Today I’m participating in another virtual baby shower! This one is for my sweet friend Krystal, of Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate! She is on her way to 2 under 2! Last year she had a sweet baby girl, Elena, and now she is expecting another little one. When she was pregnant with Elena she was Team Green and it was torture waiting to find out what she had. Not knowing what she was having she lovingly referred to baby as Cookie. This time around they decided to find out ahead of time and they are having a baby boy! Of course it only seemed appropriate for him to have a fun foodie nickname as well, so he is lovingly referred to as Cupcake.
To honor Krystal and her little Cupcake, Eva has graciously offered to host this virtual shower. The theme is… cupcakes! So each of the shower participants is contributing a different cupcake recipe. Originally I was thinking of a more delicate cherry vanilla cupcake. Then I thought, she’s having a boy! He needs a strong and powerful cupcake. Thus was born the Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcake. Rich and chocolatey, sweet and salty, with a powerful presence.
Krystal, Elena, and me just a few weeks ago!
Krystal, I am so happy that we have become friends over these past few years. Your support and positive outlook has meant so much to me! I’m lucky to have a fellow SoCal blogging girl as a friend! Congratulations on your sweet baby boy. I can’t wait to meet him!!
Don’t forget to check out Eva’s blog to see the rest of the yummy cupcakes!
Pretzel Crust
Ingredients
3 cups pretzel twists
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Place pretzel twists in the bowl of a food processor. Process in 15-20 second spurts until well broken up. Add the brown sugar and process for an additional 10 seconds to combine. Stream in the melted butter while processing
Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cool completely.
As seen on Cupcake Project, originally from Allrecipes
Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3.4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
Directions
While the pretzel crusts are cooling, leave oven on heated to 350 degrees.
In a glass measuring cup, stir together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the butter and sugar. Whisk constantly until butter is melted and combined with the sugar and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Pour into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until cooled to room temperature, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the sour cream in 2 additions (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). Mix just until combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the tins (mine were a little more than 2/3 full, I was a little worried they may spill over, but they rose perfectly and stayed in their liners). Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Source: Annie’s Eats, originally from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Whipped Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
9 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
Directions
Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring heavy cream to a boil. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until solid. Once solid, place in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat until light and fluffy and a good texture for piping.
As posted previously on Sunny Side Up, originally from Savory Sweet Life
To assemble
Ingredients
Additional crushed pretzels
Chocolate covered pretzels
Directions
Pipe whipped ganache onto cupcakes. When you’re ready to serve cupcakes*, sprinkle with crushed pretzels and top with a chocolate covered pretzel.
*Pretzels will start to get a little soggy and less crunchy the longer they are on the cupcake, so it’s best to wait as long as possible before adding them.
Gorgeous cupcakes! One can never have too many chocolate covered pretzels. And in cupcake form?? Pure awesomeness right there. Thank you for joining me for Krystal’s virtual baby shower!
Thank you for hosting! I’ve been looking forward to this day and seeing all of the delicious contributions!!
Ummm…. yes please. Do you deliver? These look absolutely amazing.
Oh I love the salty sweet combination of these cupcakes! And the frosting looks delicious!
Awww, what a great strong and manly addition to cupcake’s virtual baby shower! hehe. I still want to see your delicate cherry vanilla cupcake in the future because that sounds amazing, too! What the heck am I talking about…any cupcake is a TASTY cupcake! I love the salty and sweet combo here, it definitely feeds into all hunger senses for this pregnant woman!! YUM!!! Thanks again for your fantastic addtion in honor of my sweet little cupcake!
XXOO
You’re so welcome! I loved celebrating your little guy!
I love this idea! I can’t think of a more perfect combination to celebrate this little boy – chocolate and pretzels!
These look amazing, Jess! I can’t wait to bake up a batch around here… however, I’d probably eat every single one by myself! 😀
Btw, I got my liners at JoAnn’s – they’re Wilton, I think!
Oh I need these in my life! Yummy! Anything with chocolate and pretzels is a winner for me!
What a precious picture and an awesome looking dessert.
I am drooling. Seriously.
I’m such a sucker for the salty/sweet combination. These cupcakes sound great!
These cupcakes look so delicious!!
My mouth is drooling over these amazing cupcakes!!!! I am going to be saving this recipe!