Recipe: Cashew-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Recipe Source: Desaulniers, Marcel.  Death by Chocolate Cakes.  William Morrow Publishers, New York, 2000 pp. 23-4. 

I made these cupcakes for our most recent Sunday open house.  They were a real hit.  Personally, I loved them.  They came in these convenient little single-serving packages (ie, cupcakes,) I had enough for everyone who stayed until dessert, and they contained both chocolate and nuts.  Yay!  I was also quite pleased to get back to making desserts that contained chocolate.  I've been doing far too many fruit desserts lately! 

Naturally, I made a few changes.  First, I changed the name.  The original name of the recipe was "Chocolate Chip Goober Gobble Cupcakes."  I could not refer to them by this name with this crowd.  Trust me.  I substituted cashews and cashew butter for peanuts and peanut butter, because I'm allergic to peanuts.  I used salted cashews instead of unsalted, because that's what I could find and because our guests had all been doing intense workouts in 90-degree-plus weather.  Under those circumstances, extra salt is certainly acceptable.  I substituted fat-free Greek yogurt for the sour cream, because we don't ever use sour cream and I wasn't going to buy a whole container if we needed such a small amount.  Finally, I added a handful of dark chocolate chips to the regular chocolate chips in the icing.  I did this because I wanted to be sure I got a full two ounces once I scraped the melted chocolate into the bowl and to ensure a nice, robust chocolate flavor.  The result, as I mentioned, was a big hit. 

Cashew-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (makes 16; approx. $0.55/serving)

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup roasted salted cashews (use unsalted if you're concerned about salt intake)

1/2 cup smooth cashew butter

2 ounces butter, cut up into small pieces

2 ounces cream cheese

3 eggs

1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 cup cashew butter

2 ounces plus one handful chocolate chips, mixed semi-sweet and dark chocolate

16 individual cashews, for garnish

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments
• Muffin / cupcake tins
• Muffin / cupcake liners
• Rubber spatula
• Double boiler (you can rig one up with a metal or glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water)

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Line 16 muffin tins with foil baking cups.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together onto a paper plate or flexible cutting board.  Set aside.
3. Combine the brown sugar, cashews, 1/2 cup cashew butter, regular butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 1 minute.
4. Increase the speed to medium and beat 3 minutes.
5. Use the rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
6. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.  Beat on medium 30 seconds after each addition.
7. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again. 
8. Reduce speed to low and continue to mix while slowly adding the sifted dry ingredients.  Mix another 30 seconds after you've added all that dry stuff.
9. Add the yogurt and the vanilla.  Mix on medium 15 seconds. 
10. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use the spatula to fold in the chocolate chips. 
11. Portion out the batter into your cupcake tins.  The original claimed that it would make 18 cupcakes, but all I got out of it was 16.  Bake 30 minutes, rotating the tins halfway through.
12. Cool 10 minutes in the tins. 
13. Remove from the tins and cool to room temperature or at least 20 minutes before even starting the icing.  Meanwhile, wash both the bowl to your stand mixer and the rubber spatula.
14. Melt the 2+ ounces chocolate chips in the double boiler. 
15. Scrape the chocolate into the bowl of the stand mixer.  Switch to the whisk attachment and add the remaining 1 cup cashew butter.
16. Whisk on medium-high speed 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl.
17. Whisk on high speed another 30 seconds. 
18. Use the rubber spatula to frost the tops of your cupcakes. 
19. Top each cupcake with a single cashew and serve.

Comments

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

Yum! The cashews are a great addition!

[nora@ffr]

totally drool worthy!! these cupcakes look heavenly beautiful and m sure they will taste delicious!!
cheers!!!

[The Duo Dishes]

You have so much good stuff going on in here! It all starts with those different levels of cashew flavors. Nice.

[Jen]

Haha, it would've been awesome if you had retained the original name and told it to the "crowd." Awesome.

[Fearless Kitchen]

Jen - I can just see their reactions.... Hope you'll be there Sunday!

Duo - Thanks! I'll admit I really enjoyed these.

Nora - Thank you!

Natasha - I used to really miss peanuts and peanut butter, but since I started experimenting with cashew and almond butters I'm a lot better with it.