Cream-filled chocolate cupcakes with ganache topping

Ooh, look at that creamy filling!

So this is where it all began.

That's a heavy opening! Let me try again: This is where all this cupcake nonsense began. I'd made cupcakes in the past (but nothing too complicated, and I didn't particularly love cupcakes, even), but I was fairly confident in my baking skills and...ok, here's where I get obnoxious (and sidetracked! Come along...)

I know my mother never brought a Hostess cupcake into the house. Cheerios were a sugar cereal for us. We never had Hamburger Helper, nor macaroni and cheese from the blue box. And did I appreciate this? Not a bit! In fact, I used my babysitting money to buy Family Circle magazine and dreamt of the families who ate cheese singles and had white kitchen floors that shone because of Mr. Clean (I wish I was exaggerating), and I went through a phase of smuggling in junk food...but now I appreciate what my mom did and plan to torture my children exactly the same way. All this is the reason why, when I look at these cupcakes, I don't have fond childhood memories of them. I think I probably had a couple in high school (I know I had a Hostess Baseball, because I thought it was wonderful, but I haven't tasted a Twinkie to this day), but I had no real reason to recreate these. Until...

I saw a dear friend in the store a couple of months ago buying Zingers. It went something like this:
Obnoxious Rachel: What are those?
Unsuspecting Dear Friend: Um...Zingers?
Obnoxious Rachel: What are you eating those for? (my grammatical skills must have fled in the face of my holier-than-thou obnoxiousness)
Unsuspecting Dear Friend: I love Zingers!
OR: But they're full of crap!
UDF: I still like them!
OR: I could make those!
UDF: Oh yeah?
OR: Yeah!
UDF: Well, do it, then!
OR: Maybe I will!
UDF: Ok, then!
OR: Great!
UDF: Fine!
OR: Super!

And then she punched me in the face.

Well, ok, the end of that drifted away from, you know, fact, but that was the gist of it. So I'd committed myself to making Zingers, and I went for something Zinger-like (I don't have the pans to make Zingers...yet). I figured the filled cupcakes things would be easy enough. I can make a cake. I can make ganache. I can figure out what "creamy filling" is (actually, I don't want to know. I can make my own).

I researched this quite a bit, and it turns out that many, many others have done this already. I looked at what I thought would work and what maybe wouldn't and went from there. I made my cupcakes, and they were a huge success. Unsuspecting Dear Friend even got one, and was impressed.

These are not those cupcakes.

These are better. This cake batter is probably much darker, and richer, than what I used, and I know just how long to bake it. The filling has been tweaked to be creamier. The ganache, well, is real ganache instead of a version with corn syrup (because would you believe that the first three times I did this there was no cream in my house? Yeah, me neither. It's true, though.). And I changed the filling process.

Before, I piped the filling in with a pastry bag. The cake is light enough to handle it, and it's an easy, neat way of doing things. However, with the cone-and-fill method, you can pack the middle full of creamy filling. Seriously, y'all.What was I thinking before?

The truth is, snobbery and obnoxiousness aside, Hostess has a good product concept going. A not-too-sweet chocolate cake with a white creamy middle topped by a just-sweet-enough chocolate topping? Awesome. I'll just take mine without the extra stuff.

This makes about 12 cupcakes.

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin or line with baking liners.
Combine chocolate, cocoa, espresso powder in a medium mixing bowl and pour hot coffee over. Let sit until chocolate is melted. Stir to combine; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. To chocolate mixture add vinegar, oil, eggs, and vanilla; mix well with fork to combine. Pour over flour mixture and stir well.

Pour the batter into the lined muffin tin (filling about 3/4 full) - the batter will be thin. Bake at 350 for 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in pan and then cool completely on a wire rack.


Marshmallow Filling (this makes enough for 24 cupcakes)
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add in sugar and beat on low speed to combine. Add in salt and marshmallow cream, and vanilla; beat to combine and add heavy cream if needed (you want a thick, fluffy filling that is going to pipe easily and not be too firm at room temperature). Reserve about 1/2 cup of the filling mixture for the squiggles. Set aside.

For ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

On the stovetop, bring cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Off the heat, stir in chocolate and mix well until fully incorporated and shiny. Let cool for about 15 minutes before using (this will also let your cupcakes chill).

Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut out a cone-shaped portion out of the top of each cake. Slice off the excess cake from the cone (leaving the flat cap) and reserve the top. Fill the resulting hole with about a tablespoon of the marshmallow filling (or however much you need). Replace the cap. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, and then put in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill and set the filling (once cool, it will become very thick and hold the caps in place).

Stuffed cupcakes

To top the cupcakes, dip each cupcake into the cooled ganache, swirling off the excess chocolate. Let set up for about 15 minutes, then repeat. Let cool and set up completely before topping with squiggles.

Shiny ganache with real cream!

For squiggles, combine reserved 1/2 cup of filling with about 1 tablespoon of milk to thin out to a piping consistency. Using a pastry bag or a disposable plastic bag, pipe on a row of loops across the center of each cupcake, or design the top however you like.

Store these cupcakes in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature, if possible, before serving.

These were my first attempt. I found the photo in my camera file. Messy, messy, messy.

Much better, I think. It's almost like they're smiling at you.

Lemon Curd-Filled Cupcakes with Cream Cheese-Whipped Cream Frosting

Yesterday was a terrible, awful, no good, really bad day.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But it was a bad cupcake day. You see, I had gotten it into my head to make a lemon cupcake with lemon curd on the inside and it had burrowed into my brain like a ceti eel (yep. I just did that). I was determined! I had a lot of egg yolks left over from the s'mores cupcakes and because my sister is the key lime pie jedi (still doing it), there was no way I was competing with her. Lemon curd is easy to make, if you have a candy thermometer and can pay attention for 10 minutes at a time, so I knocked that out and set about googling lemon cupcakes in the hopes of inspiration. 

I found a good one (so I thought), had all the ingredients already (whee!) and commenced to baking. Usually I play with recipes according to what I think might work well, but this time I was following the recipe to the letter. The batter for the cupcakes was made ("No egg yolk? No buttermilk? This batter doesn't taste very good," I mused), baked ("hmm," thought I, "these seem a mite heavy."), the curd filling spooned in via the cone and hat-replacement system see here , and then the frosting was blended ("Wait, half shortening and half butter? That doesn't sound very good. There doesn't seem to be enough of it, either"), and I tried to frost the cupcakes but there really wasn't enough frosting to pipe it and when I tried to spread it the little cupcake hats kept slipping around and you know what I was starting to realize?

I hadn't made cupcakes. I had made rubber ball cupcake-looking objects! And you know what doesn't work about lemon filling done via the cone and hat-replacement method? Lemon curd is slippery! You know what happens when you (try to) bite into a rubber cupcake filled with lemon curd and topped by precariously placed slippery shortening frosting? The frosting slips off the side off of the little cupcake hat and the lemon curd shoots out onto the floor. Onto your toddler, no less.

You know what I did? I gritted my teeth, and I dumped the lot of them. 

There was no point in saving them (they were gross! You know how you hear that even a bad pizza is pretty good? That happens to be true, but the same is NOT true for treacherous lemon cupcakes). And let me be clear - I am not blaming the recipe. It is highly likely that I messed up in the process. But where I really messed up is I didn't listen to the little voice inside (no, not my conscience) that looks at how a recipe is progressing and murmurs, "Are you certain that you think this is a good idea?" I thought I knew better than the little voice. 


Shows me.


Anyhow, undaunted, I set out to find a new recipe. And this next one felt right. Egg yolk in the batter! Whipping the whites separately (this meant the cake would be light for sure)! Rational lemon curd delivery. And a frosting that - I am not exaggerating - seemed absolutely marvelous and a stroke of genius, on the author's part. I felt good about this one, not "good enough." 


(Check it out here because I want to give credit where credit is due)


The recipe did not disappoint. Light, moist (almost cake-mix moist, and if you pretend you don't know what I mean by that I don't believe you) with a crunchy top. The lemon curd was just enough, and the frosting...oh my. I fully intend to use the folding-whipped-cream-into-flavored-cream-cheese method a LOT more (I had never heard of it before), perhaps with coffee? Chocolate? Strawberry?


The moral here is, listen to the little voice. Unless it's telling you to do something silly. That's another little voice entirely (nope, still not my conscience).

Lemon Cupcakes:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs (separated)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• zest of two lemons

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Add in the flour and the milk mixtures, a third at a time, beginning and ending with the flour. Add in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.  Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners.  Bake at 350 for about 18 - 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Cool thoroughly before filling and frosting.

Use half of lemon curd recipe to fill the cupcakes with a pastry bag, squeeze bottle or by cutting a small hole in the middle of the cupcake and filling with lemon curd.

just a smidge of lemon curd!

Lemon Curd

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 ounces lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Put a strainer over a bowl and have it handy near the stove. In a heavy-bottom saucepan, mix together the egg yolks and sugar. Add in the lemon juice, butter, and salt, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 196 degrees and thickly coats the back of a spoon. If it starts steaming, just remove the pan from the heat and stir before returning it to the burner. Do NOT let boil (this will make the mixture curdle).

Pour the curd through the strainer into the bowl. Discard any solids, stir in the lemon zest, and let come to room temperature before using or storing in the refrigerator. You can do this ahead of time (I did it two days before, which is why there are no pictures. I forgot), but let the curd come to room temperature before trying to fill the cupcakes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
Half of the above lemon curd recipe.

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff.  In another bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla.  Add in lemon curd, and beat the mixture until smooth.  Carefully fold in whipped cream until the frosting is smooth.

Frost the cupcakes as desired (I just used a disposable plastic bag), and store them in the refrigerator. Makes about 20 - 22 cupcakes.

Victory is mine!

Chocolate-Ganache-Topped-Peanut Butter-Stuffed-What-Was-I-Thinking Cupcakes

So this was the cupcake I promised after the s'mores cupcakes. It was suggested by a dear friend, and I wonder now if he knew what he was asking for when he thought about this combination? Not that I objected, nor did anyone else with whom I discussed the idea, but...! It is good, but oh, my foes and oh, my friends, this is rich stuff. As in half a cupcake was, shall I say, a gracious plenty.

What we have here is a chocolate cupcake base. I veered away from my preferred chocolate cupcake recipe, because that batter is thin and I wanted to fold in the peanut butter chips (with a thin batter, they would all just sink to the bottom, which might be interesting but was not at all what I was after). So this is your traditional cream-method chocolate cake - and there is not a thing in the world wrong with that. It's not too sweet, and it plays well with others, and there are some big players in this recipe.

For the filling, I wanted a peanut buttercream but one that wasn't too sweet, so I added the cream cheese for a depth of flavor and a bit of tang. Even with the addition, however, the filling was very dry (more like a buckeye filling, which, if you're not familiar with those, wait until Christmas and then you'll see). Hence, the cream. Even so, the frosting is still not smooth like a buttercream would be, and with the peanut butter filling (because I had to fill the cupcake, you know), there needed to be something different for the top. Which ended up being...ganache! Easiest frosting in the world. And all you need to do is dip the cupcake in and there! Frosted! Or at least, mostly frosted.

Because then of course, I wanted to let people know what kind of cupcake they were getting into, so I topped it with more peanut butter filling and a peanut butter cup (and if anyone has advice on peeling the dang wrapper off without leaving half the chocolate coating behind, I am all ears) and then I set the cupcakes up for the final picture and was ready to sit down to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

...and could only eat half. These are delightful, and I know more than one person who will love them. But, I think that this cupcake and I will need some time apart before I can eat it as it was meant to be eaten. As of this moment...I tremble.

And here's how I did it:

(Notice these cupcakes domed nicely, which mine haven't been doing lately. Hence, the "poufy". Also, I love saying "poufy".)

Poufy Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chip Cupcakes
(this made 21 cupcakes)
1/2 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with baking liners, or grease and flour to prevent sticking.

Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the vanilla, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and milk and mix on low until combined. Add in the eggs and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy. Fold in peanut butter chips.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way full with the batter. Bake, one tray at a time (unless you have more than one rack in your oven; if so, reverse the pan positions in the middle of baking) for 15 - 18 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in a sample cupcake comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Peanut Butter filling/topping
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cream (or milk would be fine, but why skimp now?)

In an electric mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter. Add in powdered sugar and salt; mix well. Add in the cream gradually, checking the consistency (you're looking more for a creamy frosting here rather than a peanut butter cup filling...although you could go that route and just leave the dollop off on top of the cupcake. You would have a drier, more candy-like ball of peanutty goodness in the middle).

To fill the cupcakes: using a sharp knife, cut out a cone-shaped portion from the top of each cupcake (almost like cutting the top of a pumpkin for carving). Using a teaspoon, fill the hollow in the cake with the peanut butter filling about a tablespoon per cupcake). Cut the pointy bit off the cone portion you removed, then replace the lid (still like that jack o'lantern, see?) Don't worry about lining the edges up perfectly. This is going to be covered in ganache and frosting and goodness-knows-what-all. Transfer the remaining filling to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip; reserve at room temperature (unless you're taking an extended break. In that case, refrigerate until ready to use, but let it come up to room temperature before attempting to pipe it).

Easy as one-two-three, eh?

Chill the filled cupcakes before topping with ganache.

For ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

On the stovetop, bring cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Off the heat, stir in chocolate and mix well until fully incorporated and shiny. Let cool for about 15 minutes before using (this will also let your cupcakes chill).

Ready for the home stretch? This is easy now...

Carefully dip the top of each cupcake into the cooled ganache, swirling to make sure the cake is covered. Turn upright and place on a baking sheet. When all the cupcakes are dipped, chill for about 10 minutes to make sure the ganache is set. Don't worry about seeing the little bump on top; that is going to be covered in more peanut filling.

 Sorry, I forgot to turn the flash off on this one. It's just a leetle bump.

Once ganache iis set, pipe a rosette on the top of each cupcake using the peanut butter filling and a large star tip. Top each cupcake with an (unwrapped) peanut butter cup. Store in the refrigerator, but serve at room temperature (with milk!)

Aaaaand, you're done!

Oooh, toasty! S'mores cupcakes

I only went to camp once growing up. I was eleven, and had a friend who was going to Camp Skyline in Northern Alabama (please remember that I myself hail from Alabama so it's not like "Camp Skyline on Mars" as that probably sounded to my California friends). It was a two-week session, and a decidedly Christian camp (not that there's anything wrong with that; I was even going to Catholic school at the time, but I will say it was unexpected and I was not used to hearing about our Lord before breakfast). I have memories of terrible homesickness, pathetic letters to my mama (illustrated with stick figures so she could see how I got tangled up in the ropes course), winning a blue ribbon in horseback riding because it was the last day and no one else was competing, but what I don't remember is s'mores. I don't think we had them.

We had s'mores sometimes at my grandparents' lake house, with the Honey Maid graham crackers and the Hershey's chocolate and the...name brand marshmallows...oh yeah...Kraft Jet Puffed...but more of my toasted marshmallow experience involved flaming a fork-speared marshmallow over my mom's gas stove burners ("if it ain't on fire it's not done yet!"). And that's been years, people.

Still, I've been on this cupcake kick (and even did a peach one that I've not shared here, because it's not right yet, mainly because the peaches I have gotten lately have been sub par) and the next showing was between a chocolate peanut butter variety and s'mores. This was discussed in detail in line at my friendly neighborhood grocery store, and s'mores won out, I think because they are more "in season." No fear, the peanut butter ones will be coming up soon. I just couldn't decide what to do first.

I borrowed some (heh, quite a bit) from Annie's Eats again, but the cake is the altered Cooks Illustrated that is now my chocolate cupcake go to recipes because 1.) good and 2.) no mixer needed. I also decided to fill mine, because hurrah! for creamy filling.

These are great because hey, you get to torch them, and also they have a satisfying sweetness without being too heavy. The frosting is very light and marshmallowy (don't worry if you don't love meringue - I don't really either but this is definitely more marshmallow than meringue), the toasting really makes it (just like the toastiness of a s'more marshmallow), and the crisp bottom of the cupcake is a surprise and delight.

Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12; double for this recipe)
(for chocolate-graham cracker bottom)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine)
(for cupcakes)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin or line with baking liners.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a small bowl. Place about 1 tablespoon of graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup and press out with the back of a spoon to completely cover the bottom. Sprinkle a bit of chocolate on top of the graham cracker bottom. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes and let cool before filling with cake butter.

 (This is how the graham cracker-chocolate crust looks right out of the oven. Strange, right? Don't be scared.)

Combine chocolate, cocoa, espresso powder in a medium mixing bowl and pour hot coffee over. Let sit until chocolate is melted. Stir to combine; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. To chocolate mixture add vinegar, oil, eggs, and vanilla; mix well with fork to combine. Pour over flour mixture and stir well.

Pour the batter into the lined muffin tin (filling about 3/4 full) - the batter will be thin. Bake at 350 for 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in pan and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Marshmallow Filling (this makes enough for 24 cupcakes)
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add in sugar and beat on low speed to combine. Add in salt and marshmallow cream, and vanilla; beat to combine and add heavy cream if needed (you want a thick, fluffy filling that is going to pipe easily and not be too firm at room temperature).
Set aside.

For the marshmallow frosting:
8 large egg whites, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler, or set your (immaculate) mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Mix in the vanilla until combined. 

To assemble:
Bake cupcakes and let cool completely; make filling in the interim. To fill, use either a pastry bag to squeeze a bit of filling into each cupcake, or, as I did in this case, using a sharp knife, remove a cone-shaped portion of the top of each cupcake (discard if desired or snack on or make cake pops or a very small trifle). Fill hollow with marshmallow filling, either by using a pastry bag/resealable plastic bag or with a spoon. Don't worry if the filling mounds over the top; after the filled cupcakes chill, you can easily smooth out the filling. Chill filled cupcakes for half an hour or so; make frosting in the interim. Frost cupcakes as desired (I used a large star tip and just swooped it on).

 Filled cupcakes. I had already smooshed the filling down at this point.

Frosted cupcakes...but wait...there is more!

Now the fun part - carefully using a kitchen torch, heat the top of each cupcake until just toasty, like a roasted marshmallow. If you really want to get fancy, garnish with some chocolate or graham cracker or heck, stick a sparkler in there if they're legal where you live. Enjoy and celebrate summer!

Mood lighting. You'd almost think I was sitting next to a campfire...with a dessert plate.