Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 g butter
• 200 ml milk
• 1 egg
• 100 ml sour cream
• 250 g flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 handful fresh coconut flakes (or white chocolate)
• 200 ml whipping cream
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 3 egg yolks
• 80 g sugar
• 200 g butter
• 125 g dark chocolate couverture

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C. For the muffins, chop the chocolate into small pieces with a knife. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add 50 g of chocolate and almost fully dissolve it. Whisk together milk, egg, sour cream, and sugar using an electric mixer. In a bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cocoa, and salt well. Add the milk mixture, chocolate‑butter blend, and remaining chocolate pieces, stirring with a wooden spoon until a homogeneous batter forms. Line a muffin tin with paper cups, fill them with batter, and smooth the tops. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Then let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

2. 2.

   For the cream, bring the whipping cream with split vanilla bean to a boil and let it steep. Separate the eggs; beat yolks with sugar, then gradually pour hot cream into the yolk mixture while stirring. Return to the saucepan and whisk over gentle heat with a rubber spatula until thickened—do not boil—then strain through a sieve and cool to room temperature. Whip the warm butter with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes until thick and frothy, aiming for a white, cream‑like consistency; gradually fold in the vanilla cream. Melt dark chocolate couverture over a bain‑marié and stir into the cream. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

3. 3.

   Cut a small lid from the top of each cupcake and use a spoon to create a shallow cavity. Fill the cupcakes with the cream and garnish with fine coconut flakes on top.