Chocolate Meringue Cupcakes

After attempting to sled outside on two-day-old snow, my friend and I were lounging around at her house when we noticed the chocolate cupcake recipe lying on her kitchen counter. My gears started turning and before we knew what we were doing she was mixing chocolate batter and I was whipping up egg whites and sugar... so yes, we spontaneously came up with the idea to combine meringue and chocolate cake. Heh, after many hours of mixing, piping, improvising, and taste-testing (way too much of that on our end), we made chocolate meringue cupcakes. This yummy, moist cake is topped with a meringue cookie and drizzled with a rich buttercream. 

I wanted to try my hand at piping meringue again, and this time it actually worked... I found that using canvas piping bags (which my friend had) instead of plastic made things a LOT easier. I also figured that when I tried meringue for the first time, I didn't exactly form stiff peaks, which helps it hold its shape. 

PS

This recipe is a lot easier (and for the most part funner) with more than two hands and when you're listening to Hamilton. ;)

INGREDIENTS

Meringue (credit here)

-3 egg whites

-3/4 c sugar

-1/4 tsp cream of tartar

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-pinch salt

Chocolate cupcakes (credit the Kennedy's)

-1/4 cup butter, room temperature

-1 cup sugar

-2 oz chocolate

-2 large eggs

-2 large egg yolks*

-1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp canola oil

-2 tsp vanilla 

-1/3 cup sour cream

-1 cup flour

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 cup cocoa powder

-1/2 cup water

Chocolate frosting (credit here- **we halved this recipe)

-1 1/2 sticks room temperature butter

-2 cups powdered sugar

-1/2 cup (-) cocoa powder

-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream*

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-pinch salt

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

-Stand mixer 

     ◦whisk attachment

-Parchment paper or silicone baking mats

-2 baking sheets (or enough for 18 cupcakes)

-18 cupcake liners

-medium-sized mechanical ice cream scoop*

-Piping bag

     ◦#3 piping tip (or similar) and a wider tip (ex. 2D) that you like

DIRECTIONS (yield 18 cupcakes)

Meringue

1. Start whisking egg whites on medium low.

2. Add in cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt.

3. Increase speed to medium. Once egg whites are foamy, begin adding sugar slowly.

4. Watch for the eggs to turn opaque and hold onto the whisk. (Called the "soft plop" stage.) Continue adding sugar.

5. Finish adding the sugar as the whites form soft peaks (Mixture will hold its shape for a few seconds.)

6. Increase speed to medium high once firm peaks are reached. To test this, pull the whisk straight out of the bowl. The tip of the peak should stay but eventually fold over itself.

7. Watch for stiff peaks, when the meringue stands up straight, is smooth (meaning all sugar is dissolved), and almost shiny. 

8. Fill piping bag with meringue. 

9. Pipe meringue using wider tip onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper/silicone mats. To make the right size for this recipe, keep bag vertical to the surface, squeeze from top into 1 1/2 inch circles, release pressure and lift to form "kisses". 

10. Bake for 50-60 at 215℉. When finished, the meringue should have a hard shell with a hollow and chewy inside, and come right off of the surface.

11. Turn off the oven, crack the door open, and let the meringues cool completely.

Chocolate cupcakes

1. Make "wet sand" by creaming butter and sugar.

2. Melt chocolate and let cool.

3. Add chocolate to the butter-sugar mixture and combine.

4. Add in eggs and egg yolks one at a time.

5. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder into a separate bowl. Mix until it comes together.

6. Add dry ingredients to wet in thirds, mixing until combined after each addition.

7. Pour in water and stir.

8. Fill baking pans with cupcake liners and scoop in enough batter (using ice cream scoop) to fill 2/3 of the way.

9. Bake at 350℉ for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

10. Cool on a rack until room temperature. (If in a rush to frost- stick 'em in the fridge.)

Chocolate frosting

1. Whisk butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy (about five minutes). Scrape bowl as needed to incorporate all sugar.

2. Add in cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt; blend until combined on low (about 30 seconds).

3. Add in cream and whisk until mostly combined. 

4. Scrape down bowl and whisk 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. 

Decorating

1. Make sure the frosting is at room temperature.*

2. Fill piping bag with #3 tip about halfway with frosting, leaving the rest in the bowl (you will need both sources).

3. Use a butter knife and spread about a teaspoon of the frosting (from bowl)  on the surface, or just enough to lightly cover it.

4. Place meringue in the center.

5. Using piping bag, drizzle frosting over the meringue.

*TIPS*

Egg rollover- The meringue recipe calls for three egg whites, and the cupcake batter calls for two whole eggs and two egg yolks. Save two of the separated yolks when making the meringue for the cupcakes, that way you only need two more eggs instead of five for the whole project. 

Heavy whipping cream substitute- We didn't have whipping cream, so we substituted the two tablespoons with one tablespoon sour cream and one tablespoon 1% milk. It turned out just fine. ;)

Mechanical ice cream scoop- If you don't have one of these and bake cookies/cupcakes often, this little gadget will change your life. Instead of scooping batter by hand, this size portions just the right amount (cookie bonus- in perfect circles). Of course, depending on the size (rather smaller than larger), you might have to do two or three scoops to fill the cupcake liners 2/3 way. 

Frosting at room temp.- We made the mistake of chilling our icing while we waited for the cupcakes to finish baking/cooling, and it was way too stiff to frost until we let it sit for a few minutes. (Most of the pictures above are with the chilled frosting, so it looks firmer than it should be.)

Scrumptiously,

Tiny Mangoes 💕