Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [30]
Put It All Together With your index finger, poke holes through the cupcakes and fill them with the fig jam. Using a piping bag with a star tip, frost the cupcakes with the ganache and sprinkle each one with a little ground cloves.
COFFEE AND A CIGARETTE
Ahh, the name...if people don’t know I’m referring to the chocolate cigarette on top of each cupcake, I usually get nasty looks. However, the name is a nod to all my pre-mom early mornings as a young pastry chef. Coffee and a cigarette—what a perfect pair. You can probably go to your local pastry shop and buy chocolate cigarettes; however, if you want to tackle this on your own, here’s the easiest way.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Devil’s Food Cupcakes (page 19)
2 tablespoons dry instant coffee grounds
Put It All Together
12 Chocolate Cigarettes (page 37)
Frosting
½ cup espresso beans (whatever your
favorite are)
1 recipe Ganache (page 30)
HOW TO MAKE IT
Frosting Start the day before—Run the espresso beans through a food processor (or ask your local coffee shop for excess grounds that they tap out before they get used in drinks). Begin preparing the ganache according to the recipe directions. When the cream comes to a boil, add the coffee. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture steep for about 20 minutes. Strain the coffee grounds out of the cream with a very fine sieve or cheesecloth. Bring the cream up to a boil again and pour it over the chocolate mixture. Finish the ganache according to the recipe directions.
Cupcakes Prepare the Devil’s Food Cupcake batter according to the directions, and add the instant coffee grounds with the dry ingredients. Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together Prepare the chocolate cigarettes according to the recipe directions. If you have any leftover chocolate, you can dip espresso beans in it to use as garnish. Frost the cooled cupcakes with the ganache and top each one with a chocolate cigarette and a chocolate-covered coffee bean, if you made them.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER
I grew up in the peanut butter cup heyday, and that flavor combination has followed me for years. I just love it, and the funny thing is that my kids do, too. For this recipe, I use chunky peanut butter because it’s my favorite, but you really can use any kind as long as it doesn’t have added sugar...unless you want to be bouncing off the walls.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Devil’s Food Cupcakes (page 19)
Frosting
1 recipe Vanilla American Buttercream
(page 27)
1 cup peanut butter
HOW TO MAKE IT
Cupcakes Prepare and bake the Devil’s Food Cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Frosting Prepare the Vanilla American Buttercream according to the recipe directions, but use only ¼ cup of vegan margarine and mix in the peanut butter.
Put It All Together Frost the cooled cupcakes with the peanut butter buttercream. You can top them with a drizzle of chocolate or chopped, toasted peanuts.
CHOCOLATE GINGER
Chocolate and ginger are so amazing together. There are a lot of chocolate combinations that are classic and delicious, but ginger seems to just one-up all of its competition. We use ginger two ways in this recipe, but if it’s too much, just take the ginger out of the ganache, or cut the amount in half completely.
Cupcakes
4 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
1 recipe Devil’s Food Cupcakes (page 19)
Put It All Together
12 pieces candied ginger
Ganache
1 recipe Ganache (page 30)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
HOW TO MAKE IT
Ganache Start the day before—Prepare the ganache according to the recipe directions, but add the ginger to the cream as it heats up. Once the cream has come to a simmer, remove it from the heat and allow the ginger to steep for 20 minutes. Strain the ginger out and heat the cream again and pour it over