Chocolate Cardamom Fudge Recipe

These chocolate cardamom fudge balls recipe take just 5 minutes of work. And the results are mouthwatering. I’m making this for Diwali the Indian festival of lights this year, so I added a little Indian twist to it by adding the cardamom, because nothing reminds me more of Indian desserts than cardamom. This fudge recipe will be great for Diwali,, or simply as an easy sweet treat.

You melt together chocolate chips, condensed milk, cardamom and butter in a pan. When it all melts, let it cool a little and form into delicious chocolatey cardamom fudge balls. Easy, no?!

Cardamom powder is available in Indian stores. You can also make your own – break open cardamom pods, and remove the seeds inside. Using a spice grinder, grind the seeds into a fine powder. I grind extra cardamom and sprinkle it on my morning coffee. 

Other flavoring ideas
Keep everything in this recipe the same, except for the cardamom. Substitute the cardamom with one of these:
Mexican style fudge – 1/4th teaspoon powdered cinnamom, and a good pinch of cayenne pepper
‘Regular’ flavored fudge - A few drops of vanilla extract
Salted chocolate – 1/4th teaspoon sea salt sprinkled on top of the rolled fudge right at the end

Chocolate Cardamom Fudge Recipe

makes about 24 walnut sized balls

Ingredients
one 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)*
6 oz bitter sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour, optional
1/4th cup slivered almonds, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, see post above for other flavor ideas

* This makes a pretty sweet fudge. If you like it less sweet, use more bitter sweet chocolate and less semi sweet (but keep the total amount of chocolate chips the same – 12 oz or about 2 cups)

Method
1. Place all ingredients in a medium non-stick skillet. Heat on low heat, stirring occasionally till everything melts, about 5 minutes.

2. When the fudge looks completely melted, smooth and silky, remove pan from heat.

3. Let the fudge cool till its cool enough to touch. Then roll it into walnut sized balls. Place them in a single layer on a plate or cookie sheet.

3. Let the fudge balls cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

 

Easy Eggless Chocolate Pudding Recipe. Only 5 ingredients, 10 minutes!

 

I learned this recipe from Veena aunty, my mother’s friend in India. She is such a fantastic cook, and always so eager to teach others her recipes. I always learn new recipes from Veena aunty when I’m in India. I’ve adapted and simplified the original recipe I learned.

After you try this easy eggless chocolate pudding recipe, you won’t be buying that boxed stuff anymore! The great thing about this recipe is that you can use anything from 2% milk to whole milk. And you can vary the sugar to your liking.

Tips for a fool proof eggless chocolate pudding

-          Cornstarch as well as cocoa powder will form lumps easy. To avoid this make sure the milk is at room temperature

-          If there is a big temperature difference between the cornstarch mixture and whatever it is going into, it will form lumps

-          Despite taking precautions, if your cornstarch mixture does form lumps, you can easily rectify it by passing the mixture through a strainer and breaking up the lumps using the back of a wooden spoon

-          Make sure you use standardized tablespoon and cup measures for this recipe

-          The pudding will form a thin skin as it cools in the fridge. I quite like this pudding skin. But if you don’t, cover the pudding cups with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap is directly touching the surface of the pudding. Then refrigerate. This will prevent skin formation

-          My recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder. If you decide to use sweetened cocoa powder, reduce the sugar in this recipe by half. When the pudding is cooked, taste it, and add more sugar according to taste.

-          Cornstarch brands differ in ‘strength’. So you may get a slighter thinner or thicker pudding than mine. But it will still taste the same.

How to prevent chocolate pudding from sticking to its cup

Have you ever had a chocolate pudding and the only way to get all of it was to scrape the sides of the dish? Pudding, because of its consistency has a tendency to stick to the sides of its dish. This can make cleaning up a pain. The solution is simple. I learned this great little tip from Veena aunty, my mother’s friend.

Wet the insides of the pudding serving dish with water. Then pour in the pudding to set. The wet inside surface of the dish will keep the pudding from sticking to the dish, and cleaning it will be a breeze!

Above: see what I mean? The pudding comes away from the inside of the cup easily!

More eggless chocolate puddings..

My friend Radhika’s eggless chocolate pudding recipe on Just Home Made

Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate pudding recipe using melted chocolate

Easy Eggless Chocolate Pudding Recipe 

serves 2-3

Ingredients
2 ¼ cup milk at room temperature, anything from 2% to whole milk is fine
2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, I like Ghirardelli
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Make sure the milk is at room temperature. If you are using cold milk, place it in a medium saucepan and heat on low, till it reaches room temperature. Dip your finger into the milk, it should not be too hot or too cold.

Place the corn starch and cocoa powder in a bowl. Pour approximately half the room temperature milk into the bowl. Using a fork or small whisk, whisk well till the corn starch and cocoa powder dissolve into the milk and form a slurry. Try to break up any lumps, but if some lumps are remaining, that’s ok. Set the slurry aside.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract to the other half of the milk. Cook on medium heat till the milk gets hot and steamy, but not yet boiling – about 5 minutes.

Place a strainer over the saucepan with the hot milk. Pour the cornstarch and cocoa slurry through the strainer.

Using a wooden spoon, push the cornstarch cocoa slurry through the strainer. Break up any lumps and push them through. Make sure you scrape up the underside of the strainer so that you get all the slurry.

Using a whisk, whisk the pudding so everything is well blended. Keep whisking till the pudding boils. Let it boil, while whisking, till the pudding thickens and gets glossy, about 1 minute.

Turn off heat and taste the pudding. If you would like it to be sweeter, add more sugar now, and whisk well. Remember that the hot pudding will always taste slightly sweeter than when it is cold.

If you feel the pudding is too thick, you can whisk in a little more room temperature milk at this point. Remember, the pudding will get firmer once it cools.

Take 2 individual serving cups. Fill them with water. Pour out the water. This will wet the insides of the cups and prevent the pudding from sticking to the insides, making washing up easier.

Pour the hot pudding into the 2 wet cups, dividing it equally. Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator to cool. When the pudding is completely cold (about an hour), it is ready to serve.

Top with roasted nuts, shaved chocolate, whipped cream or fresh fruit.

Chocolate Sponge Cake Rolled with Chestnut Cream – a Guest Post

Today’s recipe for this chocolate sponge cake rolled with chestnut cream comes in the form a guest post by my friend, the amazingly talented Xia0lu of  6 Bittersweets blog. I tasted this cake when she made it, and I was blown away. I had no idea chocolate and chestnut could be so delicious! I’ve also tasted Xiaolu’s incredibly creative black sesame and mochi macrons - another testament to her baking skills! Infact, im so in love with anything she bakes, I ordered Xiaolu’s chocolate and red velvet cupcakes for my husband’s surprise birthday party. Needless to say, they were a huge hit. You can order her baked goodies here.

I was thrilled when Sala invited me to guest post on her blog. Not only because I was excited at the opportunity to contribute to her diverse collection of mouth-watering recipes and stunning photos. But also because she has become a dear friend to me in a short period of time. Starting with an early exchange in which she readily shared photography tips with me, Sala has been nothing but fun, warm, and generous through all of our interactions. I’m really glad that we live near each other, so we’ve been able to become friends in person and not just online. Thank you, Sala, for being a great friend, and thank you all as well having me here today!

I’ve always held a fascination for chestnuts. On one hand because they seem so sophisticated and European to me, especially in French desserts like Mont Blanc. On the other hand because they remind me of my early childhood in China. I recall smelling the fragrance of freshly roasted chestnuts as a little girl and growing excited anticipating the delicious stew of vegetables, meat, and chestnuts to come.

For today’s treat, I have chosen the more sophisticated route with a cake roll that is simple yet elegant. Though I’m more accustomed to using natural cocoa in my baked goods, the milder flavor of Dutch-process cocoa is preferable here, as it leaves the spotlight to the real star of the show: the chestnut cream. I particularly enjoy that this cake is light on the tongue, leaving you satisfied but not weighed down. If you’re looking for less conventional way to enjoy your chocolate cake, I hope you’ll give this a go =).

Chocolate Sponge Cake Rolled with Chestnut Cream Recipe

[Printable Recipe]

Adapted from Gourmet Traveller

Serves 6 to 8

XIAOLU’S NOTES: The homemade chestnut puree recipe makes more than you will need for this recipe. Extra puree can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for up to 1 year.

4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar (preferably extra-fine/caster)
1/2 cup MINUS 1 Tbsp (65 g) cornstarch
5 Tbsp (35 g) Dutch-process cocoa, plus extra for dusting
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup PLUS 2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup sweetened chestnut puree (Recipe below OR storebought is fine)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the base and sides a 12 x 16 3/4-inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper, cutting into the corners to fit and allowing the parchment to hang at least 3/4 inch past the tray’s edges.

Whisk eggs and sugar using an electric mixer until thick and pale (about 5 to 6 minutes). Sift cornstarch, cocoa, flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda together into a separate bowl. Then gently fold dry ingredients into the egg mixture with a spatula. Fold in butter.

Spoon batter carefully into lined pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the middle rack of the oven until the cake springs back when lightly pressed (10 to 12 minutes). Remove from oven and carefully turn cake out onto a tea towel lined with fresh parchment paper. Peel off the other parchment paper from the cake. With the short side facing you, roll the cake within the tea towel to form a log. Let stand until just cool (8 to 10 minutes).

Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form (refrigerate if not using immediately). Unroll cake and spread it with an even layer of chestnut purée, then spread only the 1/2 of the cake closest to you with cream, leaving a 3/4 to 1-inch border around the other edges as well. Reroll, dust with cocoa powder, and serve immediately.

Homemade Sweetened Chestnut Puree

Adapted from Kopiaste (click over for great step-by-step photos)
Makes about 2 to 2 1/4 cups

400 g boiled and peeled chestnuts [I bought precooked vacuum-packed ones]
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Fill a medium to large saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place all ingredients EXCEPT vanilla into a large Pyrex glass or other heatproof bowl that has a rim wider than the saucepan and which will not touch the simmering water when placed over the saucepan. Cover with a heatproof lid and let mixture boil for about 1 hour, checking occasionally to stir and make sure milk does not boil over.

Drain and reserve milk and let chestnuts cool slightly. Puree the chestnuts using a potato masher or in a food processor. Mix vanilla into the reserved milk, then add milk back into the puree a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency and sweetness is reached. Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate or freeze until needed.

No Bake Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Watching snippets of the royal wedding on TV, and seeing Prince Williams groom’s cake – a chocolate biscuit cake – reminded me of the chocolate biscuit cakes of my childhood. Because my mother grew up in the UK before moving to India, we had a lot of British treats in our home in India. Chocolate biscuit cake was one of them. This recipe is simple to make, and requires no baking (which is why it’s also called a fridge cake).

As kids in India, we used to make this recipe with Indian Marie biscuits. We’d dip them whole into chocolate sauce, and stack them up – towers of chocolate biscuit goodness!

 

If you can find British digestive biscuits, they are the BEST for this recipe. I was thrilled beyond belief to find British McVities digestive biscuits in the International aisle of my local grocery store! I believe you can also find them at world market.

A digestive biscuit is a coarse wheat cookie, flaky, no too sweet and oh-so-delish. I wonder why it is “digestive”; must be because it has a bit more fiber than a regular cookie.

Substitutes for British digestive biscuits

- American graham crackers
– British rich tea biscuits (my second favorite for this recipe)
- Indian Britannia digestive biscuits
- Indian Marie biscuits

If you are using butter cookies or graham crackers, remember that they are sweeter, you might need less. Also taste and adjust the sugar as you go if you are using any of the substitutes.

You can glaze this cake with a chocolate ganache, but I skipped that step because the cake is quite rich as it is.

More yummy chocolate biscuit cake recipes..

Official Buckingham Palace chocolate biscuit cake recipe by Darren McGrady, former personal chef to the royal family
Chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Oprah.com
Chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Daily spud
Royal wedding groom cake recipe by Brown eyed baker
No bake English chocolate biscuit cake recipe on Joy of baking

Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake Recipe

serves about 8

7 oz. McVities digestive biscuits (about 12 biscuits). See above for substitutions.
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (milk chocolate)*
2 oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa)*
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons sugar or honey

*You can vary the milk chocolate: dark chocolate ratio if you like. Just make sure the total amount of chocolate (milk&dark) is 8 oz.

Break each biscuit into about 10 pieces. Place the broken biscuits in a bowl.

Melt all the other ingredients together in a double boiler –pour about 1 cup water into a saucepan or pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and keep the water on a gentle simmer. Select a bowl that will fit over the saucepan, without touching the water (the steam from the water will melt the chocolate in the bowl).

Add all ingredients except the broken up biscuits, to the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk frequently, till everything is melted and you get a smooth sauce. Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate sauce.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan, and let the chocolate sauce cool for about 15 minutes. Gently fold in the broken up biscuits.

Line a loaf pan or cake tin with a large piece of glad wrap/cling film so that there is an over hang on all sides. Pour the cake mixture over the glad wrap and gently press down using a spatula, and flatten out the top. If your cake mixture is still warm, let it cool completely before proceeding.

Then fold the overhanging glad wrap over the cake. Using your palms, gently press down to compact everything. Refrigerate for 3 hours or till the cake is set.

Remove the glad wrap, cut into slices or cubes and serve.

Store chocolate biscuit cake in the fridge.

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Stonyfield Oikos Super Fruits Giveaway!

You can win all of these goodies!

-        2 free coupons for Oikos Organic Super Fruits Greek Yogurt*
-        Weleda All Natural Pomegranate Firming Day Cream 
-       Weleda Pomegranate Firming Serum
-        2 free coupons for Crofters Organic Fruit Spreads
-        Organic Pomegranate lip balm, made by Eco Lips
-        2 samples of Numi Organic Berry Black Tea (featuring   organic raspberry and raspberry leaf)
-        Simply Be Well Organic Pomegranate Moisturizing Body Bar
-        RW Knudsen Family 32oz.  Organic Just     Pomegranate juice and coupons

To enter

 

- Leave a comment below and tell me what was the best dessert youve ever had.
- For a bonus entry, mention this post & link to it in  your own blog. Then come back here and tell me you did so.

Contest ends Friday, May 6th 2001 9pm EST. US residents only. One random winner be picked. Check this post for winner announcement.

*Oikos sent me coupons to try the yogurt, and it is lovely :)

This giveaway has ended, the winner is comment #36, Usha!

Chocolate Beet Cake – a Ross Burden Recipe

This is the ONLY chocolate cake I ever make. After the first time I made this cake, I threw out every other chocolate cake recipe I had. This easy, moist beet and chocolate cake recipe comes from Chef Ross Burden.

The cooked beets (beetroot) in this recipe keep the cake incredibly moist. And if you didnt tell your guests there are beets in this cake, they will never guess! My favorite trick is to serve this cake, and after everyone has eaten it, ask “guess whats in it”?!

To cook the beets, peel about 3-4 large beets. Chop them into chunks. Place in a pan with just enough water to cover them. Put a lid on the pan, and simmer till the beets are fork tender. Add more water while cooking if needed. But make sure you cook away all the water, you dont want the cooked beets to be watery. Then place the cooked beetroot in a blender and puree. Weigh the amount of beets needed, and proceed with the recipe below.

You wont find a picture of the whole chocolate beet cake here because it was all eaten up, and I struggled to even save this one piece so I could photograph it!

Ross Burden’s Chocolate frosting recipe is so easy and decadent. Make sure to use the best quality chocolate you can afford!

The only change I made to Ross’ original recipe is to add a little vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. If you wish, you could also add a couple of tablespoons of brewed espresso to the batter, for depth.

Make sure you use a kitchen weighing scale and measure the ingredients in the recipe by weight.

Ross Burden’s Beet (Beetroot) Chocolate Cake Recipe

original recipe is here

serves about 8

for the cake
85 grams dark chocolate
3 medium eggs
300 grams sugar
240 ml sunflower or vegetable oil
300 grams cooked beets (see post above for how to cook the beets)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
30 grams cocoa powder
200 grams flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

for the chocolate ganache
250 grams dark chocolate, broken into pieces
250 ml heavy cream

Pre heat oven to 350 f.

Melt the chocolate (for the cake) over a double boiler. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and oil. Slowly add the cooked beet puree , the melted chocolate and vanilla into the egg mixture. Beat just untill combined.

Sift the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the beet batter. Fold just untill everything is combined. Dont over work or over mix the batter.

Spread a teaspoon of butter or oil over the surface of a 10 inch cake pan. Sprinkle some flour all over, and tap out the excess. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for about 30 minutes, or till a tooth pick or skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Baking time may vary depending on the pan and oven you are using.

While the cake is baking, work on the ganache frosting. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in a sauce pan, just till it starts to barely boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk till it forms a smooth sauce.

When the cake is done, cool it on a wire rack. Then pour the chocolate ganache over while the ganache is still warm. Let the ganache topping cool and set a little before serving.

Serve with Ross Burden’s burnt caramel icecream. Yum!

Raspberry Mousse Tartlets with a Chocolate Surprise

raspberry-mousse-pie2

 I had a really stressful week. When I was talking about it to my friend K, she suggested two things. Go over to her place for dinner. Or make something decadent and post it on my blog. (Notice how both involve food?!). I went with option two. What can be more stress busting than cooking (and then making S clean up)? What can make a girl happier than a luscious raspberry mouse tart with dark chocolate ganache hidden inside?! And what can make me forget my worries that reading your comments :) Stress be gone!

mousse-tart-diptych

 You can whip up this dessert rather quickly because there is no baking involved. The only time consuming step is chilling the tartlets for atleast 3 hours so that the filling sets.
 chocolate-surprise

I used store bought graham cracker mini tarts. You can use whatever pie crust you like. An oreo crust will be great too.

 The filling is raspberry jello powder or agar agar, mixed with a quick raspberry jam (recipe below), cream cheese and cream.

Whip everything together. Pour a little chocolate ganache at the bottom of the pie/tart. Then pour the raspberry mousse in and let it set.

You cant see the chocolate layer, but once you cut into the tartlet, there is a nice little chocolate surprise waiting for you.

Regular mousse involves eggs. But this recipe is eggless. You still get a wonderful, creamy yet light mousse from the addition of fruit pectin and jello powder or agar agar.

raspberry-mousse-tart

Raspberry Mousse Pie/Tart/Tartlet with Chocolate Surprise Recipe
loosely adapted from this recipe on Recipe Bazaar
makes about 6 mini tarts

6 mini graham cracker pie crust or any pie/tart shell of your choice. If the crust you are using needs baking, pre-bake it according to package directions

for quick chocolate ganache
2 oz dark chocolate bar
1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

for raspberry mousse
6 oz fresh raspberries
1 1/2 tbsp fruit pectin powder
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsp raspberry jello powder or agar-agar
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream

Start with the raspberry jam. In a medium pan, heat the raspberries, pectin, sugar and salt on medium heat. Cook till the mixture is bubbling and slightly thickened. About 4 minutes. Then press the raspberries through a strainer, discard the pulp and seeds and reserve the liquid jam. Let the jam cool.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric beater, place the boiling water and jello or agar agar and mix till dissolved. Then add the cooled jam and cream cheese. Mix with a fork till well incorporated. Pour in cream. Using the beater, whip/beat the mixture on high till thick.

For the chocolate ganache, place the dark chocolate and cream in a pan and cook on low heat just untill the chocolate melts. Be careful not to burn the chocolate

Divide the chocolate ganache evenly among the pie crusts. Let it cool about 5 minutes. Then pour the raspberry mousse mixture into the pie crusts, over the chocolate ganache. Refridgerate atleast 3 hours to allow the mousse to set. Serve chilled, garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings.

NOTE (added Oct 13 ’09): the raspberry filling was very slightly runny for me. (You can see that in the picture of the cut open tart above). You may want to use more jello or agar (3 tbsp jello/agar + 3 tbsp boiling water) to help the filling set better.

Chocolate-Banana Yin-Yang Cupcakes

banana-chocolate-cup-cake4

When life gives you bananas, you wish they didn’t all ripen at the same time. But because your wish will never come true, you should banana cupcakes! Or rather, half banana, half chocolate cupcakes. These are banana-chocolate, yellow-brown, yin-yang cupcakes. This recipe was born out of a need to use up overly ripe bananas and some baking chocolate that was nearing its expiry.

flour-sugar-vanilla-baking-poweder-chocolate-eggs-banana-butter-for-cupcakes

Cake flour makes things light and airy because of its lower protein content. If you don’t have cake flour, just use all purpose flour; you’ll have slightly denser, but tasty cupcakes.

cream-butter,-sugar,-salt-and-eggs,-then-fold-in-flour

Beat sugar, eggs and salt together. Then beat in butter and vanilla. Fold in cake flour, baking soda and baking powder. This is your basic cake mixture.

divide-batter-in-half-fold-in-chocolate-and-banana

Divide the batter in half. Add a mashed banana to one half and melted chocolate to the other half of the batter.

spoon-into-muffin-tin

Now you are ready to make your yin yang, half and half cupcakes. Just place a spoon of the chocolate mixture to one side of a cupcake or muffin tin. Then place a spoon of the banana batter on the other side, so that the muffin cup is filled one half with chocolate and one half with banana batter.

You could also make banana-chocolate swirl or marble cakewith both these batters. Spoon the banana and chocolate batters alternatingly onto a cake tin. Then using a spatula, gently make swirling patterns through the batter to get the marbled cake effect.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes and you’ll have banana-chocolate cupcakes!
 
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes. The mashed banana keeps the cupcakes incredibly moist.

       

chocolate-banana-cupcakes

 Note: there is a consistency difference between the banana and chocolate halves of the cupcake. I find that the chocolate part is a bit brownie-like (maybe because I used melted chocolate and not cacao powder?). Next time, to even out the consistency, I may mix the mashed banana into the entire batter and then stir in some cacao powder to one half of the banana batter.

 

chocolate-banana-cup-cakes2

The secret to perfect cakes

Don’t over mix the batter. Only fold/mix the batter till the ingredients have just combined. Don’t over handle or over mix the batter.
Don’t over bake the cake. You’ll land up with dry cakes if you over bake them. If your kitchen smells like cake, it means its ready to come out of the oven in a few more minutes. (A tooth pick inserted into the cake must come out clean).

Chocolate-Banana Yin-Yang Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes

6 tbsp butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (use upto 3/4 cup if you want it sweeter)
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
¾ tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup cake flour or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ cup mashed ripe banana (1 large ripe banana)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler.

Preheat oven to 350f. If you are not using a non-stick muffin tin, grease the tin with a little butter and dust it with a little flour.

Using an electric beater or stand mixer, whisk butter, sugar and salt on high speed for about 1 minute. Then add eggs and vanilla and whisk for about 4 minutes of high or till the mixture is pale and fluffy. Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Fold this gently into the egg mixture. Don’t over mix. Divide the cake batter in half. Mix in mashed bananas to one half and melted chocolate to the other half.

Spoon the chocolate and banana batters into muffin tins as shown in the pictures above. Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

Chocolate Cup Cake Baked in a Cup

 

chocolate cake in a cup

I just may have created the world’s most expensive cupcakes. Thanks to UPS. Let me explain…

My sister moves a lot for her job. And every time she moves, it’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to send her something homemade and chocolaty. She is moving this week and I sent her mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting.

Did I mention my sister lives in England?? It cost me nearly a week’s worth of groceries to send these cupcakes to England! But I suppose you can’t put a price on these things. Besides, the Ina Garten recipe I used for these cupcakes was just perfect. This is a chocolate cake recipe and worked very well for making cup cakes.I didn’t use the butter cream frosting that came with the cake recipe. Instead I made a simple chocolate ganache (recipe below).

I had some left over batter, so I poured the batter into a big oven proof coffee mug and baked it right in the mug….this one is very literally a cup cake. It’s a lot of fun to eat out of the mug.

choccup3crop
 
How to bake cup cakes in a coffee mug or cup

Make a batch of your favorite cake batter. I recommend Ina Garten’s chocolate cake recipe.

Start with clean coffee mugs. Make very sure that the coffee mugs are oven proof. Butter the inside of the mugs and lightly dust with flour. Alternatively, spray the inside of the mugs with non stick spray.

Pour the cake batter only half way up the mug.

Bake in a 350F oven.

Baking times will vary depending on the size of the mug you use. When the cake is done, the batter would have risen, and your kitchen will smell like cake. At this point insert a tooth pick into the cup cake. If its done, the tooth pick will come out clean. Make sure you dont over bake and dry out your cup cake. I used a fairly large mug and it took 25 minutes.

To serve, dust some powdered sugar on top or top the cake with chocolate ganache (recipe below). Serve with fresh berries of your choice.

Notes: Use the best cocoa powder you can afford. Try adding some kahlua or rum to the cake batter for a more intense flavor.

Microwave Method

I attempted a batch in the microwave. I used the same method above and microwaved the batter in the mug for about 3 minutes. It works. But the oven method tastes better and has better texture.

chocolate cup cakes baked in a cup

Chocolate Ganache
Makes enough to frost 2, 8 inch round cakes or about 60 mini cupcakes1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

 

Bring the cream to a simmer in a pan on low heat. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until melted. Turn off heat. Spread immediately on top of the cooled cake.

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