Oh yes, I sure feel chocolaty this weekend
This week’s cupcake experiment are chocolate orange cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting and candied orange peel. I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food website and since all the ratings were so positive I decided to give it a try.
I think this is possibly my favorite cupcake so far, it tastes quite fresh with the orange and it since it has fruit in it, it seems a bit more healthier than any other chocolate cake (yeah, who am I kidding this cake ain’t that healthy but it sure is good). The cake has a very nice texture and is very moist.
As usual I was not very patient, so I ended up pouring the chocolate ganache over the cupcakes way to early before it got really thick. It didn’t spoil the taste of the cupcakes, but I think it would probably be even better to wait so you can have a nice thick layer of ganache on top.
I also made the candied orange peel myself, which is pretty easy, but it takes very long for it to dry (over a day). So if you want to make it yourself be sure to make the candied orange peel well in advance. You can find a recipe for candied orange peel here.

Ingredients (for about 18 cupcakes)
1 orange
100g dark chocolate , broken into pieces
3 eggs
280g caster sugar (I used a mix of white and cane sugar)
240ml sunflower oil
25g cocoa powder
250g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
orange candied peel , to decorate

For the chocolate ganache
200g plain chocolate , broken into pieces
225ml double cream

Pierce the orange with a skewer (right through). Cook in boiling water for 30 minutes until soft. Cut the orange in half and remove the pips. Whizz the whole orange (yes, also the peel) in a food processor until smooth; let cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease the cupcake tin, or use paper liners. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave for 2 minutes on High, stirring after 1 minute (I tried the microwave for melting the chocolate for the first time and I have to say it’s much easier and less messy) . Let cool.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually beat in the puréed orange, then stir in the cooled melted chocolate. Sift in the cocoa, flour and baking powder. Mix well and pour into the cupcake tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. (Check after 25 minutes and cover with foil if it is browning too much.) Allow to cool completely.

Make the chocolate ganache: put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Set aside until firm enough to spread over the cake – up to 1½ hours.
Using a palette knife, swirl the ganache over the top of the cupcakes. Decorate with strips of candied orange peel.

Ingredienten (voor ongeveer 18 cupcakes)
1 sinaasappel
100g pure chocolate , in stukjes gebroken
3 eieren
280g suiker  (Ik heb een mix van witte en ruwe rietsuiker gebruikt))
240ml zonnebloemolie
25g ongezoet cacao poeder
250g gewone tarwe bloem
1½ theelepel bakpoeder
gekonfijte sinaasappelschil , om te versieren

Voor de chocolade ganache
200g pure chocolade , in stukken gebroken
225ml room

Doorprik de sinaasappel met een spies (helemaal doorheen, ik vermoed dat dit voorkomt dat de sinaasappel openbarst). Kook voor 30 minuten in kokend water tot de sinaasappel zacht is. Snij de sinaasappel in 2 en haal de pitjes eruit. Blend de volledige sinaasappel met schil en al in de blender of met een staafmixer tot een glad geheel. Laat afkoelen.

Verwarm de oven voor op 180°C.

Vet de cupcake vorm in, of gebruik papieren of silicone cupcake vormpjes. Smelt de chocolade  au bain marie, of in de microgolf oven (2 minuten, eventje roeren na 1 minuut) (Ik heb voor de eerste keer chocolade gesmolten in de microgolfoven en moet zeggen dat ‘t veel gemakkelijker is en minder rommelig dan au bain marie) . Laat afkoelen.

Klop de eieren lichtjes met de suiker en de olie in een grote kom. Voeg de gepureerde sinaasappel geleidelijk aan toe, en roer daarna de gesmolten chocolade er door heen. Zeef de cacao, bloem en het bakpoeder en voeg toe aan ‘t mengsel. Meng goed en giet in de cupcake vorm. Bak voor 25 minuten in het midden van de oven, of tot de cake terugspringt als je er zachtjes op duwt in ‘t midden.  (Check na 25 minuten en bedek met aluminium folie als de cupcakes te donker worden). Laat volledig afkoelen.

Maak de chocolade ganache: doe de chocolade in een  hittebestendige kom. Breng de room aan de kook en giet over de chocolader. Laat 2 minuten staan, en roer dan tot een glad geheel. Zet opzij tot de ganache stevig genoeg is om te smeren (ongeveer 1 1/2 uur)
Smeer de ganache met een paletmes op de cupcakes en versier met gekonfijte sinaasappelschil.

Smakelijk!

I found an incredibly nice recipe for this week’s cupcake experiment, but I want to make them tomorrow, and since I was craving for something chocolaty yesterday, I couldn’t help myself from making a batch of brownies. While looking for cupcake recipes I stumbled upon this easy cacao brownie recipe at Smitten Kitchen. Since it doesn’t involve melting chocolate it’s sooo easy to make, and even though I still think the best brownies are made with real chocolate, these cacao brownies are coming very close to the real stuff
I was out of vanilla essence, so I decided to add some cinnamon (about 1/4 teaspoon) instead.

Ingredients (for 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies)
140 g unsalted butter
280 g sugar
80 g unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
70 g all-purpose flour
50 g walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 160°C. Line the bottom and sides of an 20×20 cm square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a bowl and microwave for 40 seconds or a little bit longer, until the butter is completely melted. Stir everything well together. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Ingredienten (voor 16 grote or 25 kleine brownies)
140 g ongezouten boter
280 g suiker
80 g ongezoet cacaopoeder
1/4 theelepel zout
1/2 theelepel vanille extract
2 grote eieren, koud
70 g bloem
50 g walnoten or pecan in stukjes (optioneel)

Plaats een bakplaat in het onderste gedeelte van de oven en verwarm de oven voor op 160°C. Leg een stuk bakpapier in een vierkante bakvorm van 20 x 20 cm zodat de bodem en de zijkanten bedekt zijn.

Doe de boter, suiker, cacao en het zout in een kom en warm op voor 40 seconden of een beetje langer in de microgolfoven, tot de boter volledig is gesmolten. Roer alles goed bijeen. ‘t Ziet er op dit moment misschien nog niet heel smakelijk uit, maar maak je geen zorgen, het wordt een mooi glad mengsel eens de eieren zijn toegevoegd.

Roer de vanille erdoor met een houten lepel. Voeg de eieren toe per stuk, roer telkens rigoreus na ieder ei. Wanneer het beslag dik, glanzend en goed gemengd is, voeg je de bloem toe. Roer tot je de bloem niet meer kan zien, en roer dan nog eens 40 slagen extra met de houten lepel. Roer de noten erdoor, als je ze gebruikt. En giet het beslag gelijkmatig in de bakvorm.

Bak voor ongeveer 30 minuten tot een tandenstoker in het midden ingestoken, er lichtjes vochtig van het beslag uitkomt. Laat afkoelen.

Haal de brownie eruit door de kant van ‘t bakpapier op te tillen, plaats op een snijplank en snij in 16 of 25 vierkantjes.

I’ve started a new experiment today. Since I’ve been baking a lot of cupcakes recently, mostly Raspberry Frangipane cupcakes, which are delicious and extremely easy to make (I make them from a frangipane flower mix, so I just have to ad butter, eggs and raspberries). But I read an article last week in Delicious magazine (the Belgian february edition) about couture cupcakes, and thought it could be a good idea to try out some new cupcake recipes.

I found a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes on Allrecipes.com that I’m trying out this week. The first batch is in the oven right now. I’m very curious to see how they will taste. I’m not used to using zucchini for sweet recipes, but that’s probably the reason why I wanted to try this recipe.

Ingredients (for 12 cupcakes)
190 g all-purpose flour
150 g sugar (I used 100 g sugar cane sugar and 50 g white sugar)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
120 ml vegetable oil
60 ml cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 g shredded zucchini
45 g miniature semisweet chocolate chips
30 g chopped walnuts

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla in a seperate bowl; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips (keep some chocolate chips aside to sprinkle on top) and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full, and sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top. Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes test done.

And the verdict is :***** very good, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Sometimes when everything seems to go wrong and you feel like you’re stuck, there really is only one remedy: CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE.
Yesterday I had a day like that. I just felt like the whole world was coming down on me. Luckily I had the great idea to make this cake. When I used to work in vegetarian restaurant ‘The Broers van Julienne’ in Antwerp during my student years, they had a wonderful chocolate raspberry cake, and even though this one is not made with their recipe, it is inspired by them.
It’s not very hard to make. This is the recipe:

ingredients (for 6 portions):
300 gr pure dark chocolate
150 gr butter
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
200 gr sugar
70 gr raspberries

preheat your oven at 150°C.
Melt the chocolate and the butter on medium heat.
Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar until the mixture is a bit fluffy. Mix the egg yolks with the melted chocolate.
Whisk the egg whites into peaks and softly fold it into the chocolate mixture.
Put this mixture into a square baking tin. Add the raspberries and bake for about 30 minutes in the oven. The top layer of the cake will be crispy, but the heart will still be a bit soft. Cool down and put in the fridge for a while…

Enjoy!