I Blog What I Bake

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

In honor of this most seductive of holidays, I decided to post the recipe for Mini “Sexy Mexican” Cupcakes.  (Many thanks to Dianne for  the fun little nickname) The “Mexican” is because the spices used to make these are similar to those found in Mexican Hot Chocolate and the “Sexy” is because of the heat. Yes, these little cakes have a kick.  How much of kick, I leave up to you. I will provide my measurements here, but you can play with quantities as much as you like for desired spice.  Chili Pepper is a natural aphrodisiac, so use what you need.

I learned a few things while making these. One, mini cupcakes can be a pain in the a**.  They may be adorable and fun to eat, but they can cause some headaches, especially if you are like me and tend not to bake fussy desserts. The batter for these is thick and is difficult to spoon into the itty bitty paper cups. If you have a pastry bag, use that and pipe the batter into the cups.  This recipe also produces approximately 72 -80 cupcakes.  Lots of frosting. But honestly, they were worth it.  These are great for a party, to package as gifts or just enjoy at home with a special someone and a bottle of red wine.

MINI “SEXY MEXICAN” CUPCAKES RECIPE

CUPCAKES

Adapted from Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcake
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teapsoon  ground cayenne pepper
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter @ room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs @ room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted (I prefer Ghirardelli)
1 cup buttermilk (well shaken)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mini Cupcake Pan
Mini Cupcake paper liners
2 pastry bags with tips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

SPICY DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Adapted from “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting hersheyskitchens.com
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon  ground cayenne pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Here is everything you will need for the cupcakes. You can also use BAKER’S brand unsweetened chocolate. That brand has the blocks divided into 1 ounce squares so there is no guess work in the measurements.

First, chop up all of the chocolate and place in a double boiler of simmering water on low heat.

The chocolate will take about 5-10 minutes to melt and become nice an smooth. Once it reaches this stage take it off the heat right away. If not the chocolate will burn, smell awful and you will have to start all over. Set aside and let it cool to lukewarm. It’s really important that you let the chocolate get to lukewarm before adding it to the batter. If you add it when it’s piping hot you will scramble the eggs. No bueno.

Next sift together the flour, baking soda and all of the spices.

In large bowl or stand mixer, on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy like in the image above.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Next, add the melted chocolate, mixing until well incorporated.  Time for the dry ingredients.  Add the dry mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and the vanilla. With each addition, beat until incorporated, but do not over beat.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combined. The image above is what you should see in your bowl after all the ingredients have been combined. Very thick.

Line your cupcake tin with papers. Fill with the batter and place in an oven that has been heated to 350 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes.  If a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, they are good to go.

Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 1o minutes and then turn them out onto a wire baking rack to cool completely. Once all the batter has been used you will have a small chocolate cupcake army. Feel free to taste test as many as you would like.

While the little cupcake army is cooling, start the frosting. Above is what you will need. Hershey’s Dark Cocoa is the only dark chocolate cocoa powder I can find in the store. Other than that you can order dark chocolate cocoa powder from various online stores.

I always forget to take pictures during the frosting phase, so once again you are only getting instructions. Mix together the confectioners sugar and spices. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Stir in the cocoa powder until smooth. Pour the melted butter/chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Alternately add the dry mixture and cream beating to a spreading consistency. If the frosting looks to thick, add cream a tablespoon at a time until it is at the desired consistency.

Here are freshly frosted cupcakes. All 72 of them. I used a pastry bag with a small star shaped tip to get this pattern. It took forever and I couldn’t feel my right hand when I was done. Next time I will either hand frost the cupcakes or use a bigger pastry bag tip.

That’s all for today! Thanks again for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

“Forget love, I would rather fall in chocolate” ~Unknown