Horlicks Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Milo Ganache

My parents go to cell every Friday and I love volunteering to make dessert for the pot luck after. It gives me the chance to experiment with new recipes and get honest feedback after. The crowd being of age 50 and up are quite picky though and are united in their stand against desserts being overly sweet.

Was flipping through books for some cupcake inspiration and chanced upon this recipe from Sidney and VOILA! We have Horlicks cupcakes topped with a dark chocolate Milo ganache and finished with chopped maltesers. Milo is such a Southeast Asian / Australian household treat for kids and adults alike, it’d be pretty hard to resist these malty munchkins.

The cupcakes’ texture is sublime – light and fluffy because of the folded egg whites and with a slightly crunchy golden exterior. The ganache is EPIC, creamy and rich without being too sweet. Using milk chocolate the next time would be a good idea, to really allow the milo flavor to shine through.  

Malted Horlicks Cake  (Makes 18 cupcakes)

Adapted slightly from  from Baked : New Frontiers in Baking

1 cup + 1 tablespoon Cake Flour

3/8 All Purpose Flour

1/2 tbsp. Baking Powder

1/8 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¾ cup + 1 tbsp Horlicks

½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, at Room Temperature

3/4 cups Sugar

1/2 tbsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

½ cup cold water

½ cup milk

2 Egg Whites

36 maltesers (chopped into half)

To make the malt-ball cake, start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Whisk in the malted milk powder.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed, until light and fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cold water and milk, starting and ending with the flour.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

In the bowl of another stand mixer, or with a hand-held mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form (starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high).  With a spatula, carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter. 

Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Milo Ganache

150ml pouring cream (min. 35% milk fat pure cream)
200g dark chocolate
1/4 heaping cup Milo powder

3/8 tablespoon light corn syrup

Break chocolate up into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl with the milo. Heat cream gently in a medium saucepan until it just reaches the boil, add milo powder.

Pour hot cream into mixing bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to allow chocolate to melt. Using a whisk, stir until mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool to room temperature, until mixture is thick and only just pourable.

Spoon a tablespoon of milo ganache onto cooled cupcakes. Use an offset spatula to swirl a rose pattern. Dust milo powder on top and garnish with chopped Maltesers. The cake will keep well in a container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Baker's Notes

1.   The original recipe called for a mix of butter and shortening, but just butter is fine. My cake turned out fluffy and soft.

2.   You can substitute the Horlicks / Milo powders for other brands (e.g. Ovaltine) if you have them on hand.

3.   Garnish the cupcakes with Maltesers only when you’re ready to serve, the chocolate candies get stale in open air after a few hours.

Dark Chocolate Banana Croissant Puddings

I awoke to a grey, rainy day. Unusually chilly for Singapore, though I suspect foreigners might scoff 'YOU THINK THIS IS COLD?!' . But whatever, chilly afternoons are a perfect excuse to make puddings. Warm, toasty and chocolatey puddings. Puddings that make you sigh with contentment as you spoon in every soft, sweet bite. Puddings that go great with ice cream. 

Even though this one made me really sad at the end because it was GONE, it's still a keeper - silky dark chocolate, creamy bananas and buttery croissants. Yummmmeh! Frantically scraped every last nugget of croissant and chocolate crust, but sigh. All good things have to come to an end. I deviated from Nigella's original recipe, which called for too much liquid and added my own few mix-ins. 

Feel free to toss in some nuts for added texture. Or if you've a dessert death wish (HIGH5!!!!), drizzle with some irish toffee sauce.

Baker's Notes

• I used individual ramekins which are great for a dinner party and calls for a shorter baking time (20 minutes). Serve it family style in a huge dish, but remember to extend the baking time to 45-50 minutes.
• Butter your ramekins generously to lift the puddings out. 
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time to the custard mixture, but quickly, so you don't have a scrambled eggfest on hand! 

Dark Chocolate Banana Croissant Puddings (Serves 4)

Author : The Bakerlily

Ingredients

3 stale croissants

125 grams sugar

3 tablespoons water

180ml double cream

180 ml full fat milk

3 tablespoons irish cream (or rum)

3 large eggs (beaten)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

60g chopped dark chocolate

2 sliced medium bananas

1.    Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.

2.   Tear the croissants into pieces and put in individual ramekins.Scatter an equal portion of sliced bananas and chocolate onto the croissants.

3.   Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help dissolve the sugar before putting the saucepan on the hob over a medium to high heat.

4.   Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away, without stirring, until it all turns a deep amber colour; this will take 3-5 minutes. Swirl, but don't stir. In the meantime, whisk together your milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.

5.   Turn heat down to low and add the cream - ignoring all spluttering - and, whisking away, add in the milk mixture. Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over low heat. Take off the heat and, still whisking, add the beaten eggs quickly. 

6.    Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.

7.  Place in the oven for 20 minutes and until pudding springs back when gently touched. Puddings are best served and eaten warm, with a dollop of ice cream.