Do you remember my friend and co-worker that I often speak about? The one who went to pastry school? The one that might possibly have a fear of heights because of the pedestal that I keep her up on? Yes! That’s the one! Well, she is awesome because she gave me her recipe to make Chocolate cupcakes with Cherry Buttercream frosting and a Chocolate Ganache!

Let’s look up Ganache a minute…want to? According to dictionary.com Ganache is a whipped frosting or filling made with semisweet chocolate and cream, used for cakes, pastries, and candies. It just sounds so fancy right? Well, I made Ganache last weekend…along with the cupcakes and cherry Buttercream frosting!! I made them for some girlfriends of mine because I wanted them to know that I think they are special and deserve indulgent cupcakes!

I made this all from scratch! I didn’t use a box…or a plastic tub…or plastic bottle. I made it from flour, and sugar, and baking soda (or was it powder? both?) Well, why don’t I show you! And, I give one hundred thank yous to my friend Carissa for the recipe and her belief in me that I could create these all on my own! 🙂 The recipes are all listed below!

Here is how I made the cupcakes:

The recipe calls for a high gluten flour-like bread flour…but I found this at Whole Foods and it seemed appropriate! Believe me, it was!

I also used some all purpose flour.

Of course, I needed sugar…

And cocoa powder!

Here’s the baking soda…

Oh, AND baking powder! (I’m still learning, you see!)

Add a little salt.

There’s the Butter Milk.

This here is the secret ingredient (if you ask me). It calls for a cup of coffee and Carissa recommended making it with Starbucks VIA. One packet equals one cup. Easy Peasy!

Prepare for the combining of the dry and wet ingredients…

And, viola! Cake batter not from a box!

Now…here is how I made the Buttercream Frosting!

Lots of butter (uh, butter cream).

Add some vanilla extract.

I found this cherry flavoring at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating/Wilton section. Let me tell you what, friends, a little bit goes a long way!

Mix it into the butter and vanilla and then add powdered sugar-lots of it. I think I was too overwhelmed by all of the powdered sugar flying about my kitchen that I forgot to take a picture of that step! Woops!

I added just about this much of my pink icing color…

And it gave it the perfect pink color I was looking for!

I handed out samples to my family to taste test for the first time…it got their approval. Maybe it was the best part of their day!

So, here is what they looked like before I made the chocolate ganache.

Quite girlie, right?

But girls love this stuff!

Most of them anyway!

Now, here’s the part where I bow my head in shame. I have no photos of the making of the ever hyped-up ganache! And, this blurry photo is the only one I have of the finished product. Carissa would have had me dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache, but I was too scared (I was!) So, I put a dollop of the ganache on top with a spoon and I think that worked just fine!

I am so happy with the outcome of these cupcakes! My husband’s birthday is next week and you better believe he’s getting cupcakes! Maybe I will even experiment with other flavors of Buttercream! Almond? Strawberry? Butterscotch…? The possibilities are endless!

Please enjoy the recipes below. Carissa said that I could share them! Woo Hoo!

Cherry Buttercream: (this recipe makes quite a bit, you may need to cut it in half)

12 cups powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want it to be, I typically only use about 8 cups, but however you like it!)

4 sticks (1 lb) butter

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 tsp cherry extract

8 TBSP milk (to consistancy)

Cream together the butter and both extracts on medium low. Slowly integrate powdered sugar. When mixture is looking too dry add 1 TBSP milk until Buttercream is at the consistency you prefer.

Chocolate Ganache:

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBSP butter (cut into pieces)

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan heat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot and the butter has melted. The mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure to about 175 degrees on a thermometer; do not let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add chocolate chips and let them sit in the hot cream for 30 seconds to soften. Add the vanilla and whisk until the Ganache is smooth and all of the chocolate has melted.

Chocolate Cupcake: (this will make approx 24 cupcakes)

1 cup bread flour (or other kind of high gluten flour)

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup cold coffee (I use Italian VIA, it works great!)

Set oven to 340 degrees. Combine oil, eggs, buttermilk, coffee and vanilla in a mixer on medium. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add dry mixture to the wet mixture on medium low and mix until fully incorporated. Pour batter into baking trays. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.