Everyone loves special drinks for the holidays…pumpkin spice latte, hot cocoa, and egg nog. I’ve notice that peppermint mocha is a new holiday favorite, and I thought those flavors would make a tasty cupcake. So here’s my take on a Peppermint Mocha…in cupcake form! Recipes are my modifications from ones found in Mini Cupcakes by Leslie Fiet, and The Whimsical Bake House by Kaye and Liv Hansen. This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.
Cupcake:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup hot coffee
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
Melt the chocolate in the hot coffee and set aside. Mix your wet ingredients together in a mixer. Add the melted chocolate until combined. Whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then blend into your wet ingredients. Beat on high for about a minute, then fill your lined muffin pan about half full each. Bake for about 19 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely before filling and frosting.
Filling: Mocha Pastry Cream
1 cup of half and half or milk
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract, or both!
1 tablespoon or more coffee extract
3 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
instant coffee, coffee extract, and vanilla to taste
Beat until fluffy the eggs, sugar and salt. Beat in cornstarch. Heat milk in microwave until boiling. Add slowly, on low speed, to the egg mixture. Put mixture into glass bowl and heat in microwave on high, stopping every minute to stir, until thickened, probably no more than 5 minutes total. Add flavorings and melted chocolate. Cool completely. Whip heavy cream with flavorings and powdered sugar. I heat a very small amount of cream and put instant coffee in it and let it cool, then add to my cream before whipping. The stronger coffee flavor you want, the more you add. Once cream is whipped, add to cooled pastry cream.
Frosting: Peppermint Swiss Meringue
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract, to taste
Put the egg whites, corn syrup and sugar in a double boiler (or your mixing bowl over a simmering pot) and whisk together. Heat until mixture reaches 174, making sure to stir the mixture so the eggs do not cook. Transfer mixture to your mixer and using the whisk attachment, beat until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and peppermint extract to taste. Frosting is best used right away.
To assemble:
I use an apple corer to make a hole in the center of each cupcake. Put Mocha French Custard in a pastry bag and fill each cupcake. Using a large star tip, I frost each cupcake then brown it with a small blow torch. Sprinkle on crushed peppermint candies, and ground coffee beans, chocolate and sugar. Trader Joes has just such a grinder! Then, enjoy! Caution: Frosting is sticky, but so tasty. But it can make a bit of mess. A plate and fork might make eating easier.
