Better-Than-Hostess Cupcakes

The Art.
    It wasn't until after I had made these cupcakes that I realized they resembled Hostess cakes-- except for the fact that these are actually worth eating. Instead of dense cake that is far too sweet, I used my moist dark chocolate cake recipe. Then, I filled them with rich, custardy Bavarian cream. Finally, I covered the cupcakes with bittersweet ganache, which is really a far cry from the sugary disaster Hostess calls frosting. And of course I topped it off with crispy bacon crumbles. (Yes, I know, I have a bacon problem.) If you don't want bacon, and would rather complete the Hostess knockoff look, you can pipe some royal icing in curliques on top of your cupcakes. I confess, I can't get enough of the leftover Bavarian cream and ganache together. I eventually had to take the leftovers in to work for my labmates to prevent myself from getting gout.

The Science.
    While I'm at it, I might as well make another confession: sometimes I over-science myself in the kitchen. A long time back, I made a Bavarian Cream post where I went a little crazy, using five different conditions for making the custard by the time it was all said and done. I really thought I had developed the perfect custard recipe, but the terrible truth is that I think my thermometer wasn't very accurate. I've repeated that recipe a couple of times since then, and half the time the custard didn't set up. It's very disheartening to wake up in the morning thinking you're going to blend a wonderful silky custard and some freshly whipped cream, and find that your custard didn't set up during the night. So, I have decided to step back and make everything a little more simple. Instead of using temperature to gauge when the custard is done cooking, I looked at the consistency as I was stirring it. Also, I harkened back to the days when my mom and aunt were teaching me how to make custard. Instead of using a double boiler, they placed all the custard ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and stirred constantly - with a spatula. The flat edge of the spatula scrapes the bottom of the pan more efficiently than a spoon, so you don't end up with lumps of overcooked egg yolk in your custard. As far as my previous statements about eggs "breaking" if they're cooked above 175°F, I completely disregard that now. I cooked this particular batch of custard until it began to bubble a little bit and it still had a wonderful texture.

The Recipe.

Make one batch of Bavarian Cream. (Be sure to save the egg whites for the Princess Cupcakes I'll post later.)

Bake one batch of chocolate cupcakes, recipe here.

Chocolate Ganache:

4oz bittersweet bar chocolate

1/4 cup 40% heavy cream

    Place chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Gently heat in the microwave for two 30 second intervals, stirring inbetween. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate, or it will seize and you will have to start over. Once the chocolate beings to melt, stir constantly until the cream is completely combined. 

Assembly:
    Once the cupcakes are cool, fill them with the Bavarian cream using a bismark tip. I like my cupcakes to be filled a lot, so I squeezed the piping bag until the top of the cupcake began to crack.

 Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the warm ganache, spooning extra over the top if needed. Top with crumbled bacon, if desired.

I placed these cupcakes into a second, decorative wrapper after I was done, so that the wrapper would stay pretty and the pattern would still be visible. These cupcakes should be enjoyed within two days. Leftover Bavarian cream and ganache will last up to 4 days...if you don't each them first.