Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my sweet friends! I hope you're having a gorgeous weekend. :o)

Thank you for the sweet words on my mom's birthday card! She indeed did love it. For this week's edition of Sweet Saturday, I'm sharing her birthday dessert. :o) Rather than go the extravagant route, we settled upon a surprise cupcake. My mom is a huge chocolate-lover, so I knew it had to be ultra chocolatey. (Color me sparkly!) I made her Triple Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting!

More specifically, a deep chocolate cupcake, filled with dark chocolate ganache, and topped with milk chocolate marshmallow frosting. It proved to be a celebratory-worthy combination. :o) In my rush, I forgot about the decoration on top... I was so disappointed. I'll make up for it next time. :o) I had been wanting to try this frosting recipe and was thrilled with the results! It is from my favorite baker and I have TONS of recipes of hers I am eager to try. Milk chocolate marshmallow frosting is not as overly sweet as you might think. While it is definitely sweet and chocolatey, it's not cloyingly overwhelming by any means. This is taken from a fancy cake that I will one day make, but I couldn't wait any longer to tackle this frosting. In fact, its debut landed it as my second favorite chocolate frosting I've ever made! (Number one will forever be this chocolate frosting.)

The chocolate cake is a family favorite and I was surprised that it wasn't on my blog. Clearly I missed far too many Sweet Saturdays in the last year! It is deep and rich in flavor, bursting with chocolatey goodness. The ganache filling is smooth and creamy. I entertained the idea of making it a semi-sweet ganache, but I think dark was the best option with the sweeter frosting. My family loved these cupcakes and if you decide to try them, I hope you do, too! This makes a HUGE batch, so I sent a dozen with my sweetheart to work. His co-workers demolished them and asked for more the next day. :o) You can never go wrong with a cupcake for a festive event or a mid-workday pick-me-up!

Thank you for visiting me! I'll be back tomorrow with a special card that I'm finishing up today. Yay! :o) Have a beautiful day!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
Yield: about 32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¾ cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoons coarse salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

For the ganache filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

For the frosting:
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2⅔ cups powdered sugar
6 ounces milk chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
7 ounces marshmallow cream

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350º F. Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and the sugar over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-low speed, 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture, beating until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand about 1 minute. With a whisk, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles. When the ganache has become smooth, whisk in the butter one piece at a time until incorporated. Transfer the bowl to the freezer or refrigerator to chill and thicken the ganache a bit. Whisk every 5-10 minutes to help it cool evenly. Once the mixture is slightly thickened and no longer runny, you are ready to fill the cupcakes.

To assemble the cupcakes, cut a cone out of each cupcake with a small paring knife. Cut off the pointed end of the cone and discard (or eat) so you are left with a cap of cake to cover the filling. Drop a spoonful of ganache into the center of each cupcake and recover the hole with the cap.

To make the frosting, with a mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat butter for 3 minutes until fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add in the powdered sugar, mixing until incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and beat until fluffy. Add the marshmallow cream and beat until frosting has lightened in color and all ingredients are well-combined.

Scrape down the bowl and mix again. Transfer to a piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired.

Sources: Cupcakes and ganache filling: Annie's Eats; Frosting: Sprinkle Bakes