Recipes

Ghirardelli Rocky Road Cupcakes

This recipe for rocky road cupcakes may inspire the winning recipe for this year’s Ghirardelli Chocolate Championship.

The contest is held at the Spokane County Interstate Fair. Deadline for entries is Aug. 7.

From Ghirardelli, www.ghirardelli.com

2 cups Ghirardelli 60 percent bittersweet chocolate chips, divided 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 

1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the lower third. Prepare muffin pan by placing paper liners in cups and greasing or spraying top surface. In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, melt 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate chips with the butter, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Remove the chocolate from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together thoroughly. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and salt with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is very pale and thick. 

Scrape the warm chocolate over the egg mixture and fold it in with a large rubber spatula. Sprinkle the flour into the bowl with half of the remaining chocolate chips and half of the walnuts. Fold just until the ingredients are blended. 

Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups. Sprinkle the tops with marshmallows followed by the remaining walnuts and the remaining chocolate chips. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown.

Set the pan on a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run the tip of a table knife around the top of each cupcake to detach any melted marshmallow or chocolate from the pan. Let the cupcakes cool until firm enough to remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Yield: 12 cupcakes