Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 (4-oz) bar bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/3 cups (188g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (58g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee

Chocolate French Buttercream

• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

Direction

Chocolate Ganache

1. I’d recommend doing this before you make the cupcakes so that the ganache will have time to stiffen up before you pipe it into your cupcakes.
2. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Add the cream to a small saucepan set over medium heat.
3. Cook the cream, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes or until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. The goal is to warm the cream up without scorching it.
4. Remove it from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. I like to use a spoon to make sure all of the chocolate is pushed down under the cream.
5. Let stand 5 minutes. Use a whisk to stir the cream and chocolate mixture until it is completely smooth. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until ready to use.
6. If your ganache gets too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, salt in a large bowl until combined.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat sugar and oil together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add vanilla
3. In a small bowl combine the milk and sour cream. Microwave 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in the instant coffee until dissolved.
4. Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture to the oil mixture, in 3 additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth (do not over mix).
5. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3-full and bake 16 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack.
6. Use a cupcake corer or the back of a large piping tip to remove part of the center of each cooled cupcake. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of chocolate ganache into each cupcake.

Chocolate French Buttercream

1. Add the cream to a small bowl and microwave for 15 seconds, just until warm. Stir in instant coffee until completely dissolved; set aside.
2. Add chocolate pieces to a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir the chocolate occasionally just until it’s fully melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large heat proof bowl 1 minute or until smooth and slightly pale in color.
4. Bring 1-inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan set over medium heat. Set the bowl with the egg mixture over the simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water (we’re going to use the steam to heat the eggs).
5. Heat the eggs and sugar, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160°F. Remove from heat immediately and cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
6. Whisk chocolate into egg mixture, being sure to scrape all the chocolate into the bowl. Whisk in the cream/instant coffee mixture, vanilla, and salt. Place the entire bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, beat the butter on high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment 3 minutes or until pale in color.
8. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly stream the chocolate and egg mixture into the butter. Increase speed to high and beat an additional 3 minutes, or until light and smooth.
9. Transfer buttercream to a piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip and frost each cupcake. You can also just spread the buttercream onto the cupcake with a spoon.