Bake it with love this New Year

I chose a simple but traditional cake for Christmas but for New Year, I am planning to go full blast with something complicatedly special. Does it sound scary? Don’t be because all you readers who love to bake will enjoy making this special Beer and Pretzel Cupcakes. So what’s the delay? Let’s get into action and bake it love this New Year.

Preparation: For 12 cupcakes
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350
degrees.

Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 cup of (4.5 ounces) all
purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of
sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of
Scharffen Berger unsweetened
natural cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
melted and warm
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Beer (Foster beer)

Ganache frosting
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons of butter
1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil
14 oz of chocolate, chopped

Pretzel topping
12 pretzel sticks (available in
market)
2 oz chocolate, melted
2 oz caramel, warmed

Direction
Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. Add in the butter, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add 1/4 cup of the beer into the mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the remaining beer. Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth.
The batter will be thin enough to pour. Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool.

Ganache frosting
Bring heavy cream, butter and vegetable oil to a light boil. Pour hot heavy cream mixture over chocolate. Using a spatula gently fold chocolate through heavy cream until well combined. Set aside to cool for at least an two hours or until frosting consistency is acheived. Frosting will thicken as sits.
Assembly
Pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcake. Cut pretzels into shards and place on top of cupcakes. Drizzle chocoalate and caramel on top.

(Chef Md Enamulla Khan (Ali)
of Eden Group of Hotels and
Restaurants)