We’ve been everywhere lately. Or so it seems. Charlottesville, Richmond, Great Falls, Philly, Bethany, families, friends – we’d been making the rounds and not allotting much time to ourselves in our city. Mmm, our city. I like how that sounds.
When the opportunity for a D.C. day date presented itself, we had to do it right. We had to walk to Georgetown for cupcakes and coffee. And water views. And hand-holding. Other cute couple things. We had to.
So we popped into a little coffee shop I frequent. Walls of baked goods, various coffee drinks, hand-written signs and plenty of hipster millennials for me to gripe about with their nut milks and funny haircuts and loud opinions and live-streaming and adaptogens and whatever else rubs me the wrong way.
I picked an iced coffee and homemade fig bar – an ode to my favorite childhood snack.
My guy, “I’ll have a Chocolate Satan.”
A what?
He’d adorably misread, “chocolate satin” as “chocolate satan,” much to the amusement of the barista who burst out laughing.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, it could be satan…like devil’s food cake…I don’t know.”
We exited with coffees and treats in hand, no napkins, but broad smiles and made our way to the waterfront.
It was my favorite day in D.C.. Just me and my more-often-than-not-very-clever-but-occasionally-quite-goofy-fellow-food-loving-guy taking it all in and splitting a chocolate “satan.”
Maybe his version of the name was appropriate — it was sinfully good. Moist yellow cake topped with SATINY chocolate ganache and a sprinkle of sprinkles.
A simple treat. The best day. A funny moment. My favorite guy.
This one’s for him.
Measure out all ingredients for cupcakes and frosting — allowing butters and milks to come to room temperature. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
For the cupcakes, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs yolks and vanilla and mix in. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
Add 1/2 of the buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry in two more additions, alternating with the remaining buttermilk.
Carefully fold in the egg whites.
Portion the batter into a cupcake tin lined with paper cupcake liners. Fill the liners 3/4 of the way up.
Bake the cupcakes for 30 – 35 minutes in the preheated oven until lightly brown and springy. Also, an inserted toothpick should come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Chop the chocolate and place it in a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pot until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes until the chocolate is melted.
Transfer the cream, chocolate, confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, coffee and vanilla to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Place the frosting to a storage container and let sit at room temperature until thick and spreadable.
Generously pipe the frosting on the cupcakes and decorate with a sprinkle of sprinkles.
Unwrap and eat — preferably in the city you love with the person you love.
Chocolate Satan Cupcakes
2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of cake flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of buttermilk
For the frosting:
1 cup of heavy cream
6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups of confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter, cubed
1/8 teaspoon of instant coffee powder (optional)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
sprinkles for decorating
Servings: About 24 cupcakes
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners.
Cream together the butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
In separate bowl, whip egg whites until they are glossy, opaque and hold firm peaks. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the flour to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the lined cupcake tins, filling each liner 3/4 of the way.
Transfer the cupcake tins to the preheated oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the bake time. The cupcakes are finished baking when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Move the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.
While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pot. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and cover with the hot cream. Cover the bowl with foil and let sit for 10 minutes until the chocolate is melted. Put the chocolate, cream, confectioners sugar, butter, coffee powder and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Process until completely smooth.
Transfer to a storage container and let cool at room temperature until thick and spreadable.
Once the cupcakes and frosting are cool, spread or pipe a generous amount of frosting on each cupcake. Top with sprinkles and serve!