Oh My Ganache.

Yesterday was Tony's 40th birthday.  I asked him what kind of 'goody' he wanted me to make him.  He's a chocoholic, so I assumed it would be something up that alley.  He chose a chocolate cupcake that I make with buttercream frosting, but asked for a twist.  He wanted the cupcakes filled with ganache.  After I stopped beaming about him knowing a 'baking term' (just like he beams if I know a geek term), I got right to work.

The recipe I use for my cupcakes is a texas sheet cake.  The same one The Pioneer Woman uses.  I just fill the cupcake liners a little more than 2/3 full and bake between 18-20 minutes at 350.

After the cupcakes were fully cooled I hollowed out a center hole into the cupcakes.  You can achieve this by using an apple corer, a paring knife, a skinny spoon like a grapefuit spoon, etc.  My fancy gadget of choice was this funny little orange juicer we got as a freebie once.  I twisted it in about 2/3 of the way down and pulled out the plug.  It was perfect.

After they were all hollowed out, I started making my ganache. I used
 8 oz of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (or your flavor preference)
 2/3 cup heavy cream
 2 Tbsp of butter.  
Put the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl, set aside.
In small sauce pan, heat the cream until simmering (dont scald)
Pour hot cream over the chips in the bowl, let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
Add butter, stir until combined.  If the chips dont melt all the way, you can put the bowl over a sauce pan of boiling water and continue stirring until smooth.
Let ganache sit until cool enough to transfer to a piping bag or squeeze bottle.
Fill cupcakes.

I used a buttercream recipe that I got from Amanda at i am baker (scroll to find the Magnolia buttercream recipe).

The finished product:

A cross section of the filled cupcake:

My next project this weekend for our Father's Day/June Birthdays Celebration with the whole family (think: Big Fat Greek Wedding) is a repeat of these cupcakes, but I'm also going to try a peanut butter version using Reeses PB chips for the ganache and a peanut butter frosting.  I hope they turn out as good as they sound!