7oz(198.45g)Milk Chocolate with almonds, finely chopped
3/4cup(178.5ml)heavy whipping cream
3/4cup(90g)icing/confectioners sugar
Garnish:
Shaved White Chocolate
Chocolate Easter Eggs
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Instructions
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 300 F. (150 C.) with the racks in the centre of the oven. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with tulip cups (or regular muffin liners).
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan over low heat, then set aside to cool slightly. Once cooled, stir in the egg yolks, cocoa and sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold ¼ of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, adding a bit of ground almonds as you fold, until all the almonds have been incorporated and the mixture is combined (there should be no white streaks). Spoon the batter in to the muffin cups.
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out without any moist batter (may have a few dry crumbs).
Leave to cool in the muffin tins, set on a cooling rack until cooled. Meanwhile, prepare the filling and frosting.
For the filling:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir until the mixture is heated and the sugar is dissolved. Add the coconut and chopped almonds. Stir, cover and set aside to cool. Mixture will thicken as it cools, but you don't want it to be too thick or too runny once cooled. Add more condensed milk or coconut to adjust. It should be creamy but not runny.
(Proceed to starting the ganache frosting while the coconut filling cools)
Once the filling is cool, use a cupcake corer or a spoon to make a crater-like hole in the top of each cupcake, about ¾-1 inch deep, but not extending to the sides of the cupcake. Spoon some of the coconut filling into the hole and then pile a bit above the surface of the cupcake, in a ball. (Avoid having any coconut extend to the sides of the cupcakes). Flatten the coconut filling slightly on top.
For the ganache frosting:
Place chocolate into a food processor and pulse until chopped into fine pieces (any big chunks will be a problem if you are going to pipe your icing). Place the chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or a small saucepan until hot. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature, stirring often, for about 45 minutes.
Once cooled, beat with a mixer on medium-high speed for 2 to 4 minutes, until paler and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and mix slowly until combined and then beat until fluffy. Add a bit more icing sugar, as necessary, to create a frosting that has a good piping consistency. Cover and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to firm it up a bit before piping.
Pipe icing onto cupcakes with a piping bag fitted with a large tip (Wilton 1A large round tip or Ateco 855 large star tip) by piping around the outside and then around and over the coconut filling. Note: You can also just spoon ganache frosting on top and smooth with a knife, if you’d rather not pipe.
Top each cupcake with shaved chocolate and an Easter Egg. Place cupcakes in pretty teacups and serve with a small fork.
Place frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator to come to room temperature for about 1 hour before eating.