Triple chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream
Dark cocoa cupcakes brushed with glossy dark chocolate ganache, piped with silky white buttercream and topped with salted pistachios for crunch.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup Dutch unprocessed cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1½ stick butter room temperature, unsalted
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 eggs size L
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
For the ganache
- 4 oz. dark chocolate more than 70% cocoa, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
For the topping
- 3 tablespoons pistachios shelled, salted, chopped
- 2 egg whites size L, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1½ stick butter unsalted, in cubes
- 2½ oz. white chocolate
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Grease a muffin tin with butter and line it with paper cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.¾ cup all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup Dutch unprocessed cocoa, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a mixer for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow.1½ stick butter, ¾ cup sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time while continuing to mix on high speed. Mix in the vanilla extract.3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then ½ of the sour cream, then another ⅓ of the flour mixture, the rest of the sour cream, and finish with the remaining flour. Mix just until combined.½ cup sour cream
- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool on a wire rack.
Ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.4 oz. dark chocolate
- Heat the cream until it’s hot but not boiling (you’ll see steam rising).½ cup heavy cream
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the ganache is smooth.
- Brush the tops of the cooled cupcakes with the ganache.
Topping
- Sprinkle the ganache-covered cupcakes with chopped pistachios.3 tablespoons pistachios
- Place the egg whites, salt, and sugar in a clean heatproof bowl.2 egg whites, ⅓ cup sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl).
- Beat the mixture with a whisk until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and use a mixer to beat on high speed for 10 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form. The mixture should still be slightly warm.
- Gradually add the butter, beating until smooth.1½ stick butter
- Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.2½ oz. white chocolate
- Mix the melted chocolate into the egg white mixture (Italian meringue) until smooth.
- Transfer the white chocolate cream to a piping bag and pipe swirls onto the ganache-topped cupcakes.
NOTES
1. Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder for the deep chocolate flavor in these cupcakes. Natural cocoa powder reacts differently with the baking powder, so do not swap it without testing the recipe again.
2. Safe Swiss meringue: Heat the egg whites and sugar over simmering water until the mixture reaches 160°F and keep it at that temperature for 5 minutes while whisking. Keep whisking so the egg whites do not cook around the edge of the bowl. You can also use pasteurized egg whites marked as suitable for whipping, but they may take a little longer to reach stiff peaks.
3. Smooth buttercream: Whip the meringue until the bowl feels cool before adding the butter. The butter should be soft enough to press with a finger but should not look shiny or melted. Is the buttercream soupy? Chill the bowl for 10 to 15 minutes, then beat again. If it looks curdled, keep mixing. It usually comes back together.
3. Doneness: Check the cupcakes shortly before the end of the tested baking time. The tops should spring back when lightly pressed. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. Do not wait until the cupcakes feel hard or the toothpick is completely dry.
4. Make ahead: Bake the cupcakes up to one day before decorating and keep them in an airtight container. For longer storage, freeze the plain cupcakes in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw them while still covered, then add the ganache, buttercream, and pistachios.
5. Storage:
- Refrigerator: Keep fully decorated cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Refrigerate them within 2 hours of decorating or serving. Take them out 30 minutes before serving so the cake and buttercream can soften. The pistachios will lose some crunch in the refrigerator, but the cupcakes will still taste good.
Nutrition
Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 305mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 1030IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Iron: 3mg
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