Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

When my daughter was in high school, she had a small business in our kitchen called Little Cakes by Meredith. She made several different flavors of cupcakes and frosted them perfectly with her collection of pastry tips. Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes were the most requested, and she made a lot of them for her customers. She has since graduated from college and doesn’t make many cupcakes anymore, but I’ve adopted her recipe and make them for special occasions. The frosting makes a lot, so be sure to pile it high on each little cake. Sometimes I add a chocolate piece to the top as a little surprise.

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Ingredients

Makes 20

Cupcakes: 

• 2 sticks butter (16 oz.)

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 4 eggs

• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

• 2 cups cake flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ganache Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

• 4 sticks butter (32 oz.)

• 3 cups powdered sugar

Process

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated.

Melt chocolate in microwave or in a double boiler and cool for 10 minutes. Add to butter mixture.

In a bowl, combine flour and baking soda. In a measuring cup combine buttermilk and vanilla extract.  

Add 1/3 of flour mixture to chocolate mixture, then 1/3 of buttermilk mixture.  Continue adding until all combined. Place cupcake liners in muffin pans and fill with an ice cream scoop of batter, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 22 minutes, until done.

Frosting:

In a saucepan, heat heavy cream. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate.  Stir until completely combined. Let cool to room temperature.

In bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter. Add cooled chocolate and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar in small amounts until all combined and smooth.