Baking Recipe: Bittersweet Passion Cupcake (chocoalte cuppie with passionfruit buttercream)

Hmm.. Did I get your attention this time? Anybody? {wondering}. I’ve always LOVE the scent, smell and taste of Passion Fruit. Be it mixed into iced tea, in desserts or the puree used in jelly. Since passion fruit is in season, I bought a whole lot so that I could finally use them in desserts.

Oh doesn't Bittersweet Passion sound seductress? Well, my Bittersweet Passion is actually a Chocolate Cupcake with Whipped Cream Filling and Passion fruit Frosting.

This weekend project idea is inspired by a Passionate Whoopie Pie recipe I came across in DessertForBreakfast.com. I know I may not have my own recipe.. But being inspired by dessert divas really drive and keep me going. The recipe is adapted from parts and parcel that I have collected over a period of time. Therefore, I may not be able to remember who to link it to {forgive me..}

Okay, while I could have made Whoopie Pie, I decided to use the base flavours and make it into a cupcake instead. I guess I like to experiment. Yup! That is just it.. I like to take recipes and then to try to make them into something different.

Maybe another weekend I’ll have a hand in baking whoopie pie.

You know how sometimes, we get the stringy/ kicky {is that even a word} feeling as though there’s something stuck to the walls of our throat if something is too sweet or too much of a certain flavour?

So this time, I like to put on a role and act as a dessert chef {I’m no dessert chef.. but I do love to cook and bake} trying to balance the flavour of chocolate cupcake with some light whipped cream filling and to bind all the flavours together, I’m planning to top it off with tangy sweet Passion fruit frosting. Don’t you just love role playing? Lol..

Just like whoopee pie where there’s cream filling piped and sandwiched between 2 cookies, I’ve decided to take the same approached by piping whipped cream into the choco cupcake.

In my opinion, I think it sounds divine just like the Passionate Whoopie Pie.

Now for the recipe. There are NO frills and rules here. Feel free to use your trusty/ best chocolate cupcake recipe or use instant mix if you like. Just make sure to add in additional melted chocolate as some instant cake mixes lack of the choco taste. May I recommend using Semi-Bittersweet Choco and not Milk Chocolate as it may get too sweet.

As for my self, I like the taste of Hershey's cupcake recipe.


Recipe:

Yields approx. 24-26 medium cupcakes

Ingredients (Chocolate Cupcake)

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (Full Cream/ Whole milk.. to me none of this low fat stuff works well >.<)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or more but not too much)
1 cup water

Prepare the Chocolate Cupcakes:

1. Heat oven to 350°F {approx. 180-190 degs}. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2minutes. Stir in boiling water {batter will be thin}. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely, before transferring them onto wire racks.

Ingredients (Whipped Cream Filling)

1 pint heavy cream (approx. 473 ml)
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon cold water (I substituted the cold water with whole milk)
1-2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder

Prepare the Whipped Cream Filling:

**Filling can be made 1-2 days in advance and store it in a container in a fridge. You might have remainder like myself. It can be kept up to a week plus or so.

So what did I do with the remainder? Do indulge by dipping strawberries or any berries into whipped cream. I assure you it's YummMmmm...

1. Chill bowl and whisk in freezer for 30 mins.

2. Whip cream with confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form.

3. Meanwhile, dissolve gelatin in water over low heat. Remove from heat; allow cooling slightly, and then whipping into cream until stiff peaks form.

4. Place the whipped cream into piping bag, and pipe the cream into the cupcake.

A Note: I used Wilton's disposable bag with tip No.5.


Ingredients (Passion fruit Frosting)

For Passion Fruit Curd

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1/2 cup passion fruit nectar/juice/syrup
1/2 oz. water (if using passion fruit syrup or nectar, leave out if using fresh juice)
1/4 cup caster/granulated sugar (add sugar according to taste of sweetness, some may require more depending the batch of your passion fruit)

1. In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the passion fruit juice and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, In a another bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk to break them up. Beat some of the passion fruit mixture into the eggs to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat, pour the juice over a sieve to get rid of the seeds and any cooked egg white. Let cool completely.

For Passion Fruit Frosting

1 cup milk

1-2 teaspoons vanilla essense
5 Tbspn flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powder/ icing sugar (add sugar according to taste of sweetness, some like it less sweeter)
2/3-3/4 cups cooled passion fruit curd

1. Place milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stir in vanilla essense and then remove from heat, cover, and let steep for ten minutes.

2. Add the flour. Whisking constantly, cook the milk and flour until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool completely. {Should there be any lumps, don't worry, strain the mixture through a siever.. it's a mess, but it's definitely worth it.}

3. In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar {adding it in batches} together until light and fluffy, about five minutes.

4. Add the passion fruit curd to the butter and whip until combined.

5. Add the thickened milk mixture to the butter and passion fruit, whisking until light, whipped, and fluffy. Use immediately.

6. Pipe the passion fruit frosting onto the cupcake. Refrigerate to allow the frosting to set before serving.

After all your hard work, take a bite into Bittersweet Passion and savor every bite and enjoy the scent of the passion fruit.

xx