Chocolate Mint Flower Pot Cupcakes
Back to Recipes & MoreIngredients
- 2 pure peppermint tea bags
- ½ cup (120 ml) boiling water
- ¾ cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (84 g) cake or pastry flour
- ¾ cup (77 g) cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp (7 g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5 g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (3 g) salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup (145 g) Redpath® Dark Brown Sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) Redpath® Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola or vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp (1 ml) pure peppermint extract
- ⅔ cup (113 g) finely chopped dark chocolate
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ tsp (1 ml) peppermint extract
- ¼ tsp (2 g) salt
- fresh mint
- mini flowerpots
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin tin with liners. Set aside.
2. In a measuring cup, or heatproof bowl, steep two peppermint tea bags in ½ cup (120 millilitres) of boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the water hot. Steep for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt until no lumps remain.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter until pale and creamy. Add in the Redpath® Dark Brown Sugar and the Redpath® Granulated Sugar. Cream on medium-high speed, until pale in colour; about 2 minutes.
5. Remove and gently squeeze the tea bags from the hot water. Stir the canola oil into the peppermint tea. Set aside until needed.
6. To the creamed butter-sugar mixture, add in half of the dry ingredients. Starting on low, increase the speed to medium-low until flour is somewhat incorporated into the butter. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and half of the hot peppermint-oil tea, blend on low then increase to medium speed until incorporated. Pour in the last of the peppermint-oil tea mixture and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened; about 1 minute.
7. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, pure vanilla extract and the pure peppermint extract.
8. Starting on low speed, pour in a third of the milk mixture into the batter. Increase speed to medium and cream until the milk mixture is fully incorporated into the batter before adding another third of the milk-egg mixture. Repeat the process with the remaining milk mixture; make sure not to overmix.
9. With a small ice cream scoop, fill the liners about ¾ full. Place the filled tin into the preheated oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes.
10. Allow cupcakes to cool slightly in the pan; 5 minutes. Place cupcakes onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Take 2 or 3 cupcakes and crumble into crumbs to resemble soil. Set crumbs aside.
1. Place the finely chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl.
2. In a small heavy-bottomed pot, heat cream until it just begins to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Allow the hot cream to sit for about a minute. With a rubber spatula, slowly stir the chocolate cream mixture from the centre outwards, until chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy. Stir in the pure peppermint extract and salt. Allow to cool slightly or until slightly thickened.
1. Holding each cooled cupcake by the base, dip the tops into the ganache.
2. When all of the cupcakes are dipped in the ganache, sprinkle or dip the ganache topped cupcakes into the crumbs until the ganache is completely covered. Place each crumb-coated cupcake into a flowerpot.
*For cupcakes that are only chocolate, feel free to omit the peppermint tea bags. The peppermint extract can also be replaced with pure vanilla extract.
*If making plain chocolate cupcakes, cupcakes can be garnished with edible flowers, candy leaves, candy flowers or even candy bugs or worms.
*Alternatively, one does not need to crumble the 3 extra cupcakes used for the “soil”. The mint garnish (or optional toppings) can be placed directly onto the ganache.
