Two of my friends at work approached me about making cupcakes for the RSPCA cupcake day, to raise money for 'all creatures great and small'. I jumped at the chance, being one who isn't shy about showing off her baking or cooking prowess. The whole conundrum for me was - what kind of cupcakes to make?
I instantly wanted to go with my favourite flavour - chocolate, though I wanted to make this a special kind of cupcake, something interesting and something that would sell. I decided to try to make a chocolate mud cupcake - just because everyone loves the decadence of a mudcake, I think it is the caloric/heart attack appeal that makes them so desirable. I wanted to make cupcakes that were such a guilty pleasure you feel the need to go to a Confessional after eating.
I wasn't sure how to make cupcakes with universal appeal to both men and women - I can't imagine that men feel all that masculine chomping on a fru-fru decorated cupcake... Or is this not a problem? I also want to create a 'signature' for my cupcakes - similar to how Sprinkles Cupcakes in LA have the dot, I want to make something that makes my cupcakes stand out. I know this is for charity, but I can't help but feel a little competitive! After careful consideration, and pondering what I have done in the past to make my cupcakes memorable, I decided to anoint each cake with a generous flourish of icing - for visual appeal as well as lick-a-bility!
So a week out, close to the big day - I decided to have a practice run using a mud cake recipe I found. I bought some good quality dark chocolate, and I found some brown cupcake wrappers and sprinkles to coordinate with my 'muddy brown' theme.
The list of ingredients are pretty stock standard for a chocolate cake recipe, the only thing that brought me to my knees was the amount of sugar it called for - 480 grams! That and the fact that once I got into the various stages of the recipe my kitchen resembled a demolition site with all the mess I was making!
This recipe yields a generous batter - enough for 2 dozen cupcakes or a tall, dense cake if you chose to bake it as a cake. The batter was rather thin and I was a little concerned that it would be too thin. I put the cupcake trays into the oven, did a little kitchen prayer and hoped that all was well in my baking world.
After a nervous wait and many little 'peeps' through the oven door, I tested them with my skewer and it came out clean (Hooray!) I left my cupcakes to cool. (I am always so impatient when it comes to this stage). I was pleased with how they looked coming out of the oven, so this was a great start. I started on my chocolate butter cream which I then generously piped onto the cupcakes and then decorated them my assorted little decorating accoutrement.
As this was a trial bake, I took some to work to share with my baking colleagues and also amongst friends. The best compliment I think I could have asked for was that it was the best cupcake 'ever'. I also got kudos on my butter cream. I can't help but feel a little proud. *Cheesy grin*
The big day arrived on Monday, I went to work with Chocolate Mud Cupcakes, Lemon Cupcakes and Red Velvet Cupcakes. Lou and Kel who baked with me brought along Vanilla, Hummingbird and Banana. I think we had over 6 dozen cupcakes in total! It was a successful morning, yeilding over $200 in sales and donations to give to the RSPCA. It was fun to share our baked treats with everyone. My Chocolate Mud Cupcakes were a sure fire hit - I could have made 4 dozen and there still wouldn't have been enough to meet the demand!
I really want to share the recipe with you but at the moment I just want to be selfish and keep it to myself for a little while. It is just that good. (Plus I know people who want it already for their own cafe). If you ask me nicely maybe I will share it with you when I am ready.
Until next time...
Kitty xx
Those look wonderful! Cupcakes are the best :)
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