Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes - Happy Birthday to Prem..

Happy Birthday Prem ... May all the happiness be with you all the time...

I personally believe that siblings are the best gifts that you can ask for ... atleast when you are not fighting with each other and tearing each other's hair out.

Being the eldest in the family means adjusting to your siblings all time which is enjoyable most of the time and not so enjoyable sometimes. The age difference between me and my sister is just 13 months which made us look like friends rather than sisters.

When you know a person for more than 30 years, you understand things even without any words involved.....it is the same with me and my sister.

The above photos which were taken 30 years back are really close to my heart. The first one from the left is me and my sister with my parents, the second one is both of us with my mom. The small girl standing next to a beautiful lady is me and the bay one her lap is my sister.  The last one is my sister when she was 100 days old.

Career and marriage has brought a physical distance between us but in our case the very same long distance has brought us even more closer, not only with my first sister but with my second sister as well.

Now she is a mom for an adorable little cutie [Raghav Adithya] who is 8 months old...

I still can't believe that she is a mom as for me she is my sister who is not so soft spoken, sensitive, brainy and a CHOCOHOLIC ... There are so many dishes and snacks that she likes - lime rice, mutton chukka, thaen mittai [தேன் மிட்டாய் ], raw mango with chilly powder and salt etc, etc, etc... I had to go for chocolate based recipe as she is crazy after it.

I had a  tough time selecting a recipe for this post as I wanted something simple yet special ... something which has decadence. I stumbled upon this recipe in one of the foodie websites and I was impressed right away. I have altered the original recipe a little.

Moreover I used regular muffin tray and mini cupcake tray - cakes for mother and son. Prem , many more happy returns of the day.

These cupcakes are made especially for you and Adithya....:) Hope you like it..

For the original recipe go here 

For the cinnamon truffle:
Dark chocolate: 120 gms.
Double cream: 1/2 cups.
Cinnamon powder: 1/2 tsp.

Gently heat the double cream, chocolate pieces and cinnamon powder in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water. Let all the ingredients melt and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and cool completely. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for atleast a couple of hours until it sets.

For the cupcakes: Makes 12 regular sized cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes
Plain flour: 2 cups.
Cinnamon powder:1/2 tsp.
Ginger powder:1/2 tsp.
Cardamom powder:1/4 tsp.
Nutmeg powder: 1/4 tsp [optional]
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Baking powder: 1 tsp.
Bicarbonate of soda: 1/4 tsp.
Light muscavado sugar: 1 cup.
Caster sugar: 1 cup.
Large eggs: 2.
Vegetable oil: 1/2 cup.
Strong coffee: 3/4 cup [at room temperature]
Semi skimmed milk: 1 cup [at room temperature].

1.Preheat the oven to 170 C /325 F. Line a regular muffin tray and a mini cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
2.In a large bowl sift all the dry ingredients starting from flour to bicarbonate of soda twice.
3.Add the sugars and mix thoroughly.
4.In another bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together for a couple of minutes.
5.Add the wet ingredients to the dfry ingredients and mix well. Do not over mix. The resulting batter will be very wet.
6.Spoon into the cupcake cases until 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7.Cool the cupcakes in the tray for 5 minutes and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Assembling the cupcakes:
1.Using a melon baller or a stainless steel 1tsp measuring spoon [this is what I used] scoop out the top portion of the cupcakes.
2.With the same melon baller or spoon, scoop out the truffle and place on the top portion of the cupcakes and press gently.
3.Proceed with all the cupcakes and place in a tray. Place the tray in the fridge until serving time.

For the sweet fresh cream:
Double cream: 400 mls.
Icing sugar: 6-7 tbsps.
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp.
Cocoa powder: 1- 2 tbsp [for dusting].

Whip the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract together until stiff. Spoon into a large piping bag fitted with star nozzle. Pipe the cream on the cupcakes and dust with cocoa powder.

Serve chilled.

Notes: For the coffee decoction , I mixed 2 tsp of instant coffee powder with 3/4 cup of warm water and allowed it to cool to room temperature.

You can store the truffle for three days in the fridge. The left over truffle can be covered with melted chocolate and served as after dinner chocolates with coffee.

I have substituted light muscavado sugar [half the amount] for caster sugar. You can use only caster sugar if you wish.

Try different flavours for the truffle and the cupcakes.

Double flavoured and coloured frosting works just as well for the cupcakes - as given in the original recipe or combinations of your own like : Coffee and cream , Cinnamon and chocolate or Coffee and chocolate.

The cupcakes can be baked 3 days in advanced and stored in the fridge wrapped individually in cling film. As it is fresh cream frosting, make the sweetened cream just before serving.


Enjoy....

Scribbled by Reva