Strawberry-Chocolate-Nut Cupcake

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 75 g dark chocolate, 50% cocoa content
• 2 eggs, organic free-range eggs size L
• 55 g powdered sugar
• 10 g cornstarch
• 75 g butter, room temperature
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar (8g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 30 g sugar, finest
• 4 tbsp rum
• 60 g hazelnuts, ground
• 45 g spelt flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 120 g strawberries, fresh
• 250 g mascarpone
• 250 g quark, 20% fat content
• 120 ml syrup (strawberry fruit syrup)
• 110 ml cream, at least 30% fat content
• 35 g sugar, finest
• 25 g cornstarch
• 1 egg yolk
• some powdered sugar, to sweeten

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Summery tarts with strawberry, quark and mascarpone topping

All instructions refer to baking cups that have a diameter of 6.5 cm at the top and 5.5 cm at the bottom, as well as a height of 3.5 cm. If you use larger or smaller cups, you will get more or fewer pieces from my recipe accordingly. Preheat oven to 180 degrees top and bottom heat. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. Finely chop the chocolate. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar and cornstarch until stiff peaks and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, vanilla sugar, salt and sugar on high for about 2 minutes until light yellow. Gradually add the egg yolks and continue mixing on high for about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chopped chocolate, rum and hazelnuts. Then stir in the flour, baking powder and 1/3 of the beaten egg whites. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into paper baking cups and bake on the middle rack for about 30-35 minutes. Every oven bakes differently. So keep an eye on your cupcakes, especially if you’re baking this recipe for the first time. After baking, let the cupcakes cool completely. For the topping: Bring the sugar, cream, and 50 ml strawberry fruit syrup to a boil in a saucepan. Mix the remaining syrup with the cornstarch and egg yolk until smooth (mix very well, otherwise you’ll have lumps of starch in your topping later!). Add this to the boiling cream and syrup mixture and stir well. Remove from the heat immediately, continuing to stir vigorously. Return to the heat for another 5 seconds. Stir and remove from the heat. Stir vigorously to prevent burning! Pour into a bowl and let cool. Purée the strawberries and pass through a sieve. If using frozen strawberries, drain off the liquid first. Too much liquid makes the topping too soft, which will prevent it from holding up well when piping hot. Beat the cold pudding on medium speed for about 30 seconds until creamy. Then stir in the strawberry puree and blend for another 30 seconds. Add the mascarpone and quark and blend for another 20 seconds until creamy. Sweeten with powdered sugar and blend for another 10 seconds on medium speed. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an 18 or 16 mm star nozzle and pipe in circular motions.