Chocolate Spice Cupcakes

     A long time ago, when Natalie and I lived together in a big blue house on 39th Ave, we were baking and eating cupcakes--something we did on a fairly regular basis. Natalie had the idea of a square cupcake, because she said, "Squares/cubes are a better shape than circles/cylinders. (She is a designer, so you know, these things occur to her.) Additionally, you can fit them together to build a cake with individual portions ready. Most importantly, in my mind anyway, you get more cupcake. Win.

     The dream of squapcakes, as they were named, remained just that--a dream--for many, many years. But the dream did not die. A few months ago I found a baking pan with squares, but alas, it was too shallow to qualify as a cupcake pan. It was not until a few days ago that I inadvertently stumbled upon another square pan and immediately knew that THIS WAS IT. 

      After years of anticipation, I present you with squapcakes: square cupcakes. These chocolate spice squapcakes with chocolate ganache are lightly adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. They were universally loved and admired at their world debut. The end.

Chocolate Spice Cupcakes

~Print Recipe~ 

Squapcake pan

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tin
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for chocolate chips
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more to taste)
  

For the topping

• 6 ounces semi-sweet best quality chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• Candied ginger, finely chopped
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a cupcake or squapcake tin with butter, then dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess. Stir baking soda into the boiling water. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add molasses and baking-soda mixture. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and beat until well combined. (The batter will be pretty thin.)
   
3. In a small bowl, lightly coat chocolate chips with flour. Fold chocolate chips into the batter. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each about halfway. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean--about 20 minutes.



Stirring the cream and chocolate for the glaze

4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Remove from tin and let cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, finely chop chocolate for the glaze and place in a heat-proof bowl. Place wire rack cooling rack over a baking sheet covered with tin foil.
5. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour mixture over chocolate and let stand, without stirring, until the chocolate begins to melt. Gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined. Begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
   
6. Drizzle the chocolate over the cupcakes, letting it run down the sides. Let the glaze set a little, then top with candied ginger.

Makes 12 cupcakes

*Vegan* Cocoa-Coconut Chili

Personally, I am not a fan of chili. At all. It always seems to be over cooked or over stirred or over oily or too beanie or something. But part of what I love about cooking is tackling the obstacles of foods you don't love. This chili recipe has helped me over my anti-chili hurdle in a beautiful way. The mix of ingredients creates a very balanced yet decidedly different chili. The coconut milk and cocoa balances the beans in the recipe, and the hot sauce adds the perfect amount of kick. The icing on the cake was cooking the chili in my slow cooker, and having it come out perfectly. Not over cooked or mushy or anything. I love the fact you can look at your bowl and identify every single ingredient, and relish in its simplicity. Plus, did I mention the cocoa? How can you resist...

*no vegans were harmed in the making of this chili.

What's in it

1 14oz can light coconut milk (unsweetened)

2 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp sea salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 Tbl mild chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice

3 Tbl Dutch process cocoa powder (or regular if that is what you have)

2 28oz cans diced tomatoes

1 14oz can black beans, rinsed

1 14oz can kidney beans, rinsed

1 14oz can pinto beans, rinsed

1 14oz can canellini (white) beans, rinsed

1 14oz can corn, drained

1 or 2 carrots diced (size them the same as your beans)

1 onion diced (size them the same as your beans)

1 1/2 C celery diced (size them the same as your beans)

1/2 C diced bell peppers - optional (size them the same as your beans)

How it's made

Grab your large slow-cooker. Whisk together first 9 ingredients in slow cooker until blended (coconut milk through cocoa powder). Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined. Turn your slow-cooker on low for 8 hours. Go away (to work, school...) and come home to delicious chili. If you have time or inclination, buy a box of corn bread mix from TJ's and make it up, or make some honey cornbread from scratch. Enjoy chili for dinner, then lunch the next day, then freeze the rest for another day. Or just invite over all your friends!