Morgan's was the quintessential 1950's drug store...right down to it's soda fountain. I can imagine it in my mind like something from out of an old movie. Mom walked to school so on occasion when they found themselves with a little change, she and her friends would head over to Morgan's; probably to buy baseball cards. This was where she would have her favorite sweet treat...a hot fudge sundae with nuts! Mom described the tall soda glass filled with cool vanilla ice cream, dripping with smooth hot fudge, syrupy English walnuts, topped with a cloud of whipped cream and the piece de resistance...a cherry on top!
There is nothing like an old standard and this sounded like a perfect cupcake. I was a lot less leery of how this would come out than Dad's mix. Now, to figure out how to duplicate the flavors. I used the same batch of Vanilla Bean Cupcakes to create the ice cream base to this guy. I thought about a chocolate buttercream frosting but then I thought about the texture of hot fudge. I decided the perfect fake for that would be a nice chocolate ganache. Now, I LOVE chocolate ganache. The first time I ate it was when I had my first taste of Death by Chocolate Cake at the Trellis in Colonial Williamsburg. The best thing is it is stupid easy to make!
Chocolate Ganche:
Bring a pint of heavy cream to a low simmer. In a heat safe bowl, add 8 oz of semi-sweet chocolate. (I used Ghiradelli Chips) Pour the warm cream over the chips and let sit about one minute. Then stir the chocolate until it melts into smooth shiny goodness!
For the nuts...I thought about making candied walnuts but then I realized how super sweet this little confection could end up if I added too much extra sugar and opted just to sprinkle plain old chopped English walnuts over the thick layer of ganache.
Next goes the heavy dollop of cool whipped cream. To make this is also easy if you have a mixer with a whisk attachment. A little tip for whipping cream...everything has to be COLD. So, put your mixing bowl in the fridge and leave it and the cream in there until you are ready for it. You only need to add about a tablespoon of powdered sugar to sweeten it up a touch. You can add vanilla or other extracts but for this cupcake, I kept it simple.
Last but not least, we topped it off with a maraschino cherry! I wish they had had stems to make it even cuter! They were SOOO yummy and had all the elements of that perfect soda shoppe delight. Mom deemed them a success!
I "frosted" them all with the warm ganache and stored the extras in the fridge. I was also able to keep the whipped cream in a lidded plastic storage container in the fridge for about a week and it did not separate. This way, I was able to make them to order, so to speak, not forgetting a cherry or two!
So, who was the winner of this cupcake war? Well, I liked then both and found them hard to compare. One was sweet, sweet- rich and chocolaty. The other was fun with bright flavors and a great sweet-salty mix. If you try one, let me know! Keep checking in to see what I try next...there is a S'mores Cupcake battle coming soon!
Yumalicious Dishes!
So, who was the winner of this cupcake war? Well, I liked then both and found them hard to compare. One was sweet, sweet- rich and chocolaty. The other was fun with bright flavors and a great sweet-salty mix. If you try one, let me know! Keep checking in to see what I try next...there is a S'mores Cupcake battle coming soon!
Yumalicious Dishes!
