Sweet Vernal Zephyr

I did it! My Fudge Cup Concoction is ready to blog, and yummy too! I tackled it a couple nights ago (and trust me, tackle IS the correct word) and now it is ready to devour. My hubby kindly accompanied me in the kitchen during my baking craze and was hovering at the end... eventually he couldn't take it anymore and stole a fudge cup! I think I will take that as a compliment. :)



So I start out with my highly coveted bulk chocolate bar. (Hubby has been known to grab a chunk and run occasionally) Weighing in at around 26 oz of semisweet chocolate total. My stash is getting low, so this recipe better be worth it!








I can't really melt down the big chunks in a pot - it would be too messy and uneven heating... (I hate the smell of burning chocolate!) So I get to chop! I love chopping, especially with my new Pampered Chef knives. I make a huge mess and have chocolate all over my hands and the counter!



Now that I have the chocolate chopped and measurable it is time to get all the ingredients together. Wine is an absolute necessity if I am in the kitchen, this one is a sweet bubbly Moscato d'Asti from the Traveling Vineyard. (I guess I kinda get sucked into those tupperware-type parties!)



I have two size cupcake liners, small and large. I made a coconut shortbread (from the wonderful BakingBites website) to line the bottom of the larger liners because that is just a massive amount of fudge otherwise. I'm not saying that I am not up to the challenge, I'm just saying that I don't want to see people hurting themselves because they can't stop. Hahaha

Next is a recipe from Allrecipes.com for a double layer fudge called Raspberry Truffle Fudge. They call for raspberry liquor in the top layer but I am feeling the coconut rum tonight! The first layer comes together nicely though it is a bit sticky - I was kinda hoping that I could pour the fudge into the cups, but it looks like I will have to kinda press it in. You can see me starting to do that in the picture above.



The second layer from the recipe is more of a ganache - actually it IS a ganache (pssst.... by the way, I LOVE ganache). This layer pours nicely and I just need to give it a little bit of a push with my tablespoon to fill in to the sides or the cups. I toasted some coconut to go on top of the finished cups and figured it would be nice to have a little bit of a crunchy surprise in the middle... so I sprinkled some on top of this layer. While I was distracted hubby managed to steal a spoon full of the ganache and roll it in the toasting coconut! Luckily I made way more than enough.



I figured that a bit of whipped ganache would be perfect on top of this super sweet concoction AND it makes them look like actual cupcakes. BEWARE any potential consumers! A big bite into these will not reveal a soft cushion of cake and filling but an intense explosion of chocolate and smooth velvety cream!



I thought maybe I would save someone the pain of breaking their sweet tooth by adding a layer of white chocolate ganache glaze on top to warn of the candy underneath - kinda like the chocolate shell on the outside of a truffle. WELL, apparently I suck at white chocolate ganache! I can not get it to firm up! My ratio of chocolate to cream was 1 to 1, then I up-ed the chocolate so it was 1.5 to 1. Still no luck... I will try again with some whipping but I am not holding my breath.

In the end I had a very nice treat for my mother's birthday!



Happy Birthday Mom!




Notes for Perfection:
~ The coconut layer on the bottom of the big cupcakes is a perfect match to the rich fudge on top. If anything, add a little more salt to this layer, but not too much!
~The first half of the fudge layer was too think on some of the cups, Make sure to use a nice even thin layer (maybe 1/4 inch).
~The Second half of the fudge layer (the poured ganache) was not anywhere near coconut-y enough. Add cream of coconut next time? And this layer could us a little more, double next time so that is can be an equal thickness to the layer beneath.
~The toasted coconut in the middle was great but caused the cups to separate... not sure what to do about that.
~Be careful of over whipping the "frosting" ganache. Maybe pipe it on top next time instead of using a spoon.
~Practice, practice practice on the white chocolate glaze to find one that sets up nicely and doesn't turn transparent.