The cupcake craze has reached a new level in Paris. On July 4th, the first-ever Paris Cupcake Camp will take place under the organization and leadership of Cat Beurnier, aka Little Miss Cupcake. The ad hoc gathering of cupcake lovers has already been popular in other countries for several years and with the recent surge of cupcake popularity among the French, it’s only natural that the event would finally make its mark in Paris. For only 10€, guests have access to a drink and all the cupcakes they can fit in their mouths and/or stomach.
Guests are encouraged to bake cupcakes and enter them into the various contests that will run during the event, with a panel of local “celebrity” judges evaluating not only taste and creativity but most exotic flavor pairings and most Parisian cupcake. Aside from amateurs, the leading cupcake bakers in Paris will provide treats for the event. And if that isn’t reason enough to spend 2 hours on the 4th of July spiking your blood sugar, all of the proceeds from the event go to the organization Rebuilding Haiti. The feel good strategy clearly worked as the event will welcome over 200 hundred cupcake enthusiasts to indulge in over 1500 cupcakes, far exceeding Cat’s initial projections.
Although I was asked to be a judge at the event, I will also be bringing cupcakes. I love to bake, as you might have guessed from some of my previous recipe posts, but I admittedly have trouble creating artistic cupcakes. Chalk it up to an imprecise hand, I never seem to get the icing right (and by right I mean visually appealing). I started to think of how I could merge one of my favorite childhood treats with the cupcake form to produce something 200+ guests would even consider eating. The brownie – so decadent in taste and simple in form – is the ultimate American dessert, perfect for any 4th of July celebration. But why settle for a brownie when you can have a brownie cupcake? Alas, I found my cupcake.
The icing is optional but I plan on giving it a shot – there will be cameras at the event, after all. So without further ado, my entry into Cupcake Camp:
Brownie Cupcakes with a Raspberry Surprise
Pre-cooking note: Give yourself 2 hours and expect a bake time of 30 minutes.
The Icing
4 oz of softened cream cheese
½ (4 tablespoons) stick of softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
The Brownie Cupcakes
1 stick (1/2 cup) of softened butter (yes, more butter. Did you think these were going to be light?)
4 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped into pieces
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (do not forget this!)
½ teaspoon baking powder
The surprise: a handful of raspberries
Garnish: 12 fresh raspberries
Preparation
Heat the oven to 325°F (162°C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners (muffin cup size will depend on where you live)
First start with the frosting. Beat all of the ingredients on a low speed to blend, followed by high speed. If you don’t have a mixer, I hope you have extremely strong forearm muscles.
Put that aside temporarily, and begin with the cupcakes. Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium sized saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Remove the saucepan from heat and begin whisking in the sugar and vanilla, followed by the eggs 1 at a time. Whisk until well blended, then stir in flour, cocoa and baking powder.
Pour the mixture into half of each muffin cup, add a raspberry or two, then pour the rest of the mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
Now for the part where everything usually goes awry for me. Pour the icing mixture into a large ziplock bag. Cut ½ inch off one of the corners of the bag and begin piping the icing onto the brownie cupcakes. Add a raspberry to each cupcake for the final touch.
Good luck!
Photo courtesy of Woman’s Day