Grasshopper Cupcakes

 

Looking through my new Baked cookbook I found a recipe for Grasshopper cake. They had taken the old grasshopper pie of the 1950s laden with alcohol and created a 3 layer 8-inch cake. I decided to use 2/3 of the batter for x-large cupcakes and the remainder for cakeballs. Let's see how it all turns out. The cupcakes ended up like Girl Scout cookie Thin Mints on steriods!

The chocolate cake recipe in this is just spectacular! I wouldn't change a thing and it will probably be my go to chocolate cake for many things. The chocolate mint mousse filling was easy to make and make the huge cupcakes, not quite so heavy. The chocolate mint ganache added a suprise between the cupcake and frosting. And the frosting...whipped creme de menthe buttercream (whipped, not heavy at all). The frosting had me very worried. It was runny and instructios said to refrigerate to firm up and so I left it overnight. The following evening I rewhipped it with my stand mixer to see it looking "curdled". I panicked, but looked up buttercream issues and found that until warmed up a bit, it wouldn't whip and would separate at first, but keep the blender going and sure enough....a thing a beauty about 10-15 mintues later.

FOR THE CLASSIC CHOCOLATE CAKE

Yields approximately 18 xlg cupcakes/36 regular cupcakes/3 8" round layers

3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1 1/4 cup hot water

2/3 cup sour cream

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 Tbs pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans or line cupcake pans. Line the bottoms of cake pans with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream and set aside to cool.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachements, beat the butter & shortening on medium speed until light & fluffy & ribbon-like, about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
5. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
6. For the cake pans:  Divide the batter among the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the cneter of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.
7. For the x-large cupcakes: cook for about 20-25 minutes
8. For regular size cupcakes: start with 15 and add as needed. I didn't make these so it's a guessing game.

I changed a white chocolate mousse recipe I found on The Food Network to dark chocolate for the filling of the cupcakes.

MINT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

• 9 ounces dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 Tbs creme de menthe 

1. Put the pieces of chocolate in a bowl, and sit this bowl over a pan over simmering water until it melts, stirring gently with a spatula every now and then. When it's melted, stand the bowl on a cold surface to cool down a little.
2. In another bowl, and using an electric handheld whisk for ease, whip the cream, egg white and extract together. You want soft peaking rather than a stiff mixture.
3. Put a big dollop of cream onto the slightly cooled chocolate and mix, and then gently fold the chocolate mixture into the cream.

FOR THE CREME DE MENTHE BUTTERCREAM

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbs creme de menthe



Now That's a lot of butter!

• 2 1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Instructions for the buttercream:

1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar & flour together. Add milk & cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened.
2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
3. Add the creme de menthe & peppermint extract and mix until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put it in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then mix again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, then mix again.
4. Leave the buttercream at room temperature while you make the ganache.

WAY EASY GANACHE

• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-4 Tbs butter (adds shine to the ganache, I used 4)

• sugar (as much as you like. I added just 2 Tbs)
• 1 tsp extract of your choice (vanilla was called for) I used peppermint

Directions

1. Dump the chips and butter into a food processor.
2. Bring the cream and sugar to a boil.
3. Don't burn it!
4. Dump cream mixture into chips, turn processor on.
5. Once it's mixed, cover and stick in fridge until the mix is the right texture for frosting.



Ganache layer before frosting

6. If you're in a hurry, put some ice cubes in a big bowl, and the chocolate mix in a smaller bowl.
7. Place the bowl with chocolate into the larger bowl on top of the icecubes (No! Don't put the cubes into the chocolate mix!) Stir and the mixture will thicken as it cools.
8. Perfect and yummy.
9. Don't work it too much or it loses its shine-- though it's always delicious.
10. I imagine a blender will work-- you might have to add more cream to supply more liquid. I haven't tried.
11. Add vanilla or, for a more grown-up taste, substitute a tablespoon of Kalua or Grand Marnier, etc.