My little Spud and Sprite turn 3 on St. Patrick’s Day!  I can’t believe how time has flown since I found out I was pregnant.  We’ve gone from this:

to

to

Our Fire Station Tour & Birthday party has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances but in the meanwhile, we are planning to celebrate their birthday by a morning at the park with friends and then heading back to our house for hot dogs and cupcakes.  Perfect birthday fare for 3 year olds.

There are dozens and dozens of recipes out there for chocolate cupcakes – dark, super dark, raspberry, ganache-filled, ganache-topped, lavendar, super moist, etc…whatever may suit your fancy is out there.  After looking at about more than a dozen, I’ve settled on this recipe from www.acupfullofcake.blogspot.com for both Shanna’s cupcakes & chocolate ganache frosting.

Best Chocolate Cupcakes Ever

By a Cup Full Of Cake

Makes 28 cupcakes

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( Dutch process like Droste or another GOOD brand)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled (cooled for about 15 min make sure its still melted though don’t want it to harden back up)
• ½ cup plus 1 tbsp water, heated to boiling ( have a kettle of water on the stove boiling ready to go)
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs room temp
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (not wine vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

This can be done with a stand mixer or by hand with a hand mixer or whisk but it is more of a 2 bowl method than one if going the hand mixing route

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the center.
2. Place paper baking cups in regular sized muffin tins, spray edges around

cups lightly with cooking spray. If you have a small 6 cup muffin tin and you only

get 27 or 28 cupcakes fill the rest of the wells halfway with water and no baking

cup
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt)

in a large bowl.
4. In a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer whisk eggs till slightly thickened and a pale

color

5. Add in the milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and whisk/beat well

6. Add in the melted and cooled chocolate and whisk/beat until combined well
7. Either add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients OR the wet into the flour and mix

just to combine. Add in the boiling water and mix again just to combine. Scrape

down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the dry ingredients are

incorporated
8. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups
9. Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and free

of crumbs or the cupcake tops bounce back when lightly pressed. Mine baked for

18 minutes.

10. Let cool for 5 min in pans and then remove carefully to a wire cooling rack. Cool  completely before frosting

Ganache Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces of chocolate ( baking bar or pistoles chopped up NOT chocolate chips)
• I prefer using bittersweet or semisweet

1. Chop up the chocolate and place in to a non reactive bowl like a stainless steel bowl.
2. Heat the cream til it just boils then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 5 min then whisk until the chocolate is all melted and smooth.
3. Let sit out until thickened before dipping. If you chill in fridge it may set up too hard so usually an hour or so at room temp works just fine.
4. Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the cooled ganache.
5. Chill.

I can’t wait to try this!

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