 |
|
|
|
Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers and Cinnamon Creme AnglaiseFrom Chef and author, Anne Byrn Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Once upon a time, a family had only two recipes for cupcakes -- chocolate and vanilla. Not any more. Anne Byrn brings endless cupcake variations to America's kitchens in her latest book, "Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor," which includes 135 amazing recipes for kids and grown-ups. A master baker, Bryn is the author of "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor," which have a total of more than 1.8 million copies in print. 
It was chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten of New York City who put little chocolate cakes with warm, melting centers on the map. The method he uses is to bake a rich chocolate batter with very little flour at a high heat until the sides of the cake set but the centers are still runny.This method works in a restaurant kitchen, but there is a more practical method for the home cook. This one uses a chocolate cupcake batter with a center of chocolate ganache -- that luxurious mixture of semisweet chocolate and hot cream, stirred until smooth, and allowed to cool. The ganache sinks into the batter as the cupcake bakes, creating a creamy molten center. Serve these "tout de suite", as the French would say, and have ready to go the dessert plates, forks, sauce and sugar for sifting. You will most likely prepare these special cupcakes for company, and I would recommend them heartily! Make the ganache the day or night before, cover with plastic wrap, and chill. For a bigger, bolder flavor, prepare it with Ghirardelli double chocolate baking chips, a bit less sweet than the typical semisweet chips. You can add onr tablespoon crème de cacao to the ganache to make it special, but this is easily omitted. Flavor these as you desire, by adding almond extract instead of vanilla, for example. Ingredients Chocolate Ganache Cinnamon Crème Anglaise Cupcakes Directions Make the basic chocolate ganache Place the cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place the chocolate chips in a large stainless steel mixing bowl. Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the liqueur, if desired. Cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 20 to 30 minutes so it thickens to a spreadable consistency. Let sit at room temperature for one hour or chill for 20 to 30 minutes so it thickens to a spreadable consistency. Prepare the cinnamon crème anglaise. Place the milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves, two to three minutes. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in a medium-size mixing bowl and beat with a fork until lemon colored. Remove the saucepan from the heat and ladle a large spoonful of the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks, stirring the yolks gently. Transfer the yolks to the milk mixture and stir to combine. Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, three to four minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Cover it with plastic wrap placed right on the surface, and place it in the refrigerator to chill. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly mist 24 cupcake cups with vegetable oil spray and dust them with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside. Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined and thickened. 
Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes.) Drop a heaping teaspoonful of ganache onto the top of the batter in each cup. Place the pans in the oven.Bake the cupcakes until the cake bakes up around the ganache, the tops are domed, and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks for one minute. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake cups, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on dessert plates, sift confectioners' sugar over the top, spoon the crème anglaise in a pool around each cupcake, and serve warm. Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to onr day. To reheat so the centers are molten once again, place the cupcakes on a microwave-safe plate and cover with paper towels. Heat on high power for 10 seconds, carefully remove, and serve. Excerpted with permission from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor, by Anne Byrn, copyright ©2005 Anne Byrn
Select another recipe from the list at the left or return to Cookin' with Good Morning America Recipes. |
|
|
|
 More Great Quick Recipes  Quick Korean Barbecued Beef10-minute CalzonesHot Spiced CiderCathy's All-Purpose BBQ Sauce15 Minute Tomato SauceGourmet Meal from Seven-11Bar NutsQuick StockChili MayonnaiseApple CrispCheese WafersCalifornia Wild and White RicePerini Ranch Steak RubMineira GreensPumpkin ParfaitBanana SmoothiePlacer BoricuaGreen Chile EnchiladasGreat "No Bake" CakeOvernight French ToastSaute'ed Bananas |
|||
|
| |||||||||||
|
NOTE: This site is not GMA or ABC!
Copyright ©2008, WCHS-TV8 |
