One of the pitfalls of having a blog is that you leave yourself open to all sorts of questions. The most common are from folks who want to substitute ingredients. I always want to reach through my computer screen, grab hold of their shoulders, and say, “But I worked so hard to develop this recipe. Please make it just as it is!” When I was working on these cupcakes, I began with the simple idea of individually filled chocolate cakes, similar to the kind I had as a kid, but with an adult sensibility. So I added a pour of Irish cream liqueur to the filling and spiked the ganache icing with a tipple of whiskey, which effectively wiped out the possibility of making these kid-friendly. So please don’t ask if you can make them without either, because the bad news is that you can’t. But the good news is that you can have them all for yourself and you don’t have to share them with the kids.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
Filling
Glaze
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Step 2
To make the cupcakes, into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3
In a medium saucepan, heat the coffee until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa until dissolved, then add the 1/2 cup (4 ounces/115 g) unsalted butter, stirring until melted. Whisk in the brown sugar and let cool until tepid. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Step 4
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until the cupcakes feel just set in the center, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely.
Step 5
To make the filling, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a food processor fitted with a metal blade, beat together the cream cheese, 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) salted butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur.
Step 6
To fill the cupcakes, use a sharp knife to cut a 2-inch (5-cm) cone-shaped hole in the center of each cupcake. Remove the plug-like pieces. Trim off the tip of each plug to create a disk-shaped piece that is 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick. Save these disks for capping the filled cupcakes.
Step 7
Divide the filling among the cupcakes, then gently press the caps into the filling. They won’t fit perfectly, which is fine, and some filling may bulge out.
Step 8
To make the glaze, melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup or agave nectar in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey.
Step 9
Dip the tops of the filled cupcakes in the glaze, completely sealing the tops and generously coating them. Let cool, right side up, until the glaze is firm.
