Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Black Forest Cupcakes

Matt's parents brought us a big box of dried sour cherries from Michigan over the weekend so, of course I decided to use them as inspiration for this week's cupcake. For some reason the first thing that came to my mind was Black Forest Cake with its layers of sour cherries, whipped cream & chocolate cake.

Usually you would use canned cherries in the cake so I wasn't sure if dried would work or be too chewy. I had no need to worry as they worked out beautifully, packing quite a sour cherry punch which paired nicely with the dark chocolate. The only downside I found was the cherries had a tendency to stick to the cupcake liner when you peeled it off. I used foil cupcake liners & am wondering if the sticking would have happen if I'd used paper instead.

I chose to use rum to flavor my cupcakes because I read that is what they use in Austria (ok, it was also what I had in the house). Kirsh is also commonly used to add even more cherry flavor. You can also leave the alcohol out completely.

Black Forest Cupcake

Black Forest Cupcake

1/4 c unsalted butter
1/8 c Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
3 T water
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 T well beaten egg
1/8 c plain yogurt
1/2 T rum or kirsh (or just use vanilla)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 c dried sour cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tins.
Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (it will be a little bit lumpy).

Coat the bottom of each muffin tin with a little batter then sprinkle in a single layer of dried cherries. Finish filling muffin tins to about 2/3 full for rounded cupcakes or 1/2 full for flat cupcakes. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean. It's a moist cake, so don't worry if a few crumbs stick to your tester.
Allow cupcakes to cool.

Makes 4 - 6 cupcakes.

Whipped Cream Frosting
(Adapted from Allrecipes)
The gelatin in this whipped cream makes it hold up to piping, just make sure it is completely melted so you don't get lumps.

1/2 c heavy cream
1 t confectioners sugar
1/4 t vanilla
3/4 t cold water
1/4 t unflavored gelatin

Whip the cream, sugar & vanilla together just until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Mix the water & gelatin together in a small bowl and microwave briefly, about 10 seconds, until the gelatin is dissolved. Allow to cool slightly but not get hard. Add to cream & continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes.

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12 comments:

  1. Wow, reading your description of what went into these cupcakes literally has my mouth watering! I love the photo too - very stylish!

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  2. Those cherries look almost black...playd off well against the icing.

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  3. I like this...a little kirschwasser on the side... Mmmmm. Oh! Or even in the whipped cream...

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  4. mmm black forest... I always tend to slice off a huge piece... This should keep my portions in check.

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  5. Dried sour cherries, interesting :)

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  6. Ive just made some cupcakes with dried cranberries and they stuck to the side of the foil cases - will def use paper next time

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  7. Wonderful job on these, they sound delicious!

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  8. Jenn - Thanks is was a lucky shot using the fridge as a background.

    Peter - I seem to have a thing about taking cupcake shots that almost look b&w

    Nikki - oh what a good idea for the whipped cream..next time!

    Jude - That's why I bake cupcakes instead of cakes usually.

    Zita - this was my first time having them too.

    Beth - I found after sitting in the refrigerator for a couple of hour they no longer stuck

    Jeanine - Thanks!

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  9. Ohhh.I have never made Black Forest..This post might have changed my mind!!!

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  10. ahh! this reminds me of my younger days :D great recipie thanks for sharing

    great blog & hope to hear from you soon,

    Monika ♥

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  11. Cherries and chocolate will always be BFF's. I always pick those flavors out if they're available for dessert. These look so good!

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  12. I've been itching to try something Black Forest for days now, so I was very happy to find this recipe.

    I was given a jar of cherries soaked in alcohol last Christmas, so I decided to try it with those. It tastes delicious, but the wet cherries make the cakes very gooey and liable to collapse. Next time I'm going to bake it in ramekins and serve it as a Black Forest pudding.

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