It's Iron cupcake time again! This month the theme ingredient is Basil! I actually planted a bunch of basil in John's backyard... yeah he didn't know about it until after it was done :D and as John likes to say when I do things I'm not supposed to "it's a good thing you're cute" hahaha

Anyway I went out to my mini herb garden and to my surprise a little candied basil plant had started growing!

Ok not really... but it's a fun little story :)

The sponsors for this month are: ETSY artist METAL SUGAR, her link is: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14597777 as well as to our corporate sponsors HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS http://www.fiestaproducts.com , HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com , JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com ; CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com and TASTE OF HOME http://www.tasteofhome.com.

Voting begins Sunday Sept 28th - and ends Thursday Oct 1st at noon. So make sure to vote for me!! please and thank you :)


Basil Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
  
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the chocolate topping and candied basil!

Chocolate Frosting
Mix equal parts melted semi sweet chocolate and fat free cool whip. Stir until blended and spoon onto cupcake tops

Candied Basil
Brush clean basil leaves lightly with water and place facedown into sugar. Dry on sheet pan, sugar-side-up, for 2 to 3 hours.

Decorate tops of cupcakes with leaves or pick a small flowering top of a basil plant and place into center of cupcake to make it look like a mini basil plant is growing.

Chow!

Hey guys it's time to vote for Iron cupcake!!! Voting started yesterday at noon... so you can go vote now!!! Click on this LINK or the picture of the iron cupcake badge above or the one in the sidebar and head over and vote for my Cupcakes! Yum!!!

Here is my entry. To see my recipe click HERE!


Thanks guys!!! I hope you enjoy the recipe totally give it a try!!

So I've joined another cupcake monthly challenge... IRON CUPCAKE!! Yes I know more cupcakes so tasty! Voting will begin on Sunday, August 31st at 12 noon at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, and will be open through Thursday, September 4 at 12 noon. So everyone you NEED to go vote for my cupcake please please please! :)

If I win I get all these cool prizes... provided by: ETSY artist CAKESPY, as well as to our corporate sponsors JESSIE STEELE APRONS; CUPCAKE COURIER and TASTE OF HOME

And the theme for Iron cupcake... a familiar one... Chili Peppers! We can use any kind of chili pepper, in any form... I chose the powder form... jalapeno powder (also known as chipotle powder) it isn't always easy to find, but wegmans being the best super market in the world carries it! I thought about what flavor combination would go well. I know the Aztecs are known for hot hot chocolate... so I started there. I found an interesting recipe for a chipotle flourless chocolate cake... mmmm. But I wanted to add something to cool off the taste buds after setting them on fire! This made me looking for some kind of liquid based milky cream to drizzle on top... hmm what else goes well with chocolate... coffee of course... ahhhh an espresso cream perhaps!? yes yes that is it! The best part is it uses silken tofu as the base of the cream, that means it's healthy right? Ehhh not so much, this recipe isn't really bad for you but it does have a good amount of chocolate and sugar... not that that is a bad thing! In this case it's a very very tasty good thing! I was able to reduce the amount of butter though :) and I used sugar not my normal splenda since I was baking these for some very special ladies I work with and one is pregnant and I wasn't sure if she's steering away from artificial products or not. OK ok I know you want to know the recipe! Here it is!!


Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from Simple Recipes
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets (I didn't use the silicon ones this time but the paper cups) and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the Espresso Cream!

Espresso (French Vanilla) Cream
slightly adapted from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup firm silken tofu (about 1/2 [12.3-ounce] package)
• 6 tablespoons fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup brewed espresso(I used strong browed french vanilla coffee), cooled
  

Method
To prepare espresso cream, combine tofu, condensed milk, and 1/4 cup of brewed espresso in a blender; process until smooth. Chill.

Serve cream in a spoon or small dish next to the cupcake.


I love the idea of serving the cupcake unwrapped with a spoon full of the cream on the side... then your guests can pour as much cream as they want on top and chow!

The ladies I made these for had to say this...


Hope everyone loves this one as much as I do!!

Chow!!