German Chocolate Cupcakes

The day started out wonderful, my sister (who happens to be back from Houston) and I were doing our hair. Catching up on sister / girl talk we've missed for the past 9 months, laughing at our younger siblings. There's also a welcome shift in our relationship dynamics, now that our age gap is less prominent. She actually listens intently to my opinions and advice, where before I was just the younger, slightly fluffy 'mei mei'. 

So this cake is sort of a tribute to our sisterhood - a dark devil's food cake made extra fluffy with sour cream, skimmed with a dark chocolate glaze and made sweet with a dulce de leche coconut walnut topping! It's alot of work, but what family and sister isn't worth it? 

Devil's Food Cake Recipe (Makes 12 cupcakes) 

Adapted from Baked

 1 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour

3/8 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder, like Valrhona

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup hot coffee

1/2 cup sour cream

140g unsalted softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoons vanilla

2 ounces (60g) dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the coffee and sour cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. The mixture will look light and fluffy.

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee/buttermilk mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the melted chocolate.

Bake around 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Spread glaze over cooled cupcakes and top with coconut filling. 

Chocolate Glaze

100g chopped semisweet chocolate

45g unsalted butter

1 tbsp light corn syrup

½ tbsp. coconut rum

Pinch of coffee powder

Pinch of salt

In a bowl, melt chocolate, butter and coffee powder in a microwave, pausing to stir occasionally. Add in corn syrup and rum and stir until smooth. Let the glaze cool till lukewarm and pourable. 

Dulce De Leche Coconut Filling (Adapted from The Brown Betty Cookbook)

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

½ cup chopped walnuts

200g dulce de leche

½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt.

Toast coconuts, pecans and salt together until golden (or till a nutty scent wafts in your kitchen). Mix vanilla, toasted mixture and dulce de leche together till well combined. The mixture will be sticky. 

Baker's Notes

This cake is quite tedious to make, especially with the glaze and filling. You can prep them the day before. Toasting the walnuts and coconut is SOO IMPORTANT because it gives your filling that extra 'burnt' flavour! 

If you can't find dulce de leche in the supermarket, it's easy peasy to make! All you need is condensed milk and some patience. Check out the different ways you can whip it up yourself here.