• Recipes
• Pastry
• Cupcakes and muffins
• Vanilla-crème filled chocolate cupcakes with bittersweet chocolate ganache

(Written May 17, 2011) <br /> <br />Last week, I bought something that I never thought I would "need"—a cupcake corer. I should back this story up a bit... <br /> <br />It was a lovely, pre-Easter weekend and I found myself walking around downtown Los Gatos with David (the husband). Lo and behold, Williams-Sonoma had a sign outside that caused a force stronger than I, one that practically pulled me into the store (20% off open-stock All-Clad D5? Yes, please!). I'm now convinced that this [magnetic] force is the very same that allows the pans to be used on induction burners, and it only grows more powerful when there's a sale going on. Clearly I couldn't help myself, right? <br /> <br />I then, of course, proceeded to meander throughout the entire store (why waste the trip?), and that's when I first laid eyes on this single-purpose device, the cupcake corer. I was intrigued. After picking it up off the shelf and playing with it for a few seconds in order to figure out how it worked, I took a peek at the price and thought, only 5 bucks! Hmmm. This quickly turned into, 5 bucks for this simple device? No, not worth it, on to the All-Clad! <br /> <br />It was hopeless, though, the seed was planted. Over the next few weeks, I found myself coming back to the thought of "what could I possibly fill a cupcake with?" over and over again. <br /> <br />Dulce de leche? Eh, it's fun to make but not my favorite thing to eat (and we all know it's all about me—kidding!). <br /> <br />Extra frosting? Too much of the same flavor and texture. Though, I do love frosting. <br /> <br />It wasn't until I was experimenting with the success-or-failure of baking chocolate cupcakes without paper liners that I knew exactly what I'd use the corer for: a faux-Hostess cupcake! I thought a whoopie pie type of marshmallow-y vanilla filling, whose sweetness would be balanced out with a bittersweet chocolate ganache would fit the bill—and here we have it! <br /> <br />I ended up purchasing my corer through Sur La Table (the Williams-Sonoma I went to weeks later didn't have any in stock, and I was in a rush to get one before the bake sale), and I love it! It's not just a glorified round cookie cutter. My favorite part is how the wide, plastic flower part allows you make holes with a consistent depth. Plus, it comes apart so you can clean both halves really well. It's really the small things in life that excite me. <br /> <br />(For sources and more, visit: http://www.asageamalgam.com/2011/05/vanilla-creme-filled-chocolate-cupcakes.html)

Oct. 1, 2021, 11:50 a.m.

Share

0

12

0