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Chestnut Cupcakes & Swirled Chocolate Frosting

I can never resist a sweet blogging event and when Cheryl of Cupcake Bakeshop and Garrett of Vanilla Garlic announced a Cupcake Round Up event, my mind started salivating….Oh yeah, by now it is not my mouth anymore…!

I have had less time these past few days to be as creative as I would like to (more personal training clients, crafts projects to finish up…) but I did not want to miss the opportunity to show up with something of my own at this event.
I had half a can of chestnut puree left from the other day so I looked for a recipe that would allow me to include it in the ingredient list without perturbing the other liquid/dry ingredient ratios.I got inspired by this recipe from Magnolia Bakery and the frosting came about according to what I add in the pantry and refrigerator. I love cream cheese frosting, I love chocolate and I love chestnuts. I did not want the frosting to be too sweet so I reduced the amount of powdered sugar one would normally use and used bittersweet chocolate. It was perfect to balance the smoothness of the chestnut. i kept them on the small side as B. is trying to watch his sweets intake and they made a perfect little bite to have with coffee after dinner.

Chestnut Cupackes with Swirled Cream Cheese and Chocolate Frosting, adapted from Magnolia Bakery:

Makes 12

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 ounces chestnut puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2Tb. butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
4 oz. melted chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers. Set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chestnut puree. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla.
Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For the frosting: in a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to mix well the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar.
Paint the inside of a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip with the melted chocolate. Spoon the cream cheese mixture in the bag and decorate the cupcakes in whirly motion.

End result? I made them on tuesday and they are already gone…talk about self restriction! Bad me!

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Comments


Anonymous January 26, 2007 um 3:50 am

Those are so pretty and they sound delicious too.


Ashley January 26, 2007 um 6:25 am

very sweet and dainty! I love the look of the swirled frosting.


MyKitchenInHalfCups January 26, 2007 um 8:33 am

All that frosting! O they look sooo good. I’ve not ever seen chestnut puree but so many times when I go to look for it it’s been there all along.


Meeta K. Wolff January 26, 2007 um 9:01 am

Chestnut puree! Now that is a different taste. These do look amazing. I will have to see if we can get chestnut puree here.


Anonymous January 26, 2007 um 1:54 pm

These look great. I picked up some chestnut puree awhile back and have looked for recipes since. Finally, I have a couple of recipes to try. I’m so excited! I am the one in Clemson that would buy macarons from you if you decided to do something like that. I guess I will have to try making them myself. Sigh…


wheresmymind January 26, 2007 um 2:57 pm

Those look like those soft serve ice cream cones dipped! Yum!


Brilynn January 26, 2007 um 3:22 pm

Those are adorable!

I have a bag of chestnuts sitting in my cupboard that I’ve been trying to think of something to make with. I’ll have to make my own puree first, but these sound pretty tasty!


Lis January 26, 2007 um 4:07 pm

I want to frost EVERYTHING with swirly frosting now! I’ve never seen anything like it and I am so impressed – Awesome! =)


Jen January 26, 2007 um 5:16 pm

delightlful!! I don’t think I have ever tasted chesnut cupcakes.
I love the swirls on your cupcakes, they look oh so perfect!


MaggPie January 26, 2007 um 8:11 pm

DANG these look yum. I wonder if a hazelnut version would work. I’m gonna find out!


Anonymous January 27, 2007 um 10:09 am

I saw those swirls and wondered how on earth you’d made them…and then I read the instructions and it sounded so clear! I still bet that if I were to try my hand at these, they wouldn’t be anywhere near as pretty 😛


Mercedes January 27, 2007 um 5:47 pm

I love chestnut cake, and the frosting swirl is just gorgeous. I’d make them but I’d probably have the same self-resistance issues, so I’ll have to have some friends over to fob them off on.


Anonymous January 28, 2007 um 12:46 am

what beautiful swirls.Love it !


Anonymous January 28, 2007 um 4:51 am

I love chestnut puree! These look like a fantastic use of it. I’ll be making them eventually, no doubt.


Alpineberry Mary January 28, 2007 um 8:40 am

I love chestnuts (especially marron glace). I think the combination of chocolate and chestnut puree makes a very sophisticated cupcake. Yum!


Susan from Food Blogga January 30, 2007 um 9:53 pm

Wow! You’ve taken the cupcake to a whole new level! Creamy, rich chestnuts and chocolate? Oh, my.


Anonymous June 10, 2007 um 8:02 am

miam,miam…quelle délice!


Anonymous October 14, 2007 um 3:54 am

should the chestnut puree be sweetened or unsweetened?


Helene October 14, 2007 um 5:00 am

The one I used was sweetened. If you can find it unsweetened, it is good to adjust the sugar in the recipe to your tastebuds.


Anonymous November 18, 2007 um 11:49 am

Hi these look really nice! But is there an alternative to buttermilk? Could you use evaporated/condenced milk prehaps if you altered the sugar?


Helene November 18, 2007 um 5:08 pm

Anonymous: I would not use condensed milk because of the consistency. Not sure about evaporated milk. A good subsitute for the buttermilk is to add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice to one cup of regular milk.


Katya December 11, 2008 um 5:26 pm

Mmmm. I just made a gluten-free version of these that came out SO delicious… I subbed 4 oz brown rice mix flour and .5 oz coconut flour for the regular flour… and I cut the sugar to 2/3 of a cup. Wow.


Anonymous May 21, 2009 um 8:22 am

The frosting looks delicious,nice!


Annie November 9, 2013 um 2:05 am

Thank you for this recipe. Tried it today, had some chestnuts I've been wanting to use for desserts and I was too lazy to make a chiffon. Lucky it's for a birthday because I've already eaten 3!!


Unknown April 30, 2014 um 4:32 pm

Thanks for the recipe! Used it for a wild edible plant project in biology class. Loved it!


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