Rich, chocolate cupcakes with chili and cayenne for a small bite of spice topped with homemade marshmallow frosting for a hot chocolate experience!
Welcome to week 2 of my birthday part month extravaganza! Not really an extravaganza just extra sweet and delicious baked goods! Gotta get my elastic waistline pants out! Woo!
I don't know about everyone else, but our weather has been on the fritz recently. One day it's 70 degrees, the next is freezing cold and rainy, back up to 65, and then 4 inches of snow. I am desperately holding on to the idea that Spring is coming/here and its just trying to figure itself out. I just want it to be warm. But on one of those cold nights we just had, my S.O. and I made some Mexican hot chocolate. I love Mexican hot chocolate. Rich in texture and chocolate with a slightly spicy finish. Topped with marshmallows or whipped cream (and a shot of liquor) and you have heaven in a cup. And then because we weren't gluttonous already, we thought how awesome Mexican hot chocolate would be as a cupcake!
I first tried to make these cupcakes by just using the Mexican hot chocolate powder instead of unsweetened cocoa powder and let me tell you my fiends, NOT the same. Cannot be substituted. Worst cupcake ever they were disgusting and I don't think I've ever thrown away uneaten cupcakes. It was a tragedy. So I messed around with them and voila! Lots of chocolate, lots of spice, and the marshmallow topping is just right. Please enjoy this concoction! This was seriously one of the most beautiful cupcakes to behold.
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup Gluten-Free flour, or regular all-purpose
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
Marshmallow Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tray with paper or foil liners (I used jumbo sized so they wouldn't spill over the sides).
2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, salt, cayenne, cinnamon, and chili powder.
4. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the stand mixer beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Pour about 2 tbsp worth of batter into each cupcake liner and bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
6. While your cupcakes are cooling, and they should cool at least 45 minutes to an hour before frosting, make your marshmallow topping! So wash and dry that stand mixer bowl you just used!
7. Fill a pot with water up to your first knuckle above your nail (about 1 inch). Place on stove and heat until boiling.
8. In the bowl of the stand mixer, whisk the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.
9. Once water is boiling, turn down to a steady simmer and place stand mixer bowl on top of water (you're creating a double boiler). Whisk egg white mixture steadily until temperature reaches 120 degrees, this should take about 3-4 minutes.
10. Place bowl back into stand mixer and whisk on high until mixture becomes white, glossy, and semi-stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and whisk another 30 seconds.
11. Once cupcakes have cooled, frost them with marshmallow! Enjoy! You could also just melt some marshmallows on top of the cupcakes in the last few minutes of baking. Or to be extra fancy, you could use a torch or the broiler to brown your marshmallow.
