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Ingredients

Instructions

These cupcakes are time consuming to prepare, but will draw raves from your family and friends. Prepare for a special occasion and store in your freezer.
Line cupcake pans with papers.
Place 1 tablespoon chocolate crumbs on bottom of each cupcake paper and press down to form a crust.
In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, dissolve the coffee in water. Add 1/2 cup sugar and stir over low heat to dissolve. Add chocolate, and stir constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Separate eggs, reserving whites for later. Add egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and stir with a wire whisk. Set aside until completely cool.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer add heavy cream and Whip-It or gelatin and beat until it holds a shape but is not stiff. Set aside.
In another bowl, with clean beaters, beat at high speed the egg whites until they are foamy (using a copper bowl will give your egg whites a greater volume). Add salt and cream of tartar, continuing to beat until the whites hold a soft peak. Reduce to medium speed. Gradually add sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat for 4-5 minutes until the meringue is quite firm, but not stiff or dry. (The peaks should hold their shape if you pass a knife through them.)
Fold half of the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Fold other half of chocolate mixture into the bowl with the whipped cream. Blend together the chocolate-egg white mixture and the chocolate whipped cream mixture.
Spoon batter into cupcake papers to top of papers. Place in freezer in pans overnight. Take out 5 minutes before serving.
Topping:
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until stiff (do not overbeat). Use a pastry bag with a #2B star tip to pipe whipped cream on top of cupcakes -- swirl into soft ice cream cone shape.
Note: If you can't find vanilla sugar in the baking section of your supermarket, you can make your own. Put a vanilla bean in 3.4 ounce of granulated sugar and let sit for two days.
Chocolate Shavings:
Place an 8 ounce slab of bittersweet chocolate in a warm place for 30 minutes. Using a potato peeler, shave chocolate in one direction to form chocolate curls. Place chocolate curl atop whipped cream.
Variation:
Put popsicle stick in the middle of each cup, before freezing and serve as a pudding pop (omit whipped cream topping).
Yield: 36-42 small cupcakes