Darth Vader Chocolate Cupcakes

It was a cold, windy Sunday afternoon. We were all, more or less, bored. Husband was engrossed in some sort of online game, all I really wanted was to watch the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars, and the kids.. well, they just wanted to do something. Ideally something involving something sweet to eat, and/or making a mess.

So, how about baking something? I pulled out a new-to-me cookbook, Flour by Joanne Chang, and flipped the pages until I landed on her Chocolate Cupcakes. We quickly decided to skip frosting - these looked sweet and decadent enough on their own anyway. (So I guess maybe they are more like chocolate muffins? I never did understand the difference.) A little measuring, mixing and scooping later, and we could all enjoy a really yummy afternoon snack.

The baking cups with Darth Vader was something I picked up at Williams-Sonoma on my last trip to the US. VERY appriciated by my four-year-old.



The recipe specifies to let the batter rest for an hour to hydrate the flour - I did, because I didn't dare to skip it and it worked well with our general schedule. But make sure to plan for it.

Darth Vader Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 12
recipe adapted from an original by Joanne Chang

70 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
30 g cocoa powder, sifted
200 g sugar
115 g butter
80 g water
120 g milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
140 g flour

Start by placing chocolate and cocoa in a bowl. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the water and sugar. (I thought the water sounded really out of place here but it seemed to work out just fine.) When it's properly melted, add to the bowl of chocolate and stir until smooth. Add the egg, the egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Stir until combined.

In a separate bowl, combined baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Add to the chocolate batter, stir.

Now  let the batter sit for at least one hour at room temperature. (Or up to three days in the fridge.) Then dollop into paper cases and bake at 175°C for about 15 minutes. (The original said 30 minutes but that was way too much for mine.)