All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [160]
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
My Coconut Pecan Frosting (page 484)
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set the pans aside.
2. Grate the chocolate bar: Break the bar into pieces and drop them, one at a time, through the feed tube of a food processor while it is running. Or, carefully rub the chocolate bar with a hand-held coarse cheese grater, such as a Microplane. Set the grated chocolate aside.
3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream or buttermilk, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1½ to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Fold in the grated chocolate.
4. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup of cupcake batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.)
5. Place the pans in the oven and bake the cupcakes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 19 to 23 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of the cupcake cups, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the pans using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the pans carefully with your fingertips. Place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes longer before frosting.
6. Meanwhile, make the coconut pecan frosting.
Recipe Reminders
MADE FOR
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7. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of frosting on top of each cup-cake and spread it out with a short metal spatula or spoon, taking care to cover the top completely. The cupcakes are then ready to serve.
Keep It Fresh! Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for one day or for up to one week in the refrigerator. Freeze the cupcakes, in a cake saver or wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to three months. Let the cupcakes thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Note: You may omit the German’s chocolate if you like. Or, you can substitute 1 cup of miniature semisweet chocolate chips for the grated German’s chocolate.
RED VELVET PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES
RED VELVET CAKE enjoys a cultlike following. People just go gaga over this cake, and everyone has their philosophy as to how the cake should taste and what frosting is appropriate for it. In much of the Midwest a cooked flour and sugar frosting is spread over red velvet cakes, but everyone else agrees that a cream cheese frosting works well. I may be creating a real red velvet faux pas here, adding a dash of peppermint extract to the batter, but try it and see for yourself. Now I can’t decide which frosting works best—cream cheese or chocolate pan frosting. To make these party ready, crush peppermint candies and sprinkle them on top of the cupcakes before the frosting sets.
makes:
22 to 24 cupcakes (2½ inches in diameter)
prep:
10 minutes
bake:
20 to 25 minutes
cool:
20 minutes
24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2½-inch size)
1 package (18.25 ounces) German chocolate cake mix, with or without pudding
1 cup sour cream or buttermilk