Mississippi Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

I have three confessions to make: Firstly, I am scared of baking chocolate cake and chocolate cupcakes. In many previous attempts, I have always over cooked the cake and in the process I have burnt the cake. Secondly, I have a very bad love and hate relationship with icing, a war that could never be won. I swear icing and I were enemies in a past life, because I could never successfully make good icing. Thirdly, if a cake involves electric mixing of some sort, I give up, because I am too lazy.

After many frustrating attempts with making chocolate cake and icing, I decided that enough is enough and I was going to give up. Then one day when I was bored and was researching cake recipes, I came across this recipe for Mississippi Chocolate Mud Cupcakes. The photo of the cupcakes looked so delicious, and the recipe looked quite simple, that a lazy baker like me could make it. I felt a twinge of excitement and decided to give this recipe a go and cook the cupcakes for some colleagues at work.

Lucky for me, I already had the ingredients ready to go. I still had a lot of baking chocolate in the pantry. The process of making the cupcakes seemed so easy. The first steps involved me putting all these ingredients into a saucepan and mixing them together, so easy. The next step involved pouring the mixture into a bowl and waiting for it to cool down, whilst trying to avoid not dipping my finger into the delicious looking mixture. (very difficult). Once the mixture cooled down, I whisked the rest of the ingredients into the mixture and then put the mixture into muffin cases in the muffin pan. Lastly, I waited 30 stressful minutes for the cupcakes to be ready.

Then voilà, the cupcakes were ready and they smelt amazing! Here are four out of twelve cupcakes.

I was so impatient and worried that the cupcakes may have not turned out as I planned. I decided not to wait for the cupcakes to cool down, so I cut one open and tasted some. The cupcake looked so moist and dense and it tasted amazing! I was so proud of myself.

The next step to making these cupcakes, was the one I feared the most. I could feel dread coming over me, I knew that soon it would be time for the icing. I decided to chicken out and not be brave, and decided to make a ganache instead. The ganache ended up being so easy to make, much less effort than making icing. The ganache was so easy to spread and it tasted delicious.

The cupcakes were all finished and ready to be eaten. I was so excited that I over came my chocolate cake fear.

The cupcakes ended up being very popular with my colleagues at work. The
Mississippi Chocolate Mud Cupcakes mission was a success!

The Mississippi Chocolate Mud Cupcakes recipe can be found here:

http://today.ninemsn.com.au/foodandwine/636162/mississippi-mud-cake

(I used brown sugar instead of caster sugar)

Coconut and Sour Cream Cupcakes

In a previous post, I mentioned how I love baking Coconut and Sour Cream Cake. This recipe was a easy to follow recipe that I found on my Twitter friend’s blog http://thesuzchef.blogspot.com.au . One day I decided to experiment and improvise the recipe to make cupcakes.

I ended up using the same measurement of ingredients as you would for the cake, however I cooked the cake for a shorter amount of time. (further explanation below) The outcome was many deliciously moist cupcakes. I can honestly say that these cupcakes were the best that I have ever cooked.

What I loved the most, was that the cupcakes were so moist and rich, that I could not stop eating just one. The texture was not dry. I found that the cupcakes tasted even better after being in the fridge in a container overnight.

My friend suggested that I put a cream cheese frosting on the cupcakes, but I opted for not putting any icing on the cupcakes, because they were perfect as they were. I served the cupcakes with whipped cream.

When baking the cupcakes, I decided not to use any skim products. I decided to use all full fat ingredients because I personally am not a fan of using skim products when baking.

The recipe can be found on The Suzchef’s blog http://thesuzchef.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/coconut-sour-cream-cake.html . The only changes that need to be made, is that you will be putting the mixture into muffin cases instead of a cake tin. The cupcakes also only need to be baked for 15-20 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden brown on the top and a skewer comes out clean.

I really love The Suzchef’s recipes, they are always so easy to follow. Trust me, if I can bake them, so can you.

Happy New Year 2013

Dear Subscribers,

Happy New Year to you all.

Sorry it took so long. I unfortunately sprained my ankle and have been laying in bed for three weeks. It was definitely one of the worse times of my life.

I was reflecting back on 2012 today and thought it was a great year of eating the most amazing desserts and trying new things. I was so excited to have the opportunity to try so many different types of desserts and chocolate, which I ended up discovering the most delicious things.

A big thank you goes to some of my friends that I met this year on Twitter. They have introduced me to new eating places and introduced me to so many different recipes. Special thanks goes to @thesuzchef , @selinahuihoong , @idreaminchoc , @gastronomous_a , @food_religion @KewpieLovesYou , @chocolatesuze , @bitemeshowme and @RamenRaff for all the awesome food recommendations, recipes and making me fat (joking). If any of you are on Twitter, I seriously suggest you follow them.

I have to confess that in 2012, I had developed a more fussier taste in desserts. I had become so particular about what I like and wanted. My friends started calling me a dessert and chocolate snob, a nickname which I cannot deny. I also had become more interested with Fair Trade and Organic products.

If there is one thing I have learnt from my dessert obsession, it is always quality over quantity.

My favourite dessert of 2012, will have to be Milk Bar by Cafe Ish’s Malteaser Chocolate Mousse Tart. I am always in awe hearing about the new desserts that Josh, the owner, is making. I honestly believe he is so talented, as talented as Adriano Zumbo.

Anyway, bring on 2013. I cannot wait to do more dessert exploring. My waist line may disagree though. But hey, you only live once.

Looking forward to sharing more dessert adventures with you all in 2013.

xx Ness