mini coffee chiffon cupcakes with cocoa whipped cream

After last week's experiments with chiffon cake, I thought to myself, what would chiffon cake taste like in cupcake form?  So I decided to find out.

I made the same coffee chiffon batter (since I looooooove coffee), and baked it up as regular cupcakes and also as mini cupcakes.  The results were drastically different.

The mini cupcakes turned out great!  They were light, fluffy, and springy.  The regular cupcakes, however, sank in the middle.  The texture was still nice, but they just didn't look very nice.  I'll need to play with the baking times on those in the future.

So I decorated the minis with cocoa whipped cream, dusted the tops with cocoa powder, and topped it with little chocolate hearts that I had piped onto waxed paper.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cocoa Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, cold

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip all the ingredients together at high speed until stiff peaks form. Use immediately, or store covered in the refrigerator (and re-whip before using).

Mini Coffee Chiffon Cupcakes

3/4 cup coffee

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 eggs, separated

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the egg yolks, vegetable oil, cooled coffee, and vanilla. Stir until combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat at high-speed until peaks form. 

Add the batter to the whipped egg whites in thirds, gently folding until combined each time. Be careful not to over-mix or deflate the egg whites.

Pour the batter into a mini cupcake pan lined with baking liners. Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes. 

Let cool and top with whipped cream and a chocolate heart. Dust the tops with cocoa powder, if desired.