Death By Chocolate Cupcakes

Death by Chocolate Cupcakes are filled with a silky ganache and topped with a rich and creamy buttercream. Easy to make and extra delicious!

Author: Donna Elick

Servings:

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

cooling time30

Total Time1 5

Ingredients

for the cupcakes:

1/2 cup salted butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules optional

for the ganache:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

for the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and fill a standard size cupcake tin with liners.
In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to combine the butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
Keeping the hand mixer on a medium speed, add the eggs and whisk for 2 more minutes, ensuring the eggs are thoroughly beaten and incorporated with the creamed butter.
Add the milk, sour cream, and vanilla (and coffee granules if you are using them). Mix until the new ingredients are fully combined with the rest of the cupcake batter.
Reduce the speed of your hand mixer and gently whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, flour, and cocoa powder. Make sure no clumps of cocoa powder or flour remain unincorporated in the cupcake batter.
Fill up your cupcake liners with the batter and bake for 20 minutes.
Once the cupcakes finish baking, make the ganache by adding the chocolate chips and a cup of heavy cream to a microwave safe dish. Start by heating the ingredients for 45 seconds and then give it a stir. Continue with 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth.
Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a hole in the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a spoonful of chocolate ganache and then allow the cupcakes to cool on the counter for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile: While the cupcakes are cooling, assemble your frosting by whisking the butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and cocoa powder together with the hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Use a piping bag with a star shaped piping tip to top each cupcake with some of the chocolate frosting.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

You can let your cupcakes cool in the cupcake tin or remove them, it doesn’t really matter. You just want to make sure that the surface of the cupcakes is not so hot that it causes the frosting to slide off.

I like to keep things simple with an easy buttercream frosting, but you are more than welcome to switch it out for your favorite frosting recipe. You can also use store bought frosting if you are in a pinch with ingredients or short on time.

I like to scrape down the sides of my mixing bowl with a silicone spatula throughout the mixing process to make sure the ingredients are fully combined.

You can store your cupcakes on the counter for up to 5 days in an airtight container. You can store them in the fridge for 6 days. If you store them in the fridge then they can either be served cold or you can let them sit on the counter for 45 minutes and then serve them.

Feel free to use any kind of cocoa powder in this recipe. It will have a slight effect on the overall taste of the cupcakes, but they all work great. (Dutch process, dark, and regular cocoa powder are what we have used.)

If you don’t have any sour cream then you can use plain Greek yogurt. Make sure it is plain and not vanilla.
If you are using unsalted butter then you will want to add ½ teaspoon of salt to the cupcakes.

Nutrition