I promise, these chocolate cupcakes with burnt sugar german buttercream are unlike anything you've ever had before. The cupcake is a classic rich, chocolatey cake, while the buttercream is light and silky with a sweet, smokey flavor reminiscent of a campfire. The german buttercream does require several steps, but the cupcakes are made with a simple one bowl recipe. I used to not like frostings very much, but when I made german buttercream for the first time about one year ago, I fell in looooovvveee. As a buttercream with a pastry cream base, I find that it has the perfect balance of sweet and buttery. The burnt sugar gives it such an amazing depth of flavor that you'll want to eat it by the spoonful.
Ingredients you'll need to make these cupcakes:
The recipe for these chocolate cupcakes is fairly basic. It's a one bowl recipe and comes together in a flash. All you need is a scale and a whisk!
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll a little more than 1 ½ cups of flour.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder: Dutch process cocoa powder provides the best rich, chocolate flavor in this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll need a little less than 1 cup of sugar.
- Espresso Powder: The espresso powder only amplifies the chocolate flavor, you will not be able to taste it in the cupcakes. You can omit if you would like.
- Baking Powder: Be sure your baking powder is fresh by testing it in water!
- Baking Soda: Be sure your baking soda is fresh by testing it vinegar!
- Neutral Oil: Use vegetable oil, canola oil, or a light-tasting olive oil.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk provides the best flavor in baked goods.
- Plain Whole Milk Yogurt: Similar to milk, full-fat yogurt is best for baking.
- Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water.
- Vanilla Extract: Never skip the vanilla!
- Boiling Water: Freshly boiled water is added to the batter last to "bloom" the chocolate, amplifying the flavor.
This pastry cream recipe is my go-to, and works every time, without fail. Read below for the step by step process of how to make the pastry cream and how to turn it into a buttercream.
- Egg Yolks: You'll need 4 egg yolks for this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: You only need a ½ cup of sugar for the pastry cream, because the burnt sugar will be added later to the buttercream.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to thicken the pastry cream.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk will provide the best flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: You'll need two sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature.
Burnt sugar is extremely easy to make, so do not be intimidated by it! You only need 3 ingredients, and it takes only about 10 minutes. Read below for the step by step process.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll need about a ½ cup sugar.
- Water: Adding water helps the sugar dissolve and caramelize without crystalizing.
- Baking Soda: When the baking soda is added to the caramelized sugar, it will react and bubble up.
How do you make burnt sugar?
- Heat granulated sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
- Once it begins to bubble, increase the heat to medium-high and swirl the sugar (do not stir) to encourage even cooking.
- After about 10 minutes, it will turn amber in color. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda. It will bubble up a lot.
- Pour into a pan, careful to deflate the bubbles.
- Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces.
How do you make german buttercream?
- Start with the pastry cream - heat the milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer or about 200 degrees F.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together for 2-3 minutes until light in color.
- Once the milk is simmering, slowly pour half into the egg-sugar mixture, whisking at the same time to temper the eggs.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly. After a couple minutes, a layer of bubbles will form over the top and it will begin to thicken.
- Once the bubbles disappear, continue whisking for one more minute, then remove from heat.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly up against the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill overnight.
- Make the buttercream by beating the pastry cream for about 10 minutes on low speed until it warms up to about 70 degrees.
- Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, and beat on medium speed. If it looks curdled at all, continue beating on low speed until smooth.
- Blend the burnt sugar into a powder and add to the buttercream, mixing until fully combined.
A few tips to make these chocolate cupcakes with burnt sugar german buttercream:
- For the pastry cream, it can be difficult to tell when milk is simmering, so a good rule of thumb is to simply bring it to about 195-200 degrees F.
- I recommend making the pastry cream the day before so it has time to cool down overnight.
- You can also make the burnt sugar the day before, just be sure to store the pieces in a ziplock bag and store them in the fridge so they do not become too soft and stick together.
Happy baking! x
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Chocolate Cupcakes with Burnt Sugar German Buttercream
- Yield: 16 cupcakes 1x
Description
A classic rich, chocolatey cupcake paired with a light and silky buttercream that has a sweet, smokey flavor reminiscent of a campfire. A cupcake unlike anything you've ever had before!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 185g all-purpose flour
- 60g dutch process cocoa powder
- 185g granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 90g neutral oil
- 80g whole milk
- 85g plain whole milk yogurt
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g boiling water
For the Burnt Sugar:
- 100g granulated sugar
- 28g water
- ¼ tsp baking soda
For the German Buttercream:
- 4 egg yolks
- 100g granulated sugar
- 14g cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 227g whole milk
- 227g unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temp)
- 75g burnt sugar (blended into a powder)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with parchment cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- To the dry ingredients, add the oil, milk, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.
- Mix in the freshly boiled water.
- Transfer the batter to the cupcake pan, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before decorating.
For the Burnt Sugar:
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with butter.
- Heat granulated sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
- Once it begins to bubble, increase the heat to medium-high and swirl the sugar (do not stir) to encourage even cooking.
- After about 10 minutes, it will turn amber in color. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda. It will bubble up a lot.
- Pour into the prepared pan, careful not to deflate the bubbles.
- Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces and blending into a powder.
For the German Buttercream:
- Start with the pastry cream - heat the milk and vanilla extract in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer or about 200 degrees F.
- Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together for 2-3 minutes until light in color.
- Once the milk is simmering, slowly pour half into the egg-sugar mixture, whisking at the same time to temper the eggs.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly. After a couple minutes, a layer of bubbles will form over the top and it will begin to thicken.
- Once the bubbles disappear, continue whisking for one more minute, then remove from heat.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly up against the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill overnight.
- Make the buttercream by beating the pastry cream for about 10 minutes on low speed until it warms up to about 70 degrees.
- Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, and beat on medium speed. If it looks curdled at all, continue beating on low speed until smooth.
- Blend the burnt sugar into a powder and add to the buttercream, mixing until fully combined.
For Assembly:
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a medium star tip (I used Wilton 1M).
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe rosettes onto each cupcake.
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