Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcakes for My First Blog Event :)

Ice cream cupcakes.. Why didn't we meet sooner. This is such an amazing combination.
I was blog browsing a few days ago, and came across Yummy In My Tummy's post. Yummy in the tummy was the name I had first wanted for my blog, but every combination of the above words was taken:(
Of all the blogs with the above name, this is the only active one. And it is a great blog :)
I saw the ice cream cupcakes post, and immediately felt the need to make these and take part in the 2nd Annual Ice Cream Cupcakes Roundup hosted by Scoopalicious and Cupcake Project for myself too. I saw the due date - 31st May, and knew I had to hurry up and make these. Got them done just in time :) Whew! [Luckily, the time difference works in my favor].

Update - Please vote for my cupcake at Cupcake Project or Scoopalicious. You stand to win an an 8-pack of homemade cupcake birthday cards just for voting :-)

After the recent mango overload, I've been missing chocolate. And for a blogger who claims chocolate to be her first love, it doesn't seem right that there's only one post about chocolate as of now. So of course, I made chocolate cupcakes from another favorite book of mine, David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate :-) I added Baskin Robbin's Gold Medal Ribbon Ice Cream in the center, and topped off with Chocolate Caramel Ganache. It was pure heaven :) I also drizzled Hershey's Dulce De Leche Caramel Topping. You must try this, NOW! :)




Black-Bottom Cupcakes [I only used the chocolate cupcake part]
Adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate
Yield : 12 cupcakes


1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1 cup (210 grams) light brown sugar [I used regular castor sugar]
1/3 cup (30 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/3 cup (80 ml) unflavored vegetable oil (I used safflower)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate [I prefer chopped chocolate because I can control the size, you can use chips too]

This is a very easy recipe to prepare.

1. Preheat oven to 180 C [350 F]
   
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and the salt.
3. In a smaller bowl, mix the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
4. Mix, and pour into muffin pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes feel springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean [Mine were done in 20 mins, so make sure you check them].

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
These cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 - 4 days.

The weird thing about this recipe is that it contains no eggs, but it still tastes the same. A nice alternative for vegetarians/vegans.

The instructions in the project mention filling the cupcake pan about half full. But since I was going for 'sandwich style' instead, I filled as usual. In hindsight, I probably should have listened to them, because -



I had to cut great chunks out of the middle to ensure the cupcakes wouldn't become ginormous. I then returned them to the pan, and added the caramel/chocolate [I used two flavors] ice cream. The pan lends the much needed support, since the wrappers are off.



After this step, I covered the cupcakes with the chocolate caramel ganache -


And there you go...

Since its so hot over here, I had the hardest time trying to click a picture without the ice-cream melting all over. Don't let the appearance deceive you, because these are the most gratifying things EVER! :)

I also tried a few cupcakes in the way it was meant to be made, according to the hosts. Since I hadn't accommodated for the added height, I cut the tops off, and also made a hole for added ice cream deliciousness :)



And then, the ice cream -

I topped this off with ganache after the ice cream had set a little, but I forgot to click a picture :(