Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

No long post to start. Just the recipe and my thoughts. I felt the cupcakes were a little too dense and a tad dry. I would consider adding in 1/2 cup buttermilk and/or sourcream to lighten this recipe up. Also, this was incredibly easy to make. Making the actual batter took about 15 minutes and the ganache about 10 minutes. The ganache is fantastic but makes way too much for the dozen or so cupcakes. I ended up using it as a fruit dip for snacks!

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes and 6 mini-cupcakes
Adapted from Ina

1 stick butter (room temperature)

1 cup flour

4 eggs (room temperature)

16 oz  Hershey's chocolate syrup (note, I couldn't find this and used hershey's chocolate syrup typically used for ice cream)

1 tbspn vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

2 tbspn of espresso or very strong coffee

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Make sure the butter is room temperature. I actually leave my butter out the night before if I know that I'll be baking with it the next day. You may be tempted to go ahead and bake with fresh out of the fridge butter, but highly recommend you wait just two hours. Trust me, I was that person and after making a dessert the room temperature butter, I saw a difference. Your dessert is more moist and creams significantly better. 

3. Next, crack the eggs in a measure cup. Then add them one by one to the mixer. Add in the vanilla. 

4. Add in the chocolate syrup, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixer periodically to ensure the batter is well mixed. I couldn't find the Hershey's syrup at my grocery store, so I substituted with Hershey's hot fudge syrup. The same? Probably not but I think it worked to provide that intense chocolate flavor. Next, slowly add in the flour in three batches.

5. Spray your cupcake pan and fill each to about 3/4 of the cup. These cupcakes don't rise too much. I also baked some mini-cupcakes as well!

6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. For the mini-cupcakes, they only took about 12-15 minutes.

7. For the cupcake ganache frosting, heat the heavy cream in a double boiler. Once simmering, add in the chocolate chips and mix until all the chips are melted. Add in two tbspn of espresso or very strong coffee. It should be shiny and silky.

8. Once the cupcakes are done and cooled, dip the top of the cupcake into the chocolate ganache. Set on platter to set.

Chocolate Soft Center Cakes

In celebration of my dad turning "28," I made these yummy chocolate cakes instead of the typical rum cake. I first had this cake in San Francisco last year, when my sister's friend, Deepa, made this for dinner. Now, she was a character - she had no desire to eat this delicious dessert but rather preferred to just bake it for others. I obviously couldn't relate =). Anyways, this dessert is incredibly easy and so good warm with cold ice cream.

I've had this several time using different types of chocolate and I think Ghiradelli chocolate makes a big difference. I've used less percentage cacao chocolate and also Nestle semisweet chocolate. They just don't stack up to the silkiness and flavor of Ghiradelli. I'm sure other chocolate may be better but based on cost/flavor/quality, I'm sticking with Ghiradelli.
What I love about this recipe is its "easy" factor. Four basic steps. Melt chocolate/butter. Dump rest of ingredients into mixer and let it go for 10 minutes. Combine and pour into ramekin. Bake. Eat (step 5!) I didn't have any ice cream and with it being so late, going to the store was not an option. Rummaged through pantry and decided to make a quick whipping cream topping. Added in a some additional flavor with almond extract but the secret ingredient - nutella! Oh, how I dearly love you Nutella. You complete everything.
Individual Soft Center Cakes

4 oz 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking bar (I prefer Ghiradelli dark chocolate)

1 stick unsalted butter

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup supar

1/2 tspn vanilla extract

1 tbpn cake flour

Melt butter and chocolate in a double boilder. Whip eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla with a mixer for about 10 minutes on high speed. Fold melted chocolate/butter into the egg mixture. (I folded the chocolate in three portions) Fold in flour until just combined. Butter and sugar four 6 oz ramekins then spoon mixture into ramekins.

Bake 450 degrees for about 9-10 minutes. (Mine took a little longer - around 12 minutes). The center will be quite soft, but the top and sides will be set. Let sit out of the oven for about 5 minutes then unmold onto a plate. (I served cake in the ramekin)

Cream topping:

1/3 cup whipping cream

3 tbpn powdered sugar

1 tspn almond extract

Nutella (um, however much you want...=)

Whip cream in a cold bowl. Should take just a few minutes. Fold in the powdered sugar and almond extract. Melt a little nuttella in microwave for 10 seconds. Fold into the cream. Put in fridge to keep cool until ready to serve.