I will always have a soft spot in my heart for cupcakes, since I learned how to bake through watching Cupcake Wars way back in the day on the Food Network. Not going to lie, I always dreamed about going on that show, but I guess being on two seasons of Masterchef and ironically still getting to be judged by Candace Nelson is still a pretty great alternative to that. I won’t lie, I was NOT expecting Candace to be there for that macaron challenge. We were explicitly told by production that Christina Tosi was supposed to be the guest judge for the cake challenge we had prior to that one, but due to a scheduling conflict, she could not make it. So when Gordon started to introduce the guest judge for the macaron challenge, we were all expecting it to be Christina when he started saying that the judge was a young woman with a baking empire in America. Then when he said “Sprinkles Cupcakes”, that’s literally(and I still laugh that they aired it on the actual episode) when I said “Candace Nelson?”, half in surprise, and half because we all expected it to be Christina and then they somehow got another huge baking name on the show to judge us. Again, it was crazy to see Candace, because through Sprinkles Cupcakes specifically, she was the one who introduced me to the gourmet cupcake(I believe in my confessional, I tripped up on my words and forgot the “gourmet”, so people thought I went a large span of my life never having tried a cupcake before, whoops). So it was crazy to be baking macarons for her. All that to be said, it was crazy to think my baking journey had started from watching people baking cupcakes competitively, to then be judged by one of the judges from that show, to just baking whatever I want, whenever I want. In this case, I went with some olive oil-chocolate cupcakes.

These olive oil and chocolate cupcakes combine two of my favorite ingredients, as well as two of my favorite desserts, being olive oil cake and chocolate cake. Olive oil cake has this rich, tender crumb and a pleasant grassy flavor, while chocolate cake, depending on the kind you get, can be decadent as well. In this case, I wanted to get a cross section between what I loved in both desserts, being that distinct texture of an olive oil cake, but having the grassiness accentuate the deep cocoa flavor of the black cacao powder that I used in my batter. I also did a whipped olive oil ganache to act as my frosting for the cupcakes, and to finish, some chocolate, cacao nibs, and sea salt. Finishing the cake with sea salt really brings out both the flavor of the olive oil and the chocolate in such a simple and effective way. The chocolate and cacao nibs are there to further accentuate the chocolate flavor, while also adding some texture to what is otherwise just soft on creamy, which is not a bad combination, but one that still benefits from the additional crunch that the chocolate and cacao provide. Overall, whenever I make cupcakes, I just remember how I have been baking for just over half of my life now(which is insane to think about), and how it all started from Cupcake Wars.

Makes 12 mini cakes:
For the cake batter:
6oz olive oil
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup black cacao powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
2 tbsps vinegar
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Sift into that the flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and baking powder, and fold everything together until a crumbly mixture forms. In another container, mix together the milk, vinegar, and coffee powder. Whisk that into the crumbly flour-oil mixture to form your batter – this should be lump-free. Fill 12 lined cupcake tins about 2/3 the way full each. Bake the cakes at 350 degrees F for 22 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before attempting to unmold them.

For the olive oil ganache:
2/3 cups dark chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
2oz olive oil
a pinch of salt

In a pot, melt everything together until fully combined and smooth. Transfer the ganache to the refrigerator and allow it to firm up, chilling it down for at least 20 minutes. Whip the ganache until soft and spreadable. Spread dollops of the ganache on top of each cupcake, using an offset spatula to shape each dollop.

For garnish:
Cacao nibs
Coarsely chopped dark chocolate
Fleur de sel or finishing salt

Sprinkle on top of the cakes the cacao nibs, chocolate, and sea salt flakes to finish.