One question I have been asked quite a few times, since I started blogging, is if I have a favourite cookbook or chef. I really do not and tend to decide to cook/ bake something new if the recipe seems attractive to me. However, in the course of the past two years, two cookbook authors whose recipes haven’t failed me yet are Beatrice Ojakangas and David Lebovitz. I find their recipes very doable and like their simple, well explained and straight forward approach to cooking.
I follow David Lebovitz’s posts regularly, and one of his recipes I had bookmarked to try out were the German Chocolate Cupcakes. To quote from his post,
_“I could never understand how anyone couldn’t like something so tropically sweet, that it was the perfect partner for dark chocolate.
I can see people not liking things like black licorice or those the icky red peppers bits that people put in things that one has to carefully pick out and leave on the side of the plate. But a dessert made with coconut and dark, bittersweet chocolate? Sign me up!”
I echo that sentiment so I signed up to make some cupcakes for myself.
There is nothing German about these cupcakes (or the chocolate cake which also goes by this name) and the name comes from Samuel German who created a sweet baking chocolate for the Baker’s Chocolate Company. This chocolate cake typically uses chocolate and the frosting is made with chocolate, pecans and coconut.
I adapted this recipe from David’s who in turn adapted them from Lori Longbotham’s Luscious Coconut Desserts. I call my version German (not) cupcakes like the author of the original recipe, but for different reasons.
There were a couple of ingredients in David’s I don’t get here, and he offered me some alternative options for some other unavailable ingredients.
Here’s why mine are different. I reduced the eggs by one yolk because we don’t like an “eggy” smell or taste and so I tend to cut down on the eggs in my bakes to bare possible minimum.
I reduced the butter to 100gms because my butter comes in 100 gm slabs. I replaced the buttermilk with fresh home-made yogurt because I always have it on hand.
This one’s topped with chocolate-coconut frosting.
For the frosting, I left out the pecans as we don’t get that here. I replaced the egg yolks with cornstarch and here in India, unsweetened coconut flakes are called dessicated coconut. We don’t get evaporated milk either and David suggested I could use heavy cream or half-and-half. Again, I don’t get either, so I used the 25% cream I get here.
These cupcakes were very soft and light in texture. Unlike most American recipes where the sugar is usually on the higher side for our tastes, these are just right when it comes to sweetness.
I think the coffee, semi-sweet chocolate and the cocoa make for a very intense chocolate taste which is more suited to an adult taste.
I would suggest using a sweeter chocolate (or milk chocolate) and substituting the coffee with hot water if baking these cupcakes for children though my teenage daughter liked the dark chocolate version. Oh, and these cupcakes don’t dome very much and tend to be a bit flat on top.
These are the ones with the chocolate mascarpone mousse.
The chocolate-coconut frosting pairs up really well with these cupcakes, but then we like coconut. I can understand how only those who really like coconuts would like this frosting, though.
I have made these cupcakes a couple of times now and the last time I did, I had some home-made mascarpone which I used to make some dark chocolate mousse for another project.
So I topped these cupcakes with some of that mousse. Much as I liked the coconut frosting, I have to say the mousse took these cupcakes to an entirely more decadent level.
I have included both the chocolate-coconut frosting and the dark chocolate mascarpone mousse recipes here. These recipes are what I used on my cupcakes and have been adapted from the originals. This also makes both the frostings eggless.
German Chocolate (Not) Cupcakes.
(Adapted from David Lebovitz)
German Chocolate (Not) Cupcakes With A Choice Of Two Frostings
Ingredients
- xbc cup chocolate semisweet , chopped
- 1/4 cup coffee boiling decoction
- 100 gm butter , at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 egg whites , at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk , at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 tablespoon cocoa unsweetened powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup yogurt plain , at room temperature
Instructions
- First of all, pour the boiling coffee decoction over the chocolate and stir until it has melted. Set this aside.
- I use filter coffee decoction because it is always available in my kitchen and the aroma of that coffee is something I love. If you do not have this you can use espresso or mix up some powdered instant coffee in boiling water and use that instead.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat well till mixed. Now add the vanilla and coffee-melted chocolate and mix well.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in half of the dry ingredients into the above mixture, add the yogurt and mix till blended. Now add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix again till just blended.
- Whip the egg whites in a clean and dry bowl, till stiff. First fold a third of this into the chocolate batter, and then the rest till there are no streaks of white remaining. Do not overfold.
- Equally divide the batter between 12 paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 25 minutes, till the batter seems just set in the center. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, cool for a few minutes, and then remove the cupcakes from the muffin tins. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting them.
Sanjeeta kk says
Beautiful frosting and lovely cup cakes. Kids will love this.
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal says
wow, wow, wow, lovely looking cupcakes. I love chocolate in any form, so delectable, mouth watering. I love german chocolate flavor 🙂
Hari Chandana says
Wowwwwwwwwwwwww… Amazing presentation.. looks so so soooo tempting and inviting dear. .awesome job !! 🙂
Pavithra says
Wooooooooow thats awesome cupcake.. I love german cakes.. this looks super delicious…
Ambika Venkat says
Chocolate and Cupcake and chocolate cupcake, what can go wrong about this?? Beautiful cupcakes, lovely clicks..I wish I were your neighbor 🙂
suma says
Mousse frosted cupcakes!!!! Few things can be better:-)) Looks fab!!
Cooking Blog Indexer says
This is a heavenly treat for chocolate lovers…
ajcabuang04 says
Chocolate cupcakes are my fav!! These ones look great!!! I love your photos!Would you mind checking out my blog? :Dhttp://ajscookingsecrets.blogs…
Shabs.. says
Hi aparna…how are u doing…its been sometimes that i stopped by….That cupcake looks gorgeous…loved the pics and presentation….Have u thought of posting bigger images?….or do u prefer smaller ones?….Love,shab.
Bergamot says
The cup cakes looks just scrumptious. Loads of chocolate just I would love them
s says
wow?!! they look just divine…am going crazy for chocolate now!
oneordinaryday says
The mascarpone mousse sounds like a perfect addition. I love the piping too! So pretty!
PJ says
I totally agree with you about David Lebovitz’s recipes.Have tried quite a few recipes from his blog..Ur clicks are making me drool!Looks so pretty..
Vanamala Hebbar says
Wow very nice….
Rituparna says
Hi Aparna. Love the cupcakes all the work you have put into adapting all the ingredients. These look really tempting and will definitely be bookmarked to be made soon. Cheers !
Nags says
i just made a batch that didn’t dome well either and i loved it, so much easier to frost.
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
Beautiful cupcakes, A!! I am drooling over the mascarpone mousse!!
Jamie says
Love these cupcakes and love both frostings. A great chocolate cupcake recipe is always good to have tucked away and I want to try this one!
Cocina Savant says
these look so tasty! nicely done cutting down on the egg amount, i remember thinking the same thing when i came across the recipe awhile back. these look delicious!
George@CulinaryTravels says
These look delightful. So beautifully decorated.
Mrs Ergül says
Hi, I almost never have buttermilk on hand but always have homemade yogurt. Have you always successfully substituted the former with the latter? If you do, I will just do the same! 🙂
Aparna says
This is one in my collection of favourite cupcakes.:D, Ambika.Thanks, Shabs. I remember you requested more pics per post and I’m trying to do that as often as I can. :)With the present layout of my blog, I prefer this size of image. :)You should, Jamie.Mrs Ergul, substituting yogurt for buttermilk in German chocolate cupcakes, it works in this recipe but not in every one.If you do not have buttermilk on hand, just add about 1 tsp of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. This usually works for most baked goods.