I very very very loosely followed this recipe, a by that I mean, I just took the idea and ran with it. I recently bought créme fraîche from the local co-op food store (where Beth and I get our milk in glass jugs that we return on our next visit – very environmentally friendly!). But I’m not sure how much I like it. It’s just… too rich! I do eat whole-fat cheese, but I drink skim milk and eat skim yogurt, and other dairy products I buy are usually skim or low-fat, so perhaps my taste buds are just not used to it. Anyway, I thought it would be a fantastic use to the créme fraîche to bake with it, and thus, cocoa créme fraîche cupcakes! And, er… I cut a LOT of butter and sugar out of the recipe, so it’s definitely not for the sweet-toothed.
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt, but my cupcakes came out tasting very salty, which so if using sea salt, lower the amount even more)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 pat unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup crème fraîche, at room temperature and stirred until runny, plus more for serving
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray two 12-cup muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray or line with baking cups.
Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat the butter, egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and crème fraîche. Combine all ingredients slowly while constantly mixing.
Spoon the batter into the muffin pans, filling each one two-thirds full (will not fill all 24 cups). Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes. I baked mine for 9 minutes, and they were oh so gooey. Almost too gooey, but I loved it. What I didn’t love was the salty-ness. Perhaps I’ll make them again sometime and fix that.
Kim
The Fourth Broomstick 