Aztec Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

There is nothing better than spicy, rich hot chocolate, often called Aztec hot chocolate. Except for maybe cupcakes. Therefore, when I stumbled upon this recipe for hot chocolate cupcakes, I just knew I had to try an Aztec version. The result was the richest, most chocolatey cupcakes I had ever tasted, with a molten center, just like thick European hot chocolate. The cayenne pepper and cinnamon I added gave each bite a nice spicy kick.

I made a gluten-free version, by substituting the flour in the recipe with the all-purpose gluten-free flour mix at the Gluten-Free Girl blog. I'm sure the recipe is just fine with regular all-purpose flour however.

Ingredients

6 oz extra dark chocolate, chopped into pieces (I used Green & Black's 85% chocolate bar)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
whipped cream
more cinnamon, for sprinkling on top

Directions

1. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin papers.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat until smooth. Set aside.
3. Beat the sugar, eggs and egg yolks together, until a thick ribbon falls from your whisk. I did this by hand, and it took over 10 minutes. (My arm started burning after the first minute!) If you have an electric beater, lucky you, this step will be a lot easier. If not, persevere. I did it and so can you!
4. Mix cinnamon and cayenne into the flour, and then sift it all over the egg and sugar mixture. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour into the egg, so that it doesn't loose its fluffiness.
5. Gently pour the molten chocolate on top of the mixture, and once more use a spatula to gently fold it all together.
6. Pour the batter into the muffin papers, and refrigerate for over an hour. When you are ready to bake the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Bake the cupcakes for around 7 minutes. You want the outsides cracked and the insides moist and gooey.
8. Serve warm, with whipped cream for frosting and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

-Elliott

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