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We already have a recipe for gluten free chocolate cupcakes on the blog, but these gluten free hi-hat cupcakes are just too impressive to ignore, what with the deep, rich chocolate cupcake topped with a stiff marshmallow fluff-style frosting, coated in a chocolate shell.
Even though you have to break out the candy thermometer for the frosting , these impressive little chocolate cupcakes are actually rather easy. Especially when you consider making the chocolate cupcakes themselves ahead of time. They have to be completely cool by the time you frost them (or the frosting will melt), so it's just good common sense to make them ahead. The frosting is super easy, and will make a marshmallow-lover out of even those who swear up and down that they don't even like marshmallows but that's usually because all they know of the confection is the super-spongy ones that come in a bag.
Hi-hat cupcakes are basically the soft-serve ice cream dip tops of the cupcake world. And the stiff frosting is light as a feather, but still stable enough to turn upside down and dip in the melted chocolate shell. How Mister Softee manages to dip a soft-serve cone in a chocolate shell without losing the whole of the ice cream will remain one of life's great mysteries, at least to moi. But gluten free hi-hat cupcakes? These I can do.
Gluten Free Hi-Hat Cupcakes
Equipment
- Pastry bag with open piping tip
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter chopped
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (150 g) sour cream at room temperature (can also use Greek-style plain yogurt)
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Stiff 7-Minute Frosting
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 (100 g) egg whites
- 5 tablespoons (2 ½ fluid ounces) lukewarm water
Chocolate Shell
- 14 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup (56 g) virgin coconut oil
Instructions
Make the cupcakes.
- In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the chopped chocolate and butter. Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Set aside to cool briefly. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the melted chocolate and butter, then the sour cream, eggs and vanilla, mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter will be thick.
- Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tin 2/3 of the way full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cupcake comes out clean (about 20 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Make the frosting.
- Place all of the frosting ingredients in a small, heat-safe bowl and whisk to combine well. Place over a small pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water and that there is enough water in the pot to simmer for at least 4 minutes.
- Clip a candy/deep fry thermometer to the side of the bowl and cook until the mixture reaches 160°F (about 4 minutes). If it seems that the temperature of the mixture is rising very slowly, cover the bowl with the lid of the pot, as it sits over the simmering water.
- Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer. Beat on medium-high heat until the mixture holds a very stiff peak (about 7 minutes).
Assemble the cupcakes.
- Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large open piping tip (about 1/2-inch in diameter). Pipe a spiral about 2-inches high on the top of each cooled cupcake, and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator to cool while you make the chocolate shell.
- Place the chocolate shell ingredients in a small, but deep, heat-safe bowl, and place over a small pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and oil are melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. The mixture should be thin.
- Working quickly, dip each frosted cupcake straight down into the chocolate shell by holding the bottom of the cupcake and covering as much of the frosting with the shell as possible.
- Lift the cupcake straight out of the melted chocolate shell and invert onto a wire rack.
- Allow to stand at room temperature, or refrigerate, until set (about 20 minutes—less in the refrigerator).
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
