Monday, 10 October 2011
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Chocolate Coffee & Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
This is a guest post from Savory Bites.
Article first published as Chocolate Coffee & Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes on Technorati.
Let me pose to you a question.
Why is it that people are so willing to pay $3 for an overly sweet and dense cupcake at Magnolia yet balk at Bank of America’s new $5 surcharge on debit cards?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a BoFa customer and I don’t like it one bit. That’s why I don’t plan on using their debit card (you only get charged if you use it). However, I completely understand their rationale. They recently got slapped with ridiculous regulation that caps fees they can derive from merchants. If you’re not happy about the fee, then I suggest you change banks (but pretty soon most banks will have some sort of similar fee) or you can stash your cash underneath your mattress. They’re not charging you money on your own money; they’re charging you for the convenience of not carrying around cash. You can also write a letter to Messieur Durbin telling him what an idiot he is.
Why am I telling you this? Because I think it’s ridiculous to pay $3 for a cupcake. It’s overpriced and most times, it’s not even that good (don’t get me wrong, sometimes there ARE some pretty darn good cupcakes that are $2.50 and under!) So, I choose to make my own.
A couple of weeks back, I came home to a package on my porch. When I opened it, I got super excited since it had the GODIVA script plastered on the bag. Then, I reached in. It was coffee. I LOVEEEE COFFEE!
Long story short, I wanted to incorporate the Pumpkin Spice flavor into cupcakes! I decided to do this two fold- in the cake part itself (to enhance the chocolate flavor) and then in the frosting.
But first, about the Pumpkin Spice coffee from Godiva…
Honestly, I’m not a big fan. It’s decent but not spectacular. I’m not a big fan of the scent either. However, it actually worked quite well in the recipe.What I AM a fan of is their Caramel coffee. I could actually get high off of smelling that. And the taste? It’s delectably caramel-y and sweet. It’s enough to make Mark not want sugar in the coffee. He typically hates coffee because of its bitterness, but didn’t mind this one at all.
Now onto the cupcakes-
I ended up turning the original buttercream frosting into a cream-cheese buttercream frosting simply because I can never get the damn recipe down correctly! It always ends up either too buttery or the consistency is off. However, I love the consistency that the cream-cheese gives and makes the frosting thick enough to pipe out those gorgeous swirls.
As for the cake itself, make sure you do not omit the sour cream. In my first batch, I had none so I substituted with 1/4 cup of milk. The cupcakes came out decent but where a bit on the dry and dense side. In my second batch, I made sure to get some sour cream and it made all the difference in the world.
Chocolate coffee & pumpkin spice cupcakes
Adapted from Paula Deen
(Makes about 24 cupcakes)Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
- 3 large eggs
- 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Coffee Cream Filling, recipe follows
- Coffee Buttercream, recipe follows
- Chocolate covered coffee beans, for garnish, optional
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcakes pans with paper liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, pumpkin spice cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add oil, coffee, and eggs and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Then, miix in the sour cream and vanilla.
Spoon the batter evenly into prepared cupcakes cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, for 16 to 18 minutes. Let them cool in pans on wire rack.
Coffee butter cream-cream cheese frostingIngredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee
- 8 oz cream cheese (1 package)
- Pumpkin spice for sprinkling
Recipe:
Make sure your butter and cream cheese are at room temperature and softened before you start. In a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Then beat in the cream cheese. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth, then beat in the coffee.
After piping/frosting, sprinkle with additional pumpkin spice
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About the Author
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- From: savorybites
- Name: Jessie
- About Me: Who am I? My name is Jessie and I’m a New Jersey native. I’m an undergrad business student at New York University, but like many people, I share a passion for food. After all, who doesn’t like to eat? For me, food is a sort of therapy and one of my favorite forms of socializing. I don’t consider myself well versed in the food world; I started cooking about a year ago and have had many baking disasters (probably due to my 25 year old oven). I wish I could call myself a food critic, but I lack the writing skills that captivate tastebuds. You’ll find that my early posts are devoid of any details helpful to anyone seeking a critical restaurant review. I’ve improved in my recent posts as well as added more and better pictures, but I still have a long way to go before I become even remotely close to a food critic. What do I like to eat! (?) I love to eat almost everything, so let’s talk about what I don’t like to eat. Well to start
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Comments (4)
oh. my. goodness. I will be making these ASAP... so yummy!
It seems like all the banks are charging new ATM fees nowadays. I kind of knew that it wouldn't last. Free checking accounts were only gimmicks to get customers to open accounts in the banks. When I first opened a bank account (and this was within 10 years), checking was not free, then a few banks started free checking and all the other banks followed suit because they were losing customers. However, I do think it is ridiculous the fees banks started charging/will begin soon. I am sure our money is not just sitting in the bank, it is out earning interest for the bank whenever we deposit something.
Anyway, the cupcakes look delicious. I also agree, treats from the "cupcakeries" are too expensive. I know, it's more work and it can be expensive if you do not have a well stocked kitchen. If you went to buy a dozen of these cupcakes, it'll cost probably the same if you had to buy all new ingredients to make them but surely you would not use the bag of sugar or flour, or carton of eggs. I also noticed that my simple buttercream recipes always turn out a bit too sweet or runny. I've had some by not adding too much powdered sugar and start beating the butter when it is slightly soft rather than nearly melted. I hope to test one of the cooked buttercream frosting recipes made with eggs soon.
I wish there are more inexpensive but delicous cupcakes out there. I love to try these.
I don't want to pay extra charges for my accounts!
Sometimes it's better to make certain cupcakes yourself if the ingredients aren't too expensive and you have extras to make another batch.