Verbal Intercourse: November 2010

My nephews 12th birthday was Nov. 11 and he asked me to make his cake, Me knowing he is a chocolate FREAK! Thats him second from right lol

I decided to find a recipe for a rich chocolate cupcake & very chocolate frosting:
:cue angels singing here: Chocolate Caramel center cupcakes w/ a rich chocolate mousse frosting.

Ingredients for the Chocolate caramel Cupcake:
24 Werthers chewy caramel candies

1 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder(Hershey's)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Caramel Sauce:

10-14 Werthers chewy Caramels

¼ cup of Half and Half

Rich Chocolate Mousse Frosting:

1 cup of milk chocolate chips(Ghirardelli)

2 cups of Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 stick of softened butter

¼ cup of vegetable shortening (I used Crisco's baking sticks, they have measurements on the packaging like sticks of butter do so it makes it super easy to get the right amount)

1 cup of whipping cream

1 ½ cups of powder sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs.
4. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too thin – add a little bit more flour.
5. Pour batter into cupcake liners, making them half full.

*I got these sweet little cupcake liners from bakeitpretty.com

6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Take cupcakes from the oven and place a caramel candy on the top of each cupcake.

Bake for 5 more minutes, until the caramel has melted onto the cupcake.

Rich Chocolate Mousse:

1. Cream together the butter, vegetable shortening, and powdered sugar
2. Slowly add in cocoa powder and whipping cream
3. Beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form
4. In a microwave safe bowl, put your chocolate chips and ½ tbs of butter – Heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir until completely combined and melted.
5. Add melted chocolate mixture to the mixing bowl – mix until well combined

**Note: Do not over mix this frosting, if you do, it will begin to curdle and separate. It takes about 10 minutes for the mixture to form soft peaks and become frosting like **
Caramel Sauce:

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the caramel squares with the half and half. Stir continuously or else your caramel will burn

*I used my icing kit from bakeitpretty.com to decorate the cupcakes. I used my sweet pastry bag & the round tip, i then drizzled the caramel sauce over the top of each cupcake.

MMmmMMMMmmMmm ;]

If you or any of your loved ones are chocolate lovers give this recipe a try & let me know how much you love it! My step dad & brother popped these bad boys in the microwave & they said they were even more YUM-o so try that as well. Happy Baking amigos!