The mother… or should I say father… of all sweet treats has officially arrived.
No, I’m not talking your average multi-tiered quadruple chocolate cake here. Well, I am talking chocolate. And salted caramel. But I’m also talking… Vegemite?
Yes, I really am. The Aussie legend that is Vegemite, in a dessert.
Introducing the Vegemite Salted Caramel Choc Cupcakes.
And of the strange and unexpected food combinations devised by my own father on a regular basis, what better test subject for this recipe?
Without the Vegemite, it’s a fairly straightforward chocolate cupcake recipe. But with it? Oh, does it bring it to new heights. And I’m really not a chocolate dessert sort of person. If anything, it takes that rich, dense chocolatey sweet edge off the final product.
But the real icing on the cake is the icing on these cupcakes. It’s the height of sophistication. Who would have thought the ganache/buttercream combo would do it?
Not to toot my own horn, but I nailed everything. Except the ganache.
The pot of simmering water was too full. The bottom of the bowl of cream and chocolate was touching the surface of the water, so after a while, the ganache became too hot and began to burn and became a jelly-like consistency because it cooled after letting it sit for too long. So don’t do what I did.
And you can reheat the ganache if this is the case – just don’t burn it.
Combining the buttercream with the ganache-jelly actually masked the burnt chocolate taste and was still a hit with not just my dad, but the entire household.
Ingredients
Method
Line a 12 hole-muffin pan (1/3-cup capacity) with paper cases.
Beat eggs, sugar and Vegemite in a small bowl of an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in milk and butter until combined. Gradually beat in chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Sift over combined flour, cocoa and soda. Fold until combined. Divide evenly among prepared cases.
Cook in a moderate oven (180°C) for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make ganache, stir chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Remove. Cool until thickened.
To make buttercream, beat butter and sugar in small bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in caramel and Vegemite until smooth.
Alternately, spoon ganache and buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm star nozzle. Starting from the edge, pipe decoratively onto cupcakes.
