These Saint Lucian Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are inspired by the Island’s Cocoa Tea – a spiced Hot Chocolate that is made from locally grown cocoa.
It is August, and Saint Lucia is celebrating Chocolate Heritage Month – a celebration of the island’s rich chocolate history.
You might not know it, but the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia has been producing cacao for centuries, and continues to produce some of the world’s best chocolate. The island’s signature mountains, the Pitons, are actually ideal for chocolate growing, and produce an intense, richly flavoured chocolate.
Travellers to Saint Lucia during Chocolate Heritage Month can expect to be immersed in a variety of services, amenities and experiences that celebrate chocolate. This ranges from inventive “choc-tails,” chocolate infused spa treatments, cocoa plantation tours and speciality tasting menus.
Travellers visiting Saint Lucia this summer can literally sink their teeth into Saint Lucia’s rich history of cocoa production.
For a deeper look into the island’s chocolate heritage, plantation tours at Morne Coubaril Estate and La Dauphine Estate showcase the tradition of Saint Lucian cocoa production.
The Fond Doux Holiday Plantation tour leads guests through the cocoa fermentation house where visitors can participate in the traditional “cocoa- rina” dance to polish the cocoa beans while Jade Mountain’s Emerald Estate Organic Chocolate and Chocolate Laboratory offers guests a behind-the-scenes look at a bean-to-bar, single estate boutique chocolate maker.
The Tree to Bar Experience at Hotel Chocolat guides visitors through the many stages of chocolate production, from seedling nursery, fermenting room and sun-drying station to grinding, mixing and tasting.
Sounds like heaven on Earth to me!
Cocoa Tea is a traditional hot breakfast treat in St. Lucia, made from the locally grown fine cocoa that is so world-renowned.
Forget everything you know about sugar filled hot chocolate right now.
Cocoa tea is much healthier and rich in anti-oxidants with as much caffeine in it is a cup of coffee. It’s lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg too which creates a rich and wonderfully complex flavour profile that will remind you of exactly where you are (should you be lucky enough to be drinking it on a Caribbean island, that is.)
It is traditionally made from grated cocoa stick – a small log of roasted, ground, rolled cacao nibs.
I took this traditional drink and felt inspired to try my hand at creating hot chocolate cupcakes inspired by Saint Lucian chocolate and culture.
It is made with dark chocolate straight from Saint Lucia along with warming spices, and grated cacao from a stick, all topped off with a meringue “marshmallow” frosting.
It’s as close to cocoa tea as you can get in a dessert!
Of course, you will probably want to take the trip to Saint Lucia to get your own locally grown Saint Lucian chocolate.
While there you will want to check out how Saint Lucia’s top restaurants incorporate native cocoa into menu items for both sweet and savoury dishes.
I have to say, I am curious!
Looking for more Caribbean Inspired Dishes?
Check out some of my favourite recipe:
Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
Saint Lucian Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup butter
4 oz. Saint Lucian dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Grated Cocoa (from Stick)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups milk, divided
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 tsp. baking soda
For the marshmallow frosting:
8 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp fine salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
For the cupcakes:
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, chopped chocolate, 1 cup milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, over medium heat until melted and smooth then set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and grated cocoa on low.
Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until well combined.
Mix in eggs, making sure to keep beating on medium, then add the rest of the milk, vanilla, and baking soda.
Fill the cupcake liners with the batter about ¾ way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer cupcakes to a wire baking rack to continue cool.
For the marshmallow frosting:
Bring a medium saucepan, filled to 1 inch with water, to a simmer over medium heat.
Whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in stand mixer bowl.
Place the bowl over the saucepan, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
Whisk the egg mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch – about 5 minutes.
Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer and whisk for 1 minute on medium then increase the speed to high and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Add the vanilla and whisk until mixed in.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe onto the cupcakes.
Either use a kitchen torch or your oven’s broiler to brown the meringue topping.
Serve immediately or store at room temperature for up to 3 hours.
Saint Lucian Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 3/4 cup butter
- 4 oz . dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Grated Cocoa, from Stick
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups milk, divided
- 2 Tbs . pure vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 tsp . baking soda
For the marshmallow frosting
- 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp fine salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, chopped chocolate, 1 cup milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, over medium heat until melted and smooth then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and grated cocoa on low.
- Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until well combined.
- Mix in eggs, making sure to keep beating on medium, then add the rest of the milk, vanilla, and baking soda.
- Fill the cupcake liners with the batter about ¾ way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer cupcakes to a wire baking rack to continue cool.
For the marshmallow frosting
- Bring a medium saucepan, filled to 1 inch with water, to a simmer over medium heat.
- Whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in stand mixer bowl.
- Place the bowl over the saucepan, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
- Whisk the egg mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch - about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer and whisk for 1 minute on medium then increase the speed to high and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Add the vanilla and whisk until mixed in.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe onto the cupcakes.
- Either use a kitchen torch or your oven's broiler to brown the meringue topping.
- Serve immediately or store at room temperature for up to 3 hours.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
For more information about Chocolate Heritage Month and special hotel deals, visit the St. Lucia Tourism Board website.
Have you been to Saint Lucia?
Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!
Teri
Monday 10th of October 2016
I'm from St Lucia and I'm tooooo happy to see this...Thank you 🙈🙈🙈😘
Jeannie
Sunday 21st of August 2016
Great packages! I would pick the Capella Marigot Bay Resort & Marina Chocolate Heritage Special
kim caff
Sunday 21st of August 2016
The Crystals Hotel Chocolate Heritage Special!
Melissa Nagle
Sunday 21st of August 2016
this is going to be my next baking item, they look mouth watering.
sonia pinette
Sunday 21st of August 2016
I think I would choose the royal St-lucia resort spa