I have to start this post by sharing my amusement of last week’s poll results. Did you notice? Two options were clear stand-outs among the choices and in the end they were neck and neck. The two things you readers want more of? Low-Cal Meals, and Desserts. Now either there are two schools of thought out there, or you’d like more low-cal meals so that you can eat more desserts. Am I right? haha. Either way, we’re going to pleaseeveryone in the next couple of weeks. And I’m starting with this:
Can you guess which of the two categories it falls under?
I’m not even joking when I say that I dreamed these cupcakes up. Before hurricane Gustav interrupted our blog schedule around here, we were thinking about doing a lunch box week, so I had lunch on my mind. I immediately thought back to elementary school and the things I loved. My Mom didn’t buy a lot of “junk food” but every once and a while I’d open up that lunch bag and see a shiny, crinkly, foil wrapper. I’m convinced she bought ding-dongs all the time and just kept them to herself, but that’s another story. One night after thinking about this, I went to bed and literally had a dream about a grown up, gourmet ding-dong. One with a rich, moist cupcake, a silky-smooth creme filling, and a decadent chocolate glaze on top. And since I’m all about making dreams come true…here we have my latest favorite cupcake. Special thanks goes out to all of my friends who decided to be born in late August-Early September, because they ended up being my guinea pigs. Something tells me they didn’t mind…
This recipe is in three parts. Below you’ll find the cupcake, which is a recipe by pastry chef Shelly Kaldunski, and then the chocolate ganache for the topping. The vanilla creme filling is in a separate post because I use it for lots of other things too! Don’t be turned off by all of the steps- these cupcakes aren’t hard, and you can make both the cupcakes and the ganache ahead of time. They’re sure to impress!
Devil’s Food Cupcakes
1 C Flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 C luke warm water
1/4 C buttermilk
Position rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350. Like a standard 12 cup muffin tin with liners. I like the foil ones because they’re pretty and play on the whole ding-dong angle.Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. I know lots of people skip sifting, but in some recipes it’s really important. This is one of them, so just pop it in a strainer and shake all those lumps out.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the water and buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium high speed just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not over beat.
Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups- use a cookie scoop for even filling. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Mine usually only take about 15- don’t over bake! Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then remove them and let them cool.
Prepare the vanilla creme filling and place in a pastry bag, or a ziplock bag with the tip cut off.
Fill ‘er up:
Now there’s 2 ways to fill a cupcake. I use them both depending on the consistency of the cupcake I’m using. See what works best for you. One option is to take a pastry bag with a regular tip on it and place it directly in the center of the cupcake. Press out filling while slowly pulling the bag up and out.
Another method is to take a sharp knife and remove the center of the cupcake in a cone shape. Place filling inside, cut the bottom of the “cone” off, and place the top part back on.
Now fill ’em up!
Finally, the ganache.
Chocolate Ganache
3/4 C Cream
2 T real butter, melted
8 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
Place chocolate in a bowl. Pour melted butter over it. Place cream in microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes- it needs to be at a simmer. Immediately pour over chocolate and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for about 3 minutes and then stir until smooth. Let it cool until it’s a good spreading consistency and then spread on top of filled cupcakes.
Here’s a picture before the ganache had cooled at all. It was runny and messy, and totally fabulous.
Let it harden a bit more, and you get a firmer consistency, as shown here
Now go get a paper towel to wipe your tongue marks off the screen.
Questions & Reviews
Brad- you can google and find alterations for your specific altitude. That's what I would recommend!
Do you have any tips for making these at high altitude? I live at about 5500 feet – I made these and the batter didn't cook at all. Help!
Jen, it's fantastic on cakes. In fact, I just used it in my husband's birthday cake last week. I substituted half brown sugar for the white and folded in toffee bits. It was amazing!
Would this work as filling for a cake? It sounds really good.
I had a little TOO MUCH help from my children and we forgot the water and to cream the butter/sugar, we over beat so they sank. And I turned on the wrong burner for the filling and melted the bottom of my laptop. In the end, they weren't beautiful, but they tasted wonderful! As miserable as the experience was (only because too many hands tried to help;)) I can't wait to make them again, but this time by myself! The vanilla filling/frosting is heavenly!
I just came across your blog and am (drooling) in love….I can not wait to try making….I have a LIST of to do's….seriously.
Shafer-
Ya know, once the cupcakes are filled, I even think they're fine overnight (in the fridge). When you're putting gobs of it on *top* of the cupcake then it tends to separate some times. It still tastes great, it just doesn't look as pretty. I think when it's in the middle of the cupcake it doesn't matter- it will still taste fine and even if it did separate a little you probably wouldn't noticed when it's smashed all together with the chocolaty goodness! You will want to make the chocolate glaze with plenty of extra time though. Sometimes it takes a while for it to come to the right consistency to spread on top. If you can do it a few hours before you need it then you'll have plenty of time to put it in the fridge to thicken up if you need to.
I've read the recipe(s) and comments so I know about NOT making the creme filling ahead of time, but once these cupcakes are filled, how long are they good for (assuming there are any left over LOL!)? If they're not eaten the day they are made do they still taste good the next day? I want to make these for a baby shower so I'm thinking of making the cupcakes the day before and then making the creme filling the day of…do you think that would work?
Thanks,
Tracie
Renae,
I’ve never tried freezing them. The cake part should freeze great, but I’m not so sure about the filling and topping. Test it out and let me know! And ya, after the cupcakes are filled they are just fine the next day (but good luck getting them to last that long 🙂
Do you know how well these would freeze? Also, I know you talked about not making the filling in advance, but once the filling is in the cupcakes, will they be okay the next day?