Thursday, February 14, 2013

Sinful ChocoHazeBerry Cupcake!

**My friend and Spelman Sister DyannaLynn from The High Life Suite is today's guest contributor! She whipped up this special Valentine's Day dessert JUST for Cooking With Whitney B! I hope that you all enjoy it. I can't WAIT to try it :)**

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Nothing says Valentine's Day like desserts and more specifically chocolate! Today, I have a sinfully delicious chocolate cupcake with hazelnut filling and chocolate icing, topped with white chocolate strawberry. Think that's a mouthful? You haven't seen anything yet!

What you need:

For the cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tspn baking soda
  • 1/2 tspn baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 stick of melted butter
  • 3 oz melted unsweetened chocolates
  • 2 eggs

Before starting, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by combining your dry ingredients; the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and the dash of salt. Set aside while you prep the remaining ingredients. I use a stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer and large mixing bowl. Add your melted butter, buttermilk tot he mixing bowl and mix on low. Turn the mixer up to medium and add in the 2 eggs. Now you can add in the melted unsweetened chocolate. Turn the mixer back to low and add in your dry ingredients; and allow the mixture to fully come together.



Prep your cupcake pans with liners and fill them 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Pop them in the oven and allow to cook for 18-20 minutes. Use a toothpick to test the center of the cupcakes in order to make sure they are done; the toothpick should come out clean when they are. Once they're done allow the cupcakes to fully cool before the next step.




I use a handy cupcake corer to remove a nickle sized plug from the cupcake(if you don't have one, don't worry, just use a sharp knife. Fill a plastic bag with your hazelnut spread of choice and snip the tip to form an opening just big enough to get a nice controlled flow. Fill each cupcake with a dollop of hazelnut spread.


For the Frosting


  • 1 stick of softened butter
  • 4 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup sifted cocoa
  • 1/2 cup milk


Cream the stick of butter in the mixer, or with your hand mixer. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, then the cocoa, followed by the milk. The frosting should be nice and creamy but still have enough stiffness so that it won't run all over the place. If it seems to be too stiff, add a little more milk.










Now you're ready to frost! I use a piping bag and tip; however, it's just as easy to use a butter knife.










For the white chocolate dipped strawberries

  • 1 bag of vanilla candy melts
  • 1 carton of strawberries

Now it's time to top with the dipped strawberries. Wash and dry your strawberries and set aside. Melt the bag of candy melts using a small but deep pot on medium heat. Stir constantly to avoid sticking and/or burning. Slowly dip the strawberries in the melts and place on wax paper or non-stick foil. Place in the fridge until you're ready to top the cupcakes.





This recipe may sound like a lot, but I promise it's worth it! Once you try it, I promise you'll never buy a box cake or canned icing again :-) Happy baking! Remember to visit even more recipes as well as posts on fashion & DC living over at my blog, The High Life.
~ Dyanna

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