culinary experts... how long to bake these?

[sera]

Maybe non-experts know... but I''m pretty lame in the kitchen, so anyone who can help... help!

I recently made a truffle cake that was soooooo good; I want to make it for Mother''s Day, but it''s so rich I would prefer to make cupcakes. But... I don''t know how long to bake them!

Because it''s a truffle cake, when it''s done it looks like a cake that''s not quite done- it''s super rich and creamy. If I put a toothpick in it when it was done, it would not come out dry.

So... here is the recipe from The Whimsical Bakehouse (not sure if it would help you determine they type of cake and the baking time needed, but here it is anyway).

-------------------------------------
Preheat the oven to 350 F

Combine 8oz unsalted butter, 6oz semisweet chocolate and 6oz unsweetened chocolate. Stir until melted. Cool 5-10 minutes.

In the bowl of an elec. mixer at high speed, whisk/beat 5 large eggs, 1/2c sugar and 2t pure vanilla extract. Beat until volume triples and batter forms ribbon when beaters lifted.

In saucepan, heat to full boil 1/2c sugar, 1/3c light corn syrup. Remove from heat.
Slowly beat hot syrup into eggs at low speed. Beat at medium until batter reaches top of bowl (about 8 min.). Then at low speed, beat in half the chocolate mixture. Before fully incorporated, take off whisk attachment and fold in remaining choc. by hand.

Pour into greased and floured 9x2 round pan with bottom lined with parchment paper. Place pan in a larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with hot water. Bake for 40 min. The cake will look set. Cool on wire rack for 15-20min., then turn it out onto cake round. Cool completely, chill before glazing.
-------------------------------------

Can this recipe be used for cupcakes and if so, how long do I bake them?

Could I use the silicone baking cups and if so, can I place those halfway in a pan of water while baking?

 

[neatfreak]

Usually about half the time for cupcakes. But it isn't an exact science, you just need to monitor them. \

But I have to say, I don't necessarily think this recipe will work super well for cupcakes...

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/6/2008 5:28:51 PM
Author: neatfreak
Usually about half the time for cupcakes. But it isn't an exact science, you just need to monitor them.

But I have to say, I don't necessarily think this recipe will work super well for cupcakes...

Ditto. Take a toothpick to one of the cupcakes and if they look golden put the toothpick in and if it comes out clean they are done. That is the only test I know. What about trying one, first

 

[sera]

Maybe I should just do the cake again lol. It''s just SO rich it would be nice to give cupcakes to take home or share with the neighbors. And come to think of it, another reason it may not work well with cupcakes is that it doesn''t rise up... it''s a pretty shallow cake. Oh well.

The toothpick won''t come out clean... when done, the cake is kinda mushy/creamy until it cools, then it remains creamy. So even after done and cooled it wouldn''t come out clean.

 

[somethingshiny]

Oy! I''ve tried truffle cuppies. Not so good. They are just kind of a mush, like they don''t have enough even to keep them together.

Maybe bake the cake and then store half in the freezer??

 

[sera]

BOOooo... okay. I''ll just make the cake.

 

[somethingshiny]

If it helps, I''ll share. Can you ship it to IL?

 

[sera]

Date: 5/6/2008 8:48:53 PM
Author: somethingshiny
If it helps, I''ll share. Can you ship it to IL?

Oh sure! I''m sure you''ll smell the chocolate as the mailman is driving down the street.

Someone else here has GOT to make this cake, I need corroboration on how good this cake is lol! The texture is somewhat like cheesecake... a coworker calls it ''death by chocolate'' cake. I am so glad I bought the book with the recipe in it... this book has killer recipes! (If anyone wants to make the cake and wants the recipe for the chocolate glaze, let me know.)

 

[somethingshiny]

alright, you talked me into it, please share the glaze recipe.


My little sis is graduating high school on May 30. Her party is in the middle of June, and she asked me to prepare a dessert buffet. I think I know how to share my cake....

 

[sera]

Date: 5/6/2008 9:54:28 PM
Author: somethingshiny
alright, you talked me into it, please share the glaze recipe.


My little sis is graduating high school on May 30. Her party is in the middle of June, and she asked me to prepare a dessert buffet. I think I know how to share my cake....

Yay! It's a short cake... just a couple inches. I wonder if you could stack two? It's so heavy I think you would need to do so with dowels, though. Just be sure to cut it in narrow pieces; otherwise, people may cut big pieces not realizing eating it would result in a chococoma.

ETA: The recipe says to serve at room temp but also said, "If the cake is eaten while still warm, it has a silky-smooth, almost light texture very different than after it has been chilled." I served mine glazed and at room temp... it's dense and rich and bittersweet... yummmmm.

 

[sera]

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
(The basic recipe came form Luiz Silva- the MIL and author of The Whimsical Bakehouse adjusted the recipe. There is more than enough glaze for two of the truffle cakes because they are so short.)

In a metal over hot water, melt:
3 pounds semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

In a saucepand, warm over medium-high heat:
1 quart heavy cream
10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Stir until the butter melts, then continue to heat to just before the boiling point.

Slowly pour the scalded liquid over the melted chocolate, whiskting constantly until smooth.

Strain the icing through a fine sieve. The icing can be used immediately or cooled and refrigerated for up to two weeks. If it has been chilled, reheat slowly in a double boiler before using.

Yield: 11 cups

(With the addition of 2 cups of hot cream and 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier, it makes a fab dessert sauce for ice cream or plated desserts.)

 

[pennquaker09]

I have that book too!

I also don't think that this recipe will actually work for cupcakes because it's flour-less.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks!!

Sounds yummy.

 

[FrekeChild]

I'm sure you could attempt to make cuppies, but the problem would ultimately be that they won't come out of the paper well. With any flourless cake, it should shrink away from the sides if it has adequate greasing and flour on the sides. With a cupcake you don't have that option. The real way to do it would to grease a cake pan with butter and then use sugar instead of flour.

I would still try it, even if it only is with one. And they would have to be refrigerated overnight.

The way to check to see if its done is just like a cheesecake-wiggle the pan around and see if the middle jiggles like jello. In a regular cake, there should be a little bit of jiggling going on in the middle. With cupcakes it will be much harder to tell.

I don't feel like that answer was very helpful. Ultimately, I would say you should try it out. Maybe cut the recipe down to only a 1/4. I'll help...

1/2 recipe:
4oz butter
3oz semisweet chocolate
3oz unsweetened chocolate
2.5 large eggs (about 5oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1/6 cup light corn syrup

1/4 recipe:
2oz butter
1.5oz semisweet chocolate
1.5oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 large eggs (about 2.5oz)
1/8 cup sugar (twoish tablespoons)
1 t vanilla
1/8 cup sugar (twoish tablespoons)
1/12 cup light corn syrup (about 4ish teaspoons, or one tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon)

And basically I'm saying to cut down on the recipe so you don't waste a lot of expensive ingredients.

I would do it myself and report back but I have too much going on with finals now. I can make it on Saturday and let you know how it goes, if you like. I don't know when you're thinking of making it...

ETA: I totally think it's doable, but I think the way to do it would be to spray the cupcake papers with Pam and then basically cover that with sugar. Does that make any sense? When we did a flourless choc cake at school we had to butter the paper liner (it thicker more hardcore paper) and then coat that with sugar, and once it pulled away from the paper it was done. This is also how to deal with the sweet souffle-which is kind of what you're making only the proportions are different and there is a small amount of flour in the souffle recipes...And the mixing method is different as well.

 

[sera]

Wow, FrekeChild, thanks for the help! It makes sense to me.

I''m not sure if I''ll be doing this Friday or Saturday... most likely Saturday. I have to go shopping for Mother''s Day- what I had planned on doing (going to a teahouse for an incredible lunch/tea isn''t going to work as they are refurbishing and I don''t want to try someplace I hadn''t been... now I have to find presents for 3 people who don''t want any presents! All that to say, I will probably be shopping early Friday afternoon- with my bad knees I probably wouldn''t be able to stand any longer to bake unless I find some presents quickly).

I even have enough chocolate (2oz) left over from the cake that I wouldn''t have to purchase any more to do the 1/4 recipe (though I have a LOT of glaze left that should be used this week). Not sure I would have good judgement of the "ish" measurements... I have no clue in the kitchen lol.

 

[sera]

Date: 5/6/2008 10:36:02 PM
Author: pennquaker09
I have that book too!

I also don''t think that this recipe will actually work for cupcakes because it''s flour-less.

Which recipes have you tried? I haven''t tried any others yet.

 

[sera]

Date: 5/6/2008 10:41:09 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Thanks!!

Sounds yummy.

YW. Enjoy!

 

[Mara]

this may be late but i was going to say make a mini cake... instead of a big one. like a 6" pan or even 4" mini cake pans (set of 3 is sold at like Michaels from Wilton for a whopping $5 total). this is what i do when what i want won''t work for cupcakes super well. or maybe use a lined springform.

 

[Lorelei]

I find flourless cakes tricky to gauge when cooked, I normally use the spring test as well as the toothpick, with a clean finger, press lightly onto the middle surface of the cake, it it is cooked, it should spring back into shape.

 

[FrekeChild]

Yup what lorelei said is the best method for telling if any cake is done.

What is up with these food threads lately?!?!Ack! Its enough to get me cravings sweets and stuff.

ETA: For the -ish measurements you'd probably be fine just going with 2 tablespoons. I put the ish because the only thing that weighs 16 ounces when its volume is a pound is water. So every other ingredient is going to have a different volume and different weight. So thats what is up with that. This is why all professional recipes are in weight measurements-it's more precise than volume.

And Mara has a good suggestion too!

Ok! Enough cooking lessons unless Sera has another question.

PS-I'm thinking about trying it out anyway!

 

[sera]

Well, I ended up making the whole cake again because I had so much glaze left over. I still have a lot left over, so I may just make box-cake cupcakes for the youth group and dip them into the glaze. Next time I use the glaze for the small truffle cake I will cut the recipe down to 1/4.

This time I attempted chocolate butterflies with shimmer dust. They cake out better than the ladybugs because I used a tip for piping the outline, though I really needed a smaller one.

My family LOVED it. Here it is...

 

[sera]

I also made a Lemon Ginger Creamcheese Poundcake (a recipe from the same book). It took 6 oz of finely chopped crystalized ginger + the powdered ginger. I thought it might be too strong, but it had a really nice, refreshing taste with the bits of ginger and lemon zest. The glaze drizzled on is just fresh lemon juice and sugar. It was yummy. I LOVE this cake book!

 

[FrekeChild]

Um...yum!!!!I''m craving sweets enough, but now, thanks to you sera-I want to bake too.

BLAH!!!!

 

[sera]

Sowy.

I just had a lil slice of the lemon ginger.