These chocolate soufflé cupcakes is a great little hit of chocolate and coffee for when you need a fix. They are my two favorite vices. Well, the two that come to mind right now. My day ALWAYS starts with a cup of coffee in the morning. About midday I open up my chocolate drawer and have a little square of some treasure I’ve been hiding. Yes, I have a drawer just for chocolate. Actually it shares space with tins of tea, but they are just a foil to throw my boys off the scent. If you lift up the tins there are about a dozen different chocolate bars to choose from. If the boys start reading my website I’ll have to find a new hiding spot.
This dessert is a perfect blend of flavors. It is also just the right size. Enough to satisfy and yet not so much as to make me feel guilty about indulging, any time of day.
The cake is a flourless chocolate soufflé that is baked just until the outside is nice and crunchy, but the inside is smooth and rich in texture and flavor. If you serve them warm they melt in your mouth. If you refrigerate them they become denser like a fudge. There are differing opinions in my house as to which is the proper way to serve them. You’ll decide which way to go. In either case they are made even better topped with whipped cream that has been steeped in coffee beans.
The basic recipe comes from page 393 of Carole Bloom’s The Essential Baker, with just a touch of extra coffee from me.
Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes Recipe
Makes about 48 mini cupcakes or one 9 1/2″ cake. Find the recipe below.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a 9 1/2-inch spring form pan or mini muffin tins with butter, set aside.
In a small sauce pan heat the heavy whipping cream and coffee beans over low heat until simmering. Remove from heat and let sit for at least 15 minutes. The longer you allow them to steep the stronger the flavor.
Strain the beans from the heavy cream through a fine mesh sieve.
Take out 1/2 cup of the cream for the cake recipe and refrigerate the rest for the garnish.
Heat the 1/2 cup of cream and the butter together in a medium sized sauce pan over low heat, just to a simmer.
Once the butter is melted turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir gently then cover the pan and allow to sit for five minutes.
gently whisk the cream and chocolate together.
It should be nice and smooth with no lumps of unmelted chocolate. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile whip the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of sugar together for about 5 minutes.
They should be pale in color, very think and able to hold a ribbon on the surface when you hold up the beater and allow the mixture to fall into itself.
Gently fold the whipped egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.
Using a rubber spatula to combine them gently. Set aside.
Whip the egg whites and 1/3 cup of sugar together,
until they reach stiff, but not dry peaks.
In three additions fold the whites into the chocolate mixture.
Working gently so as not to knock all the air out of the whites. This is what will cause your cake to soufflé.
The mixture should be shiny, smooth and light in texture.
Pour into cake pan or scoop into muffin tins.
You can also use cupcake papers.
Bake for about 20 minutes in mini-muffins (35- 40 minutes for 9 1/2-inch cake pan) or until the cakes are set and slightly cracked on the tops.
Let the cakes cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then turn them out of the muffin tins. If baked in the spring form pan then release the sides.
Whip the coffee scented cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until stiff peaks. Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe the cupcakes with a generous amount of the cream.
Using a micro zester shave the 1 ounce of chocolate over the cream and top with the chocolate covered coffee bean.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup coffee beans optional – this is an added bonus for those of us who really like our coffee
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 extra-large egg whites at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 extra-large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate for garnish
- chocolate covered coffee beans for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 1/2-inch spring form pan or mini muffin tins with butter, set aside.
- In a small sauce pan heat the heavy whipping cream and coffee beans over low heat until simmering. Remove from heat and let sit for at least 15 minutes. The longer you allow them to steep the stronger the flavor. Strain the beans from the heavy cream through a fine mesh sieve.
- Take out 1/2 cup of the cream for the cake recipe and refrigerate the rest for the garnish.
- Heat the 1/2 cup of cream and the butter together in a medium sized sauce pan over low heat, just to a simmer.
- Once the butter is melted turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir gently then cover the pan and allow to sit for five minutes. Gently whisk the cream and chocolate together. It should be nice and smooth with no lumps of unmelted chocolate. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile whip the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of sugar together for about 5 minutes. They should be pale in color, very think and able to hold a ribbon on the surface when you hold up the beater and allow the mixture to fall into itself.
- Gently fold the whipped egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula to combine them gently. Set aside.
- Whip the egg whites and 1/3 cup of sugar together, until they reach stiff, but not dry peaks. In three additions fold the whites into the chocolate mixture. Working gently so as not to knock all the air out of the whites. This is what will cause your cake to soufflé. The mixture should be shiny, smooth and light in texture.
- Pour into cake pan or scoop into muffin tins. You can also use cupcake papers.
- Bake for about 20 minutes in mini-muffins (35- 40 minutes for 9 1/2-inch cake pan) or until the cakes are set and slightly cracked on the tops.
- Let the cakes cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then turn them out of the muffin tins. If baked in the spring form pan then release the sides.
- Whip the coffee scented cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until stiff peaks. Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe the cupcakes with a generous amount of the cream.
- Whip the coffee scented cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until stiff peaks. Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe the cupcakes with a generous amount of the cream.
Hello, Zoe! So excited about this! First things first, just wanted to ask what the baking temperature is. I apologise in advance if it’s written and I just missed it. Also, is the vanilla to be mixed with the yolks and sugar? Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much. x
I made these tonight and they taste great! But mine fell while they were cooling. : (
Any tips?
Hi Jessi,
Try adding 5 minutes to the baking time.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe,
It wasn’t stated specifically in the step by step instructions, so when are the pure vanilla and salt supposed to be added to the cake batter? Thank you! 🙂 they look fantastic!
Hi Zoe,
I baked my souffle and they come out of the oven just like yours. But they sink right away? Can you tell me what could be wrong?
Thank you!
Hi Erika,
Did they sink completely or just slightly? As with any souffle they may sink slightly, but if they collapse all the way you may need to bake them longer.
Thanks, Zoë
I really want to make these, but unfortunately coffee has started triggering migraines for me. Is there a good substitute I should try or should I just omit the coffee?
Hi Sandy,
The coffee is optional in the recipe. To jazz it up a bit you can add a vanilla bean or a cinnamon stick or both to the cream, instead of the coffee.
Enjoy, Zoë
Hi. I wanton make the cupcakes but with a non dairy substitute for the cream and butter. Almond milk might work…do you think? Omit the butter? Use sthg else? Do I need corn starch w the almond milk?
Hi Jill,
I am not sure about the almond milk, although I suspect there is a version that has a high enough fat content to mimic the cream? I don’t know if it will require cornstarch to get the right texture, you may have to play with it a bit to find out. You can use a butter substitute in place of the butter, such as health balance or a similar product.
Thanks and please keep me posted on how it turns out! Zoë
Hi!
I’m trying to make this and i have a question,
so if I mixed the refrigerated cream that was soaked with coffee beans for the coffee flavor with the sugar, will the RESULT be the white cream you decorated the top of the cupcake with?
🙂
please answer me back
Thanks soo much!
Alice
Hi Alice,
Depending on how long you steeped the coffee in the cream, it will either come out white or slightly off-white. It is so very tasty!
Enjoy, Zoë
If you don’t like this would not belong to the human race!
I just found my Valentine dessert…yum!
I love Healthy Bread in 5 Min as does my family; after trying lots of recipes elsewhere it’s the first time that my husband has liked my homemade bread. Thank you for simple, tasty recipes!!
Hi Zoe,
I had the cake cold, and it’s delicious. I did one silly thing though…I didn’t wait long enough yesterday to pipe the whipped cream…and understandably, it ran a little when it hit the hot surface…but apart from that, it tasted good 🙂
So thanks again for the recipe.
Hi Nabeela,
I look forward to hearing back! Enjoy.
Zoë
Hi Zoe,
I just made this souffle/cake in a 9 1/2 inch springform pan….it’s cooling as I write. I’m more of a fudgy chocolate person, so I’m gonna eat it cold tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it turned out tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!