Star Wars Cupcakes

This weekend we had Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) and today is Revenge of the Sixth. So in honor of Star Wars, I am posting directions for Star Wars cupcakes, complete with a chocolate Death Star. (These were actually birthday cupcakes I made in February.)  I used a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.

The cupcakes are fairly straightforward (and delicious!) The only two things I substituted were the sour cream in the cupcakes and the heavy cream in the frosting. I didn't realize that I had neither item on hand so I just substituted the sour cream with strained homemade yogurt and light cream for the heavy cream. The cupcakes and the frosting still turned out well. For the frosting I used the regular beater attachments on my hand mixer. I beat the peanut butter first, then added the confectioners sugar.

To make these Star Wars cupcakes I bought an X-Wing mold from ThinkGeek. (They were available a few months ago...) I filled the molds with melted candy melts, tapped them on the counter to get rid of air bubbles, and placed them in the freezer to harden. Removing them from their molds is a bit tricky. Since the wings of the X-Wing are thinner and therefore weaker than the body, they are prone to breaking when you unmold them. If they do break off, like most of mine did, just dip the broken edge into some melted candy melts and reattach it.

To make the Death Star I used a balloon. The idea came from an episode of Dessert Circus I had seen as a kid where Jacques Torres made a chocolate Easter egg using a balloon.  First, inflate your balloon to your required size. Do not overinflate. (I can only imagine what your kitchen would look like if a balloon covered in chocolate popped.) Tie your balloon with a ribbon or string.

I first covered about 3/4 of the balloon with chocolate using a spatula. In order to make it easier to hold the balloon, I placed the uncovered part of the balloon in a cup and attached it using tape. You will need to put a layer of chocolate on the balloon, let it cool, and repeat a few times to build a thick enough layer.

After I had a thick enough layer of chocolate, I used a pastry bag to drizzled melted candy melts.

If your fridge has enough space you can place the balloon and the cup in together. If not, wait until the chocolate had completely hardened (it will no longer look glossy), then remove the tape and carefully place the balloon in bowl to chill overnight. Since I did not tie the balloon with string, I had to carefully poke several holes in the neck of the balloon to allow for it to slowly deflate. Since this method took a while, I kept it in the fridge. If the chocolate got too warm while the balloon was deflating, it would crack. Slowly but surely, the balloon deflated. After the balloon deflated enough, I carefully peeled it away from the chocolate.

 

I placed the cupcakes and the chocolate Death Star in my cupcake carrier. I then placed the Death Star on the top layer and it fit perfectly... or so I thought. I didn't realize that the reason the cupcake carrier would not snap shut was because it did not fit. So I ended up destroying the Death Star. Yay?