Chocolate Brandy Snow Globe Cupcakes & Eggnog German Buttercream
These moist chocolate cupcakes are flavored with a hint of warm brandy and topped with a buttery eggnog German buttercream. Finished off with a completely edible gelatin snow globe dome, adorable fondant snowmen, and silver sparkles!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword brandy, chocolate, cupcakes, eggnog, german buttercream, snow globe
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Decorating Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Total Time 3 hourshours
Servings 24cupcakes, with six domes
Ingredients
Chocolate Brandy Cupcakes
1½cupsflour
¾cupscocoa powder
2tspbaking powder
½tspbaking soda
½tspsalt
2cupssugar
½cupbutter, softened (1 stick)
2largeeggs
2tspvanilla extract
1cupmilk
⅔cupcoffee
⅓cupbrandy
Eggnog German Buttercream
1cupmilk
1cupeggnog
1tspnutmeg
1tspvanilla
2tspbrandy
3largeegg yolks
⅔cupgranulated sugar
¼cupcornstarch
4stickssoftened butter
4tbsppowdered sugar
Gelatin Domes
11sheetsplatinum-grade, high-bloom gelatin
8cupsice water
1cannon-stick cooking spray
½lbfondant
1bottleedible spray luster dust
Instructions
Chocolate Brandy Cupcakes
Line your cupcake tins with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat together the softened butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix again.
Add the milk, coffee, and brandy to a cup with a pour spout.
In three additions, alternate adding the dry and wet mixtures to the beaten ingredients, stirring in between, starting with the flour.
Pour the batter evenly into the cupcake liners, filling a little more than two-thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool fully to room temperature before decorating. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored covered, at room temperature, for a few days.
Eggnog German Buttercream
Pour ¾ of the milk and ¾ of the eggnog into a medium saucepan, with the vanilla, nutmeg, and brandy. Heat until it comes to a simmer.
In the meantime, whisk the remaining eggnog and milk in a mixing bowl, along with the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
Temper the mixture by slowly streaming the simmering liquid into the egg/sugar bowl, whisking vigorously to avoid curdling.
Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place it over high heat, whisking the entire time until it thickens.
Once the mixture has thickened, pour it through a fine-mesh sieve into a shallow bowl or dish. Cover the surface of the pastry cream directly with plastic wrap, and let it cool to room temperature. Then, remove the plastic wrap and whisk it again by hand to re-fluff.
With a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Then, with the mixer running, add the pastry cream to the butter tablespoon by tablespoon. At the end, add the powdered sugar. Mix for a few minutes more, until combined and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto your cooled cupcakes. Store in the refrigerator for a few days.
Gelatin Domes
Place the water and some ice in a large bowl. One by one, add the gelatin sheets to the water and submerge. Let them sit in the water for about ten minutes. This is a common process called "blooming" the gelatin, which is necessary with sheets and powder, alike.
Then, remove the sheets, ringing out the water, placing them into a small, clean saucepan, along with 4 tbsp of the remaining ice water.
Warm the gelatin over low, swirling the pan around to heat it evenly. Remove from the stove when most of the gelatin has melted. Don't let it bubble or boil. Cool slightly, until the viscosity is a bit thicker, but don't allow the gelatin to harden.
In the meantime, inflate six water balloons (with air) and tie them to skewers. Then, prop them up in your styrofoam block. I like to keep my styrofoam block wrapped in the plastic in which it is delivered. That way, I can easily wipe off drips or spills, allowing me to use it again. Spray a paper towel with your non-stick cooking oil, and gently wipe each balloon. Make sure to only lightly coat each balloon, not allowing the latex to get shiny or oily. (I made this mistake at first, and the gelatin wouldn't stay on the balloon - at all. Balance is key.)
Tilt your pan, and dip each balloon in the gelatin, rolling it around to evenly coat all of the sides. Let any excess drip off, and then place back into the styrofoam block. If, at any time, your gelatin becomes too hard to work with, gently reheat it to soften. Let the balloons dry for about 5 minutes. Then, repeat the process, adding a second coat of gelatin to the balloons.
Allow the balloons to dry in front of a fan (ceiling is fine) until the gelatin has fully hardened. This took me about 12 hours, but can vary depending upon the amount of airflow and humidity level.
Then, place a small piece of tape on the exposed latex part of the balloon, and pierce through the tape to slowly deflate the balloon. This helps prevent your balloon from popping suddenly. The air may rush out quickly, and appear to collapse your dome - but don't worry! This is okay! The gelatin is actually quite flexible and pops back into place. Let the balloon slowly detach itself from the edges of the gelatin. If you need, gently pull to remove sections that stick. Use your fingers to smooth the dome back into shape. Then, trim the rough edges of the gelatin with scissors before placing it on your decorated cupcake.
Use the silver luster dust spray to mist the outside of the domes and your fondant pieces to add a sparkly finishing touch. Store the domes at room temperature - separate from the cupcakes - until time to serve.