Outrageous boozy mocha cupcakes

I'm not going to say much today, just that these cupcakes will get you marriage proposals. Or at least, they got me two, so if you're looking for a dancing partner, what are you waiting for!?

I mean, who can resist a vanilla cupcake base, moistened with vanilla rum syrup, filled with espresso pastry cream, frosted with chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, drizzled with a dark chocolate pouring sauce, and finally (big breath), topped with a malteser chocolate ball?

Outrageous boozy mocha cupcakes
Makes 18 large cupcakes or 24 regular size


Magnolia Bakery vanilla cupcake
Recipe adapted from Food.com
Note: 1 C refers to 1 American cup (235ml), and the ml quantities reflect this, however, I used Australian cups to measure everything, and they are 250ml, so the recipe seems to work either way.

1 1/2 C (355 ml) self-raising flour
1 1/4 C (295 ml) all purpose flour
1 C (235 ml) butter, softened (margarine works fine)
2 C (475 ml) sugar (I use 1 1/4 C usually)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 C (235 ml) milk
1 tsp vanilla paste
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare muffin tins with 24 standard or 18 large baking cups. I made 18 cupcakes using the large cupcake liners (placed in a standard muffin tin) seen in the pictures.
2. Sift together the two flours and combine the milk and vanilla in a jug and set aside.
3. Cream the butter until smooth, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  
4. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well between each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. 
5. Reduce mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Once well combined, add half of the milk, then another 1/3 of the dry ingredients once the milk has become integrated. Repeat with the remaining milk and flour. 
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 
7. Cool for 5 minutes in tins, then cool completely on a rack.

Vanilla rum syrup
Recipe from Not Quite Nigella

125g / 4.4 oz caster sugar
90g / 3.2 oz brown sugar
130ml / 4.4 fluid ounce water
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla paste
20ml / 0.7 fluid ounce dark rum

1. Put everything except the rum in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once syrupy, remove from the heat, add the rum, and cool. 

Espresso pastry cream
Recipe from Annie's Eats
Note: 1 C refers to 1 American cup (235ml), and the ml quantities reflect this, however, I used Australian cups to measure everything, and they are 250ml, so the recipe seems to work either way.

1 1/2 C half and half (I used cream, as half and half does not exist in Australia)
6 Tbs sugar, divided
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
3 large egg yolks
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut in a few pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla paste

1.   Heat the half and half/cream with 5 Tbs of the sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then add the espresso powder and continue to stir. 
2. Whisk together the egg yolks with 1 Tbs sugar until they have lightened in colour, then add the cornstarch and whisk (carefully, or you will get cornstarch all over the kitchen!) until the mixture is pale and has thickened. 
3. Once the cream is hot, gradually pour it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Cool over a medium heat, still whisking constantly, until the pastry cream is very thick. 
4. Take off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. 
5. Once incorporated, strain the pastry cream through a sieve and refrigerate for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally to decrease cooling time. 

Chocolate ganache (for the Italian meringue buttercream)

200g / 7oz dark chocolate (I used 70%)
3/4 C heavy cream
1 T kahlua
1/2 T vanilla

1. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot, then pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit for a couple of minuts, then whisk until combined. 
2. Whisk in kahlua and vanilla then set aside to cool.
3. If the ganache hardens too much, just set it over a bowl of boiling water (not touching the water!) until it becomes smooth again. 

Note: the higher the cocoa percentage, the faster it seems to set. If you use 70% chocolate like me, the ganache will be VERY bitter, so you won't want to eat it by itself, but when mixed into the IMB, it is perfect.


Chocolate Italian meringue buttercream
Recipe from Food.com
This recipe will make enough to lightly frost all the cupcakes, but if you want to generously frost them like I did, I would recommend doubling the recipe or at least multiplying the recipe by 1.5.
Note: 1 C refers to 1 American cup (235ml), and the ml quantities reflect this, however, I used Australian cups to measure everything, and they are 250ml, so the recipe seems to work either way.

5 egg whites
1 1/4 C sugar, divided
1/4 C water
2 C butter (I used about 3/4 C butter and 1 C margarine)
pinch salt
Dark chocolate ganache, from above

1. Over a high heat, Boil 1 C of the sugar and the water in a saucepan until it reaches 118C/245F.
2. As the temperature of the sugar syrup rises, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, the sprinkle in the remaining sugar and beat on medium-high, until more distinct peaks start to form.
3. With the mixer still running, very slowly pour in the sugar syrup. Continue to beat for 7-10 minutes, or until the meringue has come to room temperature. 
4. Reduce the mixer to medium-low and add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once the mixture has metamorphosed into a perfect buttercream base, add the ganache to taste. I used about 1/2 of a cup. 

NOTES: because my mixing bowl is made of thick glass, my mixture never cools down to room temperature within 10 minutes. Because I don't want to keep beating forever, I add all of my butter, then refrigerate the whole bowl for about half an hour. Once the mixture has cooled completely, I beat it again for a few more minutes, and the buttercream magically comes together.
I know that some people believe that using margarine in buttercream is a sin, but I actually like to substitute some of the butter for margarine for a few reasons. First, the idea of eating that much butter almost stops my heart as much as eating that much butter might. Second, using margarine seems to give the frosting a lighter texture than using butter alone. Third, the butter taste does not become so overwhelming when some of it is substituted out. I don't think that there is any 'margarine flavour' at all, especially in a recipe like this, where quite a lot of chocolate is added to the frosting.


Chocolate pouring sauce
Recipe from Bakers Royale 

2/3 C dark chocolate
1 Tbs heavy cream
4 Tbs powdered sugar
4-5 Tbs warm water

1. Melt the chocolate and cream over a bowl of boiling water, stirring after a couple of minutes. 
2. Add the powdered sugar and stir to combine, then add 1 Tbs of water at a time, until a good drizzling consistency is reached. I added 4 Tbs.  
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool slightly. If the pouring chocolate becomes too solid, just place it over the steam again until it returns to a good consistency. 

Assembly

1.  Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a sharp knife to cut out a small hole in the top. Put a teaspoon's worth of vanilla rum sauce in the hole, then use a small spoon to press the sauce around the sides of the hole, so that the bottom and walls of the hole are covered. Add another teaspoon of syrup and repeat. 
2. Fill the hole with expresso pastry cream, making sure that it is not overflowing. 
3. Pipe the chocolate IMB over the cupcake in a swirl, then pop the cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes. 
4. Make sure the chocolate pouring sauce is at a drizzling consistency, but not too warm, and drizzle about a teaspoon over the frosting. Test this out on one cupcake first, and make sure that the pouring chocolate doesn't melt the frosting. 
5. Top each cupcake with a malteeser or other chocolate ball and serve!

NOTE: These cupcakes are fine to be made the night before required, just store them in the fridge, but allow them to warm to room temperature for about half an hour before serving.
After a couple of days the cupcake becomes a little dry, but the vanilla rum syrup helps to retain moisture. 

Enjoy!