Double Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Like many women, I too have a serious chocolate addiction. I prefer to eat chocolate everyday. I know this is not the smartest thing to do, so I try to restrain myself as much as possible. But there are times when I, like the best of us, cave. Especially when I run into a recipe like Double Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes. It goes without saying that I'm already hooked when reading a title that contains Double Chocolate, but I have to admit that I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry.

So I caved and made these cupcakes. And you know what? I am so glad I did, because these cupcakes are a little piece of heaven! No, I am not exaggerating... they are fluffy, moist, almost light as air, with an amazing chocolate flavour. Inside you find that fresh, slightly tangy flavour of the raspberries and the whole thing is covered with ganache! Like I said... a little piece of heaven....

I know these cupcakes lack the outer display of raspberries, but the reason for this is simply that I didn't have any fresh raspberries on hand. I used frozen for the filling, but they don't look nice enough for the decoration on top, so I decided to just skip that. It's maybe even more fun this way, because people expect to eat a chocolate cupcake and are surprised when they taste the raspberry filling. Makes it a little bit more fun!

If you love chocolate, or have a serious chocolate addiction, go make these! You have my blessing!

Recipe

Double Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Yield: 24-28 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or yogurt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
12 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the frosting:
12 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and add the hot coffee. Let stand for 2 minutes and whisk until the chocolate is melted and incorporated in the coffee.

In a separate large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Beat the eggs on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until slightly thickened and pale yellow. Gradually add the oil, buttermilk or yogurt, vanilla extract and coffee-chocolate mixture to the eggs, making sure it is well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them about 3/4 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans, before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

To make the raspberry filling, puree the raspberries in a blender. If you want to remove the seeds (which I recommend) strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Put the puree in a small saucepan and whisk in the sugar and cornstarch. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Once the mixture has thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Let the mixture cool before use.

To make the ganache, add the chopped chocolate to a medium heatproof bowl. Combine the cream, corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan and heat until it starts boiling. Immediately pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk the mixture carefully until it is smooth and well blended. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until completely incorporated. Let the ganache cool to room temperature to thicken so it can be spread. If you want to speed up this process put the bowl in the refrigerator, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until it has reached the desired thickness.

Once you have made all the elements it is time for the assembly! Put the raspberry filling in a pastry bag, fitted with a plain fine tip or a special tip for filling, if you have one). Just stick the tip of the pastry bag in the top of a cupcake and pipe in some filling. If you're not sure how much to use, go easy and if you have filling left at the end, just make another round. You don't need more than a few teaspoons of filling for each cupcake.

Spread the ganache over the tops of the cupcakes with a knife or an offset spatula. Allow the ganache to set completely before serving.

Source: barely adapted from Annie's Eats