Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

The last week involved a lot of sweets at my house, thanks to me using my birthday as an opportunity to bake my way through a handful of bookmarked recipes. These chocolate cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker were one of two cupcakes I baked.

The cupcakes were an excellent chocolate cupcake, but my ganache center didn't really set. When I dolloped the ganache onto the cupcakes prior to baking, it settled down creating a divot. So I filled that divot with sour cherry jam. Win-win. Ganache and cherry jam and dark chocolate.

The frosting provided in her original post is good but not my favorite. It's a very soft frosting, so I'm going to include the ganache frosting I used on a different cupcake that I think would be excellent with these.

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Ganache Filling

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Cupcakes

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/3 cup (28 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup (177 ml) hot water
3/4 cup (117 grams) bread flour
3/4 cup (149 grams) sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla 

Ganache Frosting

12 oz. chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

First, prepare the ganache for the frosting. Heat the heavy cream until hot, but try to avoid boiling it. Pour over the chocolate, and let stand 2 minutes. Whisk until combined. Set aside in the refrigerator to cool completely. (You want it to solidify basically.)

Next make the ganache filling. Place all ingredients in a small bowl. Microwave on high until the mixture is warm to the touch, about 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth, and refrigerate until barely chilled, about 30 minutes. (You don't want this to solidify, or it will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes while baking.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners. (I used one extra liner and ended up with 13 cupcakes.) Place chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot (essentially boiling) water over the top. Whisk until smooth, and then refrigerate 20 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Then whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture. Once smooth, stir in the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners. Place a dollop of ganache in the center of each cupcake, using all the ganache filling. Bake until the cupcakes are set, about 17 to 19 minutes. Cool in the cupcake pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cupcakes are cooled, finish the ganache frosting. Place the cooled ganache in a mixing bowl. Beat until lighter in color and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Pipe onto cupcakes. (If your cupcakes have divots from the ganache, feel free to top with a cherry or other jam before frosting.) Makes 13 cupcakes.