If you are looking for a soft and moist rich chocolate cupcake recipe that is quick and easy to make, you have come to the right place. This cupcake is so simple to make and delicious you'd wish you had made more. So, let's just say I have given you a heads up.
Basic Tools required
There are no special tools required for making these cupcakes but the basic equipment that you may already have in your kitchen:
- muffin/cupcake tin
- ice cream scoop or spoon
- cupcake patty pan - if you don't have the patty pan, just grease the non stick muffin tray and bake straight into the tin
- an appetite for deliciousness
Choosing the best chocolate is key
Whenever I am baking with anything that involves chocolate, I always recommend using the best kind that you can find because it makes a whole lot of difference to your bakes.
The ganache is made with Callebaut dark chocolate with 53% cacao content, which is a brand of chocolate that I always stock up on in my pantry. There are other great chocolate brand there as well such as:
- Lindt
- Cacao Barry
- Valrhona
- Belcolade
- Ghiradelli
Storage
A lot of times I would recommend for "on the day" consumption with most bakes, but I actually think that cupcake taste better when they are kept for a day to be enjoyed the following day. I don't really have a good explanation to that but the cake tends to absorb more flavour after a day. I would however, recommend that you keep the cupcakes in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out and to prepare and pipe the ganache close to serving.
The Ganache below needs 2 - 3 hours crystallisation time for it to firm up to a pipeable consistency and once you have piped the ganache on top of the cupcakes, it is best to consume them then. If you do wish to keep the cupcakes in the fridge after you have decorated with the ganache, remove the cupcakes from the fridge for several hours before serving as the ganache can firm up quite a lot when it is cold.
RECIPE
Yield: 24 standard size cupcakes
Patty Pan: 50 mm base x 30 mm height
Equipment: Standard Size muffin pan with 12 cavities, Ateco 848 Rosette piping tip
Note: If you are using a larger patty mine than mine, you will most likely get lesser cupcakes from the batter.
Chocolate cake
190 g Plain Flour
260 g Caster Sugar/ Granulated sugar
80 g Cocoa powder
5 g Bicarbonate Soda
½ tsp Fine Salt (4 g)
120 g Sour cream room temperature
60 g Buttermilk room temperature
100 g Eggs ( 2 medium eggs)
80 g Vegetable Oil
60 g Coffee - Hot
10 g Vanilla Bean Paste ( 2 teaspoon)
Approximately 40 g per patty pan (fill half way)
Dark Chocolate Ganache
370 g Coverture Dark Chocolate 54% Cacao Solids
15 g Glucose Syrup
200 g Full Cream 37% Fat
Method
For the cupcakes
1. Preheat to 170 C. Line the muffin tray with cupcake patty pans.
2. Sift the flours, cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in the sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the warmed sour cream and buttermilk then add in the room temperature eggs followed by the vegetable oil and continue to whisk until well incorporated. Lastly whisk in the hot espresso.
4. With the stand mixer mixing on low speed, slowly stream in the wet ingredients until all are added. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until there are no lumps of dry ingredients visible.
5. Distribute batter evenly into the cupcake papers half way with approximately 40 g per patty pan (note that you may need to fill more if you are using a larger patty pan than I am). I am using a medium size ice cream scoop with a release trigger for easy distribution. I filled the patty pan half way.
Note: This batter does rises quite a bit, so be careful not to overfill your patty pans too much.
6. Place the cupcakes into the pre heated oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or when tested with a skewer, it comes out clean. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tray for 10 minutes then transfer on to a wire rack to fully cool before decorating the top with the ganache.
For the Ganache
Place the cream and glucose in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the cream boils, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate in a clean bowl or jug. Leave to sit for one minutes then stir to combine with your spatula. Emulsify with a stick blender until smooth without incorporating any air bubbles.
Line a flat tray with cling film them transfer the ganache over and spread the ganache out. Cover with another layer of cling film touching the surface of the ganache and leave to firm up to a pipeable consistency at room temperature. It will take approximately 2 - 3 hours for the ganache to firm up to a pipeable consistency if you spread them out onto a tray. Depending on the ambient of your kitchen, the time taken for the ganache to be ready can vary.
Note: Do not let the ganache sit for too long before piping otherwise it will be very difficult to pipe with it.
Assembly
Place the Ganache into a piping bag fitted with a rosette piping tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes.
Consumption and Storage
These cupcakes are great to be consumed on the day or even better the next day. If you wish to make them in advance, it is recommended that you bake the cupcake and freeze them for up to 3 months. When you are ready to assemble, defrost the cake then prepare the ganache for piping.
If you wish you keep the decorated cupcake in the fridge, ensure to bring to room temperature to allow for the ganache to soften slightly before serving.
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