when i picked up a copy of eat, feed, autumn, winter: 30 ways to celebrate when the mercury drops, i was in food heaven. i found anne bramley’s delicious recipe book at anthropologie and have been smitten ever since; each recipe is the perfect combination of warming and comfortable, but with a touch of refinement and elegance that makes them perfect for get-togethers or special meals. eat, feed, autumn, winter became one of my favorite holiday gifts for friends and family this year so i’m thrilled to share one of my favorite recipes from the book today: anne’s recipe for triple chocolate stuffed mocha cupcakes. because after the holidays who couldn’t use just one last indulgence? click here for anne’s full recipe or just click “read more” after the jump to get cooking. thank you to anne for sharing this fantastic sweet treat!

about anne: anne bramley is the creator of eat feed podcasts and the author of Eat Feed Autumn Winter: 30 Ways to Celebrate When the Mercury Drops. she lives with her husband (who is the technical brains behind eat feed) and their parsnip-loving daughter in cambridge, massachusetts, where they eagerly await the next snow day or any good excuse for cozy comfort food. eat, feed, autumn winter was recently named one of the best books for 2009 by epicurious.

Anne Bramley’s Triple Chocolate Stuffed Mocha Cupcakes

These are intense little morsels for food lovers who don’t like to be distracted from their chocolate by milk and sugar. As an alternative to paper cupcake liners, my number one recipe tester, Lissa McBurney, suggests buttering the muffin cups and dusting with cocoa powder, rather than flour, to get an extra chocolate kick and avoid unsightly white specs.

Cupcakes
3⁄4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
11⁄2 cups flour
1⁄3 cup cocoa powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3⁄4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate ganache
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
11⁄2 cups whipping cream
1⁄3 cup cocoa nibs (optional)

To make the cupcakes: In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the espresso and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and beat for an additional minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 1⁄2 of the flour mixture and beat for another minute. With mixer running, slowly pour in 1⁄2 of the espresso mixture and mix until completely blended; repeat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat briefly to ensure everything is homogenized.

Using a 1⁄3-cup measure, scoop the batter into the muffin cups, dividing equally. Bake 18 to 23 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. If necessary, run a thin-blade knife around the edges to release the cupcakes from the pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the ganache: While the cupcakes cool, coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a medium mixing bowl. Heat the whipping cream in a small saucepan until just beginning to bubble around the edges. Whisk the warm cream into the chopped chocolate and continue whisking until completely smooth. Cool slowly at room temperature, whisking occasionally to maintain smoothness. (Don’t be tempted to rush by putting the ganache in the fridge or it will harden around the outer edges and you’ll have to reheat it again to whisk the chocolate lumps back in. If you absolutely can’t resist the temptation or the clock is working against you and you must resort to the fridge, just make sure to stir every 5 minutes or so.) When it reaches a spreading consistency, transfer 1⁄2 of the ganache to the bowl of an electric mixer. With the whisk attachment, whip until light and fluffy.

To fill the cupcakes, transfer the whipped ganache to a pastry bag with a plain or star metal tip. Plunge the tip into the top of each cupcake and squeeze in the filling gently. After filling, frost the cupcakes with the unwhipped ganache, making sure to cover the hole in the top from the pastry bag. If desired, sprinkle with the cocoa nibs.

Makes 12 cupcakes

About this recipe:

Originally I developed this recipe in the very early days of the podcast for a Valentine episode to help people celebrate with both ease and style, whether for 2 or 20 guests. Some people like rich dark ganache and others fluffy whipped ganache, so I wanted a way to include both in the recipe. And the mocha twist in the batter is a celebration of some of the earliest cakes I used to make in my teens in the 80’s when mocha was definitely the “it” flavor. I still love that sublime blend of coffee and chocolate. The cocoa nibs on top are a nod to one of the hottest current trends in chocolate and I love the way they lend an extra modern bite to the cupcake.