Ana's chocolate cupcakes

Besides the piña colada cake, I made these cupcakes for my MIL’s birthday – chocolate is THE universal favorite flavor and I thought that they would look pretty on the table. :D

The recipe comes from my dear friend Ana Elisa and you won’t believe how easy and quick it is.

Speaking of Ana – the newest and loveliest mom-to-be in the food blog community – she’s getting a little bit older today... Happy birthday, Ana Elisa! ♥

Ana's chocolate cupcakes

Cakes:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (170g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (22g) cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120ml) + 2 tablespoons whole milk
1/3 cup (80ml) strong brewed coffee or espresso
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Ganache:
170g dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, room temperature

Start by making the cakes: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases (the paper cases will make unmolding infinitely easier since these cakes are very tender and fragile).
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk the egg and sugars until smooth. Add the milk, coffee and butter and whisk to combine. Pour over the sifted ingredients and mix only until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans until ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The cakes won’t rise much and will have flat tops, making the icing process easier*.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
In the meantime, make the ganache: melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water until smooth. Remove from heat. Warm the heavy cream in medium heat until it just starts to boil. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Set aside until warm, add the butter and whisk well to combine. Set aside until firm enough to spread over the cupcakes (1 hour room temperature or 20-30 minutes in the fridge)
Spread the ganache over the cakes. The cupcakes are best eaten on the same day they are made but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge – the icing will firm up a bit but will still taste great (and it will prevent the cake from drying out).

* I’ve made these cupcakes twice and in one of those times I halved the recipe; I filled the pans a bit less than ¾ full and the cupcakes had nice, tall domes – half the recipe yielded 7 cupcakes (I used 1/3 cup capacity pans)

Makes 12