Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

I decided to take a different approach with the whole chocolate/mint holiday theme.  I love candy canes (aka peppermint), and I wanted to share a minty recipe for the holidays but minus the candy canes.  I don’t know.  Call me picky.  I’ve just seen a lot of chocolate/peppermint recipes lately, so I wanted to stir it up a bit.  And, while I am not being all that original, these cupcakes satisfied my cravings for a sweet mint flavor without the strong tang of peppermint.

And, to be honest with you, this recipe took a lot of work.  I made the mistake of settling on it before truly reading through the recipe to see if my (lack of) patience could withstand the intricacy and dedication that this recipe entails.  The chocolate cupcake part is easy enough-just your standard mixing of dry ingredients (and set aside) and your standard mixing of wet ingredients (now add the two and fill those pretty cupcake liners).  It’s the mint-infused buttercream that got me.  It’s basically a swiss meringue type of buttercream frosting-meaning that you basically make a meringue (egg whites and sugar) and send it through a very specific heating and tempering process, adding the butter at the very end.  To make things a bit more complicated, you infuse milk with fresh mint leaves on the stove (aka you heat them up together so that the mint oils mix with the milk) and then add this to the frosting. You will also need to wash your standing mixer bowl/attachments multiple times. It was a lot of work.

But, my friends, the hard work (as usual) was very much worth the effort.  The frosting came out perfectly, piped like a dream, and tasted sweet and buttery but oddly light (considering how much butter the recipe calls for…yum.)  The mint flavor was soft and subtle-definitely present but not overpowering. The cake part was decadent.  I added the chocolate candies on top just because I love them and thought they would add some dimension to the cupcakes.

In summary, these mint chocolate cupcakes are fantastic and you should try making them as soon as possible.  🙂

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Servings: 18

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

3/4 cup warm water

For the mint buttercream:

2 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

1/3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

1 pound (4 sticks, yes you read it correctly) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

Candy mints, for garnish (optional)

Equipment: candy thermometer

Instructions:

1. For the cupcakes:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

3.  With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat on low speed until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

5. Divide the batter evenly among the baking cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

6. Bake, rotating the tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

7. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks to cool completely.

8. For the mint buttercream: In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar on high speed until pale and thick, about 2 to 3 minutes.

9.  Prepare an ice-water bath in a large bowl.

10. Bring the milk, vanilla, and mint leaves just to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from the heat.

11. Whisk about one third of the milk mixture into the yolk mixture.

12.  Pour the yolk mixture into pan with remaining milk mixture and whisk to combine.

13. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan.

14.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture registers 185 degrees.

15. Remove from the heat; strain through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl (discard solids).

16. Set the bowl in the ice bath, stirring the mixture until cool.

17. In another bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.

18. Beat in chilled egg-yolk mixture.

19.  Heat egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the clean heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisking constantly by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is dissolved completely.

20. Attach bowl to the mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment; starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form and mixture is completely cool, about 10 minutes.

21.  Add the egg-white mixture to the butter mixture; switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.

22. Beat in peppermint extract.

23. Fill pastry bags fitted with your tip of choice and pipe onto cupcakes.  Garnish with chocolate candy, if desired.

Source:  Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.

December 17, 2010 - 12:08 pm

Jessica - I had to laugh when I saw the Andes mints you chose to garnish with, because my best friend and I were just saying yesterday (while eating the Andes mints at the end of our Olive Garden lunch) that we needed to come up with a cookie or cupcake recipe that featured them! Haha!

December 18, 2010 - 8:08 pm

Jess - Hey! I was wondering what tip you used from the frosting?
Jess, http://www.livininthekitchen.wordpress.com

December 18, 2010 - 8:33 pm

srlacy - Hi Jess-

I used a Wilton 1M tip for this batch. Thanks for visiting!

Shanon

December 18, 2010 - 10:11 pm

Patty - Those are beautiful! They sound amazingly delicious too. 🙂

December 19, 2010 - 10:58 am

bigFATcook - yummy!! These cupcakes are very close to perfection!! I like the way you put chocolate pieces on top of them. I’m sure making these someday, I hope!

Greets

December 19, 2010 - 6:51 pm

Leanne - So gorgeous! Love the pictures, and i’m pretty sure I will have to make these as soon as possible!

December 20, 2010 - 1:05 am

Jenn@eatcakefordinner - I have never been able to get my Swiss Meringue Buttercream to work and I wish it would, because everyone seems to love it. These do sound like a lot of work like you said, but your end result looks amazing! The fresh mint infused milk sounds like a great addition.

December 20, 2010 - 3:20 am

Aku - Wow, talk about labour intensive! But they look and sound superb 🙂

January 19, 2011 - 10:39 pm

Mother's Mementos - These look divine and I’m sure were amazingly delicious! I love chocolate + mint. I found your site from dessertstalking.com and realized your thumbprint cookies got featured on the Foodbuzz Top 9. Congrats!

– Rachel

January 16, 2012 - 4:16 pm

Cupcakes! by rachealpatrolia - Pearltrees - […] The Curvy Carrot » Mint Chocolate Cupcakes […]

March 18, 2012 - 11:35 am

Easter Recipes | Pearltrees - […] The Curvy Carrot » Mint Chocolate Cupcakes I’ve just seen a lot of chocolate/peppermint recipes lately, so I wanted to stir it up a bit. […]

April 9, 2013 - 5:58 pm

Kristen - Could you use creme de menthe instead of peppermint extract?

April 9, 2013 - 7:44 pm

srlacy - Sure! Just adjust according to taste.

Chocolate Brigadeiros

Aren’t they great?

I discovered this recipe a few months ago while flipping through a magazine on a flight.  I saw them, immediately bookmarked the page, and knew that they would be making an appearance on the blog around the holidays.  I also think the adorable little four year-old girl sitting next to me got an absolute kick out of looking through the magazine with me, especially since it was completely devoted to sweets.

I did a little research and learned that these sweet treats are named for a Brazilian Air Force commander who was popular during the 1940’s, and they are a common Brazilian bon bon which is served at any type of celebration.  They can be rolled in various types of awesome things, too: granulated sugar, nuts, coconut, chocolate sprinkles.  So when I saw these, I decided to go with the whimsical colorful sprinkles (aka jimmies).  Why not?

Now, these are ridiculously easy to make, by the way. All you need is a little whisking power, a few hours to chill the mixture, and you’ve got it made.  If you need a quick fix for some sort of holiday get-together, these are it.  They are really good, too.  Too good, i.e. I ate way too many of them after I snapped the picture and may have two cavities now.

Chocolate Brigadeiros

Servings: about 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1 and 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (**I recommend going with the bittersweet.  Believe me, they are sweet enough as it is already…..)

1 teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup colored sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan, combine the milk, butter, cream, and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

2.  Add the chocolate and cocoa powder and continue to whisk, making sure that there are no pockets of cocoa powder.

3. As soon as the mixture comes back to a boil, turn the heat to medium low and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls together into a dense, fudgy batter, about 8 minutes.

4. Slide the mixture into a bowl.  (P.S. Don’t scrape the pan.  That stuff is not what you want.)

5. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate uncovered until very firm, 3 to 4 hours.

6.  Put the sprinkles (ahem, jimmies) into a bowl.

7. Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop the mixture by the teaspoonful, and with your hands, roll each into a ball about one inch in diameter.

8. Drop each ball into the sprinkles and coat entirely.

Slightly adapted from Fine Cooking: Cookies, Brownies, Bars, and More, 2010 Special Holiday Issue.

December 15, 2010 - 8:22 am

Genevieve Le Bel - These just totally made me smile!!!! LOVE! I’m thinking teacher gifts this year!!! Thx for sharing! =)
Superchick!
http://www.celebrate2da.com

December 15, 2010 - 8:47 am

Annie - That first photo is my favorite you have EVER taken. Stunning! Love it, and love you 🙂

December 15, 2010 - 9:03 am

Lauren at KeepItSweet - they look so pretty with the sprinkles in the different colored paper cups!

December 15, 2010 - 9:55 am

srlacy - Me, too, Annie! I ordered those little baking cups and knew that they would be perfect. Thanks. I love you, too! 🙂

December 15, 2010 - 9:59 am

srlacy - Genevieve-
I know, right? They are so adorable! And I cannot tell you how simple and easy they are. They are perfect for teacher gifts. All you need is a cute little box!

December 15, 2010 - 5:01 pm

Tiffany @ Conor & Bella - How cute! I love cute little treats like these (who doesn’t?).

December 17, 2010 - 12:58 am

Claire - So cute and what a happy treat. Thank you for sharing. I am glad I stumbled upon your blog while searching for recipes for my vegetarian med school sister. You are very talented! Your blog reminds me so much of one of my favorites (www.annies-eats.com) that is also run by a doctor, too. Cheers!

December 17, 2010 - 6:36 am

srlacy - Claire-that’s so nice of you. Actually I work with Annie, believe it or not, and she was the one who convinced me to start my own blog in the first place. She has more talent in her pinky than I ever will have, but it’s amazing to have such an inspirational and great friend, too!

December 17, 2010 - 11:47 am

mai - hello! i was looking through tastespotting and i saw the brigadeiro photo! it looks totally awesome! =]
i`m from brazil, and here we have that all the time when we need something to cheer everybody up!
but normally over here we just mix 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 or 3 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of butter, is very simple and we end up eating in one big plate with spoons! very simple and very tasty too, you should try it! sorry if i spoke to much! i`m definitely gonna try your way too!
Loved your blog! =]

December 17, 2010 - 12:11 pm

Pretty. Good. Food. - Yum, sounds and looks delicious :)!

December 18, 2010 - 11:22 pm

Lizzy M. - I think these are awesome. I made them last year, with the recipe that mai mentioned, and added crushed toasted pecans which made them more flavorful.

December 19, 2010 - 9:24 am

Kelli - So cute! And easy is the key word that caught my eye! I printed your Nana’s Church Window Bar recipe and would love to (attempt to) make it before the holidays. That was a beautiful entry. Love!

December 20, 2010 - 3:23 am

Aku - Anything involving condensed milk gets my vote, yum! But can you enlighten me–what is light corn syrup? And also what does Dutch-processed mean when it comes to cocoa powder? We don’t have labelling like that in England…

December 20, 2010 - 9:55 am

srlacy - Hey Aku!

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.food.com/library/corn-syrup-138

http://www.joyofbaking.com/cocoa.html

🙂

February 17, 2011 - 6:19 pm

Tammy Nguyen - LOVE THE RECIPE AND PICTURES! I am making these for my daughters girl scout function and did a trial run this past week. They are absolutely delicious. They dont hold their shape well, any suggestions? Did I do something wrong? How long in advance can I make them?

February 17, 2011 - 6:49 pm

srlacy - Hi Tammy-

Thank you so much for visiting the blog-they are great, aren’t they? They are probably one of my mot favorite things I have ever tried to make!

As far as keeping their shape, I would try to mold them and then get them cold right away-maybe stick them in the freezer for 10 or so minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator.
I ate them up to a week after making them-and I was ok, so I would think a few days to a week would be ok.

Shanon

April 1, 2011 - 10:30 am

a friday affair: seeing stars | Style Marquee Blog - […] *images: star mobile, lorina soft drinks, cupcakes, starfruit drink, tray, chocolate brigadeiros, […]

November 1, 2011 - 9:51 am

Arts + Eats | ARTSOCIAL - […] Playin’ in the Sprinkler by Jason Bergsieker || chocolate brigadeiros […]

March 14, 2012 - 2:59 pm

Sprinkled Chocolate Brigadeiros Recipe – Best Friends For Frosting - […] knew how to make them myself, so when I saw the recipe from The Curvy Carrot I was excited! This Chocolate Brigadeiros Recipe comes together with a little bit of whisking and a couple hours of chilling. After chilling, you […]

June 18, 2014 - 1:01 am

Pinspiratie: Hup Holland Hup | Gewoon Marieke - […] Klik hier voor de originele bron. […]

Nana’s Church Window Bars

One of my favorite collective childhood Christmas memories consists of me arriving at my grandparents’ home in Michigan where I would promptly enter my Nana’s kitchen and stroll to the end of the counter where she kept the beloved Folgers coffee tins.  Because, as you soon will see, these coffee tins contained various assortments of my Nana’s Christmas cookies.  She made them all.  Now that she’s gone, and I am a grown up, I understand the hard work, devotion, time, and love that went into her baking these cookies.  I wish I could go back in time and pay more attention as a child to her magic in the kitchen.  From her, I learned that a piece of fresh bread in those coffee tins would keep the cookies moist and fresh.  I learned that I loved the combination of molasses and raspberries, her lemon glaze, and the little red-hot candy “ornaments” that she would use to decorate her Christmas tree sugar cookies.  Ah, the memories.  I believe that we all have them.  The best part about this time of year is that I get to re-visit them and keep her holiday (and love for baking) spirit alive through these posts.

When she passed away, we all needed copies of her recipes.  My Aunt Lila lovingly put together an abbreviated typed document containing the most loved cookie/candy recipes.  I am hoping to put together a public and somewhat permanent recipe collection from both of my grandmothers, both amazing bakers.  Perhaps that’s one of the biggest reasons why I started this blog in the first place.  Because these recipes hold a very special place in my heart.

Which brings me to these Church Window Bars. Now, as a somewhat reluctant fan of the use of marshmallows in baking (I know, I know, I am missing out…), I embrace these little fruit-flavored sugar puffs with love, entirely because of this recipe.  When I was a kid (and still didn’t really like marshmallows all that much-I think it’s more of a consistency thing..) I would lick the chocolate/peanutty mixture off the marshmallows and leave the marshmallows behind.  But, as I grew older, I appreciated the texture, flavor, and whimsical color that they added to the bar.

So, when I saw these treats at my Nana’s house (all foiled in empty boxes of Velveeta cheese, which she had saved all year long for this purpose), I knew that it was that magical time of the year.  (Warm fuzzies.)

Here’s a gift to you from my Nana.

Church Window Bars

Servings: Four 5×2 and a 1/2-inch loaves

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

12 ounces (1 bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

One 10.5 ounce bag of multi-colored miniature marshmallows

1 cup chopped peanuts

Shredded sweetened coconut (optional), for garnish

Instructions

1.  Line four mini-loaf pans with aluminum foil (allow for some extra overhanging foil) and spray with cooking spray.  Alternatively, you could use a larger loaf pan to get one large bar, although I like the little pans.

2.  Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove.

3.  Melt the butter in the bowl over low heat.

4.  Add the chocolate chips to the melted butter and stir until the chips melt completely, and the mixture is smooth.  Remove from the heat.

5.  In a large bowl, combine the colored marshmallows and the nuts.

6.  Slowly add the melted chocolate to the bowl and stir to completely combine.

7.  At this point, I like to butter my hands and mold the mixture into rough rectangles.  Press the mixture into each loaf pan, making sure to fill every corner.  Sprinkle the tops with coconut, if using.

8.  Wrap each loaf tightly with the foil and chill overnight.

9.  Once completely chilled and firm, the bar can be sliced and served.

Source:  Passed down to me from Rita Ann Lacy. (original source unknown)

December 13, 2010 - 5:53 am

notyet100 - wow memories always make us feel so good,..;-)
will be happy if u send these bars for the jingle evnt on my blog,.;-)

December 13, 2010 - 11:52 am

Kelli - Hi Shan! These are absolutely beautiful! Miss you, friend! Hope your studying is going well!

December 13, 2010 - 3:48 pm

Sara - I actually typed them up several years ago after Aunt Lila faxed them to Mom. Nana’s handwriting was hard to read with all the different copies that had been made, so I figured they were better off consolidated in one document. I’ve always wanted to try them – Elliott LOVES marshmallows – I bet he’d get a huge kick out of them. Thanks for honoring our Nana in this way! 🙂

December 15, 2010 - 4:43 am

Jenny Nguyen - OMG I want a bite please! They look so great! :))

December 15, 2010 - 7:51 am

Liz - Love reading your sweet memories of your Nana…makes me think of mine, too…

December 15, 2010 - 7:59 am

Blog is the New Black - I have never seen anything like this before- simply gorgeous! Congrats on the top 9!

December 15, 2010 - 1:10 pm

Adriana - Wow! I came in to comment on the beautiful, unique cookies, but I loved your heartfelt post.

December 15, 2010 - 1:39 pm

briarrose - Wonderful treat and story. 🙂

December 15, 2010 - 3:27 pm

Emily Z - These bars are beautiful and the name for them is so fitting. Touching story about your memories of your grandmother and her baking. How nice of you to share her wonderful treasures with the rest of us. Congrats on making the Top 9. This is my first visit to your blog and I have enjoyed it.

December 15, 2010 - 9:10 pm

Terra - This blog brought back some fun childhood memories:) Love these!!! Congrats on the top 9 on Foodbuzz:)

December 15, 2010 - 10:52 pm

Somer - Oh my goodness these are so precious! I’m bookmarking these and trying them. My son will LOVE them. Beautiful work!

December 17, 2010 - 5:50 pm

shannon - Nana’s church windows are pretty cool!! Great Post and congrats on being named Foodbuzz’s Top 9!!! That is a pretty cool honor!!!

December 30, 2010 - 2:35 pm

Heidi - Just found your blog today, and as I was looking through saw this post. My granny made these every year also. I’m lucky to have her handwritten recipe and have taken to making these every year now that she is gone. She did hers a little differently though. She would lay out a long piece of wax paper, put a layer of coconut on the paper and then lay out the yummy gooeyness down the middle and roll. She would then wrap in foil and put in the fridge to chill.
I look forward to reading your posts in the new year. Hope it’s wonderful!

February 1, 2011 - 8:13 am

Threemealsaday - I just saw these on your blog and recognized these as what we call Mosaic cookies (http://threemealsaday.com/index.php/2010/12/18/cookie-trials-2010-mosaic-cookies/). These have been a family favorite for years. There are minor variations between our two recipes. I have never heard this name for them before but I can see why they can be called that.

Great work on your blog. I will subscribe to it.

Stuart

March 26, 2012 - 6:31 pm

Krista Hilton - My Nana made these too! It is always great to find out that other people have the same traditions 🙂

December 11, 2012 - 11:42 pm

loraine - Is there a trick to slicing these? I know neither chocolate or marshmallows cut well.

December 12, 2012 - 10:04 am

srlacy - Hi Loraine-
Actually once the bars are chilled, they are simple to slice. The ingredients hold together very well, believe it or not.

November 11, 2013 - 10:27 am

Katyammm - My mom used to make these all the time for Christmas in the 80’s. The recipe came from a magazine (something along the lines of Good Housekeeping). I remember there was a big spread of holiday cookies in the issue and this was one of them. As I recall, they were called stained glass cookies. Unfortunately, we lost it over the years. Thanks for posting the recipe!