Cupcakes Sans Frosting? Is that a Crime?
Turns out, cupcakes without frosting are pretty darn good.
Cupcakes Sans Frosting
Is baking cupcakes without frosting a crime? Why don’t you read up and I’ll tell ya’…
My eternal quest for the most delicious chocolate cupcake recipe had me questioning all I knew about the fancy cupcakeries in town. What do they offer? Conclusion: they offer unique flavors and luxurious ingredients.
First things first…quality ingredients here I come. I went to my favorite kitchen shop, Sur La Table, and found what appeared to be a high-end brand of chocolate wafers. Even the box looked pretty darn stupendous. This was going to be my inspiration. I was on the road to deliciousness. I located what looked like an amazing vanilla extract as well. I gathered the other ingredients at the local grocery store. The objective being to only purchase the “best of the best”, I looked for the best sugar, flour, butter, and even eggs.
My ambition was to bring out the deep, dark flavor of bittersweet chocolate. I looked through about 20 cookbooks and all of my own personal recipes. And after much deliberation, I created the perfect mix.
Starting with my Thermador Gas Cooktop and my ExtraLow setting I began putting together my masterpiece, adding the chocolate wafers and then the butter into the sauce pan. Stir, stir, stir. Once it became fabulously glossy, I removed it from the heat and transferred it to a mixing bowl. Next came time to add the sugar, eggs (one by one), vanilla and lastly, the flour gently folded into the batter just until incorporated. Finally, I filled the cupcake tins about ¾ full.
Into my Thermador Double Wall Oven they went for 25 minutes, just until the tops looked round and puffy.
Of course, they're not so bad with frosting, too.
Waiting for them to cool down was the toughest part. I could hardly wait to make my frosting….Alas, I broke down and I took my first bite of the cupcake…..my eyes got wide. By Jove, I had done it! This was the perfect cupcake. It had depth, it had subtle sweetness, it had density, IT HAD NO FROSTING, and it was wonderfully flavorful! How could something without the accompaniment of a fabulous topping be so yummy?
People who I speak with often feel that baking from “scratch” is a chore. This recipe proved to be so easy, and so delectable.
Try this recipe for your next baking project and I bet that you will impress the taste buds of even the biggest cupcake connoisseur.
Yours Unfrosted,
Chocolate Cupcakes
Serving Size: makes 12 cupcakes
Preparation/Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups Bittersweet Chocolate Wafers
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon strong coffee
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Thermador Cooktop with ExtraLow
2 Thermador Double Oven
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line 12 cupcake forms with paper liners.
- Melt wafers and butter in a double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth.
- Transfer to large bowl.
- Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla until glossy.
- Stir in flour just until incorporated
- Fill lined cups ¾ full.
- Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until tops are rounded and puffy.
*Okay, okay, so for those of you who would rather die than eat a “naked” cupcake, I have included one of my favorite toppings great for practically any baked dessert.
“The unfrosting, frosting”
Serving Size: dresses 12 cupcakes
Preparation/Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon coffee extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar (or more depending on your taste)
- In a chilled bowl, whip together all of the ingredients until it forms peaks.
- Pipe atop cupcake
Well…it looks to me like another “secret” to this successful recipe (and the frosting) is coffee! Love it! Can’t wait to try them.
What a yummy, tantilizing article. Thanks Laura! Can’t wait to bake this recipe (with unfrosting) and to hear about your next best of the best recipe!