Wonder & Gratitude
  • Wonder and Gratitude FOOD
  • Contact
  • Wonder and Gratitude ART
  • Store

♥Happy Valentine's Day...

2/10/2016

0 Comments

 
“Love is like a hollowed out piece of chocolate, filled with melted music.” -Jarod Kintz

Tomorrow is my daughter's 17th birthday and Valentine's Day is not far behind. For me any celebration calls for chocolate. So I thought I'd share my technique for making an easy showstopper of a cupcake that you can whip up in time for Valentine's day or any time you need a little chocolate indulgence. You'll need to begin the recipe 24 hours ahead of time, but that's just to allow for refrigeration and time for the delightful cream (sooo delicious) to set up. Start with a baker's dozen of chocolate cupcakes, homemade (best) or store-bought. If you have more, simply increase the ingredients accordingly.Use the best quality chocolate you can afford as the flavor will be front and center. You will need a scale for this recipe as well that measures in both grams and ounces.

Showstopper Cupcakes

13 prepared chocolate cupcakes, cooled
500 grams Heavy Cream
pinch instant espresso powder (optional)
180 grams good quality Milk Chocolate(Lindt, Valrhona, El Rey or Callebaut are some brands to consider), finely chopped
4 ounces good quality Semi-sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a boil.. Remove from heat and immediately add chopped milk chocolate  and espresso powder to cream. Let sit 5 minutes, covered. Gently whisk until combined and smooth.

Picture
Picture
2. Immediately transfer mixture to a mixing bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Poke a slit in plastic wrap to allow steam to escape. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours.
3. Meanwhile, gently melt the 4 ounces of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. Have 4 sheets of parchment paper nearby. 
4. Lay out two sheets of parchment paper on a smooth, level surface. Pour half of chocolate onto one sheet. With an off-set spatula, spread the chocolate into a thin, even  layer. Place another layer of parchment on top of chocolate, smoothing it out.
Picture
Picture
5. Roll chocolate sheet up and insert into an empty paper towel or toilet tissue tube. 
Picture
Picture
6. Repeat with the other half of the chocolate. Place both rolls in the freezer to set, for at least 30 minutes or over-night.
7. After 24 hours, remove the cream mixture from the fridge. With a hand-held or stand mixer, whip the chocolate cream on medium  speed until thickened and the consistency is somewhere between whipped cream and  soft mousse. It will be fairly thick.
Picture
8. Remove chocolate rolls from freezer. On a clean sheet pan, unwrap the rolls, leaving shards of chocolate to use. Place sheet pan in freezer until ready to use.
Picture
9. Meanwhile, place whipped milk chocolate cream in  a pastry bag  fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the cream mixture on top of each cupcakes in a  generous rosette.
Picture
Picture
 10. Remove  chocolate shards from freezer. Top each cupcake with the chocolate shards as desired. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes lightly with powdered sugar. Eh voila! "Oohs" and "aahs" will abound! Share the love! ♥
Picture
Picture
Note: 
Cupcakes are best eaten within 24 hours. The cream will start to wilt in a day or two. Keep cupcakes stored in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temp 20-30 minutes before serving.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Lynda

    Welcome to my blog! I am a wife, mother ,former pastry chef, pet mom and creative who is exploring art, trying to practice gratitude as a way of life and attempting to hold on to a sense of awe and wonder about everything in my world. I live in Northern Colorado where I love to cook, play with art supplies, hike and ride my bike.  Thank you for visiting!
    ​

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All
    Almond Flour
    Appetizers And Snacks
    Art
    Artists For Love
    Asian Cooking
    Avocado
    Baking
    Barbecue
    Bar Cookie
    Bar Cookies
    BBQ
    Beans
    Beverage
    Beverages
    Book Club
    Brownies
    Burrito
    Caramel
    Chicken
    Chocolate
    Cookies
    Cupcake
    Cupcakes
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Easy
    Einkorn
    Entree
    Free Download
    Fresh
    Gluten Free
    Gluten Sensitivity
    Grain Free
    Gratitude
    Grilling
    Guacamole
    Hazelnut
    Healthy
    Ice Cream
    Jovial Foods
    Kale
    King Arthur Flour
    Lemon
    Light
    Lunch
    Mahi Mahi
    Main Dish
    Make Ahead
    Mango
    Mint Chocolate
    Mixed Media
    M&M's
    Mozzarella
    Nutella
    Oats
    Parfait
    Peanut Butter
    Pecans
    Photography
    Pineapple
    Pizza
    Pork
    Potatoes
    Poultry
    Ribs
    Salad
    Salsa
    Sauces
    Seafood
    Side Dish
    Smoked Sausage
    Smoothie
    Snack
    Snow
    Soup
    Spinach
    Stuffed
    Taco Seasoning
    Tomatoes
    Tutorial
    Valentine's
    Vegan
    Vegetarian
    Watercolor
    Whipped Cream
    White Chocolate
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Wonder and Gratitude FOOD
  • Contact
  • Wonder and Gratitude ART
  • Store