double chocolate espresso cupcakes // ganache filled

ever have one of those days that nothing seems to ever go right?

your pants seem tight - but they fit last week!

you woke up later than you planned - which throws off your entire well planned

down to every minute day

and the cupcakes you are baking are just- well, plain difficult

first the bag of flour has a slit down the side which you did not see and now you are covered

 head to toe in flour including the just vacuumed floor

when filling the bag of  ganache you get more ganache on your hands and counter than in the bag

the beautifully envisioned piped frosted cupcakes is a huge fail because you were impatient and did not allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting

i almost gave up on these cupcakes- I'm sure glad i didn't though

they are so incredibly tasty

even though they nearly caused me to breakdown in the middle of the kitchen floor

yep- that was the kind of day i had yesterday

but at least i ended it with some sweet cupcakes that are sure to put a smile on any ones face no matter how good or not so good a day they have had

these were specially made for Justin - he LOVES chocolate

and i just so happened to get my special delivery from joy the baker

double dutch dark cocoa, espresso powder & chocolate jimmies were just a few of the treats that arrived on my doorstep last week

obviously this called for cupcakes

ganache filled double chocolate espresso cupcakes to be exact

cupcakes really are quite easy as long as you have some patience

the patience is really reserved for the frosting part of cupcake making

remember the opening to this post- it is obvious i am working on that thing called patience

whip the batter up, then pour & bake

after baking you are left with some insanely dark chocolate cupcakes thanks to the double dutch dark cocoa - pretty intense huh?

i wanted some sort of filling - so i went with an easy ganache

simply take you finger and poke a little hole in the top (wait until they are a bit cool) of each cupcake

then in your handy Ziploc bag ganache pour er - fancy isn't it

squeeze a bit of ganache into each cupcake - just to the top

for a bit more "coffee" flavor, the frosting is spiked with coffee

this frosting is so good- i am pretty sure that i must have eaten half the batch while frosting

the ganache has a mix of chocolate, white chocolate and hazelnuts

a simple garnish of coffee beans or chocolate dipped espresso beans are perfect

or chocolate jimmies for extra chocolate goodness

a nice cold glass of almond milk is a must when enjoying these cupcakes

fun to bring to a party - these have enough caffeine between the chocolate, coffee & espresso to keep the party going well into the night

tune in some he & she on pandora, grab a tall glass of almond milk and dance around while enjoying a cupcake or two

if you are unable to find the dark cocoa, certainly feel free to substitute with regular cocoa

no espresso powder? leave it out or add a bit of instant coffee granules dissolved in hot water

Ganache filled Double Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

you will need:

for the cupcakes:

(Martha Stewart Cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups water 

for the ganache filling:

1/2 cup chocolate & nuts - whatever mix you have on hand

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tbsp almond milk

for the frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp non-hydrogenated all vegetable shortening (i used spectrum)

3 tbsp almond milk

4 tbsp cold coffee

assembly:

cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until well combined. Add flour mixture to the mixer and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Batter should look and feel more watery than normal cake batters.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 1/2 to 3/4 full. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Immediately remove cupcakes from muffin tin and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting & filling with ganache.

ganache:

in a double boiler melt chocolate & nuts

add powdered sugar

stir in almond milk

remove from heat and set aside until ready to use

frosting:

in the bowl of a stand mixer add powdered sugar and shortening and mix on stir speed

slowly add cold coffee & almond milk - stir on medium/high speed until frosting  is mixed well and desired consistency is reached

final cupcake assembly:

once cupcakes have fully cooled - with your pointer finger make a small hole in the top of each cupcake for the ganache

transfer ganache to a Ziploc baggie and cut a small hole at the edge of the bag - pipe the ganache into each hole of the cupcakes

frost each cupcake by hand or with a pastry bag and desired tip pipe a tower of frosting onto each cupcake

top with jimmies, chocolate covered espresso beans or leave as is

enjoy!

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