30gramsdark chocolate, finely chopped (up to 70% cocoa solids)
INSTRUCTIONS
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 175C / 350F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.
In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder and dark chocolate together. Add in the boiling water and whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Add in buttermilk and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together plain flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat brown sugar, caster sugar, oil, egg and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until thick, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer speed down to low and beat in half of the flour mixture. Beat in all of the chocolate mixture on low speed, then beat in the rest of the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula and mix all the ingredients together.
Fill the paper liners 3/4-full (no more than that else it will overflow) and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with some crumbs. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes onto a rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
Cream butter and 95 grams (3/4 cup) of icing sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Beat in cocoa powder, mint leaves and vanilla. Taste and beat in more icing sugar if desired. If the mixture is too thick, thin it out with a little milk.
Ganache
Heat the cream in a small pot until simmering. Remove from heat and add in all the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has melted. Let the ganache cool completely to room temperature before using.
Assembly
Place the frosting in a large piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes then drizzle with the chocolate ganache. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.
NOTES
- If using natural cocoa powder, omit the baking powder and use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.- To make your own buttermilk, stir 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar / lemon juice together. Set aside for 10 minutes before using.- Instead of using the plain flour and cornflour combination, you can use cake flour instead if you have it on hand.- The batter is quite liquid-y, so use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter or transfer the batter into a measuring cup to fill the paper liners.- Do not overbake the cupcakes else they will become dry.- Cupcakes can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To acheive the dripping ganache look, make the ganache just before serving.- Adapted from Bon Appetit by Barbara Fairchild