I'm not a big chocolate person, but every once in a while I get a craving. Like this evening. This sprang from my imagination like Athena from the forehead of Zeus this evening. (Pardon the egotism, but it came out really well.)
Unfortuntally, this means I did not measure anything, so this is a bunch of guestimates for the bold.
Set up your cupcake tin with paper liners and heat oven to 350 degrees.
~ 1 85% (or something like that) cocoa chocolate bar. I used Lindt Extra Dark 3.5oz. I would suggest using a bar and a half.
~ 1/3 cup of margarine (almost one half...most of one stick) I actually think margarine is better than butter for this because many chocolate cupcake recipes include vegetable oil, which margarine is mostly made of.
~ 1 & 1/4 cup of sugar
~ 2 eggs
~ 1 (and a bit) Tsp of vanilla.
~ Dash of salt
~ 1 1/4 Tsp of baking powder
~ 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk
~ 1 to 1 & 1/12 cup flour
Melt the chocolate bar in a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler, place a simple soup/cereal bowl in a collander and put in big pot of simmering water. (Or of course, you can nuke it.) Make sure the water reaches up 1/4 of the bowl on the outside. The trick is that the bottom of the bowl the chocolate is in can't touch the bottom of the pot because then the heat will be going directly into the chocolate and it will burn. Even if you save some of it, the burned flavor will stick. Avoid that.
While that is melting, cream together (with a electric mixer) the butter and sugar. Add melted chocolate and mx in quickly! (The trick with using real chocolate instead of chocolate powder is that you have extra moisture that will thicken/sieze up as it cools. So don't let it sit.)
Add eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
From here you will alternate mixing in milk and flour until the batter gets slighty thicker than one would normally have for cake batter. It is still fluid, but you can't pour this batter. You have to spoon it into the cupcake liners.
Fill the cupcake liners to 3/4 of the way. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes. Start checking at 14 minutes. I think it was more like 18 minutes, but I was also fixing dinner, so I can't be sure. They will be done when the top springs back at a light touch.
Cool on rack, first in tin, then out.
Frost with buttercream frosting.
(Butter or margarine, vanilla, salt, wee bit of milk and lots of powdered sugar. Mix to correct consistency.)
Makes 14 to 16 cupcakes.
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Kip's Cookery
Non-FictionWhile you all are waiting (patiently) for more John & Jenny's adventures in India, I thought I would share another of my creative sides.
