adapted from Cake on the Brain, from Cook's Illustrated
These cupcakes were beautiful because of the smooth and shiny ganache! The cake itself had some elasticity and wasn't too crumbly. I usually like to use buttermilk in cake batter, but the sour cream took its place in this recipe and resulted in a pretty moist cupcake. Good thing, because I always fear a dry cupcake.
Ingredients:
- 8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 3/4 t baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream
Steps:
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan with baking-cup liners.
- Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
- Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine
- Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.
- Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
- Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
Chocolate Ganache
adapted from Ina Garten
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe's pound bars or Ghirardelli baking chips--both in dark choc)
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Dip the cupcake into the pot of ganache and swirl!
White Chocolate Lettering
White Chocolate Lettering
Melt white chocolate into some heavy cream (use what's left over from making the ganache!) and pipe through a ziploc bag with a snipped corner or a piping bag with a round tip.
Pipe letters onto a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Place in fridge/freezer for 20 minutes to harden. Then carefully remove letters with a spatula (and helpful roommates) and place onto individual cupcakes!
