Hi Hat Cupcakes

I saw these on bakerella.com, who got them from marthastewart.com, who got them from the Cupcakes! book.  I thought they looked like a lot of fun so I wanted to give them a try.  Basically it's a chocolate cupcake with homemade marshmallow cream icing dipped in chocolate like a Dairy Queen ice cream cone.  YUM!  Does it get much more fattening than that???  They turned out okay for a first try but not as good as I would have liked so I will definitely be trying them again in the future to see if I can get them to come out better.  I had some problems with the icing part.  I mixed it for almost 20 minutes and it still wasn't forming stiff peaks but I was sick of beating it so I just gave it a shot as-is.  So they're not quite as tall as they should be because it was still a little soft but they still dipped fine and they taste the same so it wasn't a big deal.  These are so incredibly sweet and rich that I don't think I could handle more icing on them anyways!  Next time I might actually make little ones instead.

Hi Hat Cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 chocolate cupcakes

FOR THE ICING:
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract  (optional)   


FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING:

2 cups chopped (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate 

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

  

1.  In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.

2.  Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.  

3.  To prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.  

4.  Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.  

5. Place cupcakes on a serving platter, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Hi-Hat Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Recipes

  

 ***I used a bag of chocolate chips instead of chopped semisweet chocolate for the chocolate coating and I melted it in the microwave.  Also, make sure that the icing gets to the right temperature so the sugar will dissolve.  Otherwise it will be grainy but it will still taste good so don't freak out if it comes out grainy.  It happens all the time!***   Good luck!