Chocolate - Apricot Cupcakes Filled With Crème Patissière
This recipe is my contribution to Nutriferia’s CHOCOLATE DESSERTS Roundup. Don’t forget to participate until 9 May. Even if I’m more of a savoury gal I sometimes crave something sweet and that usually implies chocolate :).
Cupcake ingredients (for 12 cupcakes)
- • 5 Tbsp brown sugar (you might want to reduce the quantity if the chocolate and the jam you’ll be using are really sweet)
- • 150 g/ 5.3 oz flour
- • 100 g/ 3.5 oz milk chocolate
- • 2 eggs
- • 3 Tbsp apricot jam
- • 1 Tbsp mashed compote apricot
- • 100 g/ 3.5 oz unsalted butter
- • 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
- • 1 tsp baking powder
Crème patissière ingredients
- • 3 medium egg yolks
- • 2/3 of a vanilla bean
- • 1 ½ heaping Tbsp of flour
- • 1 ½ cup of milk
- • 2 ½ Tbsp caster sugar
Decorate with
- • Grated milk chocolate ( I was out of dark chocolate but I’m pretty convinced it woud’ve worked better)
- • 12 (compote or fresh) apricot slices (you can also use peaches, that’s what I did)
Directions
It’s always a good idea to make the crème pastissière first because this way it will have enough time to cool before filling the cupcakes.
In a medium bowl mix well sugar and egg yolks using a wooden spoon. Add ½ Tbsp of flour and mix well, then another ½ Tbsp of flour, mix again to make sure the flour is evenly distributed and continue until you’ve tossed in all the flour.
Cut the 2/3 vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds. Pour the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan, toss in the vanilla seeds and bring to a boil over medium heat. When you see the milk foaming and rushing upward quickly remove the pan from the heat. Gradually whisk the hot milk in the egg-sugar mix. Pour the mix in the same heavy-bottomed pan and stir over low heat. It’s important to speed up the stir when it starts bubbling. When the stirring becomes more difficult and the crème patissière is a little bit thicker than a pudding you need to remove it from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 180 C/ 360 F.
Now on to the cupcakes. Line muffin cups with bottom-pierced paper liners. Coarsely chop chocolate and butter and melt in a bain-marie. Remove when melted and allow to cool for a few minutes.
In the meantime beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Toss in jam, apricot purée, orange juice and melted chocolate and stir gently.
Mix together flour and baking powder, add to the bowl and stir again.
Fill each cup 2/3 full and bake them for about 20-25 minutes or until the cupcakes pass the toothpick test.
Set aside for a few minutes allowing to cool. Using a teaspoon remove a cone from each cupcake. Fill the hollow with crème patissière.
Decorate with grated chocolate and apricot (or peach) slices.
Indulge!
For those of you celebrating Easter on Sunday, I hope you spend these precious moments with those dear to you. Happy Easter!
Gosh I am in awe of your cupcakes Lore they are stunning!! What a great entry for this event sweetie
Rosie x
25 April 2008 at 14:33Those cupcakes look gorgeous! A great combination of flavors! Delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
25 April 2008 at 15:30I’ve never thought to combine chocolate and apricot, except for chocolate dipped apricots! Brilliant- looks delicious!
25 April 2008 at 16:48Just the name of it makes me want to jump up and make these!!
25 April 2008 at 17:17paste Fericit, Lore :*
25 April 2008 at 21:28These look so good–and really pretty, too!
26 April 2008 at 01:04OMG Lore - these sound devine! I have never seen apricot and chocolate cupcakes before, but it is a great idea. They look delicious too.
26 April 2008 at 01:40Now that is magazine material!
26 April 2008 at 01:43Nice job!
beautiful photo - I love how this recipe that makes a dessert out of a cake - and with some of my favourite ingredients!
26 April 2008 at 02:02They look lovely Lore. But what I really want to make are your Sweet Potato Donuts you posted about a few months back. Boy am I glad I did some serious browsing and found those. Donuts are my favorite and Sweet Potatoes would mean they must be Southern, right?
26 April 2008 at 03:18That sounds just amazing…sweets always means chocolate for me!!! delicious!!! love the presentation too!
26 April 2008 at 07:01Your cupcakes make me drooling. Yummy!
26 April 2008 at 18:09Oh, Lore, this is wonderful. Several of my favorite ingredients here. A real winner!
26 April 2008 at 23:16Very fancy cupcakes! I’m looking forward to summer and fresh apricots thought I do love dried as well.
27 April 2008 at 05:02Alot of complexity going on with these cupcakes… it looks like alot of effort was put into it and the final product is gorgeous.
28 April 2008 at 05:26Those look spectacular!
28 April 2008 at 07:47I love pasty cream so much, that I could drink it. Mmm…
Beautiful cupcakes!
28 April 2008 at 09:17Thanks for your Easter wishes. Your cupcakes look absolutely delicious. I have never tried apricot and chocolate but they look lovely together.
28 April 2008 at 18:52Don’t these look delicious and quite professional, I might add!
28 April 2008 at 20:47Those cupcakes look spectacular. What a flavor combination!
29 April 2008 at 04:25Thank you Lore for this delicious contribution. I’m in awe of this flavor paring!
30 April 2008 at 10:19Rosie - That’s so sweet of you to say! Thanks
Rosa - Thanks! They looked pretty good didn’t they? But now they’re gone :(.
Recipe Girl - Thanks! The paring is darn good, I’ll make a bis sometime soon
Deborah - Great :)! Let me know how they turn out.
Teo - Multumesc pt urare si sper ca ai primit-o si tu pe a mea :).
Stacy - Thanks so much
Cakelaw - Thank you! The paring was a big hit and can develop addiction
Deb - Thanks for your kind compliment
Johanna - Thank you! I too have some favourites in there
Kim - Thanks :). Great! I can’t wait to find out how they turned out for you! My hubbie loves doughnuts too
Ginny - Thanks! I still craved chocolate after making these and that led me to make another yummy chocolate concotion :). I really enjoy these never-ending cooking-baking stories and how one idea leads you to another :D.
Retno -
Thanks. I’ll save you some next time, ok?
Joy - Thanks :)! I suspect that we might have similar tastes when it comes to desserts
Lisa Rene - Thank you! I’m with you on that :). But if they could just come without bringing the burning heat along…
Giz - Thanks :). They weren’t that difficult to make. Even the assembling part went pretty smooth.
Emiline - Thank you :). I’m pretty “mad” about pastry cream myself. I would put it on cookies too.
Chriesi - I’m glad you like them
Ivy - Thanks and I hope you had a beautiful Easter!
JJ and Cupcake Lady - Thanks and welcome to my blog :)!
Linda - Thank you for hosting a chocolate event to which it’s impossible to say no :). At least for me it is :)). Looking forward to the roundup!
02 May 2008 at 17:54