Cupcake recipe

Trophy Cupcakes Thin Mint Cupcakes!

Chocolate Cupcakes
• 2 1⁄4 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Valrhona Cocoa (or your favorite dark cocoa)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Nielsen Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla)
• 1 cup boiling water
Mint Buttercream
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar (sifted)
• 2 tsp mint extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 drop of green food coloring (optional)
Mint Chocolate Ganache
• 8 ounces of bittersweet Chocolate (chips or chopped)
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. mint extract

1. Heat oven to 350°F. line 2 cupcake pans with liners of choice (24 total)2. Cupcakes: Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners, fill 3⁄4 full. 3. Bake 17-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

2. Mint Buttercream; cream butter in bowl of electric mixer or with handheld beaters. When butter is soft and fluffy begin to add sifted powdered sugar a little at a time. When all of the sugar is incorporated add the salt, extract and coloring (if using). Beat until creamy.

3. Mint Chocolate Ganache : (Make Ganache after you fill the cupcakes with buttercream)
Place chocolate in a medium to large bowl. Bring heavy cream, butter and extract just to a boil. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate and let sit for about 5 minutes. Begin stirring mixture and continue stirring until the mixture is uniform and smooth (may take about 5 minutes of stirring). Use immediately
4. Assemble Cupcakes:
Place Buttercream in pastry bag fitted with a filling tip (like #230 or any long and skinny tip). Insert tip into the center of the cupcake and down to the bottom, squeeze about 1-2 tablespoons of buttercream into each cupcake. Be careful not to overfill, as the top of the cupcake may come off. Alternately, you may scoop out about a tablespoon of cake from the center of the cupcake and fill with buttercream (an apple corer works well too). Try to make the top of the buttercream flush with the cupcake so there is a smooth top. Dip each cupcake upside down in the ganache up to the liner, lift cupcake out of chocolate and let excess ganache drip off, turn cupcake right side up and place on wire rack to let ganache set (about 1 hour). (If ganache begins to harden before all of the cupcakes are dipped you may heat in 5 second intervals in microwave until chocolate is smooth again).

Cupcakes may be stored in an airtight container for up to two days. ENJOY!