Like many new moms, I was quite excited about planning our first baby’s first birthday party. For the cake, I hired the same person who made our wedding cake (got the same flavor, the same frosting). That first birthday cake was delicious and special. But I decided that for future birthday celebrations—and other special occasions—I wanted to find a recipe for cupcakes that I could make myself.
I began my search for the perfect cupcake recipe, but the standard had been set very high by that first birthday cake. After trying quite a few different recipes, I finally found THE ONE, just in time for my son’s third birthday party!
It’s from Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook (2011), and the recipe is called Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling. For the frosting, I use my favorite recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting, also included below. I think these cupcakes are amazing. And our kids love them too!
Cupcake Ingredients
For the Ganache Filling:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
For the Cupcakes:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa
¾ cup brewed coffee, hot
¾ cup (4 1/8 ounces) bread flour
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
The Process
First, brew the coffee. Then, chop up the chocolate. (I have used my food processor to chop the chocolate when doubling or tripling the recipe, but for a single batch, I think it’s faster just to chop it with a knife and avoid washing the food-processor parts!)
The next step is making the ganache. I put 2 ounces of the chocolate, the confectioners’ sugar, and the heavy cream in the top of a double boiler and melt the chocolate, stirring over low heat. (The actual recipe says you can do this step in the microwave, but since I don’t have a microwave—I know, I know, it’s really weird not to have a microwave—I just do it on the stovetop, which works great.) This is what the ganache looks like when it’s finished:
When the ganache is smooth, put it in the refrigerator to cool for no longer than 30 minutes.
While the ganache is chilling in the refrigerator, put the rest of the chocolate in a bowl with the cocoa and pour the hot coffee over it. Cover the bowl (I just cover it with a big plate) and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, whisk the mixture until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth; then put the mixture in the refrigerator to cool for 20 minutes.
While the coffee mixture is cooling, adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Also, put cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Next, mix together the dry ingredients—the bread flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Separately mix the vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla extract.
After the chocolate-coffee mixture has cooled for 20 minutes, remove it from the refrigerator and stir in the wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients and mix well.
Divide the batter among the 12 cupcake liners. Then remove the ganache from the refrigerator and add a rounded teaspoonful to the top of each muffin tin. When I finish this step, it looks like this:
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes, until set and just firm to touch. (The toothpick test doesn’t work with this recipe because of the ganache in the center.) Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan; then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool for at least another hour before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
I’m not a big fan of most traditional cake frostings—they are ususally too sweet for me—but I love this recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting, which I adapted from a recipe that I found on the back of a Williams Sonoma cake mix. I think this frosting works perfectly for these chocolate cupcakes, but a more traditional cake frosting would be fine as well.
Frosting Ingredients
5 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Making the Frosting
Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature.
Blend the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract and blend on low speed just until combined; then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 2 minutes. Makes 1 cup.
Finally, I like to top my frosted cupcakes with these chocolate sprinkles:
The results: amazing cupcakes, perfect for a birthday or other special occasion!
To see the actual cupcake recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, you can click here. (a subscription is required for the website, but you can get a one-day free pass to the website by providing your email address for newsletters, etc.).
Do you have a favorite cake/cupcake recipe?
Share in the comments!
