Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

If there is one baked goodie that I’ve always wanted to make perfectly, it would be a chocolate cake or chocolate cupcake for this matter. I’ve probably scoured close to fifty recipes from  different cookbooks and magazines, internet sights, backs of  flour and cocoa boxes, newspaper food recipes (yup, from celebrity chefs “sharing” their secrets) in search of a moist chocolate cake.  This also meant close to a total of fifty so-so  chocolate cakes, not to mention the  pathetic looking ones I’ve made...haha. I would occasionally lose hope and tell myself to give up the search.  I would stop trying for a couple of months until an interesting recipe catches my attention again.

It is not that all of  the  recipes I’ve tried were total failures, some were good but not the specific type that I was searching for. These recipes yielded cakes from the light and airy chiffon to the classic and dense types.  The taste of most of them? VERY SWEET. Uggghhhh.  The others? So-so. ….hohummmn…  Until I came across  THIS recipe from Ginny Roces.  I found this from the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. 

This recipe produces  a not too light nor a too dense cake. It’s moist, milky, and fudgy without being too sweet. Since the recipe calls for dutch-processed cocoa, the deep dark chocolate color for this cake is also guaranteed. It is imperative that you strain the mixture first before pouring on the cupcake pans.  This ensures a lump free and smooth cake. This cake hits the spot for me, and I can truly say that my search for the perfect moist chocolate cake is over.

Like for the search for the best chocolate cake. I’ve tried A LOT of fudge frosting recipes.  This recipe is a keeper because it  is creamy, very chocolatey, and also not sickeningly sweet.  If you are planning to sell these cupcakes or bring them to a picnic or out of town trip, you would love this recipe even more because this recipe keeps well for many many hours under room temperature.  It won’t melt or be runny because of the added cornstarch.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting
(cake recipe adapted from Ginny Roces’ Better than Sex Chocolate Cake)
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour (Sift first, then  spoon lightly into measuring cup)

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 c dutch processed cocoa powder (Sift first, then measure)

1 cup  plus 3 tablespoons hot water

1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 large egg (room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

    Put cupcake liners on a 12 cup cupcake/muffin pan.

2. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

3. In a large pan, whisk cocoa powder and hot water till smooth. Add brown sugar and    

    oil, whisk until very smooth and slightly cooled.

4. In a small  bowl, whisk egg until frothy.  Stir into chocolate mixture.

5. Add dry ingredients in chocolate mixture. Mix well with a spatula.  STRAIN batter. 

    Batter will be  a little bit runny.

6. Pour into prepared cupcake liners  about ¾ full.

    Bake 15 – 17 minutes. Do not over bake. There should still be some crumbs clinging to

    a toothpick or cake tester  when you pull it out from the center.

    Remove cake from the oven. Let cool a few minutes before removing from pan.   

    Transfer to rack to cool completely

Fudge Frosting (adapted from Pinoyfoodblog recipes)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup regular white sugar
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup evaporated milk (I used Alaska)
• 1 T butter  ( I use Magnolia or  Anchor. Golden Crown Butter Compound  is also ok)

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and milk until smooth.

2. Strain the mixture. Do not skip this step because your frosting might not turn out

    smooth.

3. Cook with continuous mixing  in a heavy bottomed pan until thick.  (No need for a

    double boiler).

    This takes 10 -1 2 minutes to become thick over medium heat.

4. Off heat, add butter, and mix well.  Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.  Enjoy!