chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes

I've been a bad blogger! Haven't posted in almost a month. Skipped the past three Baked Sunday Mornings recipes. I've been busy with cake decorating this month, a sweets table for a wedding, made a few recipes that I've made before, and dived right in the new Baked cookbook and made recipes not yet on the Baked Sunday Mornings recipe schedule. And I figured I should post one of them before they kick me out of the club for being delinquent!

I've made this recipe three times this month. One recipe became the top tier of a wedding cake. (It actually made three 6-inch layers). I doubled it on a second occasion to make three 8-inch layers that got transformed into a toy story cake and I also got a dozen cupcakes that became little aliens. Finally, I made it a third time this month into these cupcakes for a bridal shower.

I was very impressed with this recipe when I baked the batter in cake tins. Even if the cake was very moist, its structure was perfect. The cake came out of the pan very easily, and the sides of the cake stayed straight, which helps when trying to get a perfect finish in buttercream! It does dome quite a bit, but once the cakes are leveled off, the scraps are delicious to snack on!

Because the cake does dome, it made for very pretty cupcakes! I made sure to rotate the pans halfway through the baking time though, to make sure that they would rise evenly.

Oh yeah, and instead of butter, these cupcakes require mayonnaise. Although it could seem weird to some people, but having had mayonnaise cake when I was a kid I know they produce super moist cake, and really, when you think about it, mayonnaise is basically oil, egg yolks and some kind of acidic ingredient.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes
recipe source : Baked Elements

2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups boiling water
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the chocolate and cocoa powder. Add the water and whisk until smooth.
In another medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat  both sugars and the mayo together until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat the mixture until it is completely combined and uniform in color. Add the vanilla and beat again.
Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just until incorporated.
Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. Bake the cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

I really like this recipe. It's easy, there is no advance prep it produces a great cake with an almost perfect texture. I'm not sure it is the most delicious cake I've ever had, but I think the once you slather it with frosting, the resulting treat is delicious!

I haven't tried the frosting recipe included with these cupcakes. Maybe I'll save that for when the Baked Sunday Mornings baking group gets around to making this one.