Holleighz’ 52 Weeks of Baking – Week 5: Asian Spice Cupcakes with Individual Black Pearls
(Yes, I do realize that this is becoming “52 Weeks of Cupcakes”…)

I’m a huge fan of the recent trend of combining chocolate and exotic spices. Somewhere, I heard rumor of black pearl chips, a mixture of dark chocolate and wasabi, and I scoured every Asian grocery in the city for months with no luck. When I came across this recipe for a black pearl layer cake, I was instantly intrigued – it had the same flavor combination in a rich ganache.

Having just made my way through the Christmas candies and with Valentine’s fast approaching, I haven’t been much in the mood for extra chocolate, but I absolutely had to try this. To cut the cocoa, I chose to highlight another flavor combo from the recipe – ginger and vanilla bean. The mildly spiced cakes are the perfect background for the pearls of exotic chocolate hidden inside.

A few side notes:
I could not find black sesame seeds on short notice, but according to my research the flavor difference is subtle, and the choice to use black or white is often for aesthetic reasons only. Toasted white sesame seeds add a wonderful nutty taste and look nice with the lighter colored cakes. I chose to up the spices a bit in my ganache, but you can season it to your own preference. Also (because I have such a sweet tooth) I added some white chocolate to contrast the slight bitterness of the semisweet. As a thinner variation of the ganache, it has a custard-like texture that just barely begins to soak into the cupcakes and surround each pearl.

Asian Spice Cupcakes with a Black Pearl Filling

Ginger Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
32-36 cupcake papers
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cups plus 2 Tablespoons cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups sugar (vanilla infused sugar, if possible)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons melted honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4 cup water
seeds from 1 1/2 vanilla bean pods
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Ginger Vanilla Syrup
1/4 cup sugar (vanilla infused, if possible)
1/4 cup water
5-10 pieces of ginger scraps
1 to 2 inches vanilla bean pod (leftover from above)

Black Pearl Ganache and White Sesame “Custard”
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (to taste preference)
1/2 to one teaspoon wasabi powder (to taste preference)
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

Vanilla Ginger Buttercream
8 Tablespoons (one stick) softened butter
4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 pound (3 3/4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Two pinches salt
Seeds from half a vanilla bean

Tip: When cutting the skin off the ginger, leave a little of the flesh attached. You can use these scraps in the ginger syrup.

Tip: After scraping seeds from vanilla beans, snip off 1-2 inches to use in the syrup. Place remaining pods in a jar or bag of sugar to have vanilla infused sugar for your next recipe.

Ginger Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange paper liners in muffin tins. Sift together flours, baking soda and salt, and set aside.

In electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar at a medium-high speed until mixture thickens and color pales, about three minutes. Lower speed and add oil, honey, vanilla, ginger, five-spice powder and water, stirring until just combined. Mix in buttermilk. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean pods into batter. Slowly, begin to add flours, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat on low just until smooth.

Fill cupcake tins 3/4 full. Bake 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and brush tops with vanilla ginger syrup. Cool completely before filling and frosting.

Ginger Vanilla Syrup

Combine sugar, water, ginger and vanilla bean scraps in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature before using.

Black Pearl Ganache and White Sesame “Custard”

Place semisweet chocolate pieces and white chocolate pieces in two separate small bowls. Pour 1/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon whipping cream into saucepan over low heat. Sift half the wasabi powder and half the ginger into cream (Note: If you skip the sifting, it will clump). Raise heat slightly and bring to boil. Pour over semisweet chocolate and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining cream, wasabi, ginger and the white chocolate. Let sit 10 minutes.

Toast sesame seeds in saucepan over low heat (Note: Even though the jar says “Toasted,” do not skip this step. It changes the texture and flavor). Let cool. Stir into corn syrup.

Whisk each of the chocolate mixtures until smooth. Stir half of sesame seeds into each mixture. When cooled to lukewarm, add 1 Tablespoon butter to each. Stir until entirely melted.

Refrigerate at least 20 minutes. Ganache will not set up completely yet, but it is easier to work with while still slightly soft.

Vanilla Ginger Buttercream

In a small bowl, combine butter and whipping cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the butter. Beat until smooth. Beat in sugar 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Finally, beat in vanilla and ginger. If frosting is too soft to work with, refrigerate 10 minutes.

To assemble cupcakes:

Cut a cone-shaped wedge from the top of each cupcake. Remove point from each cone. Spoon in small amount of white chocolate mixture and spread over entire opening. Fill the remaining hole with approximately 1 teaspoon semisweet ganache per cupcake. Replace cupcake tops and brush with a second coat of syrup. Allow syrup to dry. Apply a thin “crumb coat” of frosting to cover seams before fully frosting. Refrigerate in covered containers at least 4 hours so that filling can set.

(And yes, the fortune had to appear in every picture.)