Oh my gosh! It’s ganache!

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

If you like chocolate, I mean REALLY like chocolate you’ve gotta try these.

After seeing Ina Garten, otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa make these, I knew I had to try ‘em. I’m not a baker, but I’ll have to admit, these were pretty easy. And worth the effort, fer sure. Ganache sounds awfully fancy, but it’s pretty simple stuff. This one calls for cream, chocolate chips and instant coffee (optional). That’s it.

Easy-breezy-lemon-squeezy. Right?

This here’s the big chocolate culprit.

A whole can of it. No joke … but who’s complaining? Not me.

Begin by preheating the oven to 325° and line muffin pan with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar together.

Add eggs, one at a time.

Here’s the good stuff … mix in the chocolate syrup.

Add the vanilla, coffee and flour until just combined – don’t over mix!

Fill cupcake liners halfway and bake for approximately 30 minutes.

***An important note: You must let the cupcakes cool thoroughly IN the muffin pan! So make sure you have enough pans ready for the second batch, unless you can wait – if you try to remove cupcakes before they’re cool they will collapse. Of course, I’m only guessing that will happen, I wouldn’t know for sure …

For the ganache, combine the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

These are yum, yum, yummy heated in the microwave later for about 10 seconds. Be sure to have plenty of milk on hand.

Also, my husband said he’d prefer it without the coffee. You could certainly try it without the coffee – can’t imagine that it wouldn’t still be tasty. I think the coffee adds some needed bitterness to balance the sweetness as well as a richness that I can’t explain, but you be the judge.

Enjoy!

Oh my gosh! It’s ganache!

 

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Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa.

Serves: Makes 20-24 cupcakes.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• ¼ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 (16-ounce) can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

For the ganache:

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee granules

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Mix in the flour and coffee granules until just combined. Be careful not to over beat, just barely mix all ingredient together.
3. Fill muffin cups with batter halfway. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t over bake! Let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. Again, let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. I repeat, let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. Get it? Got it? Good.

For the ganache:

1. In a double boiler (with simmering water in the bottom) heat the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee until warm and smooth, stirring occasionally.
2. If you’d like you can dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache. (I didn’t dip these. I topped the cupcakes with a spoonful of ganache but if you like dipping, have at it. It may look mo’ bettah dipped.)

Note: The original recipe from FoodNetwork.com says this makes 12 cupcakes, but I found that it makes between 20-24 when the cupcake liners are filled halfway. Don’t fill more or you’ll have a big ‘ol mess on your hands. They do rise.

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