got extra egg yolks? part II

So by now you probably realized how much I love JoyofBaking, I've found some of my favourite desserts on that site.

Last week, winter decided to finally pay a visit to Durban and I had a serious craving for icing and cake. It's fast becoming the thing I actually dislike about winter because it's just one more thing standing between me and fabulous abs.

These weren't the best cupcakes I've had. But they were a close third, and served its purpose well. Craving: satisfied. The picture of these cupcakes on the joyofbaking page shows a lovely shade of chocolate brown icing, whereas mine was so pale, I had to add cocoa to darken it - even so, it was still lighter than theirs. I think the beating had something to do with it, since I did use 70% dark chocolate. I also thought they tasted uber yummy the next day, contrary to what the recipe says below.

Definitely worth a try if you plan on using egg whites to make macarons, meringues or pavlova, or maybe some ab-friendly egg-white omelets. But then why would you be making these? :)

Yellow Cupcakes (Makes 12)

1 1/2 cups (195 g) cake flour
1 cup (200 g) white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature (cut into pieces)
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream or whole plain yogurt, room temperature.


Frosting

120 g dark chocolate, chopped
150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (160 g) icing sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sour cream or yogurt. Beat the wet and dry ingredients together at medium speed until the batter is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If necessary, stir the batter with a rubber spatula until the flour is fully incorporated.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pale gold and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or, if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open or closed star tip to make lovely swirls. These cupcakes are best the day they are made, although they will keep for a few days at room temperature.

For the chocolate frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).