With Mardi Gras this past Tuesday, I wanted to get in on the seasonal cupcake action. But I didn’t want to do Kings Cake cupcakes. Traditional New Orleans recipes were pretty involved, and I wasn’t sure about the ability to translate them into a cupcake. I was in a quandry.
Then Kate asked me if I was familiar with Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies. I looked them up and thought, hey, this could be a lot of fun, and definitely indulgent. Based on my success with my Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cupcakes, I thought I would take a similar approach, using it as my base recipe and including some of the “compost” from Christina Tosi’s original recipe. I used her graham cracker crumble recipe almost entirely, except I couldn’t find powdered milk, so I subbed in malted milk powder (hellllo future malted milk ball cupcakes!).
The frosting is my own crazy brainchild … freshly ground coffee meets chocolate meets malt. The test batch on Sunday gave me a creamier result, whereas today’s recipe had a drier, fudge-like texture. I’m thinking it might have been due to the chocolate … so in the future I think I’d start by putting the chocolate in a 1/2 cup at a time and increasing based on taste and texture.
Ingredients
Directions
The graham cracker crumbles can be made 1-3 days in advance of baking--keep them in an airtight jar.
Melt the butter and cool it slightly to room temperature. Add the cream and whisk to combine. The mixture will thicken.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add in the butter/cream, mixture and combine with your hands. The mixture should stick together.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Crumble the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking silicone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool, then place in an airtight jar.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Line cupcake pans with papers.
Combine oats and heated milk in a bowl, stirring occasionally to help the oats absorb the milk. Set aside.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and ground coffee in a bowl, mixing to distribute. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add granulated and brown sugar and beat for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well to incorporate. Then add the vanilla.
Once the oats have cooled to room temperature, add them to the batter, mixing to incorporate.
On low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Add in the crumbled pretzels and chips and mix just to combine--over-mixing might causet the pieces to break up even more and you'll lack the texture.
Divide the batter between 24 wrappers in cupcake tins and bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.
For the frosting, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments. Cool to room temperature.
In a stand mixture, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and beat to combine. Add the malted milk powder, ground coffee, and chocolate. Add the sugar in 1/2 cup increments and add the cream as needed to keep the frosting from getting too stiff.
To assemble the cupcake, use an extra large round tip and pipe from the center out, creating a swirl. Right before serving, press the graham cracker crumbles to the edge of the frosting.
https://cupcakefridayproject.com/2012/02/compost-cookie-cupcakes-with-malted-chocolate-buttercream/
February 27, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Real talk: I have no idea if I liked this. I had to wait a few days to eat it because I’m an idiot, and by then the frosting was pretty tough. The cupcake remained pretty moist fortunately, but I too was pretty moist on Founders Imperial Stout by the time I got to it so my tastebuds were polluted. Polluted by joy. And alcohol.
I got some chocolate notes, and strangely some peanut butter, but the cupcake was pretty complex and I’d need to try under better circumstances to really suss it out. My bad.
April 15, 2012 at 10:24 pm
When do you add potato chips and pretzels?
April 16, 2012 at 7:05 am
Thanks Jessica for the catch! I’m updating the recipe, but you add the chips and pretzels at the end after you’ve put in the last portion of flour. Mix just to combine—don’t over mix, otherwise you might crumble them to dust. You definitely want pea-sized chunks in there for texture.
April 16, 2012 at 10:12 am
Thanks for the updated recipe!