Week 9. "To Die For" Fudge Cupcakes

This recipe came from my murder mystery book that includes recipes...these cupcakes were eaten by the victim in the book!! I simply had to try them and decided to make them as a thank you to the AMAZING wardrobe and hair/makeup crews for Carousel! The syrup gives them an interesting and lovely aftertaste...I'd love to try them with lots of different flavored syrups! Yummm!



Fudge Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350ْ F, rack in middle position.

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce each)
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup raspberry syrup (the recipe called for Knott’s red raspberry, but I was only able to find a strawberry syrup, like for pancakes, and it turned out deliciously…so improvise!)
1 2/3 cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, room temp (1 stick)
1 ½ cups white sugar (not a misprint, you’ll use 1 ¾ cups sugar in all)
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk

Line muffin pans with cupcake papers. Microwave the chocolate, raspberry (or strawberry) syrup and ¼ cup sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for another minute. At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape. Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm. (You could also use a double boiler.)

Measure flour, mix in baking powder and salt, and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes) Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they’re thoroughly incorporated. Add approximately a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. When that’s all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk. When that’s incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of milk. Mix thoroughly.

Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it’s cool enough to add. (You don’t want to cook the eggs!) If it’s fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull your hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly.

Let the batter rest for 5 mins. Stir again by hand and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Fudge Frosting

2 cups chocolate chips (a 12-ounce package)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

If you use a double boiler for this frosting, it’s foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you’ll have to stir it constantly with a spatula to keep it from scorching (this is the method I used, and it worked great!)

Fill the bottom part of the double boiler with water. Make sure it doesn’t touch the underside of the top.

Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler, set it over the bottom and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately two minutes, stirring constantly until the frosting is shiny and spreading consistency. Make sure the cupcakes are cool before you frost them.

Give the frosting pan to your favorite person to scrape, they will love you even more.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I definitely suggest taste-testing as you go...especially the frosting...

* My sweet boy and I went grocery shopping for these ingredients, and when we couldn't find the raspberry syrup, we walked through the jam/syrup aisle to find a substitute. We wondered about preserves or jam, but decided it might be too thick. Still, it'd be a fun experiment, yeah?

I can't wait to try out more of the recipes from these wondiferous books! I shall post as I bake (now that I have lots of time!)