Best chocolate cupcake recipe wanted

[HappyAnniversary]

DD has a contest at work for holiday yummies, she wants to make chocolate cupcakes. I have tried to hunt through the cupcake thread but it is 70+ pages long! Help! If you know the page a recipe is on or you have one you LOVE, please post it. we are going to add mint flavor, but that can be done to any choco recipe. I am looking for a little more chocolate taste than the recipe I have been using but I want to retain a cake-like texture instead of heavy fudge.My current recipe uses 1/2 cup cocoa in 1 cup boiling water. Should I just add maybe 1oz semi-sweet chololate or 3/4 c cocoa. Would that change the nature of the cake much? I just ruined a batch by using the new beater blade attachment to the Kitchen Aid mixer. At least i think that is why it raised very little, even sunk in the middle. I think it over-mixed it.

 

[Mara]

well 'best' is subjective... i have tried a lot of choco recipes and i don't know that i think any of them are my absolute favorite. but then again i love a chocolate layer cake over any cupcake recipe i have tried.

but very popular here are a few that people seem to like--any of these are googleable.

martha stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcakes
ina garten's chocolate cupcakes
also dorie greenspan has one i've done in the past that seemed good (you can probably also google)

funny, but i also love the one on the back of the hersheys container, surprisingly enough...though i add way more cocoa.

i typically add more cocoa than recipes call for but since it works to 'take' moisture, you need to add moisture or fat back in, so i usually add oil to combat the extra cocoa. or an extra egg yolk or both. also if you want a richer chocolate taste, i like to use a darker cocoa, the boiling water is supposed to activate the flavor in the cocoa making it taste more rich as well.

for 'raise' make sure you have baking soda or powder working with your liquid of choice, some recipes call for both depending on your liquid.

oh and if you are adding mint it will definitely change the flavor a fair amt, i love chocolate mint cupcakes.

good luck!

 

[FrekeChild]

Messing around with any chocolate cake recipe is something that takes a lot of testing. The only thing I have to add to what Mara said is that what you can do is take out one part of flour and make up that one part in cocoa powder. So if you have just a regular chocolate cupcake recipe, you could sub in 1/4 cup flour for 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and the consistency should stay about the same.

The batch that did not rise was not due to being over mixed. If you went through what you did step by step, or provided some pictures, I could give you more of an idea of what went wrong.

I don''t really know what I''d do to alter it because I''m not entirely sure what you''re looking for. Unfortunately a strong chocolate flavor is not really achievable in cake form because the flavor is so diluted with flour, sugar, eggs and other ingredients.

 

[Octavia]

HappyAnniversary, do you use regular cocoa or dutched cocoa? They have quite different flavors...I can''t really describe the difference, but I definitely like regular better in some recipes and dutched in others. Maybe try the opposite kind of what you''re using and see if it makes any difference? Also, the quality of the cocoa you''re using will make a big difference -- the grocery store stuff isn''t usually the greatest. You can get gourmet cocoas online that are both cheaper and MUCH better tasting.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

The recipe has come out great 2x, then I messed something up the third time. I thought I did everything the same. Maybe old soda? But I thought I have been using it with no problems, I did buy new box. The recipe calls for adding 1 cup boiling water to the cocoa then cooling to room temp whcih I did, and checked temp with thermometer , maybe it was still too hot? I thought it was about 75-80 degrees. Eggs too cold?, it said room temp and I just set the whole shell in warm water for about 30 seconds to take the chill off. Does water soak into the shell and I got too much water? Mix didn''t look too wet . The cupcakes shrank away from the edges and didnt rise much and had lower center. Tasted ok once they cooled but son wouldn''t even try them and they were for his birthday.

I am not going to change a recipe now that I hear the ramifications can be unpredictable. Octavia the recipe called for NOT dutch processed and I used regular Hershey''s cocoa like previous recipes. Oh the only other thing (long list now, huh,

is I used LandoLakes butter when I usually use the store brand butter.

 

[Mara]

diff butter shouldn't make a diff, but did you use unsalted for both or was one salted?

recipes are pretty finicky...i can make a recipe 10 times and maybe 2 out of the 10 it will come out weird. probably because i didn't measure right or something was off. i just make it again and see.

one thing about chocolate recipes, if you want a stronger flavor. i don't use much butter anymore. anytime i am trying to 'strongly flavor' a cake, i use oil instead of butter. if i feel like i need a bit more of rich flavor i use 1/2 butter 1/2 oil but that is typically why best carrot, banana ...flavored etc cakes use oil. butter TASTES like something whereas oil just tastes like nothing when baked in. i did not like to use oil but now i have come around on it's benefits for certain types of cakes.

i've used a bunch of cocoas as well and i don't have a favorite...i actually took a cocoa class and they all have slightly diff flavors. ghiradelli powder is one that i use more than anything else in baking.

good luck!! maybe try one of the recipes i posted to see if you like any of them better. oh also i don't do anything other than a one bowl recipe esp for chocolate...i can get a dense cakey chocolate cupcake that holds a thick frosting with one bowl and i am too lazy to dig out the KA or the mixer.

 

[Rachel9]

How cute DD entering contest! My twins like deep chocolate flavor, so this one may be much for some, made for a couple years now. I like Chambord instead of vanilla, orange peel or Irish cream, like others posted, sometimes it takes a few tries to find a true favorite. The amount of chocolate can vary depending on brand, for the 82% dark 5oz seems to be enough, 7oz for Callebaut & same for Le Noir Gastronomie 61%+.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

5-7 oz dark cocolate [Valrhona Le Noir G]
3 Tb unsalted butter
3/4 C good quality unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 C AP flour
1/2 C cake flour
1 C sugar [original recipe had 1 1/2C something to keep in mind as your family may like sweeter goods]
1 1/2 ts Baking Soda
3/4 ts Baking Powder
3/4 ts salt
3/4 C warm water
2 eggs
2 ts vanilla
3/4 C or 5 heaping Tablespoons sour cream


Preheat oven to 350F
Place chocolate and butter in a large bowl, and microwave on defrost setting for a few seconds just to soften, stir with a large wooden spoon to melt. Sift cocoa, flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt over the melted chocolate, add warm water, eggs [kids are great removing the chalazae to avoid white specs] vanilla and sour cream. Blend with same spoon gently, maybe 30 strokes, fill prepared muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

[Rachel9]

Too late to edit, sorry big typo: .5 & .7 oz wich is a quarter of the chocolate bar, R.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

So only 1/2 of an ounce instead of 5 ounces, .7 instead of 7 oz? Thanks for the correction!!!!! I made the one-bowl martha Stewart ones today cos I thought it might be more goof proof but I stole an idea from your recipe by using 1/2 cup of cake flour and the rest AP flour. I promise I will try your recipe as written (with corrections) I am on a mission for my personal fav choco recipe. I used Hershey''s dark cocoa. Then to make the ones she wants to make, I added peppermint flavoring and the 1 teaspoon of instant coffee that the original recipe had. She is going to put some kind of peppermint on top. When we make these later, I am just the kitchen''s helper, she is so particular so she is totally in charge of the mixing, putting in the oven and decorating. I,assemble stuff, clean up and eat! I think they turned out very good. The batter was very wet and I was a little worried. How is it that some recipes are so wet and some so incredibly stiff and yet you still end up with cake in the end. I like the fact that only 3 T of oil in MS one-bowl! Compared to 1 1/2 stick butter in the other one. I also added a little corn syrup in the frosting and liked how it made it creamier. Thanks all!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Glad they turned out well.

After reading your description of how the others didn''t work as well, I''m guessing you''re leaving out something you wouldn''t think would affect them or it could be the weather or temperatures that are messed up.

Wait. What was the leavener? Baking powder or baking soda? And which one did you use both times?

 

[Rachel9]

YES HappyA, you are correct, I'm an idiot! Only half of an ounce for the 82% and a 'little' more for the lower %.
Same here, I don't mind going chocolate shopping [wonderful store down the road] nor clean afterwards, they get so passionate measuring LOL I have to say, after their cooking camp a few years back, they proved to be quite organized!

Good luck girls

 

[HappyAnniversary]

FrekeChild, I''ve used the recipe twice before with success and once disaster. The leavening is baking soda, and only 1/2 teaspoon. No other leavener at all. I have opened a new box, the old one was expired, ummmmmm a long time ago, but I didn''t think of that as expirable plus I think it is the same box I used before. they not only didn''t rise, but they shrank away from the cupcake indentation on the pan, so there way space between the paper and the pan--but did stay in the paper. Tasted ok.

BTW--when you use the foil cupcake papers, do you keep the paper inside or discard and bake in only the foil. (I did notuse foil in the ruined cc.

Rachel--it is fun cooking with my DD, but I have to admit, she really is a young adult, so this is just a continuation of our family tradition, especially at holidays.

Gotta go and check my lasagna, I''ve been the happy homemaker today, in the kitchen all day.

Thanks all!!