The Girl Scout Cupcake

By Carla

Think thin mint but as a cupcake.

Dark chocolate cupcake with a peppermint cream filling and topped with ganache.

12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 8 Tb unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• PEPPERMINT CREAM FILLING:
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• Green food coloring gel
• GANACHE FROSTING:
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

CAKE:
Place oven rack in middle position, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard-sized muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Combine butter, chocolate, and coca powder in medium heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water. Heat mixture until butter and chocolate are completely melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl (or standing mixer) to combine, add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. (Here I use a standing mixer and the paddle attachment). Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Whisk in sour cream until combined. Then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until homogenous and thick.
Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake 18 - 20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from the muffin pan and set on a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

PEPPERMINT CREAM FILLING:
Put filling ingredients in mixer with paddle attachment and blend until smooth.

Cut a small cone/triangle shape plug out of the cupcake. (I even scrapped the insides a bit to make it more square.) Fill with peppermint cream filling. Take the plug you cut out and cut off or remove some of the bottom portion so only the top remains. Place the top back on the cupcake to cover the filling. (This sounds far more complicated than it is.)

Put aside the remaining filling.

GANACHE FROSTING:
Put semisweet chocolate, cream, and corn syrup into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and stir until smooth. Let cool 5 minutes then refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stir to make smooth enough to spread.

Ice cupcakes with ganache frosting.

Add green food coloring gel (you can find this in the baking aisle in most grocery stores) to the remaining peppermint cream filling until you get a pastel mint color.

Using a #4 tip, pipe three green curly-q's on top.