Happy Fall! Kind of kooky time for me to be sharing a perfectly springy dessert, but this past weekend I did some desserts for a very special woman celebrating her 60th birthday. Kathy, my father-in-law’s wife and my close friend, is very passionate about all things garden. Her family threw her a huge surprise party, and I knew immediately that I would have to explore some sweet garden-themed treats. These potted treats were one of the the ones I was most excited about.
For a very brief moment, I thought I actually invented this concept–what a brilliant cakethrough! See, I worked at an incredible restaurant in my twenties (so 16 years ago–ouch) where fresh bread was baked and served in full-size terracotta pots alongside whipped butters in an array of flavours. As I remembered this, it dawned on me that it would work for cake too! And it would be darn cute . . . then I realized that it’s been done before (by some woman named Martha, among others). Oh well, that wasn’t going to stop me. I knew Kathy (and hopefully guests) would love them. And I was relieved to see how simple Martha’s version with the mint sprig was, because it was the perfect solution to my needing something a little less time-consuming.
The potted cakes in these photos are actually the new & improved version since the weekend. There were a few things I wanted to change before I shared the recipe with you, taste-wise, so the girls and I grew a dozen yesterday. So what exactly is a Potted Espresso & Salted Caramel Mud Cake? It’s a double dose of cupcake batter baked in the pot, but just not quite all the way, then brushed with espresso syrup for starters. Not baking all the way creates a gooey chocolate (slightly muddy) centre and a convenient concave middle perfect for filling with oozing salted caramel, toffee bits and dark chocolate, slightly-salted glaze. Then we cover them with chocolate cookie crumbs and Chocolate Pebbles , then top them with small mint sprigs.
The inspiration for the flavour combination was lingering in my mind since I made these cupcakes, and I think the textures and taste are exactly what you would want a spoonful of earth to taste like (okay, that was weird). And don’t let the dry-dirt top fool you–underneath there is a rich, deep, gooey, crunchy, caramel-y and possibly religious experience. And cute all the while.
You can even cakelet-this-up by skipping the elegant mint sprig and espresso and burying a few gummy worms, a toasted marshmallow and chocolate pebbles (they taste like m&m’s) below the surface. Maybe add a bright green fondant sprout, or pipe a few cheery flowers on top. Wow, that sounds pretty awesome actually. Let’s add that to the week’s bake list!
So here’s the recipe just as I did these, but don’t be alarmed by all of the steps and ingredients. Truthfully, these are so easy to do and pretty straight-forward. If you really want to make these on the fly, they’d be pretty great with even the chocolate cakes with your favourite chocolate frosting under all of those crumbs & pebbles. Either way, play around and have fun with it–it’s almost impossible to not smile when you look around and see a roomful of adults eating dirt out of mini flower pots.
Good luck & enjoy!
Moist gooey chocolate mini cakes brushed with espresso syrup, filled with salted caramel, toffee bits, dark chocolate glaze and topped with cookie crumbs, chocolate pebbles and a mint sprig.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups (300 g) white sugar
- 1/2 cup (60 g) dark cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 g) baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 g) baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons (6 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 2/3 cup (140 mL) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) brewed coffee or espresso, hot
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (50 g) white sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) water
- 2 teaspoons (9 g) instant espresso powder
- 3/4 cup (150 g) white sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) fleur de sel
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
- 6 oz (170 g) best bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup (75 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) light corn syrup
- pinch fleur de sel
- 1 cup (80 g) dark cookie crumbs (for dirt)
- 1 cup toffee bits
- Chocolate Pebbles/Stones
- 12 small mint sprigs
Instructions
- Wash and dry a dozen 3-inch terracotta pots. Cut out 12 parchment circles the same size as the bottom of the pots. Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush the bottom of each pot with oil, line with the parchment rounds, then brush the circle with more oil, and oil about 2/3 up the sides and dust with cocoa powder. Place all of the pots onto a baking sheet, and set aside.
- In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift all dry ingredients.
- Add all remaining ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and mix for 1 minute on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared pots, about 1/2 full (6 tablespoons of batter each). *Batter will be liquidy.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until toothpick or skewer comes out gooey. Try not to overbake. Remove the tray from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cakes will fall in centre, once removed from oven, making room for the filling. Brush with warm espresso syrup while cakes are still hot.
- In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, bring ingredients to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and salt. Brush the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush to ensure there are no sugar crystals. Boil (with no stirring) until the mixture turns a medium-dark amber colour, swirling occasionally.
- Remove from heat and carefully and swiftly whisk in the heavy cream (be careful--the caramel will steam up abruptly!) until caramel is smooth. Stir in butter until incorporated, and then return to the heat.
- Boil until a candy thermometer in the caramel reads 240°F (116°C).
- Allow the caramel to cool completely before using. Any remaining caramel can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- Place the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and sea salt in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Be sure the water in the pot does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
- After the potted cakes brushed with espresso syrup have cooled, filled each "hole" in the middle with a spoonful of cooled salted caramel. Top with toffee bits, and then a spoonful of dark chocolate glaze.
- Sprinkle the cakes with enough cookie crumbs to completely cover the tops. Add a handful of chocolate pebbles.
- Right before serving, pierce a small hole in the top of each finished cake and insert a small mint sprig. Potted Cakes can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. (Be sure to add fresh mint sprigs if you don't serve right away.)
Sweetapolita’s Notes:
- Each potted mini cake is the equivalent to 2 chocolate cupcakes, so can be either 1 or 2 servings.
- For a fun serving idea, tie 1 or 2 wooden forks to the side of each pot using rustic twine.
- For a simpler (and quicker) version, you can simply bake the potted cakes and top with your favourite chocolate frosting or glaze, and then finish off with the cookie crumbs, pebbles and mint.
- For a super-fun kids’ version, hide a few gummy worms in the cake, stuff a toasted marshmallow inside and finish with bright green fondant “sprouts” in place of the mint (or even piped buttercream flowers).
- Be careful to not add too much chocolate glaze–if there’s too much glaze pressed against the inside edges of the pots, the oil in the butter will start to leave marks on the outside of the pots.
- For a garden-themed party, serve these cakes on round iron plant stands (they look like cake plates with wheels), or place them in a tray filled with more chocolate pebbles.
- For a garden-themed party, serve these cakes on round iron plant stands (they look like cake plates with wheels), or place them in a tray filled with more chocolate pebbles.
, because I love the flavour, and the callets (chips) are so easy to melt and measure. If bittersweet is too dark for your taste, I recommend using it for the cookies, but using semisweet for the glaze.
–perfectly round and even cookies every time, which I love. I also swear by the 
, but just note that they are a tiny bit too big for some cookie sheets. You want to make sure you have what they call a 
. I use these for everything!
+ 
mixed together prior to coating the cookies and then sprinkled edible 
on afterwards. This is also the method I used for the birthday fairy bread–sprinkled it right on top of buttered toast. ♥
, among others), dragees, or pretty much anything small enough to fit in the spoon. I say, sprinkle spoons for everyone!
. That was the very first time Reese had ever been such a big part of creating her own birthday cake, and she thought that was pretty awesome (as she should have–she’s quite the artist, if you ask me!). Well, I thought it would be super fun for her to do the same type of thing again, but by painting onto a white fondant cake. Since she spends almost all of her waking hours drawing & painting, I knew she’d be pretty enthusiastic about this one.
) and petal dusts are matte (such as 
). We used some of each with this painted cake.
. I put 500 grams/~17 ounces of batter in each, and made some cupcakes with the extra batter. I then sliced each cake in two when frosting. So in this case, I use 3 pans to yield 3 finished cakes ready to paint.
)
) on a smooth surface dusted with icing sugar or cornstarch, or you can use a fondant mat (I always use 
) until it’s about 1/8″ thick or a little thicker. If your buttercream isn’t completely smooth, you will want to make the fondant on the slighlty thicker side to mask those imperfections (definitely no thicker than 1/4″). Transfer the rolled fondant onto the cake using a rolling pin and gently lay over the cake. Working quickly, smooth the fondant all over the cake using your hands and/or fondant smoothers (I use 
), working from the top down. Trim the excess fondant from the bottom of the cake using a small sharp knife. Smooth rough edges with a small palette knife. Chill for at least 1 hour.
