Tuesday 22 May 2012

Hi Hat Marshmallow Cupcakes


This month's letter for AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co-hosted by myself on alternate months is.... "H". H really is Hard and initially all I could think of was honey, honeycomb and hazelnuts, all of which I like. However, I wanted to push the boat out this month as that's part of the fun of these challenges. So far I've entered Hamburger cupcakes and Hummingbird cupcakes and now I present to you.... Hi Hat Marshmallow Cupcakes!! I was really pleased when I came across these in my new book Amazing Cupcakes with Lola. I've seen these mostly on American blogs previously and have always wanted to try making them as they look so cute. The recipe is easy to follow and the cupcakes taste great! The chocolate cupcake is moist and not too sweet (I did reduce the sugar amount) and the soft, light marshmallow frosting complements the chocolate cake. The chocolate coating on top is of course the icing on the cake :) 




I'm also entering these beauties to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.


And to Cupcake Tuesday hosted by Liz from Hoosier Homemade


And to My Sweet Party hosted by Johanna from Me and My Sweets.  The theme for this month is Chocolate so these are perfect as they are extremely chocolatey. 



 Make chocolate cupcake batter 

 whip egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and water until foamy... 

 ...then whisk over a pan of simmering water until you get stiff peaks like this. 

 ready to frost? 

 start with one outer circle 

 add another layer on top 

 if you can, add yet another layer - you want to frost as high as possible! 

 not too bad

 don't look too closely especially the back row!! 

 I used a tall, deep glass to dip the cupcakes in


 bit messy but yummy! 

 some disasters along the way...the frosting fell off into the chocolate coating! :( 


 cross section 

Recipe from Making Cupcakes with Lola by Victoria Jossel & Romy Lewis, photography by Kate Whitaker. Published by Ryland Peters & Small - reproduced with kind permission from the publisher (I've edited the method section slightly in my own words)

Makes 12 cupcakes 

For the cake
100g dark chocolate
175g butter 
225g  caster sugar (I used 180g)
4 eggs
100g self raising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of salt

For the easy marshmallow frosting
180g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 egg whites
60ml water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate coating
350g milk chocolate (I used dark as I didn't have enough milk)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 


  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. 
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar.
  • Allow to cool for 10 minutes. 
  • Beat the mixture with an electric hand mixer. 
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. 
  • Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the bowl and beat until blended. 
  • Divide the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and cooked. 
  • To make the frosting, whisk the egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar and 60ml water in a large heat proof bowl until foamy as shown in the picture above. 
  • Bring a small saucepan of water to a gentle simmer and set the bowl on the pan.
  • Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat, beat in the vanilla extract and continue beating until the frosting is nice and thick. 
  • Transfer to a piping bag with a plain round nozzle.
  • Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes as shown.
  • I put my cupcakes in the freezer at this point to help the frosting set.
  • Make the chocolate coating by melting the chocolate and vegetable oil in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. 
  • Transfer to a small, deep bowl or tall, wide glass and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  • Holding each cupcake by the base, dip the marshmallow spiral into the cooled, melted chocolate to entirely coat the spiral.
  • (Note: if the chocolate is too hot, it melts the marshmallow frosting and I personally think chilling the cupcakes for 10-15 minutes helped!)
  • Allow the cupcakes to set at room temperature before serving. 

70 comments:

  1. Wow! These are amazing, they really have the wow factor I am so going to have a go at making these.

    Angela

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    1. Thanks I thought so too which was why I was really excited to make them.

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  2. Oh wow... like... "wow"... agree with Angela above... they really have the wow factor. SO cool! Bet they're fun to eat :D

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    1. Thanks! They were a little messy to eat but absolutely delicious :)

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  3. These are great! Wanted to try these for ages but have been too intimidated by the marshmallow frosting. Yours look fab though, and I like the ones at the back - full of character! Would love to try these :)

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    1. This recipe is fab, it really is an easy frosting as stated in the book. I did say not to look too closely at the back ;) My piping skills need a lot of work!

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  4. Oh how I good a love Hi-Hat! what a genius H bake! and I'm so happy to see that yours definitely qualify as legitimately 'high' hats indeed!! too often I see people doing these more as low hats and as far as I'm concerned the more marshmallow frosting the better - yum!

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    1. Thanks! I was really pleased with myself and wouldn't tell Caroline what I was planning so she kept asking about my 'mysterious' bake! I think mine are higher than the ones in the book - yay! :)

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  5. I love these cupcakes and love have marsmallows! look georgeous absolutely!! I wanna make of corse LOL

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    1. Thanks Gloria - do give them a go, they are really good :)

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  6. I love these! They' look like toy town cupcakes and for that, I absolutely adore them. They are the sort of cupcakes you would never be able to buy because they're just magnanimous and epic looking!

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  7. What a spectacular effect! Great cupcakes!

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    1. Thanks! They really do have the wow factor :)

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  8. Really "WOW"! The cakes look super cute. My kids will have a field day licking the marshmallow frosting off the cakes :D

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  9. I love it! I need to make these!

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  10. I'd never heard of hi hat cakes, they look brilliant! Is the marshmallow still quite soft? I prefer that to the much more rigid texture you get sometimes. Great Alphabakes entry!

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    1. I think they're American. The frosting is very soft and delicious. Tastes like cloud :)

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  11. Gosh! These are so delicious! It reminded me of the hat in the movie Harry Porter! Or may be another movie!!?? LOL Looks fabulous with marshmallows & that chocolate coat is so tempting! Lovely treat & great entry for Alphabakes! :)

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    1. Ha ha oh yes the sorting hat!! I can see it now. I was really pleased with this "H" bake :)

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  12. This reminds me of an ice cream place in Livingstone, Zambia where they dipped a cone of whippy ice cream into melt choc. The choc of course immediately harded and you bit through it to get at your ice cream - delciiously messy!

    Anyway, your cakes look amazing, I definitely want to try this one!

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    1. ooh that sounds lovely! These cakes are a little messy to make and to eat but well worth it :)

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  13. wow these look perfect, the dipping part is so nervewracking

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    1. Very much so - I almost cried when the frosting fell off!! At least most of them look presentable :)

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  14. Oooh, it's like a tunnock's teacake on top of a cupcake! These look like great fun. Does the chocolate coating make a satisfying crack when you bite into it?

    I like your cross section photo, the texture of the cupcake looks really good.

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    1. I never thought of that! It does look like a teacake on top. The chocolate coating was quite soft when I ate it as it had been out for a while. I think if you ate it straight from the fridge, you'd get the crack! The cupcake was really moist and delicious!

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  15. Hats off to you for making these, my friend! I have yet to make them. Your photo tutorial is very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. ha ha love the pun :) hope you try them soon!

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  16. Wow Ros, I don't know what else to say except wow and i am in love! *drool*

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    1. Thanks! They really do have the wow factor and they taste good too :)

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  17. oh and please add this to this month's Bookmarked Recipes. This deserves the biggest audience possible. I salute you Ros x

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    1. Thanks Jac - very kind of you! Will add the links now :)

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  18. These look amazing!! They must be very good too!

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  19. Ha ha...this was going to be my H for baking tomorrow...I've been dying to make these...we seem to keep pipping each other at the post!:-) I may still make them anyway or I may come up with another last minute plan!!

    P.S I've just left you a couple of links to sugarpaste sellers on my blog comments

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    1. Great minds think alike! :) I've been wanting to make these for ages as well. Cant wait to see yours - I'm sure they'll look much better than my messy ones :) Thanks for the links - I'll save them for next time. I hope my cakes turn out ok!

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  20. I always wanted to make some of these, I love the idea of marshmallow covered in chocolate on top of a cake. Yours look wonderful!

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    1. Thanks! I've wanted to make them for ages too so am glad I finally got round to them :)

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  21. Amazing. I've never made anything likes these, but you make it look easy..well, sort of. Will try. So pretty!

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    1. Thanks! Do give it a go - it's a great recipe :)

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  22. Amazing!! These look stunning and I bet they're delicious too...

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  23. Awesome! What fantastic cakes! I especially like the topping.

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    1. Thanks! I wish they were neater but practice makes perfect right? :)

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  24. I love your puffy little hats-you did a wonderful job with the marshmallow! :D

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    1. Thanks! A few of the hats fell off in the process but luckily they were all covered in chocolate so I was able to save them :)

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  25. Such a fun recipe. Reminds me of the the brown topper ice cream cones.

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    1. Thanks - I had thought to bake these in ice cream cones initially but decided they would be too unstable to transport!

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  26. Excellent, they are just like Tunnocks Tea Cakes.

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  27. I've nominated you for the ABC Award - find out more on my blog :-)

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    1. Thanks Janice! Will definitely check it out :)

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  28. OMG OMG OMG I love these :) They're great ~ They look so so so pretty like something you buy from stores :D And i love how you're so creative with using the letter 'H' :D Can't wait for next months alphabakes and arghhh really need to hurry up and send Caroline my other post hehe ~

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    1. Thanks! I was really pleased with my sudden flash of inspiration for this H bake! Next month's alphabakes will be announced on my blog on the 1st of June so stay tuned :)

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  29. I've never been brave enough to try that kind of frosting - they look utterly amazing - well done you!!!

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    1. Thanks! I was nervous but am so glad it worked :)

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  30. These look incredible Ros, wow wee! The dark chocolate cake, white marshmallow and chocolate coating make them look particularly stunning. Hi Hats to you for pulling this off so effectively.

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    1. Thanks they really do look quite spectacular, don't they? :)

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  31. I've always been scared of making these - fearing that my frosting will slide off into the chocolate! I think you've done a splendid job here and I am inspired!

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    1. It did happen a few times but I managed to save it... just about! Do give them a go - they're really fun to make!

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  32. These look absolutely amazing! What a fabulous idea!

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  33. Gorgeous! I LOVE that Lola's book but I shied away from these thinking they looked a bit scary to make but yours are fab!

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    1. Do give them a go - they're really good. I'm loving my Lola's book too :)

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