Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze

If you've been reading this for a while, then you know about my "not picky" husband.  Well here's some more of his non-pickiness....he hates buttercream frosting.  Especially grocery store frosting, which I have to admit can be kind of foul, but he also hates my buttercream and pretty much every other kind we've ever had.

He does like ganache though, and this glaze looked like something he would actually eat!  It's simple, and all you have to do is dunk the cupcakes in and BOOM, you're cupcakes are frosted.  No worries about piping or applying the frosting correctly to be pretty.  This cake and frosting is all about flavor.  Since I made these for my daughter's birthday party I added some multi-colored jimmies to brighten them up.

And just as expected, B enjoyed the "frosting".

makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Ghiradelli natural unsweetened)
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
8 T. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. lukewarm water (I just ran it from the tap, using my fingers to judge temperature)
1/2 c. buttermilk
chocolate glaze (recipe follows)

How:
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line two 12 cup muffin pans with liners.

Sift (not whisk, it's best to sift if using cocoa) flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium sized bowl.  Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the flour in three additions alternating with the water and buttermilk.  Beat on low until just combined, until no traces of flour remain, but do not over beat.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean,  18-20 minutes.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then out of the pan and on the rack for 1 hour, until they've cooled completely.

Spoon glaze over cupcakes, or take the easy route and dip them into the frosting.

Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients:
1 c. heavy cream
1 T. light corn syrup
pinch salt
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

How:
Combine the first three ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium.  Remove from heat, add the chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes.  Then, stir using a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted completely and the glaze is smooth.  Let cool to room temperature and use immediately.  

Makes enough for 24 cupcakes

cupcake and frosting recipe from Shelly Kaldunski's Cupcakes

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