September was deemed cupcake month…by me! Cupcakes are just so fun and relatively easy, plus I needed something to ease the boys back into school. For the next three posts, Liam and his longtime friend (we’ll call her Miss A.), helped me make and decorate cupcakes from scratch. These chocolate dipped marshmallow cupcakes made all three of us giggle uncontrollably. Why? The challenge was to dip the marshmallow frosting into the melted chocolate, and sometimes it just failed and turned into a slouchy version of itself. But we got the hang of it, and so can you!

THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Pick your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe for this puppy. Or, if you want to involve the kids and simply keep the afternoon to decorating, you can make the cupcakes ahead of time, and freeze up to two weeks. Mind you, the marshmallow frosting and the chocolate dip do need to be made on the day of decoration.

CHOCOLATE CHIP DIP

For the chocolate dip, which is what you dip the marshmallow topper in, I used bittersweet chocolate chips. Chocolate chip dip? Add a smidgen of oil like canola because it liquifies the chocolate and makes it dipable (I think I just invented a word.)

MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

For the marshmallow topping, use a bain marie, or simply heat up a pot of water to a simmer on the stovetop. Add the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl, then set over the heated water and mix with a whisk.  You’ll know it’s thoroughly mixed by using the super high tech test I call the two-finger test. Touch the mixture with two fingers, and if you cannot feel any granules of sugar, bingo. That’s when you know it’s ready to pop the bowl onto the Kitchen Aid and mix until it’s marshmallowy stiff. You really want it to stand up on its own without slumping, tilting, or melting into itself. I had fun holding the bowl of marshmallow over Liam and Miss A.’s heads – that’s another stiff test that might result in a bath if you don’t get it right.

I showed these kiddos once how to swirl on the marshmallow frosting and they got it! The dipping part can be a little harder (case in point: Liam’s first attempt in the photo above).

Chocolate dipped marshmallow…nom. Dip the cupcake in just to the base of the frosting.

My little chefs hard at work.

These foil cupcake liners can be slipped on after all the baking and decorating is done.

A happy Liam and Miss A…and disappearing chocolate dipped marshmallow Hi Hat Cupcakes!

OUR FAVES 

• Ghirardelli, Bittersweet chocolate chips
• Sophie Bella, Foil baking cups
• Sur la Table, Bain Marie

Photos by: Maria Hedrick Photography

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Hi Hat Cupcakes

By TheSweetNerd  Cupcakes

May 9, 2019

Ingredients

Cupcake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1⁄4 cups Dutch process cocoa powder (such as Valrhona)

2 1⁄4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda

3⁄4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 1⁄2 cups milk

3⁄4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

1 1⁄4 cup boiling water

Meringue Frosting

6 egg whites

1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Dip

24 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil such as canola

Directions

Cupcake

1Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3Put the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the sugar on top, and then add the dry ingredients. Use the paddle attachment at low speed to blend the ingredients until the mixture is completely smooth. Add the boiling water, and stir carefully so that it doesn’t splash until the batter is smooth again. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes

4Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake until the tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center of a middle cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pans before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

Meringue Frosting

1Make sure that ALL of your equipment is very clean! Combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar

2in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water (do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl). Use an oven mitt to hold the handle of the bowl with one hand while you constantly whisk the egg white mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the whites are hot to the touch, about 4 minutes.

3Transfer the bowl to the stand and use the whisk attachment to beat the mixture, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form and the meringue has cooled, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the vanilla and whisk just to incorporate. Use immediately.

Chocolate Dip

1Place chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl and pour the canola oil over chocolate. Heat over a double boiler until the chocolate has melted, stirring constantly to incorporate the oil thoroughly. Be sure that no water gets into the chocolate mixture, or it will not be usable.

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