The Hippy Prospect

           My brother's birthday is coming up this weekend and I decided theres no better way to show my love than by baking him a sugar-loaded fattening dessert.  While perusing the inter-web I found a recipe for Boston Cream Cupcakes, but I thought they would be even better if they were mini! They turned out surprising well!
Yield- 80 mini cupcakes
Difficulty- Easy

Ingredients 

Cupcakes~ 

1 box white cake mix (16.5 oz) 

1/4 cup melted butter 

1/2 water 

1/2 cup milk 

3 egg whites 

Filling~ 

12 oz vanilla instant pudding 

1 tbls vanilla 

1 1/4 cups whole milk 

Frosting~ 

1 cup heavy cream 

12 oz Semi sweet chocolate chips 

Powered sugar

        While super moist cake mix can be pretty great, you can make it even better. Instead of using all water, I added a mix of water and whole milk to the cake batter to make it a little more creamy. Instead of using vegetable oil, I used melted butter to make it a little more flavorful. You can also add a tiny splash of vanilla to spice up the cake mix after its been sitting on a grocery story shelf for quite some time. All these small adjustments improve the quality and make it taste just that much better.

         Preheat oven to 350°F. I used a 3x4 mini cupcake tin. I would suggest a bigger tin, or buy multiple baking tins because I had to do a copious amount of batches in the oven which took a copious amount of time. Also I chose not to use liners, and instead oiled the tin with coconut oil. This is completely up to you! 
              To make the cupcakes, combine the cake mix, melted butter, water, milk, and egg whites in a medium bowl. Stir until there are few lumps left. The batter gets to be pretty sticky and thick which can make measuring difficult. Put about 3/4 of a tablespoon of batter into each tin. The cupcake tins/ liner should be about 2/3 the way full. You need to keep a very close on them once they are in the oven. To procure a very light spongy textured cupcake you want to take them out the second they start to golden. If you are unsure if they are thoroughly cooked, stick a toothpick in one of the cupcakes closer to the center. If it comes out clean, they are ready. You want to take the cupcakes out of the tin right away otherwise they will continue to cook. While holding the sheet with an oven glove, insert a knife or fork along the edge to pop the cupcakes right out. Set the cupcakes aside to cool as you prepare the cream filling.
               With a hand mixer, beat together the whole milk, pudding, and vanilla extract until it starts to thicken or about 2 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 15 so the pudding can set. During this time use a knife to slit a small x into the top of the cupcake. This will help to make room for the filling. Be sure not to puncture the bottom or the filling might leak out. Spoon the pudding into an icing bag and begin to fill the mini cupcakes. The technique that worked best for me was inserting the tip into the center of the cupcake, and squeezing the bag while making a circular movement. As  the center of the cupcake filled the tip would be more likely to slide out. Be careful not to overfill the cupcake because the pudding will squirt of the sides or bottom!
       

           After all the cupcakes are filled, set them aside to make the chocolate ganache. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until it begins to bubble around the edges. Remove from heat completely and begin to slowly add in the chocolate morsels. Whisk until it is completely smooth. Refrigerate until it begins to thicken or about 30 minutes.

         Then dip the top of the cupcake into the chocolate mixture. Sprinkle cupcakes with powdered sugar before serving! These cupcakes also freeze well for later enjoyment! Omnom

August 2, 2015/ 2 Août, 2015
         Cette semaine,
   Je suis allé la formation pour mon nouvel emploi. Je travaillais toute la journée, que ces derniers jours et je suis fatigue. Heir, mon entraîneur était anglais et il parlais avec moi en français. Je trouvais cela cool. Á le restaurant il y a beaucoup de éléments de menu. Je dois me rappeler tout de ça. Je dois connaitre le poisson dans tout le sushi, les noms des blancs et rouges vins, et les éléments dans tout les nourritures avant je commence le boulot. Ma tête est douloureux.
          Aussi aujourd'hui je finis des papiers pour les prêts scolaires. Je suis prêt pour l'école!
À tout à l'heure!