Frosted Deception

A number of people have asked me if this blog was inspired by the movie Julie &Julia, to which I say an emphatic "No!" because I haven't even seen that movie for starters and I'm not exclusive to just one cookbook.  However, that said, if I were to pick a cookbook to follow, it might just be the one I was using last night titled "Chocolate: Cooking with the world's best ingredient."

I was inspired, as usual, by a chocolate craving attack, and so I started flipping through my books looking for something a little more creative than my usual brownies.  As I drooled over the different recipes in "Chocolate," I started cursing myself for not having the ingredients on hand to make some of the more delicious looking recipes (why on earth don't I have dark chocolate in my pantry??)  But finally, I came across something that seemed just right - Chocolate Fairy Cakes.  This was basically a recipe for chocolate cupcakes, which I've been dying to make for a while, so it sounded like a surefire winner, especially since I actually had all the ingredients on hand and wouldn't even have to fiddle with substitutions.

I began with the icing, because I have a terrible history with making icings so if this didn't work, there would be no point in baking the cupcakes.  Unless the base is cream cheese, I can never get them to come out right so for years I have avoided recipes that called for frosting, unwilling as I am to buy pre-made things.  But, to my surprise, I followed the directions and added the milk slowly, and voila!  Icing appeared in my bowl!  Very exciting, but sadly, this was to be the night's only success...

Next, I started melting the chocolate for the cupcakes.  I do this all the time directly in the pan for brownies, but I decided to try this double boiler business since sticking to the recipe worked for the icing, so why not here, too?  But when I attempted this, I was left with a mound of chocolate that simply would not liquefy.  So I decided to go back to the tried and true technique of melting it in the pan, and dropped my two ounces of chocolate into a small pan on low heat.  But just like before, only a mound of mushy chocolate appeared with no liquid in sight.  Finally, it dawned on me - what was different here from my brownie recipe that works like a charm every time?  Butter!  Butter makes everything better!  So I dropped the softened butter that would just be added later anyway into the pot with my chocolate, and voila!  A nice, velvety chocolate sauce.

From there, things continued to get weird - once the batter was assembled (which almost killed my hand mixer in the process - that should have been a sign of bad things to come...) it looked more like a mousse than a cake batter (probably because I melted the butter...).  But, since I had come this far, I decided to press on and bake it anyway to see what came out.  Who knows, maybe I'd get lucky like with the frosting?  And indeed, when they came out of the oven, they looked simply glorious!  Perfectly puffed cupcakes just begging for frosting.

And then I tasted them, or rather, the lack of taste.  How could a book called "Chocolate" steer me so wrong???

Into the trash they went, because we're technically dieting in my house and there's no point in wasting calories on non-delicious chocolate items (a very strange phrase, I know...)  I'm going to look for a better recipe, but I'd definitely take suggestions on how this one might be improved, too.  (Click "read more" to see the recipe.)

In the mean time, it'd be a shame to let the frosting go to waste...

Chocolate Fairy Cakes
From: Chocolate: Cooking with the world's best ingredient, by Christine McFadden and Christine France
 As usual, I cut this recipe in half but the frosting recipe doesn't actually make all that much, even in it's full incarnation, so you may want to double it.

For the cupcakes:                                                  For the icing:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped                      3 tbsp softened butter
1 tbs water                                                               1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups flour                                                        1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder                                                 1-2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

To make the icing, place the butter in a bowl and slowly add the confectioners' sugar in batches, stirring constantly.  Add the vanilla a drop at a time (I thought this was a little excessive, but then realized that the sugar soaks this stuff up really fast, so it's actually a good idea), stirring, then beat with an electric mixer.  Add the milk very slowly while beating until the mixture becomes creamy (give it a minute after each milk addition - the transition to creamy can take a few seconds.)  Cover and set aside.

To make the cupcakes, melt the chocolate and water in a double boiler (or mixing bowl on top of a pot of boiling water, if you're like me and don't own a double boiler).  Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl together, then add the melted chocolate, butter, milk and vanilla.  Mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth.  Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for an additional minute after each egg.  Bake in greased or lined muffin tins for 20-25 minutes at 350F.