Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [2]
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Up to five days in the fridge, tightly covered
ALTERNATIVE-SUGAR DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES
This is a sugar-alternative, vegan devil’s food like no other. The number of requests we receive for so many different allergy-friendly cupcakes is truly mind-blowing. After years of saying no, I gave in and started to play with alternative sweeteners. I’ve found a few that work great and are chemical free. This recipe uses blue agave syrup and is my favorite so far.
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons freeze-dried espresso
11/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
11/3 cups agave syrup
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 In a small bowl, mix the hot water and freeze-dried espresso together and set aside. 3 Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix them together with a whisk. 4 In a separate medium bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and agave. 5 Pour the agave mixture into the dry ingredients while slowly whisking, and then add the hot-water-and-espresso concoction. At this point there’ll be some lumps, so don’t think you screwed up. There are two things you can do: You can try to whisk them out, or you can clean your hands and get them out with your fingers. This second solution may be a little messy, but it beats standing there endlessly whisking. 6 With an ice cream scoop, fill each cup in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for about 15 minutes. You’re looking for a dime-sized soft, shiny spot in the center of the cupcakes that looks like it’s not cooked all the way; this is when you know they’re done.
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Up to five days in the fridge, tightly covered
CHOCOLATE SPONGE CUPCAKES
This is a French-style cupcake (if that’s not an oxymoron), and the recipe is a bit complicated but makes a really good base for unique cupcakes when you really want the filling and frosting to be the stars.
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/3 cup cocoa powder, extra brute (good-
quality, dark, without sugar added)
8 egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar, divided
8 egg whites
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 Sift together the flour and cocoa powder into a small bowl and set aside. 3 Whisk the egg yolks on high speed in a standing mixer while pouring in half cups of the sugar. Whisk until the mixture is lightened to a butter color, about 8 to 10 minutes, then pour it into a separate mixing bowl and set aside. 4 Clean the bowl of the standing mixer really well; make sure there is no yolk left, or the egg whites will not rise at all. 5 With the clean bowl on the standing mixer, whip the egg whites on a slow speed for a few minutes (but no more than 5 minutes, or you’ll add air to the whites). This breaks up the proteins, warms them up a little, and helps the cupcakes rise. 6 Turn the mixer on high and slowly add the remaining sugar. Whip until soft peaks form, about 8 minutes. Soft peaks are a little droopy, so you want light, airy whites that don’t hold their shape well. 7 Take a little bit of the yolks that were set aside and fold them into the whites with a rubber spatula (this is called tempering). Then dump this all into the yolks and slowly fold them