Brown Sugar Banana Chiffon Cupcakes with Ganache Filling 黑糖香蕉朱古力軟心戚風杯子蛋糕

My kids always hunt for food at home crazily right after school (are your kids like that too???). I usually prepare light snacks for them. Fruits, little cupcakes, crackers and etc, not too much so their tummies are not too full by dinner time. In order not to waste my overripe banana and leftover whipping cream, I made them some cupcakes as snack yesterday morning.
不知怎的，EC的孩子們放學回家後便會像餓鬼般立刻找食物(你家小孩也是這樣的嗎？)，EC通常會給他們弄點輕食如水果、餅乾、小蛋糕等等，否則過飽時便吃不下晚餐了。為了不浪費家中的熟香蕉與剩餘淡忌廉，EC昨天早上做了小蛋糕供孩子們作下午茶。

Chiffon cakes are so light and pillowy. When baked as cupcakes they are prone to collapsing and developing wrinkled skins as well as sunken tops after cooling. I don’t quite like that look so I played around with my oven temperatures. I started with a lower temperature initially so the cupcakes could raise slowly and steadily in the oven. Once shape was formed I raised the temperature to brown the surface. The process took a bit longer but as you could see from my pictures, my cupcakes stood up pretty well. The ones from the either sides of the pan still sunk a bit and were unevenly browned… blame it on the uneven oven temperature.
戚風蛋糕質地既鬆軟且輕盈，做成小蛋糕出爐放涼後往往很容易塌陷，然後表面就是凹入並皺紋滿佈的模樣。EC不喜歡這樣，因此改變了爐溫，初期使用低溫令蛋糕慢慢往上爬升，成形後才調高溫度上色。此法需時甚久，可是卻能避免小蛋糕出爐後瞬間回縮往下陷。從相片所見，處於烤模兩旁的杯子蛋糕仍有少許回縮或上色不夠，這是爐溫不平均的緣故。

When the cupcakes were cooling I prepared my ganache filling. This is a very simple and versatile filling that I use quite frequently. By changing the ratio of chocolate to cream you can control the consistency and use it as a soft or hard filling, as a frosting, or even a glaze. Read about my blog posts Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Latte Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Mini Chocolate Eclairs, Baileys Ganache-Filled Chocolates, Handmade Dark Chocolate Truffles and Chocolate Mixed Berry Tartlets, just to name a few.
蛋糕放涼期間EC便開始製作內餡，這是個多用途餡料，做法十分簡單因此常常出現在EC的作品中。軟硬度由朱古力及淡忌廉比例操控，不單可作軟心和夾餡，也可作外層霜飾甚至淋醬。其中例子可參考雙重朱古力杯子蛋糕配雲尼拿咖啡口味瑞士蛋白奶油霜、迷你朱古力閃電泡芙、Baileys酒心朱古力、手作松露朱古力及朱古力什莓撻等等。

If you plan to eat the cupcakes plain without any filling you may want to use more sugar. Otherwise, they will taste pretty bland. Doubling the recipe will yield an 8” round chiffon cake. Baking temperature and time will need some adjustments.
倘若不打算注入餡料請自行增添糖量，否則小蛋糕味道將會很淡。雙倍配方份量可做成八寸戚風蛋糕，但爐溫與入爐時間需按焗爐型號稍作調節。

Brown Sugar Banana Chiffon Cupcakes with Ganache Filling
黑糖香蕉朱古力軟心戚風杯子蛋糕

Makes 12
十二個份量

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes
80 g cake and pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 large egg yolks
120 g overripe banana, mashed (from about 1 medium banana)
30 g milk
35 g grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 large egg whites
35 g dark brown sugar
1/3 tsp cream of tartar
Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Notes: The eggs I use are about 50 g each without shells.

For the Ganache Filling
100 g premium dark chocolate, chopped (I used couverture chocolate)
100 g whipping cream
10 g unsalted butter, softened

材料

杯子蛋糕
低筋麵粉 80克
鹽 1/4茶匙
大蛋蛋黃 3個
成熟香蕉泥 120克 (約1隻中型香蕉)
牛奶 30克
葡萄籽油 35克
檸檬汁 1/2茶匙
大蛋蛋白 3個
黑糖 35克
他他粉 1/3茶匙
糖粉適量(撒面裝飾用)

註：EC用的大蛋每隻淨重約50克

朱古力軟心
優質黑朱古力(切碎) (EC用調溫朱古力) 100克
淡忌廉 100克
無鹽牛油 (放軟) 10克

Directions 做法

For the Cupcakes 杯子蛋糕
Separate the eggs and place the whites In a clean mixing bowl (I usually wipe the bowl and the wire beater with paper towel and vinegar or lemon juice to remove traces of grease). Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 325ºF/160ºC.
分開蛋白和蛋黃，放蛋白的攪拌盤必需是清潔的(EC習慣把攪拌盤及打蛋器配件預先用廚房紙沾檸檬汁或白醋抹一次去除殘餘油污)，杯子蛋糕模內放紙模備用，焗爐預熱325ºF/160ºC。

Blitz the banana, milk and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until smooth. Alternatively, place banana in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Then stir in the remaining ingredients.
把香蕉、牛奶和檸檬汁放在食物處理器或攪拌機內打滑，把香蕉放在大碗中用叉壓成泥，再加入餘下材料拌勻也可。

Combine and sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix well and make a well in the center. Add oil, egg yolks and the banana mixture to the well and whisk gently until combined.
麵粉及鹽混合過篩放入攪拌盤中，拌勻後中開一洞，倒進油、蛋黃及香蕉混合物, 用蛋拂輕手拌勻備用。

With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar (to stabilize the meringue) and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add in sugar and beat until glossy and firm peaks form. When you lift up the whisk, the peak will hold its shape but the tip will fall back slightly.
用電動打蛋器或坐枱式攪拌器(使用打蛋器配件)將蛋白打至起粗泡，加入他他粉(可增加蛋白穩定性)繼續打至泡泡變細密，分次加糖打至企身有光澤，蛋白霜拉起時呈尖長而末端僅輕微下垂狀。

Scoop about one third of the meringue into the batter and mix well with a whisk to lighten. Then pour this back to the remaining meringue. With a spatula, fold gently and thoroughly (so that you don’t deflate the meringue) until homogeneous.
將三分一蛋白霜混入蛋黃糊中用蛋拂充份拌勻，再倒回餘下蛋白霜中用膠刮輕手以切拌方法混合至麵糊顏色均一，盡量輕手並快手完成混合以免蛋白霜消泡。

Divide batter evenly among liners. Tap pan a few times against the countertop to remove big air bubbles. Reduce temperature to 275℉/135℃ and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cupcakes have formed their shape. Gradually raise temperature to 325ºF/160ºC. Bake for another 10 minutes to brown the top. Cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Adjust oven temperature and baking time accordingly for your own oven.
將麵糊平均分配倒入紙模中，把模往枱上敲幾次清除大氣泡，入爐後降低溫度至275℉/135℃焗20至25分鐘至蛋糕成形，再分次提高爐溫至325ºF/160ºC焗10分鐘上色，焗至蛋糕表面有彈性及竹籤插入蛋糕中央取出不沾麵糊後便可取出，請自行調節焗爐火力及時間。

Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.
出爐五分鐘後將杯子蛋糕取出移到鋼架上完全放涼。

For the Filling 朱古力軟心
Heat cream in the microwave to almost a boil. Place chopped chocolate in the hot cream and let sit for 2 minutes before stirring. Mix until the chocolate is melted. Stir in softened butter until well incorporated. Let cool until paste-like before use.
將淡忌廉用微波爐加熱至邊緣冒泡後取出，加入切碎朱古力靜置兩分鐘後攪拌至朱古力溶化，加入軟化牛油拌至順滑，室溫放涼至漿糊狀可使用。

To Assemble 裝組
Prepare a pastry bag with a Bismarck tip (I use Wilton’s #230 tip) then fill bag with ganache filling. Poke tip about halfway into the cupcake and squeeze filling into the center. Pull the tip straight up slowly as you squeeze. When you feel the cupcake expanding, stop squeezing and pull the tip out. Repeat until all cupcakes are filled. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
將朱古力軟心餡倒進已放長泡芙花嘴的唧袋中(EC用Wilton #230花嘴)，將花嘴插入杯子蛋糕中央後注入餡料，一邊注入一邊慢慢將唧袋往上移，當感到杯子蛋糕膨脹後便可停止並將花嘴完全抽出，重複將餡料注入所有杯子蛋糕內，食用前撒上糖粉裝飾。