Kalahari Raspberry Truffle Cupcake

Take notice of the nice cupcake liner. I bought it from Bake It Pretty. I love their stuff.

Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge http://www.sweetestkitchen.com/mysterybox/

(Welcome to the Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge! This is an exciting new competition where each month a secret ingredient from the Mystery Box is revealed and participants must create a cupcake based on that ingredient. There are some neat prizes to be won, so read below.)

I'd seen this contest announcement two weeks ago and decided then not to enter. To tell the truth, I'm not that good at making up my own recipes. And my life is busy enough right now, I didn't want the added stress of creating a new cupcake recipe. But, today, I happened upon the contest page again and gave it a second thought.

Mmmm.... the mystery ingredient was tea. Here again, I have another confession. I'm not crazy about the taste of tea, any tea. Why would I want to get involved in this competition? My answer is, I have no idea. How could tea added to a recipe satisfy my chocolate dessert craving?

Magically, an hour later, I found myself at the grocery store browsing the tea section. There were many to choose from, but none of them really made me excited. Just as I was about to throw in the towel and leave. I noticed a box that mentioned chocolate and raspberry truffle. Whoa.... mama! As a lover of decadent desserts, this tea now had my attention.

"The blend of naturally caffeine-free herb with deep flavor or roasted cacao, and fresh essence of lush, juicy ripe raspberries." --- Kalahari Cafe website.

So I created a cupcake batter incorporating the tea by infusing it into the milk. I also added a chocolate ganche filling to the baked cupcake. Finally, I capped it with a mountain of raspberry Chantilly.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted, plus additional for dusting pans
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
9 large egg whites
2 Kalahari Raspberry Truffle tea sachets

Directions:
1. Arrange oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.

3. In a small saucepan, add milk and bring to a slow simmer. Remove from heat and add 2 tea sachets. Let steep for 5 minutes, then remove tea bags. Mix in vanilla and sugar, let milk cool.

4. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on moderate speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add 1/2 of flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add milk mixture and beat until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined, then raise speed to moderately high and beat 10 seconds. Transfer to large bowl.

4. In clean bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

5. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining 2/3 of egg whites until just incorporated. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.

6. Bake until tops are springy to touch and testers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pans on racks 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Whipped Cream Frosting:
1 pint heavy cream
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Directions for Whipped Cream Frosting:
Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add jam, whip until stiff peaks form. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

Ingredients for chocolate ganache:
3/4 cup heavy cream
9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate

Directions:
1. Put the cream in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and immediately sprinkle the chocolate into the cream. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The heat of the cream should melt the chocolate. Gently stir the ganache until smooth. If the chocolate is not melting, place over very low heat, stirring often, until melted, taking care not to scorch the chocolate. Scrape into an airtight container and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.

To fill cupcakes, cut out a small cone shape from each, set aside pieces. Roll ganche into small balls that will fill each hole. Use reserved cupcake pieces to seal hole. Pipe on frosting and ENJOY!

The winner of July’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

Bake It Pretty; $5 electronic gift card

• Beanilla; Tahitian vanilla fleur de sel & 3 organic Indonesian vanilla beans
  


• Rishi Tea; the new Tsuki tea pot and 2 tins of tea
  


• Soapylove Glycerin Soap Design; a Soapy Pop
  


• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25


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  Thank you to all our prize sponsors!