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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Recipe: Choco-Strawberry Meringue Cupcakes

An adaptation to a recipe I chanced upon, these lovely-looking chocolate cupcakes topped with strawberry meringue are not only pleasing to the eyes, but are as equally delicious too. Great for children's parties.
 

Difficulty: Easy

Makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes

Ingredients

125g self-raising flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
125g unsalted Butter
125g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg whites, pasteurized
2 tbsp lemon juice
100g fine sugar
12 fresh strawberries, halved

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line muffin tray with cupcake liner.

2. Sift flour and cocoa powder together twice. Set aside.

3. Cream butter in an electric mixer for a few minutes. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined.

4. Add eggs and beat until mixture is well blended. The texture should be light and fluffy.

5. Add vanilla extract and mix well.

6. Add flour mixture prepared in step 2 and continue to beat until well-mixed. Do not over-mix.

7. Spoon batter into cupcake liners until ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let cupcakes sit in the muffin tray for 5 minutes.

9. Remove cupcakes from tray and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

10. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and lemon juice at high speed.

11. Add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. Allow each tablespoon to dissolve before adding the next. Beat until stiff peaks form.

12. Pipe or scoop spoonfuls of meringue mixture onto the cupcakes. Top with a half-strawberry each.

Tips

1. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before using. Therefore, remove the eggs from the refridgerator 20-30 minutes beforehand.

2. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled before adding any frosting.

Notes

Uncooked meringue made with raw eggs may contain salmonella bacteria, which might cause diarrhea, cramps and fever. Although the bacteria is mostly found in the egg yolk, egg whites are not considered safe to consume raw. Hence, please use eggs that are pasteurized. Another alternative is to buy ready-made meringue at local baking stores or supermakets.