Yesterday was a bit of a stressful day. Not just for me, but it definitely felt like the entire circle of friends around me had an elevated stress day. It wasn’t good. But you know me with particularly hard days, that usually means that I end up baking something. That “something” this time was cupcakes, Triple Chocolate Cupcakes to be exact. It started with Trish musing about chocolate cake and morphed from there. So, in essence, it’s all Trish’s fault. 😛 For now, though, enjoy the cupcakes: dark chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream frosting and a drizzle of chocolate ganache. While it didn’t make the day less stressful, I was in a better state after making them.
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
4 1/2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
for the frosting
for the white chocolate frosting
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
3 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
6 ounces white chocolate or 6 ounces white baking bar, melted and cooled
3 -5 tablespoons heavy cream
for the chocolate ganache and sprinkles
3 tablespoons corn syrup
6 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
shaved chocolate from a white chocolate and a milk chocolate bar
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a muffin pan with liners.
In the top part of a double boiler over very hot, but not simmering, water, or in a microwave at medium power, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat or the oven, and let stand, stirring often, until cool.
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle blade on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Return the speed to medium-high and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the chocolate and vanilla. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overbeat. Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible wisps of whites. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, and fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Fill the lined muffin cups a quarter way full, then place in a truffle and fill to three-quarters full, being careful not to overfill. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For frosting, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add in melted and cooled white chocolate and whipping cream (start with 3 tablespoons and add in more to achieve desired consistency). Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes more, scraping the bowl with a spatula Fill your piping bag with the frosting. Frost as desired and chill while you make the ganache.
For the ganache, in a small saucepan combine the corn syrup and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and add the chocolate, then remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes without stirring, then stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract. and stir again. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally so that it remains smooth.
Fill a zip top bag with the ganache and snip a tiny corner off. Drizzle over the buttercream frosting and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate sprinkles. Keep chilled until approximately half an hour before serving.
