MINI CI DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

The Mini rendition of the Best Chocolate Cupcakes Ever

When you go mini, timing is critical.  I decided to use my favourite Best Chocolate Cupcake Ever recipe in mini cupcake liners.  I was able to get about 36 mini cupcakes and used a tiny ice cream scoop to fill the liners half-full.  I watched the cupcakes bake…like a hawk (a distracted hawk).

I knew that if I overbaked these little cupcakes that it would be so dry…and a waste of real quality ingredients!  It was 10pm and I wanted to go to bed but I knew that if I didn’t serve these little gems  for my workshop that some people would be disappointed.  I too would be disappointed because they fit in with my theme:  “It’s a Piece of Cake”.  By the way, the workshop was about teaching English.  Not cake.

So, despite my tiredness and my lack of inspiration I made a batch of these  mini cupcakes.  Wouldn’t you know it, that though I knew I had to take these out the second they were “done”, I went ahead and left them in a few seconds too long.  They weren’t burnt, but those extra seconds meant they were a tad on the dry side.  Not so perfect.  My bad.

But they tasted so chocolatey.    I swirled on some PERFECT Swiss Meringue Buttercream and made it much better.  I could eat the buttercream with a spoon—it’s so good.  But I didn’t.  Self-control. 

I under-baked a small batch and the tops sank; but they tasted really moist (9 minutes).  They were not unlike a batch of fudgy brownies.  The slightly overbaked batch (11 minutes) looked perfect but the crumb was dry to me.  The full sized cupcakes are perfect because the size is more forgiving.  My advice if you dare try a mini batch is to pull them out earlier than later.  It all depends on your oven.  Stand by your oven and stare into the lit window like I do.  Sometimes I pull up a stool to sit on!   It’s almost entertaining as you watch the cupcake tops turn glossy and then start to puff up.   The next time I make these, I’ll be taking them out in 9-10 minutes instead of the 11 minute mark.  Or I’ll just make the big ones and not have to fret about overbaking.

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