Guatemalan Chocolate Cupcakes

My grandma Flory is from San Antonio Suchitepequez, a south western town in Guatemala. One of the things that she loves about San Antonio (and so do I!) is it’s chocolate tablets.

Guatemala has one of the best chocolates in the world, and depending on which city you find chocolate, the cacao beans go through a different process to become the tablets that we’ve showed you before, the same ones that we’ve used to make Hot Chocolate. One of the most famous chocolates from Guatemala is the one made in Mixco: they toast the cacao beans, peal them, grind it (twice) and the paste gets mixed with cinnamon or almonds.  In San Antonio Suchitepequez the process is very similar, but instead of adding just cinnamon, they add sugar to it. When making any recipe with chocolate from San Antonio, you have to take note of this, if not, you’re going to have a very sweet result.

For the cupcakes, we’ve been looking for ideas to bring Guatemalan elements (as the chocolate or the roselle flowers), and finally got a recipe that would work perfectly with the chocolate. We modified it and added a bit of cayenne pepper to contrast with the sweetness of the tablet chocolate. I can’t wait to get back to Guate and make these for her… I want to know if the recipe will be up to her standards- both as a great (kitchen) teacher and as a San Antonio girl who loves her chocolate. We hope you like it!

Guatemalan Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
A Foodies’ Guatemalan Touch Original
& Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1 egg, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablet Guatemalan Chocolate, in small bite size pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 1 (12-cup) muffin tin.
2. Sift together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper.
3. Soften the butter and add the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the egg, then the buttermilk, beating until combined after each.
4. Add the hot water last. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
5. Stir in the guatemalan chocolate bits.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tin wells.
7. Bake until the cupcakes are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
8. Cool to room temperature in the tins. Run a thin, sharp knife around the sides of the muffin cups to loosen the cupcakes, and carefully lift out. Place the cupcakes on a work surface.

Simple Buttercream Frosting
Yield: Enough for heavily frosted 12 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth.
2. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; beat until smooth.
3. If too thick to spread, beat in one by one the milk tablespoons, checking the consistency after adding each one.
4. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
5. Grate chocolate on top of the frosted cupcakes for decoration.

Note:

• You can find Guatemalan Hot Chocolate online at Azotea Estate.

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