Needing a delectable and pretty treat for my mom's birthday, I adapted an old standby cake recipe for "Silver White Cake" (probably written before my birth) into this marvelously fluffly cake. Then I added a chocolate frosting recipe from an old Cook's Illustrated magazine. It's really quite a shame I don't have a picture.
Almond Cake
Mix in standing mixer on low speed, scraping down the sides:
3/4 C almond flour ("almond meal"- you can buy it at Trader Joes)
1.5 C cake flour
1 to 1.25 C sugar
3.5 tea baking powder
1 tea salt
1/2 C butter
1 C milk (I used 1/2 C rice milk + 1/2 C half-&-half: ironic I know)
1 tea almond extract
Then speed up to high and beat 2 minutes. Literally, set a timer for the 2 minutes. This whips the batter up, which translates to a fluffy cake.
Add 3 eggs, beat 2 more minutes at high speed. Then add a couple ounces of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and stir carefully. The chocolate bits melt ever so perfectly and speckle the cupcakes when baked.
Pour batter into cupcake pans with paper liners. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
Chocolate "Ganache"- type Frosting
Enough frosting for cupcakes
I really like this recipe since it tastes amazing and doesn't require pounds of powdered sugar. Plus, it whips up in the food processor, so you don't have to rush to clean your standing mixer to make it.
Process in food processor for about 30 seconds:
10TB butter (or 1.25 STICKS)
1/3 C powered sugar (if you like it super sweet, you can use 1/2 cup)
1/3 cocoa (dutch processed)
pinch salt
Add & process 5-10 seconds:
1/3 C honey or corn syrup (the honey had a great flavor with the chocolate, but was a little grainer than what you'd expect from corn syrup- your choice)
1/2 tea vanilla
Add 4 oz melted chocolate ( I like bittersweet, but whatever works). Process using the "pulse" button until smooth.
This frosting is the perfect consistency for piping on the cupcakes with a star tip.
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