I decided to make cupcakes as a going-away gift for the summer research student in our lab. I made
them a few months ago and they were surprisingly good; I would have never thought that sour cream could go into chocolate cake batter. The first time I made these I
frosted them with buttercream icing. For a more adult treat, add some Bailey's Irish Cream to the buttercream icing.
- I creamed the butter and the sugar, then added the sour cream.
- I beat the eggs separately with a little vanilla extract before adding them to the butter, sugar, and sour cream mixture.
- I sifted the cocoa powder into the dry ingredients after I measured it to ensure that it would be mixed evenly.
- I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mixed with a spatula. Then, I finished mixing the ingredients with a handheld mixer on low. (If you have ever tried to use a mixer right after you have added dry ingredients you have inevitably encountered the ‘cloud’ of flour. If you gently mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a spatula first, you can prevent that and ease clean-up.)
Because it’s summer and I would not be able to fit all of
the cupcakes in my refrigerator, I let the ingredients for the whipped cream frosting sit in a
bowl overnight and made it in the morning. I also added the chocolate dragonflies.
I melted Wilton Candy Melts in
a disposable pastry bag for the piped dragonflies. The body and the wings were piped
separately on wax paper and placed in the refrigerator to harden. To make
them, I piped warm chocolate onto the body and placed a wing on it. After
letting the chocolate set for a few seconds I piped chocolate on top of where the wing was
attached and placed the second wing on. I held the second wing on
until the chocolate set.
It is very important that the chocolate stays cold. When the chocolate starts getting warm, it becomes fragile. After
making a few dragonflies, place the remaining components back into the
refrigerator. It
also helps to make extras of the wings and bodies.
The recipe for these Mezzo-Mezzo Cupcakes can be found in the book Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.
