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Thursday, February 12, 2009

IronCupcake_007: Mocha Cappucino Hi-Hats

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Coffee
My entry: Mocha Cappucino Hi-Hats
Voting begins: Sunday, March 1 at 8 pm Central @ http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/ and will be open through Friday, March 6 at 12 noon Central.


These cupcakes are freakin good! I'm not just saying that. It was the consensus Tuesday night from every "wing nighter" that these are the best cupcakes I've ever served. Hurray! That makes them a perfect contender for my first (you hear that right, FIRST) entry for IronCupcake: Earth this month! I started with my favorite chocolate cupcakes, Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" cupcakes. I added about a tablespoon of instant coffee granules to the batter. Then I topped the cupcakes with Swiss meringue (just the meringue... not buttercream), to which I added more instant coffee granules. To finish them off, I dunked them in melted chocolate. This was my first time making hi-hats, and I had heard horror stories about the frosting falling off into the chocolate. Luck was on my side, though, because I didn't lose any frosting to the chocolate pit of death!

My meringue got a little grainy, OOPS! *DUN DUN DUN* Chocolate pit of death!
Hurray for bad lighting!
Meet Mr. Mocha Cappucino Hi-Hat!
Isn't he fancy??
Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cupcakes (I halved this and got exactly 15)
Makes 30 regular cupcakes OR 96 mini cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water (I dissolved 1 Tbsp of instant coffee into the boiling water for half a recipe)

Line muffin cups with paper baking cups. Heat oven to 350°F.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Fill cups 2/3 full with batter.
Bake 18-22 minutes (mine were done at 17) or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Coffee Meringue (adapted from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)
Makes enough for 15-18 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 Tbsp hot water
2 tsp instant coffee granules

Put sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees). Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, stir instant coffee into hot water until dissolved. Reduce mixer speed to low and add coffee mixture.

Chocolate Coating (This makes a LOT, but you need the chocolate to be deep enough to dip all the cupcakes)

2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Put the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over a pot of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is just melted. Scrape it into a bowl and cool slightly, about 15 minutes.



Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5

Frosting: 5

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
DIANAEVANS
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also,
CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in another treat as well.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by
FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM

Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

53 comments:

Kelly said...

That looks like the most delicious thing I have ever seen.

Kelly said...

That looks like the most delicious thing I have ever seen.

A Slice of Concentrated Love said...

Ah man. Are these the cupcakes I missed? Grr.

Megan said...

My mouth is watering already. I'm going to make some Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Frosting (a mix I got from Crate & Barrel) for Valentines day. I can't wait to try them when they're done. :)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

5's across the board? WOW, that means they were as delish as they look. 'Cause they are looking fabulous & I'd even like chocolate cake!

Good luck Cassie!
~ingrid

Nevis said...

Those look SO amazing!

veggievixen said...

can i have him?

Treehouse Chef said...

I am very impressed! What is the difficulty level? I think you got a winner there!

Treehouse Chef said...

I am very impressed! What is the difficulty level? I think you got a winner there!

Jamieanne said...

Wow, I know who I'll be voting for!!! Those look amazing!

Allison said...

your cupcakes are amazing. i might have to try these too!

Steph said...

Those look absolutely amazing!! I was going to make a coffee meringue frosting for this coming TWD for the devil's food white out cake. Have you ever made meringe frosting where you boiled sugar and eater then slowly pour it into the mixing bowl? I'm wondering which method (Swiss or Italiam)would prevent the meringe frosting from deflating?

Maria said...

I've never made these, but I really want to! They are awesome!

Lorie Orciga said...

You are awesome! I love looking at your blog and seeing what types of goodies you whipped up. These cupcakes look so, so, sooo YUMMY!

Lisa Smiley said...

These look and sound amazing! I tried hi hats last week cuz I had such a craving for them. The meringue flopped, but they tasted sooooo good. Too good! I can't believe how many I ate! I have to try hi hats again in hopes of beating my eggs higher and not getting low hats..so I'm going for the mocha flavored ones you made! Yumm! Sound like the cheesecake I made last week. Love coffee and chocolate together! Thanks for sharing!

Steph said...

CCC = chocolate chip cookie. Btw.. did your frosting deflate? That is.. if you even had any leftover the next day!

Lorie Orciga said...

Va Beezy...aka Virginia Beach! :) I know you're in VA too! Who knows, we could be neighbors and not even know it!? You know how small this area is.

Elyse said...

These look AMAZING. I love the chocolate-dipped meringue. They're just gorgeous!

apparentlyjessy said...

Wow these are really special Ms. Howtoeatacupcake! I have been wondering how it is you don't have entries into iron cupcake until now? Your cupcakes are so awesome :) I will definitely be voting for these ;)

Selba said...

Wow!!! This must be tasted heavenly delicious!

Sugar Daze said...

wow! those look so decadent. you got my vote!

Snooky doodle said...

what a nice entry. these look delicious yummy. I tried making these once but my meringue fall off :( have to try these again .

Sweet Treats by Dani said...

lookin good :)

Finla said...

I have seen theese in different blogs and your looks so good, i dodn't think i will have the nerve to make these.
Ofcourse you can send me few of these i would be really really happy :-)

CookiePie said...

Oh WOW - those look amazing!!!!

Rosie said...

Oh my 'gasp' what gorgeous cupcakes!!!

Rosie x

Mrs. Mumf said...

wowsers these look so fancy, not to mention yummy!

can't wait to try the recipe

Anonymous said...

very drool-worthy!

Stephany Benbow said...

This look so amazing! The soft coffee meringue with the chocolate coating is making my mouth water.

Megan said...

Oh yes I will for sure post them. I'm making them tonight I ran out of time yesterday. :)

Sweet Treats by Dani said...

new post up just for u :)

apparentlyjessy said...

bahaha, oops, sorry! I am so blonde sometimes. *blushes* I was rather tired when I read this...and mistook the 'first' entry as your first entry ever, not your first entry of many for the coffee challenge! I thought it couldn't possibly be right...I've probably voted for your past entries too! Bah, so blonde...vague and blonde!

Mignon said...

I love these. Can't wait to try them out. You are fabulous! Peace

Arlene Delloro said...

I'm still a little afraid of meringue, but these look wonderful!

VelezDelights said...

You're so lucky!! I tried dipping them once, and yea... I belong in the disaster category. These look great!!

I'll be voting <3

Julia said...

These remind me of the chocolate dipped ice-cream cones my dad used to buy me from Diary Queen as a kid. They look delicous! I hope you win. :)

The Fat Dietitian said...

I love it! Reminds me of Foster's Freeze dipped cones... :)

CB said...

Ooooh hi-hats!! So cute! I wish I could reach into the screen and eat one right now. YUM. Definitely gonna star this one to try soon. GL with IC! I've kinda slacked on it lately... Oops.
/Clara

cramitinyourface said...

OMG!
i wanna make these sooo bad!

i remember when we were debating on what we should make one summer but we were scared to make these because they might mess up!

well guess what? were making these this...summer?=[
thats a long time away
ima go cry now
=''''''''''''(



hahah
ilu and can't wait to make cuppiieeessss=]]]]

Gigi said...

[drooling] here! Okay, I really just want to eat the meringue and chocolate off all cupcakes. Frosting is my weakness.

Anonymous said...

Yum!

Unknown said...

OMG I tried to make them tonight and the taste was AMAZING, but I couldnt get the meringue to hold up well. Do you let it cool and dry a bit before you pipe it on? Do you let it dry on the cupcake before dunking it in the chocolate? Needless to say I made a mess, but it was a tasty tasty mess!

Unknown said...

These look even be better than the mocha bostom creme pie my personal baker made for my 40th birthday. Blast, she's 9 mo pregnant...

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Hey Morgan! I didn't even realize the meringue would form a crust until AFTER I had already dunked all the cupcakes and I went to wash the meringue out of the bowl. It was dry! It worked fine dipping them before they "dried."

steph- whisk/spoon said...

yum! i've been dying to make hi-hats, but am also afraid of the chocolate pit of death--hehe! yours look great!

Mignon said...

OK cupcake Girl. I made these and they were tasty and beautiful. Until the next morning when I woke up to the gooey mess when the hats slid off. But now I had to eat the fine mess instead of giving them to friends. So...what did I do wrong? Am I to let the meringue dry on the cupcake first?

Anonymous said...

Just "une tuerie" as we would say it in French ! That means they're inbelievable, incredible and even more ! I'm almost licking the srceen...

Mignon said...

At first I did put them in the frig. Then I took them out and left on counter. Then the hats slid off. But still, I ate them. My daughter did suggest to dunk all the way to the edge of cupcake. So the chocolate is stuck to the cake and enclosing the meringue. What a smarty pants.

Mignon said...

They deflated a bit. Does that mean they need more whipping? Sorry for bugging you.

Olivia said...

The chocolate coating on top makes it look soo good. It reminds me of a glorified Hostess cupcake.

Mo Diva said...

Oh I see, you are trying to make me cry because I cannot make these due to lack of patience and talent. you have serious talent. And I am jealous. Those are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Love it!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for this recipe! I couldn't believe that it tastes even better than it looks. I blogged about making it and took a bunch of pictures of my effort, if you're interested: here. Thanks!
-E