Chocolate Devil's Food Cupcakes

So a small milestone passed last week.. I turned 21! It always sounded so horrendous, I wanted to stay away from it as much as possible, but now that I've turned 21, I'm actually enjoying it. People no longer look at me like a little kid. As for me, just turning 21 will bring no change, I'm sure, no maturity, I'm going to enjoy my teen dramas for a while longer :)


Anyway, the most pressing question, especially from all that follow this blog was, "Did you bake your own cake?". So here's the answer.. no I didn't! Even though I love baking, and it is literally a stress-buster, with all that was going on that day and the days leading up to it, I did not even TRY to find the time. I chose to enjoy the day as is, spending it with the people that mean the most!


But I have made cupcakes in a kind of belated birthday baking celebration. I was flipping through my cookbooks, and landed on Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, a fabulous book. I always wondered how Devil's Food cake tasted like, so I zeroed in on that recipe. According to Martha, devil's food typically includes melted butter, and the use of cocoa powder. Perfect! Different, yet sure to taste splendid, considering the millions of recipes for Devil's food there are.


These cupcakes were one of the softest I'd ever eaten, they have a fantastic crumb. I topped with a ganache, but these cupcakes are stars on their own, they were perfect even without the frosting, for a quick snack. The ones with the ganache were better for a sit-down, post-meal dessert! Both ways were delicious, that's why I suggest leaving a few cupcakes unfrosted, you'll want to taste those too!



The cocoa mixture looked like pure indulgence!


Devil's Food Cupcakes with Ganache
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes



For the cupcakes -


3/4 cup [80 g] Dutch process cocoa powder - I used natural
3/4 cup [185 g] hot water.
3 cups [360 g] flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 sticks [1 1/2 cup, 340 g] butter
2 1/4 cup [540 g] sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla/ a vanilla bean
1 cup sour cream - I used hung yoghurt


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a small pan, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.
3. In a medium pan, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter together with the sugar over medium heat. Transfer to the bowl of your mixer, and beat until mixture is cooled, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions. Stir in the vanilla, and then the cocoa mixture.
5. Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream/yoghurt, making sure not to overmix.
6. Pour into prepared cups, filling till 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, and then remove. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or upto 2 months in the freezer

For the ganache - [I had a lot of various kinds of ganaches leftover from previous cake projects, I used those. I'm providing the recipe given in the book.]


1 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup/honey


Instructions -

1. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl.
2. Bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer over medium heat, and pour over the chocolate mixture. Let it stand until the chocolate begins to melt. Now gently stir the ganache to incorporate.
3. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 until ganache starts firming up, and begins to hold it's shape. Use immediately.