And I’m back! This week’s HCB choice was baby cakes… CHOCOLATE baby cakes and covered with my favorite piano glaze – which I love to do and was introduce to the technique back with the Chocolate Apricot Roll and then again with the Bernachon Palets D’Or Gateau.

These cakes were pretty easy to put together and they are a marriage in chocolate heaven!

Dissolving the cocoa with hot water is becoming the way I forever will do chocolate cakes. However, this as happen to me before and I thought it was a mistake on my part, but it happen again when I did it here. The recipe calls for the cocoa and ¼ cup of hot water to be combined until a smooth consistency. Which for me did not happen. Instead, I'm finding that the ¼ cup of water to the ration of cocoa is always short and when I mix them up the end results does NOT end up smooth, but a very heavy paste. And that is NOT what I’m supposed to end up with. I had to add about 1 tablespoon or 2 in addition in order to get it to the “smooth” consistency that the book tells me I’m suppose to end up with.

I’m using Hershey’s Special Dark Dutch & Natural Cocoa and I thinking maybe that is the problem? Anyone else has this hitch?

I used regular cupcake liners, not fancy ones, plus that step of taking out the liner before covering them with the ganache and then the chocolate glaze seems like an over-kill step – totally unnecessary. I did have a total blond moment when I was filling up my baking pan - after I meticulous poured the batter to the ¾ of the way mark on my 12-cupcake pan; I realized that the recipe made 14 baby cakes and not 12. Opps!

My cupcakes were a bit over the top and not flat like the book picture. But, they still looked pretty.

After 15 minutes, mine were done and after a round of poking them full of holes, I smoother them with milk chocolate ganache, which oddly enough, I found very relaxing. I guess watching cake soak up the goodness right up is a type of zen-like comfort? who knows, but the cupcakes are totally unto something, I say!

After you let them rest up a bit, then we prepare the Pièce de résistance – the lacquer glaze.

Oh, how I love this glaze, it’s a show stopper. Ever time I make it I know I’m going to get heaps of praises, because it’s just looks stunning on anything that you covered with it. And I have to say, practice makes perfect, because mine was shiny and dark and perfect this time around.

Since I knew I was going to cover my cupcakes with a homemade liner, I simply went to town in pouring the glaze over them, letting them sit for a couple of hours and then, we simply could not hold ourselves and ended up eating half of them.

They were so good. I was afraid they were going to be a chocolate overload, and be way too heavy. But the milk ganache balances it out and instead gives it the prefect chocolate layers for it not to be overwhelming.

Verdicts:

Tom: “Oh yeah rich and wonderfully chocolate – once more love the glaze – you can actually see your reflection when you are taking a bite!”

The little man: “Maybe I can have these for my birthday next year?”

Me: I simply love them; they are the right size for taking care of a all out chocolate craving.

Disclaimer: No recipes are shared in my Heavenly Cake Baker posts, due to restrictions in sharing the recipes by the publisher of Rose's Heavenly Cakes. But, you can purchase the book here.