Volcano Lava Cupcakes

One of my colleague has asked me on my baking experience on any lava cupcakes. My first thought was lava - something melting when you bite the cupcakes. Wondering how can this kind of feeling accommodate into the cupcakes, just like the Hokkaido cupcakes - I only inserted the cream after the cake part is baked and cooled.

For my new invention of these Volcano lava cupcakes, brainstorming on how the lava fluid looks like. During grocery shopping every time, I was intrigued to buy these fresh custard around frozen department. My first impression was that these custard is made of egg yolk which contributed high cholesterol if over consumption. In fact, I only know the real ingredients after my husband told me during his visit end of last year. Surprisingly, it is made of fresh milk, corn syrup and stabliser - there is no egg yolk at all!!

Cut into half - there you go, lava fluid out.

Not too sweet like most desserts are, and just the right amount of chocolatey-ness in this cupcake. Not just any normal custard which made from egg yolk, this Australian brand fresh custard oozing runny custard goodness (hence the names lava cake).

Hankerie's chocolate Cupcake recipe:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
optional fresh custard
optional chocolate cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 muffin tins with paper cups.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the cold cream cheese until fairly smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the egg and beat until incorporated.Set aside.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix well set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat together the vegetable oil and sugar – I did this with a hand-held electric mixer, but a whisk would probably be fine. The mixture was kind of thick and grainy and didn’t hold a lot of air.
5. Mix the buttermilk and vanilla together in a cup, then add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the oil mixture alternately, stirring rather than beating, until flour is incorporated.
6. Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the muffins tins.
7. Bake in preheated oven on center for 28-30 minutes. Cool at room temperature for about half an hour and then chill until very cold.
8. Cut the top part of the cupcakes.
9. Insert the fresh custard and cover back.
10. Apply a layer of chocolate cream on top.