Ok, I have to start off by saying these are the BEST homemade cupcakes I have ever made.
Today I was feeling like being a little challenged. So I got on Martha Stewarts website and found these perfect cupcakes. They had three parts, the cupcake, the cream filling, and the chocolate ganache. I have never made any of those things before except the cupcake. So off to the grocery store I went, where of course I got completely off track. A new nail polish, a pink Halloween wig, and a magazine later, I was back on track to the baking aisle (this is why one should not go shopping at Wal-Mart, it is distracting!). Things I had to pick up: chocolate, corn syrup, and sugar. The kitchen at my house is usually always stocked with the basics, so I didn't need to pick much up. As soon as I got home and got some lunch in me, it was time to attempt this allusive "Boston Cream". Here is the recipe:
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Whisk yolks until smooth. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add milk in a slow, steady stream. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Pour 1/3 of milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thick, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
- Pass vanilla cream through a fine sieve into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
Now a word to the wise, have all of your ingredients ready! This cream gets thick and ready fast. I would have everything measured out, egg yolks separated and ready, and whisk handy! The most important thing is to not cook it on too high of a heat or you will scorch the milk, which would ruin your entire cream with a nasty burnt taste. Also important, temper your eggs! If you just pour the eggs in your cream, you will have scrambled cream eggs...yum. Keep your eye on this cream and watch for what thickness you want, I reached that thickness in about one minute once the eggs were added.
Now on to the cupcakes:
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tins
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour standard muffin tins. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Warm milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat.
- Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Beat in dry ingredients.
- Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture to batter, and beat until smooth. Add vanilla. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each halfway. Bake cupcakes until light gold, about 15 minutes. Let cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Let cool.
These cupcakes are pretty straight forward. It is so important though to make sure you truly beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes. It creates that texture of cake that you think of when eating a Boston cream pie. I found it was easiest to follow all of the steps except about the melting of the butter and warming the milk. I did that last after all of my other ingredients were combined so that I could babysit that milk, again so it didn't scorch! The cupcakes were pretty easy to get out of the pan, so the flour and butter is a good thing.
Once my cupcakes were out of the pan, I felt the sun coming through the windows and it was time for a riding break! What a perfect excuse to allow the cupcakes to cool long enough.
The finishing touches
When I took the cream out of the fridge, it was really firm and not very pliable. So I decided to forgo the idea of spreading it on the cut in half cupcakes and put it in a piping bag instead. The cream got nice and soft while it was in the piping bag since my hand warmed it up so it piped nice and smooth onto the cupcakes!
Time for the chocolate ganache:
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Directions
- Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add chocolate and corn syrup. Let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and let cool, stirring often. Use immediately.
Now this ended up making WAY too much ganache, I would cut it in half! Instead of heavy cream, I used half and half to save a little on the calories ha! I will say it again, don't scorch the milk! Heat it up on a low heat and be patient and let it boil from that lower heat. Once the chocolate starts to melt, you really have to whisk it in because the syrup wants to sit on the top of the mixture. Put down some wax paper and go to town covering those cupcakes! I did a nice little plop of the chocolate in the middle of the cupcake and let it drip down the edges, just like on a Boston cream pie. The ganache sets up really nicely in about 30 minutes, and they are ready to enjoy!!
