Chocolate pudding cupcakes with dark chocolate pudding frosting, rolled in chocolate cake crumbs! Also called, black out cupcakes!
First things first: yes, those are chocolate cupcakes topped with pudding and THEN coated in chocolate cake crumbs.
This recipe comes out of Kathleen King’s book Baking for Friends. You know Kathleen King, she’s the mastermind behind Tate’s Bake Shop in the Hamptons. I first heard about Tate’s Bake Shop while watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. Once Tate’s was on my radar, I knew I had to try these Tate’s famous chocolate chip cookies. When Rachel Ray featured the store-bought version of Tate’s cookies in her magazine and declared they were just as delicious as the ones from the bake shop, I was hooked.
When I saw these black-out pudding-topped chocolate cupcakes in the book, I knew I had to bake them. The recipe below is the full recipe that makes 15 cupcakes. I successfully halved the recipe (using 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk) and got 7 cupcakes with just enough frosting. You cannot pile the frosting as high as you see it in the photo, however, so if you want super tall cupcakes, half the cupcake recipe but make the full batch of pudding frosting.
I hope that makes sense. You can halve the recipe below to get 7 cupcakes, and if you want the chocolate pudding frosting to be super tall (like in the photos), then make the full batch of pudding.
I know I normally provided small batch cupcake recipes to you, so I wanted to give you a chance to make a full batch, especially with cupcakes that are THIS GOOD! Chocolate pudding cupcakes with pudding frosting want to be on your dessert table!
Thanks, Kathleen King for changing my cupcake life for the better!
I printed her full recipe below, but know that you can halve it!
Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes
Chocolate pudding cupcakes with pudding frosting.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups cake flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teasspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- ½ teasoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 cup boiling water
For the pudding frosting:
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Line 15 muffin cups with paper liners and lightly butter a 9-by-2" round cake pan and line bottom with parchment or wax paper. Dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.
- To make the chocolate cake: In a microwave on medium (50%), melt the chocolate, stirring at 30-second intervals until just melted, about 2 minutes. Let cool until tepid but still fluid.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a glass measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy, 3 minutes.
- One at a time, beat in the eggs and yolk. Beat in ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by ½ of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat until flour is gone. Add the melted chocolate mixture. Gradually beat in the boiling water.
- Using a ⅓ cup measure, transfer the batter to the muffin cups, filling them about ¾ cup full. Spread the remaining batter in the cake pan.
- Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes, but continue to bake the cake until set, about 5 minutes more. Let cool.
- Make the frosting: In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and ¼ cup of the water to make a paste. In a medium saucepan, whisk the remaining water with sugar, cocoa powder and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the cornstarch mixture and reduce heat to low, stirring often until mixture is as thick as pudding (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Add the chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes while chocolate melts, then transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool, pressing plastic wrap on the surface. Chill very well.
- Crumble the cake with your hands, then place the crumbs in a shallow bowl.
- Pile ⅓ cup of icing on each cupcake, shaping it into a dome with a small knife. Roll the edges of the cupcakes in the crumbs. Serve. (Cupcakes can be refrigerated for 1 day, but let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving).
Notes
You can always use a boxed chocolate pudding mix instead of making the frosting from scratch!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 490Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 309mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 3gSugar: 46gProtein: 5g
Ashlee says
I liked both your page and Tate's Bake Shop on FB!
Ashlee says
I tweeted about the giveaway!
Kirsten says
I'd love to try the white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie, it sounds delicious!
Christine says
I have a recipe for pistachio cherry cookies that I am super excited to make and eat : ) Happy holiday all....
Sonja says
chocolate chip shortbread cookies
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking & More says
I'm most looking forward to eating some Gingerbread Men. The smell, the taste definitely gets me in the mood for the holiday!!
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking & More says
I liked DFT on FB!
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking & More says
I liked Tate's Bake Shop on FB.
Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking & More says
I tweeted the giveaway here: https://twitter.com/365DaysofBaking/status/275616475220422656
Sarah L says
I'm looking forward to my mom's candy cane cookies. They're delicious and fun!