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I couldn’t pass up the chance to make a chocolately, decadent treat in honor of Valentine’s Day. They are pretty much best buds after all. And, can you believe there’s not a single cupcake recipe on this blog? I couldn’t. I even had to double check my archives to make sure one didn’t slip in there somewhere. But, there wasn’t a single one to be found. Craziness, I tell you. So I’m here today to share my inaugural cupcake recipe with you and what better way to start it off then with something über chocolatey.

I think cupcakes are a great project for beginning bakers. They’re less intimidating than layered cakes and much easier to decorate. And besides, they’re just plain cute.

These cupcakes start off with a moist chocolate cupcake that’s both light in flavour and texture. I prefer my cupcakes not to be too sweet because they’re going to be topped with all sorts of sugary goodness. I decided to go a bit chocolate crazy this time around. There are three layers of ganache – in the centre of the cupcakes, directly on top of the cupcakes and drizzled on the frosting. A rich chocolate frosting swirls on the top with a sprinkling of chopped chocolate. A chocolate lovers dream for sure.

The best part about these is, once they’ve been sitting in the fridge chilling out, they become even more rich and the texture of the frosting becomes almost truffle like. One cupcake is definitely enough to get your chocolate fix. At first I was worried the frosting might be too sweet but paired with this cupcake and the silky ganache, it’s pure magic.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

The frosting sets up very quickly so you’ll want to use it right away. Also, it’s sets up nice and firm so it’s easy to cover the cupcakes loosely with plastic wrap, once they’ve set up, without ruining the piping job.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

Sift flour, sugars, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners (about 15). Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Ganache

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream, steaming hot

Place chocolate in a bowl. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound confectioners sugar

Place butter, cream and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Sift cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve set over the mixing bowl. Mix on medium-speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Sift confectioners sugar into mixing bowl through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low to combine; turn speed to medium and beat for 6 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Icing will be quite stiff.

Assembly

1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Cut out a small cone in the centre of each cupcake. Discard scraps. Spoon ganache into each cupcake and spread a small amount over the top to smooth it out. Pipe on frosting in desired fashion (I used an Ateco 808 tip). Drizzle with remaining ganache, heating up if necessary. Garnish with chopped chocolate.

Makes: 15 + cupcakes

Cupcake recipe adapted from My Recipes. Frosting adapted from My Recipes.

I know that technically it”s still summer but it”s really beginning to feel a lot like fall here and I”m more then ready. Over the last week I have begun to feel a lot better and the cold crisp air is breathing new life into me. I”m ready for a new season and a new start in this pregnancy. Bring on the cravings! :)

Doughnuts are something that my family loves. My mother-in-law makes one mean glazed doughnut and I love it! My problem is finding time to make the dough, roll it out, cut it out and deep fry it. They”re definitely worth the effort but I”m hard pressed to find the time with an antsy two year old.

That”s why these jam filled fritters make me a happy woman. You simply whip up a tasty muffin batter, drop it into hot oil, pipe it full of strawberry jam and dust it in icing sugar. Bliss. I”m already thinking of different ways to fry up this spice infused batter. I think some chopped apples would turn these into some pretty fine apple fritters.

These would be a great way to end the first week of school. You can have the fritters all ready for when the kids come home, then they can help fill them with jam and dust them in icing sugar. I”m sure they won”t complain and few will probably disappear on their way to the serving tray.

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

adapted from Sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

canola oil, for deep frying

1/2 cup jam

icing sugar, for dusting

Make batter: Mix together milk, vanilla, sugar, oil and eggs. Set aside. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cinnamon. Stir into milk mixture.

To Fry: Heat oil to 350ºF or until water spits when a small drop is added to the oil. Drop the batter by tablespoon amounts into the hot oil and fry until golden and cooked through, flipping halfway through cooking time. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.

To Fill: Using a skewer or toothpick poke a hole in the side of a fritter and twirl it around inside to create some space in the centre. Place jam in an icing bag with a small round tip. Insert tip into hole and fill fritters with jam.

To serve: Toss fritters in icing sugar and serve immediately. Best served four hours after being made or re-heated from frozen.

Makes: 2.5-3 dozen fritters

*This makes quite a large batch so I froze them before dusting in icing sugar. That way when we”re in the mood for some doughnuts we just have to zap them in the microwave and toss them in icing sugar.

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