Chocolate Cupcakes with Burnt Sugar German Buttercream
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!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 185 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g dutch process cocoa powder
- 185 g granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 90 g neutral oil
- 80 g whole milk
- 85 g plain whole milk yogurt
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g boiling water
For the Burnt Sugar:
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 28 g water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
For the German Buttercream:
- 4 egg yolks
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 14 g cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 227 g whole milk
- 227 g unsalted butter, 2 sticks, room temp
- 75 g 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.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 421IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg
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