Recipes
Dark Chocolate Sensation Mini-Cupcakes
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Makes 20 miniature cakes

Miniature Cakes
3/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Chocolate Mousse
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups well chilled heavy cream
Chocolate shavings, for garnish

For miniature chocolate cakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Melt butter by microwaving for 45 to 60 seconds in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk in cocoa powder; cool.
3. Meanwhile, combine egg and sugar in a large bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, and mix at low speed until well blended. With mixer running, add butter mixture. Mix until smooth. Slowly add flour in three batches, mixing until just smooth.
4. Pour batter by the tablespoonful into the wells of a miniature cupcake pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely, at least three hours.

For chocolate mousse:
1. Place chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted; set aside. While chocolate melts, combine egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Whip until doubled in size and fluffy, about two minutes.
2. When chocolate is melted, slowly add it to the egg yoke mixture, stirring until combined. Mixture may be thick and slightly stiff.
3. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, whip cream in a large bowl using an electric mixer until medium peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. When chocolate mixture is at room temperature, add a small amount of whipped cream. Stir vigorously to lighten mixture. Working in four batches, gently fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Cover bowl, and refrigerate for one hour.

For serving:
1. Put chocolate mousse in a piping bag with a medium star-shaped tip. Swirl mousse on top of each mini cupcake. Garnish with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to one hour.

Cooks Notes : if miniature cakes are not completely cool, the chocolate mousse will melt. To create chocolate shavings, drag a vegetable peeler along the longest side of a chocolate bar.