One more year! Today is the 12th birthday (I have a Tween!) of the Cup of Sugar :: Pinch of Salt website. No, not my (the human) birthday but the anniversary of when I started the virtual recipe collection (the website). It was a cold day in January 2011 that someone suggested that I start putting all my recipe ideas and pictures in one place and a few weeks later, the site was born. Twelve years and 2680 recipes, I am still at it. I didn’t think that was possible, or even likely but here we are. What’s to come, I don’t know, but you know where to find me — in my kitchen!
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
4 1/2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
For the frosting
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup store-bought caramel sauce / 1ce cream topping
2 and 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
additional caramel sauce to drizzle, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a muffin pan with liners.
In the top part of a double boiler over very hot, but not simmering, water, or in a microwave at medium power, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat or the oven, and let stand, stirring often, until cool.
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle blade on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Return the speed to medium-high and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the chocolate and vanilla. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overmix. Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible wisps of whites. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, and fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Fill the lined muffin cups a quarter way full, then place in a truffle and fill to three-quarters full, being careful not to overfill. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 14 minutes minis, for 20-22 minutes for regular and 26-28 minutes for jumbo cupcakes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled make the frosting. Place the butter and cream cheese into a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on med-high speed. Add in the caramel sauce and beat for one minute more. Add in the sifted confectioners sugar and, starting on low, mix until the mixture starts coming together, then turn the speed up and beat until light and smooth. Fill a piping bag and pipe a swirl on each cupcake. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce, if desired.
