Well, she did it! She is Stefani Pollack, founder of Cupcake Project, a delightful blog devoted to everything cupcake! Last July Stefani began her search for the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake Recipe. She had already found The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Recipe and was now ready to master the chocolate version. She sent out a call for help and from over 500 applicants she chose 50 Explorers to bake, taste and bake again. I was lucky enough to be one of them. The testing went seven rounds and almost a year later The Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake was crowned! I had a great time participating in this project. I learned some things that will help me with my own baking projects so it was well worth every minute in the kitchen! Stefani was so much fun to work with and her determination to keep trying round after round was inspiring. I wanted to share my experience and her recipe with you. You'll want to hang onto this one!
The project began last July. Stefani would send all 50 Explorers a recipe and we would have to bake the cupcakes, taste them and fill out a survey tracking everything from taste and texture to quantities and bake time. If over 60% didn't like it, it was back to the drawing board and a new recipe. We baked a total of seven rounds before there was a winner.
We weighed and measured lots of different ingredients. We tried everything from buttermilk and sour cream to water and coffee.
We kept track of bake time, size and quantities yielded. Some recipes were really, really delicious and some were not. I can't imagine trying to round up 50 bakers' opinions and experiences, especially when everyone has different tastes. Stefani had quite a task on her hands but was determined to keep going. One of the worst parts for me was having to say that one of the recipes was not the ultimate when I knew it was one Stefani had a lot of faith in. I was not alone and we kept going.
Some of the recipes resulted in a delicious but flat cupcake.
Some of the recipes were the opposite, nicely domed but not the best flavor.
Finally, after seven rounds of baking and tasting, The Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake was discovered! This one had the most amazing chocolate flavor AND the perfect texture for a cupcake. And most of us agree, it truly is an amazing chocolate cupcake! If you are a chocolate lover you will love this cupcake! Head over to Cupcake Project for the recipe and to learn more about Stefani Pollack!
Enjoy!
Leslie xo
Click Here for The Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Photo credit for crowned cupcake: Cupcake Project