So, I had a request earlier this week from a certain ER nurse who will be celebrating a very happy occasion in the near future. She has not been in the ER on the recent days when I have brought based goods for them to enjoy. So, I asked her when she was going to be working next and she stated Friday. In addition, there is another co-worker who has a birthday, so it is an excellent opportunity to make something for both. I asked her if she likes chocolate, and she said “love it!” That decided it.
I have been eyeing a recipe on Joy’s blog for the past few weeks, and have been wanting to try it. This recipe creates a cupcake with three unique layers, textures and flavors. The base is a chocolate cupcake, a hole is hollowed out of the center of the cupcake, and a small ball of peanut butter cookie dough is inserted in that hole, you top the cupcake with marshmallow and finally toast the marshmallow under the broiler.
Well, after a few hiccups, this recipe was completed this morning with a few small modifications. First the chocolate cupcake was different, as I did not have white vinegar in the house. I had filipino vinegar and three bottles of rice vinegar, but none of the old fashioned white version. I was too lazy to go to the store, so my wife suggested looking for an alternate recipe that does not require white vinegar. So, I went with the recipe that I found on Martha Stewart’s site. They were very light, creamy, and turned out great.
The peanut butter cookie dough was great, and the only thing I would change in the future with this is rolling smaller balls of dough. I made them slightly smaller than a golf ball, but I should have made them the size of a marble.
The cupcakes were made last night, and left to cool on the table overnight. I made the cookie dough balls last night, and refrigerated them. This morning I prepared the marshmallow topping, and everything was going great. Until I decided to switch the ziplock bags they were in. See, I forgot to insert the decorating star tip in the bag prior to adding the marshmallow cream to it. I was attempting the transfer at the kitchen sink, and half of the topping spilled in the sink. I stopped the transfer, went to the cupcakes and attempted to apply the topping to the cupcakes. This ended up in two cupcakes getting the correct topping. I stopped, and quickly drove to the store. I found a frosting applicator in a can and went with the vanilla flavor. This worked well. I packed the cupcakes in containers and brought them in to share with everyone.
I’ll definetely try this recipe in the future, but will take my time with the topping.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Cookie Dough
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (i know we’re not baking them, it’s for flavor)
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons natural peanut butter (if you have a nut allergy, 2 tablespoons of yogurt will work as a binder as well)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Marshmallow Topping
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
large pinch of salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
For the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
3. Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then spread with Easy White Icing using a table knife or small offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
For the cookie dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment (or with a large bowl and a wooden spoon) cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes in the machine. Beat in peanut butter (or yogurt if using) along with the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add all at once to the butter and sugar mixture and stir until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
Spoon a scant tablespoons size amount of dough in your hand. Roll into a ball and place on a cookie sheet. Make 24 little cookie dough balls, and refrigerate until ready to top the cupcakes.
For the marshmallow topping:
In a large pot, bring about 2 inches of water to a simmer.
In a large, heat-proof bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, corn syrup and salt. The mixture will be grainy, because of the sugar.
Place bowl over simmering water and whisk as it heats. The sugar will dissolve after about 5 minutes. Keep and eye on the mixture, it shouldn’t get warm enough to cook the eggs. Yucky.
Transfer the egg white and sugar mixture to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. With a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, on high, until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes) The mixture will be fluffy and glossy and look like melted marshmallows. It’ll be sticky too. Beat in the vanilla extract last. Cover, and set aside until ready to frost cupcakes.
Assembly:
Use a small paring knife to cut a 3/4-inch whole out of the top/center of the cupcakes. Don’t cut the whole center of the cupcake out… just make a little hole for the dough ball to rest without rolling off.
Place dough balls on top of cupcakes.
Place meringue frosting in a pastry bag (or large Ziplock bag) fitted with a medium-large tip. Use your instincts for the size of the tip. Any size (star or round) medium tip will do for frosting these cupcakes. Pipe frosting around the edges of the cupcake and over the dough ball in a circular motion. Frost all cupcakes.
Turn on oven broiler. Yea… it’s about to get real.
Place 12 cupcakes on a baking sheet. Place cupcakes under the broiler for about 1 minute. Don’t even close the broiler door. Keep an eye on them as they toast. You may need to remove the cupcakes and rotate the pan to ensure that they cook evenly. Once toasted, remove cupcakes, and toast the remaining 12 in the same fashion.
andhebakes 