake as a starting point for most of my cake recipes. It is a fantastically textured cake, managing to be somehow dense and airy. The best part is that it is shortening-based, which means no waiting for butter to warm to room temperature!
- 3/4 c shortening
- 1 c dark brown sugar
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract. 1 tsp paste=1 tsp extract)
- 3 tsp coffee extract (available on amazon & in baking supply stores)
- 1 cup whole milk (room temperature)
- 4 egg whites (room temperature)
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the shortening until light and airy. Slowly add the cup of brown sugar, continually beating until fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and coffee extract.
In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Alternately add 1 tbsp of the dry ingredients and 1 tbsp of milk to the shortening mixture until all are incorporated.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Beat until shiny peaks form. With a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
Fill cupcake liners slightly less than 2/3 of the way full with batter. I like to fill a piping bag (outfitted with a large tip) with batter and pipe the batter into the cups. It’s a lot cleaner than using a spoon or a scoop, and assembly-line fast!
Don’t bake those just yet- each one will be topped with a “brown sugar butter” that will melt down into the top of the cake that gives a neat two-tone effect and amps up the brown sugar taste.
“Brown Sugar Butter”
- 6 tbsp cold salted margarine spread (yes, really! i tried it with unsalted butter and the margarine was easier to incorporate and melts better once in the oven.)
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until mixture resembles a thick paste.
Top the batter in each cupcake liner with a layer of brown sugar butter. I used a flatware tea spoon to do this, so don’t worry too much about measurements. No need to stir this in, just let it rest on top.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I hesistate to give approximate baking times because of all variables involved, but I normally start checking on them after about 14 minutes or so (resist the temptation to open the oven before this point- doing so may deflate your cupcakes). If they’re still fairly wobbly when you move the rack, give them another 4 minutes before you check again. If they seem relatively stable but still doughy in the center, check every 2-3 minutes. Take them out as soon as your toothpick comes out clean- don’t let them linger in the oven. Leave in the tins to cool. I usually put the tins on top of my (cool) gas stove burners- it allows for air flow underneath (and is a little easier than digging out the cooling racks). But cooling racks work just fine, too.
the frosting: Coffee Cream
You can make the frosting in the time it takes for the cupcakes to bake and cool. Hold off on making the ganache, however, until the cupcakes are frosted.
This cream is one of my biggest secrets. It is something like a pastry cream without all the fuss. It is so incredibly easy and tastes amazing. I created this completely on accident! A few years ago, I wanted to make a quick pudding filling to put between cake layers but found that we were completely out of milk. We did have heavy cream, however. I added it in place of the milk and this cream was born! I’ve adapted it here to incorporate more coffee flavor.
- 3 cups cold heavy cream, divided
- 1 pkg Starbucks Via Ready Brew, Italian Roast (or 1 1/2 tsp other finely ground instant coffee granules)*
- 1 pkg (5.1 ounce) instant vanilla pudding (not-sugar free)
Combine 1 cup heavy cream and package of instant coffee in a microwave-save container. Heat lightly in microwave until lukewarm and stir until coffee is fully dissolved. Chill until cold again.
Beat the 2 remaining cups cold heavy cream, the cup of coffee-infused heavy cream and the package of vanilla pudding in a stand mixer until a thick creamy consistency is reached (3-4 minutes). Done!
* If you want to use whole beans, simply roast coffee beans (to taste- the more beans, the stronger the flavor) in a 450 degree oven until lightly browned and add to the cup of heavy cream in a covered container. Allow to steep for about an hour, discard the beans, then chill. You can do this for the ganache as well.
Frost cupcakes as desired. I like to use a Wilton Drop Flower tip (like the 2D) as it adds a little fanciness when piped concentrically. Now you’re ready to make the ganache!
Mocha Ganache
Ganache is one of those words that bake geeks like me throw around and assume that everyone knows what it is. Ganache is nothing more than a mixture of heavy cream and chocolate. This one has coffee, too. It’s delicious. That’s all there is to it.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pkg Starbucks Via Ready Brew, Italian Roast (or 1 1/2 tsp other finely ground instant coffee granules)
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine heavy cream and coffee granules. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when mixture starts to bubble at the edges. Add chopped bittersweet chocolate to hot cream and let stand approximately 5 minutes.
Stir until chocolate is fully melted. That’s it!
The ganache can be applied by drizzling it with a spoon over the cupcakes or, as I prefer, with a piping bag with a medium-sized circle tip. I put the cupcakes onto a large piece of waxed paper that I taped down to the table and hit each one with a stream of ganache. Any mess was confined to the wax paper which I could just throw away when done.
You should have leftover ganache. Save it- it will keep in the fridge. It will not have the same consistency when reheated (it’s not as smooth), but it works perfectly well for dipping the biscotti.
the topping: Hazelnut Biscotti
Biscotti are Italian cookies that are partly baked, sliced, then baked again until crisp. Since they are traditionally served with coffee, it was my lovely husband’s idea to use them to top the cupcakes.
- 1/4 cup butter, diced (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose-flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2-3 tsp Frangelico hazelnut liquor (to taste)
- 1 cup toasted hazelnuts*
- Mocha ganache (as above)
*I used whole skinned hazelnuts because they were what I had on hand. The easiest way to toast and de-skin them is to put them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until the skins are blistered and the nuts lightly browned (approximately 8-10 minutes). Immediately put them in clean, lint-free kitchen towel and rub vigorously. The skins will peel off with the friction and stick to the towel. The nuts can be placed back onto the cookie sheet to cool. Chop coarsely.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, polenta, eggs and Frangelico. Mix together to make a soft dough. At this point, I transferred the dough to a cutting board lightly dusted with flour. Mix the toasted hazelnuts into the dough until evenly distributed.
Halve the dough. Shape each half into a log about 9 inches long by 2.5 inches wide. They’ll resemble flattened sausages. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until firm and risen. Remove from the oven and cool.
When cooled, cut each log diagonally with a serrated knife into slices. Return to the baking sheet and cook for 10 more minutes or until crisp and golden. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Apply waxed paper to a flat surface. Reheat that ganache you made earlier. You can put it over low heat for about a minute or so, stirring vigorously to melt without scorching, or heat it over a water bath. If, when dipping the biscotti, the ganache gets too stiff, reheat. Hand dip each piece in the ganache by placing the biscotti flat-side down in the melted mixture. Transfer, ganache-side up, to the waxed paper to cool.
Chop biscotti coarsely and place on top of frosted cupcakes.
Cake Secrets 