Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Hello! Wow, am I the worst blogger or what? It’s been almost a month since I last posted. Blasphemy.

Well now that I’m back I have so much to tell you guys!! I feel like we’re old friends and we needa catch up on life! 

Hmm, where to start? I guess I’ll start with the bad stuff first.

So I got a root canal procedure done today. Another one. This is my second. 

I think I have the worst teeth ever for an 18 (almost 19) year old. Even my dentist agreed. And she’s a professional, so I believe her.

It was a tooth that I had a cavity on way back when I was in my early teens. After a couple of years, the filling fell out. So I went back for another filling. Then that filling fell out as well not even a year later while I was flossing. I left it as a huge gaping hole until yesterday when I finally went to see my dentist. I just hoped to get it refilled again so I can get it over with. But nope, he told me I need a root canal. dun dun dun. It’s not that I’m afraid of the pain, root canals don’t hurt, contrary to popular belief 🙂 It’s the fact that I’m only 18 and I’ve already have two root canals =.= OH, wait actually, one of them is an implant. Don’t ask, that tooth was being difficult. So basically I’m a teenager with the teeth of a 70yr old. 

Maybe it has something to do with the 200g of sugar that I eat on a daily basis.

 

ANYWAY, moving on ahaha

First term ended last week. Most people looked forward to finishing their finals and enjoying their winter break. But not me. This term has been my best so far ! Not academically, oh God knows how chemistry and biology are kicking my trash with every midterm and final. The reason it’s been a great term is because I’m finally in the faculty I want to be in. I know I’ve mentioned it a bajillion times before, but being here feels THAT good. I’ve found my niche 🙂

There’s this course called LFS250 and it changed my life. Honestly, I think everyone should take it. It’s basically a social science course but it encompasses so much! We started learning about how we acquire knowledge. It sounds stupid, but think about it.. how do you learn? We learn through our senses to gain experiences, but we most also piece all of that together  to have knowledge. I love the term that they used too, they called it “The Ecology of Knowledge”. Then it taught us about paradigms, systems thinking and food citizenship. I wish I could explain to you guys what all that means, but I wouldn’t wanna bore you. There are no words to describe this course; it was life changing. 

The best part of it was meeting new friends. From day 1, they put you into these groups and you have to work in these groups for the entire term on projects and papers. My group had 7 people and we clicked from the beginning. We saw each other every day to work on projects, but most of the time we just procrastinated talking about food, eating food and then complaining about how hungry we were. Over the term, we grew super close and we basically talk to each other about everything and anything. I feel like I’ve known them for ages!

Here’s a picture of us ! My friend added the text to this photo, he was mocking the way I talk =.= 

 

On our last day of class, I baked cupcakes! Cupcakes make sad endings easier to bear with 😛

I brought about 18 cupcakes to class but I couldn’t share them until after the lecture. It was a bad idea to cover the tray with saran wrap lemme tell you that. I went to class late and as I was walking in, even though the prof was already speaking, I felt everyone’s eyes shift towards my cupcakes. Then I got really nervous because it was a class of about 200 people… and I baked 18. After class, it was all a blur. I was SWARMED by people, they were coming at me left right and center. It was scary. I had to turn down a lotta strangers cuz I baked for my friends! I mean, who do you think you are trying to get a cupcake from me? Do I know you? No, so go away. Arghh, sorry thinking about it just makes me mad! I did give a couple to random strangers though, cuz I felt bad for not sharing with everyone. One guy actually left the room and then came back just to tell me how good they are. It made my day 🙂

Most people who had one really enjoyed it! While I was happy about that, I couldn’t trust that they were telling the truth. I didn’t have one so I had no clue how they tasted. What if they were just being polite? 
I made chocolate cupcakes with a dark chocolate ganache filling, topped with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, a drizzle of dulce de leche and a chocolate design. 

Ganache-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups sugar (I used a scant 2cups)
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular table salt)
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee 
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes; the batter will be thin. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove them from the tin.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt (I forgot this)
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used 1 c salted)
2 tsp. vanilla extract 

1. Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

3. Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, do not fret! Continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more.  Stir in the vanilla extract and mix just until incorporated.  

Chocolate Ganache Filling

1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
chocolate

I never measure out chocolate when I make ganache, I just keep adding until it hits a creamy and rich consistency

1. Heat butter and milk in a medium bowl in the microwave until the mixture is slightly boiling
2. Add in chocolate bit by bit and stir until it has melted
3. Let cool at room temperature, which can take 2 hours