Chocolate Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to "supplement" my dad's birthday cake for his party. Both my sister and I made one cake, but you never know how far they will go and so it's nice to have a back up plan. The kids always tend to favor cupcakes too so it was well worth the effort. I used the same chocolate cake recipe that was in a previous post, (and in fact used it for the birthday cake too) because it is fool proof and incredibly moist. The chocolate ganache icing is also very easy, and is a nice change from the typical sweet icing that usually accompanies cupcakes. Even though the sweetness factor is more subtle, the kids loved them too.

Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake Recipe:
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa (sifted)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 c. freshly brewed espresso or coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with medium or large paper or foil liners.

Whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (or coffee of espresso). Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. (I only got 22 cupcakes.)

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces of good chocolate chopped (I used milk chocolate)
1 cup cream

Place chopped chocolate into medium bowl. Heat cream in pot until it just starts to boil. Pour over chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes then stir until smooth. Put in fridge until cold. Whip until light. You can pipe it on the cupcakes or simply spread it with a knife.