The Cupcake Addict's Cupcake Collection

Before fabricating my cupcakes, I thought I needed a little KitKat taste refresher.  My coworker Geo (a Canadian) thought that I should make them more like Canadian KitKat.  I had only eaten American KitKats, so he volunteered to bring a KitKat from the Great White North for comparison.  I’d like to think Geo for bringing me a stale Canadian Kit Kat (so old that it crumbled when I opened the wrapper) so that I could compare it to a fresh American Kit Kat.   Surprisingly enough, the fresh KitKat won the taste test by a landslide.  I decided that the important components of an (American) KitKat bar are the crunchy layers and the (extremely) sweet milk chocolate.

I found these wafer cookies at Whole Foods which seemed like the right size to go in the center of a mini cupcake.  (Round would have been nice, but you can’t have everything…)  Technically, I think the filling between the wafer layers of a KitKat is chocolate, not vanilla, but I thought chocolate cake surrounding that would make it more authentic.

Wafer Cookies: click to enlarge

I used my friend Cathy’s grandmother’s chocolate cake recipe.  I brought 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/4 cup canola oil, and 1/2 cup butter to a boil, then let it cool.  (The original recipe called for 1 cup of water, but I hoped a thicker batter would prevent the cookie from sinking.)  Next, I sifted together 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (trying to be healthy), 1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoonful baking soda, and 1 teaspoonful salt.  In another bowl, I mixed together 2 eggs, 2 cups sugar, and 1/2 cup buttermilk.  After adding the dry ingredients, I poured in the cocoa mixture and stirred until blended.  I SHOULD have added 1 teaspoonful vanilla, but I forgot.  (This recipe produced 48 mini cupcakes and a 9×9 square cake.)

After placing heaping tablespoonful of batter in each liner filled cupcake indention (using a cookie scoop), I pushed in a wafer cookie.

Cookie in the batter: click to enlarge

I baked the cupcakes for 15 minutes (but probably should have taken them out after 12-13 minutes) then allowed them to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.  I’ve had solid fillings sink in the past, which is why I used a thicker batter.  Either the cookies were too light or the batter was too thick because they stayed right on top…maybe too much on top.

Cupcake with cookie: click to enlarge

I hid the cookie with a layer of melted milk chocolate….

Melted Milk chocolate top: click to enlarge

I topped the cupcakes with a swirl of whipped milk chocolate ganache (made by boiling 1 part cream and pouring it over 3 parts milk chocolate chips, allowing it to cool, then whipping).

Kit Kat Cupcakes finished

This is the original product:

KitKat Interior: click to enlarge

and this is the cupcake….

Kit Kat Cupcake Interior: click to enlarge

(The cookie was really hard to cut into, so the cake got a little smushed.)

I think that this cupcake successfully conveyed the essence of a KitKat.  They went over extremely well at work, so I was pleased.  I also ended up with an extra cake in the freezer to use for L=Lollipops (Cupcake Pops).