Saturday 28 July 2012

Birthday Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream


There was only one reason I whipped these cupcakes up: Oreo swiss meringue buttercream - doesn't that just sound amazing! Although I'm not the biggest fan of plain vanilla swiss meringue buttercream by itself, it's too buttery for my tastebuds, I do love flavoured swiss meringue buttercreams and I love how silky and glossy they are and how beautifully they pipe! So I couldn't pass up giving this frosting recipe a try when I spied it on pinterest! 


I made these on my birthday.  I decided to use my classic chocolate oreo cupcake recipe for the base and I forgot just how much batter it produces! I got 24 regular size cupcakes and 18 mini's so be sure to make this recipe when you have a lot of time on your hands! I was literally baking the whole day, right up until half an hour before we had to leave for the zoo, hence why these photos were a bit of an afterthought! 

I know that usually it's typical on someones birthday that other people make cakes for them but I decided it would be fun to turn up laden with cupcakes for all my friends when I saw them that evening! so I didn't mind baking the day away...after all it is my happy place! 


So we busted them out after the very disappointing penguin show where instead of seeing cute penguins do tricks we had to watch two people from the crowd dress up as penguins! 


The oreo cupcakes were a pretty good consolation! 


and made up for the lack of penguin action! 


If you are swiss meringue buttercream fans, you are absolutely going to love this! so try it out next time you're baking up some oreo cupcakes! You'll thank me for it!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes:
Makes 24 regular and 18 mini

170g unsalted butter
150g dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, separated
225g dark chocolate (Valrhona 66%)
2 tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb of soda
 365g semi-skimmed milk
100g Oreo chunks

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Line your cupcake pans with cases.
In each cupcake case place half an Oreo, the half with the cream filling still on it.  Put the other half to one side to be used later in the frosting.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in egg yolks.  Mix in vanilla and melted chocolate.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter/sugar mixture.
Crush Oreos in a blender, or a zip loc bag and a rolling pin if you don't have a blender.  
Stir in Oreos.
 In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until peaks form.  
Fold the batter into the egg whites.
Fill cupcakes cases 2/3 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (regular) and 10-15 minutes (mini) or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Leave to cool in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.


Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Makes enough to frost the above

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tbsp caster sugar
pinch of salt
450g unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
20 reserved Oreo halves, crushed in a blender
Oreo cookies, cut in half for decoration

Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, beat unti stiff (but not dry) peaks form.  Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter two tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Once all the butter has been added, whisk in the vanilla.  Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all the air bubbles are eliminated, about two minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth.  Add crushed Oreos and fold in well.

Pipe the frosting on to your cupcakes and decorate with Oreo halves.


I'm sharing these for Cupcake Tuesday over at Hoosier Homemade.

Hoosier Homemade - Cupcake Tuesday

24 comments:

  1. One word: YUM! These are Oreo heaven! I went to the zoo for my birthday too, such a fun day out, and I'm sure it was even better with Oreo cupcakes! Love the pictures of everyone digging in. Happy birthday!

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    Replies
    1. Hehe they sure are! yay for zoo fun on birthday's - did you go to Chester Zoo?

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  2. What tasty looking cupcakes in cute papers!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks they were a birthday present I received from my sister that morning! All my other papers were stored away in the cellar so it was a very handy gift to receive!

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  3. Tasty looking cupcakes in cute papers!

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  4. wow! this looks super! So much oreo. The frosting sounds amazing :)

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    Replies
    1. It is really great, if you've never tried swiss meringue before I'd definitely give it a try! it's unlike any other kind of frosting!

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  5. These look amazing! I recently made a batch of cupcakes with oreo icing, but just regular buttercream. I've still got to try my hand at making the Swiss Meringue icing, but it scares me a bit. I'm worried I'll ruin it!

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    Replies
    1. I know exactly what you mean, I was scared of SMB for a long time too until I realised recently that it's really not that scary at all! In fact every time I've made it, it turns out perfect...I end up having more problems with cream cheese frosting than with SMB! The trick is just to remember when it looks like it's curdling, it's not ruined,and just go with it and push past that stage and you'll have perfectly glossy frosting in no time! Have you ever made oreo cream cheese frosting? because that's my favourite kind to pair with oreo cupcakes - it incorporates some of the creaminess of the cream filling bit from an oreo cookie.

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  6. Hubba hubba! Bet they were loving it! Is it like when its your birthday and you have to bring cakes for the office?! x

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    Replies
    1. Haha yeah I guess it is like that or when you took in packs of sweets at school for the kids in your class! I'm so sorry, I didn't even want to blog yesterday but I forced myself to do it specifically to include a link to your giveaway and then I completely forgot to do it! Sooo jeal you went to All Star Lanes without us! and I LOVE sweet potato fries!

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  7. Swiss meringue buttercream with oreos?? I don't know if it can get better than that!

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  8. Sounds great. I totally agree - I find SMB too buttery but when it is flavoured it is so silky! I love zoo lates, I've been every year since it started and have seen it really improve and get popular. It such a great different night out and the food is always great. My friends were dubious at first but I've got them all on board now! Hope you had a lovely time!

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    1. Yeah I've just thought actually chocolate Oreo SMB could be a great compromise! I loved zoo lates too and will definitely go again if it's still running in a few years when we're living back in the UK again!

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  9. my word, looks too good. Going to try make me some :)

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    Replies
    1. yeah it really is quite easy to make, I don't know why people make such a fuss about SMB!

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  10. These look seriously good...love the sound of that swiss meringue buttercream and the oreo cookies on top just finish them off! :-) Happy belated birthday too!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I had planned on a decadent drizzling of ganache as well but time run away from me and so I'll have to save that for next time!

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  11. Beautiful birthday cakes - wow! The meringue buttercream sounds amazing as I imagine it would be so silky :)

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    1. Thanks, it is super silky! and really pairs well with the cupcake base.

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  12. I think you might just be the oreo cupcake queen! I know what you mean about the high butter content in swiss or italian meringue buttercream, when plain it feels a bit icky. It looks amazing with the oreos though.

    Thanks for the comment about my first macarons! Gutted you don't like almonds though (I nearly can't get enough almond flavours at the moment). I wonder if it's possible to substitute the ground almonds in macarons with something else like ground hazelnuts?

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    1. Haha I'm loving that title Jo! I made some peanut butter Oreo brownie cupcakes last week too! so yeah the Oreo cupcakes just keep on coming! I'm thinking Chocolate Oreo SMB could be a happy compromise to combat the plain buttery taste!

      Yeah I seriously can't stand almonds, I can detect the tiniest amount in anything I eat. I'm not really a huge nut fan in general, I did read someone who had substituted it with ground coconut they had ground up from a real coconut so being the coconut lover I am, I may just have to give that a try!

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