Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Cupcakes (Altitude Adjusted) with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I haven't been posting much lately. September has been a crazy month. I've been out of town three times in the last month. I hate airports =(

The recipe below is the result of about two and a half months of experimenting. I've been tinkering with this since July. The last batch I made was on September 18. I'm finally satisfied with the results. I'll probably try it as a cake this coming weekend and use it for my final project for my final cake decorating class. (Don't tell the instructor that I'm not using her doctored cake mix recipe.)

It is my favorite cupcake recipe at the moment. Cake recipes with buttermilk always give me the most trouble but I was able to make it work. The texture is not quite as pudding-like as the original recipe but it makes beautiful slightly domed cupcakes. Top it with swiss meringue buttercream and it is cupcake heaven.

Barefoot Contessa Chocolate Cupcake (Adjusted for Altitude)

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups minus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
¾ cups dutch cocoa powder (Valrhona, Guittard Cocoa Rouge or Droste)
2 teaspoons baking soda
scant teaspoon baking powder
scant teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
½ cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Fill each well halfway with batter. Makes approximately 36 cupcakes.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.


Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Cupcakes

Makes about 9 cups, enough for about 28 cupcakes (The recipe says 28 cupcakes but I was able to frost all 36 cupcakes with extra. Maybe I'm a little stingy with my frosting.)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 10 large egg whites
• 4 cups (8 sticks or 2 pounds) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.

Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.

Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Original recipe - creates a moist, pudding-like cake with sunken centers.

Adjusted recipe but too much flour - It has great flavor and the texture was not bad but not as moist as the original recipe. The crackled tops indicate too much flour.

Perfected recipe - This is the recipe posted. The crowns are perfect and the cake is moist.

Frosting the Cupcakes - I experimented with two different tips. The huge 16" bag on the left holds a ton of frosting. I am also using a 12" disposal bag. I like to use cups to hold my bags when I fill them. These Rockies souveneir cups are perfect.

Tips: Wilton 1M (Open Star (it's bent so it looks more like a closed star)), Wilton 2D (Drop Flower), and Ateco 847 (Closed Star). For the cupcakes, I used the Wilton 2D and the Ateco 847.

This was frosted with an Ateco 847. The large closed star tip produced large soft serve swirls.

My favorite tip for frosting cupcakes is the Wilton 2D. It produces nice ruffled swirls.

Ingredient/Equipment Notes:

Cocoa: I like the darker dutch processed cocoa for this cupcake. I tried the recipe with Valrhona, Guittard Cocoa Rouge, and Droste. I think they all worked really well. Use your favorite premium dutch cocoa.

Buttermilk: I tried both reduced fat and full fat cultured buttermilk and it did not make a difference.

Eggs: This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe. She likes to bake using extra large instead of the typical large egg. I'm not sure when she made the switch but I read her notes in one of her cookbooks.

Coffee: I brew Lion Coffee's Toasted Coconut coffee but I'm sure any brand will do. I just happen to drink Lion brand at home.

Cupcake pans: Buy the heaviest pans you can afford. I usually use heavy aluminum for my cakes but since I line my cupcake pans, I bought the cheaper heavy nonstick at Sur la Table.

Cupcake liners: I like cute cupcake liners and have a whole collection of them but most of the time (and especially for dark cupcakes), I reach for the plain unbleached grease-proof liners.

Half or 2/3 full? I used to fill my cupcake tins 2/3 full but found that I get much better results filling them half full.