Hot Cocoa Cupcakes
Dark chocolate cupcakes with thick chocolate ganache filling and fluffy hot cocoa frosting.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, see notes
- 5 tablespoon (25 g) cocoa powder Dutch process
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- ¼ cup (56 g) softened unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup (61 g) sour cream, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, at room temperature
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz (113 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate about ⅔ cup of chocolate chips
For the Hot Cocoa Frosting
- ½ cup (98 g) hot cocoa mix Swiss Miss milk chocolate (without marshmallows)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (202 g) powder sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon (5 g) cocoa powder Dutch process
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl sift together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Add the granulated white sugar and softened butter to a large bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until pale in color and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Next add in the sour cream and milk. Mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine.
- Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake wells. Each should be ¾ of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean from the centers.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Heat heavy cream just until boiling. (You can do this on the stovetop or microwave).
- Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to a bowl and pour the hot cream over top.
- Let it sit for a minute, then stir to combine everything. Let the ganache cool to about room temperature before filling the cupcakes with it.
- Transfer the ganache to a piping bag once it has cooled. It should be thicker but still easily worked with.
For the Hot Cocoa Frosting
- Add the hot cocoa mix and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir to combine the cream and hot cocoa together. If the hot cocoa is not completely dissolved, microwave in 5 second intervals until it is. Let it cool to room temperature.
- Add the butter and salt to a large bowl. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on high until it is super pale in color and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.
- When the hot cocoa mixture is cooled to room temperature, add it and the powdered sugar a little at a time to the butter.
- Lastly mix in the vanilla and cocoa powder.
- Mix the frosting until it is light and fluffy, 1-2 more minutes.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. My favorite to use is my Wilton 1M tip.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are cooled, remove a bit of their centers. A cupcake corer is great for this.
- Pipe a bit of chocolate ganache into the center of each cupcake.
- Then pipe a generous amount of hot cocoa frosting onto the tops of each cupcake.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
Measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. (Trust me, I've learned the hard way that I need to measure properly!) Instead scoop spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 120-125 grams.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!