SAMANTHA STERLING’ CHOCOLATE
GANACHE-MARSCARPONE CUPCAKES

(courtesy of New York Times bestselling author Jill Barnett)

MAKES 1 DOZEN

What you’ll need in addition to the ingredients

Paper baking cups

1 cupcake holer or grapefruit spoon

muffin tin

Ingredients

For cake:

¼ lb (1 stick) butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 extra-large eggs, room temperature

1 Tbsp vanilla

16 oz chocolate syrup such as Hershey’s

For cream filling:

½ pint heavy whipping cream

1 small container mascarpone cheese or
4 oz whipped cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1-2 heaping Tbsp. sugar

For ganache:

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

6 oz high quality chocolate chips such as
Ghirardelli (semisweet or milk chocolate)

½ tsp. instant espresso

Directions

For your cake, cream the butter, sugar and eggs and beat until fluffy. Add the chocolate syrup and vanilla and mix, then sift in flour and mix. Line muffin tin and pour the mix into each cupcake liner until ¼ inch away from the top of the liner. Bake at 350˚ for 13 to 18 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes spring back. Cool.

For your ganache, heat chocolate chips and ⅓ cup heavy cream and espresso powder over boiling water, stirring constantly, until completely melted and glossy. Dip the top of your cooled cupcakes in the chocolate (twice if you want a thicker ganache layer). Let cool. Samantha (and Jill) usually make them the evening before a party and let them set overnight so the ganache is firm.

The next morning you can use your cupcake holer to take out a small part of the center of your cupcake, or you can simply use a melon baller or small grapefruit spoon.

For your mascarpone cream filling, mix in a bowl with a hand mixer, ½ pint whipping cream, 4 oz mascarpone or whipped cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Mix until very stiff. Then spoon into a quart-size plastic storage bag, cut off the tip and pipe into the center of the cupcakes, piping it up about an inch above the ganache.

Cupcakes don’t have to be refrigerated unless it’s hot out. (In fact, worrying about storing them is never a problem. These babies go in a hurry!)