Poire Belle Helene Cupcakes

Chocolate and Pears, who knew they were so good together?! Again, this is from the book Cupcakes Galore.

I dislike melting chocolate in a microwave. The likelihood that it will scorch is fairly high. Instead, I like to use the double broiler method to melt chocolate. I don't actually own one but the right-sized pot and bowl work extremely well. (I used 85% Lindt chocolate for both the batter and the chocolate sauce.)

 

I let the chocolate cool too long so when I added the flour the 'batter' looked like this--instead of nice and smooth.

I used a handheld mixer on low speed to mix the egg whites into the batter instead of folding them in, so I could achieve a smooth batter. I beat an extra egg white on the side and folded that in to help make the cupcakes lighter. I don't think this did much but it couldn't hurt. These cupcakes were dense though, be forewarned if you prefer light and fluffy cupcakes.


Just out of the oven. As you can see they did not rise much.

Frosted with chocolate sauce, what an excellent idea!

Topped with pears! Yum!

So a while ago I found a cupcake carrier! And it has 2 tiers! I was excited because I was carrying cupcakes in a regular cake container and you can imagine the drawbacks. The one I have holds 24 cupcakes. I can even use the carrier for a really tall regular cake because the cover 'expands'.


My recommendations:

• Work quickly after you add the sugar and the flour because the chocolate will set and instead of a smooth batter you will have a dry one. (which isn't much of a batter)
• Instead of adding the pears to the batter, add the chopped pears to the cupcake papers then add the batter. This will ensure that each cupcake will have pieces of pear in it.
• A small can of pear halves (mine had 5 halves) works well. Whether or not to buy sliced or halved pears is up to you--they depend on how easy it is for you to chop them. The halves are easier to cut and you can make decorative slices for topping your cupcakes.
• Sift the flour into the pot for the chocolate sauce, this will make it easier to incorporate the flour into the sauce and avoid lumps.
• A fast and easy way (I have not tested this so let me know if this works) to make this cupcakes would be to use your favorite chocolate cake mix, add the chopped pears, and use store bought chocolate sauce.