Chinese New Year Fondant Cupcakes

I made these marshmallow fondant cupcakes last year, for Chinese New Year 2014.

Chinese New Year cupdakes with homemade marshmallow fondant

The cupcakes were dark chocolate cupcakes, recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker's Dark Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe.

Dark Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients
113gm unsalted butter
2 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, room temperature
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Method

1. Preheat oven. See below for temperature and oven setting.
2. Melt butter, chocolate and cocoa powder over simmering water. Then cool to warm-to-touch.
3. While waiting for chocolate mixture to cool, sift flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Mix to combine.
4. Beat the eggs with electric mixer. Add sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix till fully combined.
5. Take the egg mixture off the mixer stand. Pour in the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix with a spatula or spoon till combined.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix to combine.
7. Add sour cream, mix to combine. It's easier to blend in the sour cream at this stage while the mixture is still quite thin.
8. Add remaining flour mixture, mix to combine.
9. Divide batter into cupcake casings, filling each one 1/2 full, and bake.

For regular-sized cupcakes, bake at 140°C for 18-20 minutes. The recipe yields 12 regular-sized cupcakes.

For mini cupcakes, bake at a slightly lower temperature, 130-135°C for 18 minutes. The recipe yields 24 mini cupcakes.

Oven Setting
It's important to bake cupcakes using the top and bottom heating element of the oven, instead of fan-assisted convection, and bake them in the middle rack in a single tray or layer. I've learned that using fan-assisted convection could result in cupcakes with lopsided dome tops (caused by the wind from the fan before the cupcakes fully set).

Homemade marshmallow fondant cupcakes

The cupcakes were then frosted with a thin layer of chocolate ganache, before decorated with my homemade marshmallow fondant toppers.