Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

For the Cupcake Hero challenge, I present my final Christmas menu dessert: Chocolate Mint Cupcakes.

Perhaps not the most 'original' mint pairing - I considered : Mint & Balsamic, Mint & Basil Mint & Lemon, Mint & Green Tea - chocolate and mint is more a classic pairing, and something I knew my family would eat.

I made 12 normal-sized cupcakes for the Fam, and 24 mini-cupcakes for some friends. I dusted them with green, mint flavoured sugar, and chocolate shavings.

Cake:
Adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop's Dark Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes
25 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1 bar 99% Unsweetened Scharffen Berger Chocolate (9.7 oz / 275g)
1-1/2 cups butter
2-1/2 cups caster sugar
8 eggs
1-1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Chop chocolate, transfer into a bowl. Add butter to chocolate and place bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir until combined. Remove bowl from heat and add sugar. Allow to cool.

I now have a fancy stand mixer, so I transferred the cooled choco/butter to it. Then add sugar, mix until combined, and add egg one at a time, then the peppermint extract. Add in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and mix until blended.

Scoop into cupcake tins/papers, and bake at 350F for 25 minutes




Icing/Ganache

1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 tablespoon butter
about 1 section chocolate (99% unsweetened Scharffen Berger)

Bring whipping cream to a boil, remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in butter, sugar, extract. Allow to cool.


Dip cooled cupcake tops into warm ganache. Set aside.

The chocolate shavings were done with a very large knife. The peppermint flavoured sugar was done by wetting my fingers with the extract and rubbing them through (dyed green) sugar, then sprinkled over the cupcakes.