Triple Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate & White Chocolate Butter Cream

I often get asked the question…  “what is your favourite thing to bake?” You would think that as somebody who loves baking so much that I would have a definitive answer to this question on standby at all times… but I have to confess, I really have no idea what my favourite thing to bake is.

I don’t know why, but I find the fact that I don’t have an answer to this seemingly simple questions super concerning. I mean I am constantly making claims about my love and passion for baking, and yet I can’t tell you what my favourite thing to bake is…What does this say about me exactly? That I don’t really have a true passion for baking? That I am secretly just a hack? These are the questions that circle in my mind every time somebody asks me this question and I come up blank.

Okay, so maybe I’m reading a little (a lot) too much into this, but I think that the reason why I don’t have a definitive answer is honestly because I truly just love to bake everything. Whether it be cookies, layer cakes, muffins, scones, loafs, cheesecakes, brownies, cupcakes, pies, pastries – As long as something starts with butter and sugar that I can whip into a fluffy frenzy, I am officially in baking heaven.

All that being said, I do hold a special place in my heart for baking cupcakes. Now I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they are my all-time favourite thing to bake, but there are definitely certain things about cupcakes that get me giddy in my kitchen when I whip up a batch and I have listed these reasons below…

1. It is so easy and fun to play with different flavour combinations…
Cupcakes offer so much possibility when it comes to flavour pairings, that sometimes I get anxiety over how many different flavours I want to try and how little time I have to actually try them out. Classics like vanilla and chocolate cupcakes will never go out of style, because let’s face it – they are amazing. However, don’t be afraid to try something new! Not only can you come up with amazing flavour combinations by changing up your butter cream/frostings, but you can also add in hidden elements like a filling to give your cupcakes some extra flare. With cupcakes, the flavour possibilities are truly endless, and for that reason, it is simply impossible for me to ever get bored of making cupcakes.

2. They are so much fun to decorate…
Whether I am decorating my cupcakes for a friends birthday party, a family dinner, a bake sale or another special occasion, I always have a blast decorating my cupcakes. With cupcakes, you can go classic, rustic, playful or elegant and they are guaranteed to look positively adorable. There is noting more fun than filling up a pastry bag full of butter cream, picking out your favourite piping tip and frosting your cupcakes! It is such an easy thing to do, but so satisfying in the end. Don’t even get me started on the garnishing possibilities and on the paper liner situation… we could be here all day. 

3. Cupcakes just make people happy…
Was is it exactly about cupcakes that makes people so happy when they see them? Is is because you know in your heart that they are going to be delicious and therefore make your tummy happy and therefore melt away all your daily stresses with their light and fluffy interior? Is it the prospect of licking off all of the frosting and basking in a moment of pure butter cream bliss? Or is is simply because cupcakes are so darn adorable that you can’t help but smile when you look at them? Whatever it might be, you just can’t deny the fact that cupcakes really do make people happy, and it really makes me happy to make other people happy 🙂

So there are just a few of the reasons why I love baking cupcakes so much, and why I think that they are just plain amazing. So without further adieu, here is my recipe for Triple Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes…

Triple Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

Things you need… 

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups brewed coffee
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Chocolate Ganache Filling
1 lb dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups whipping cream
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Butter cream
3/4 cup butter, room temp
5 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk chocolate, melted

White Chocolate Butter Cream
1/2 of the icing from chocolate butter cream recipe above
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

How to Make… 

Chocolate Ganache
Finely chop the dark chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat heavy cream to a bare simmer. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for two minutes. Using a whisk, stir the cream into the melted chocolate and stir gently until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla.

Cover the Ganache with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. This will help to set the ganach, so that it is easier to work with when you start filling your cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with your favourite parchment liners.

Sift the cocoa powder into a small mixing bowl. Brew 2 cups worth of coffee, and pour the hot coffee over the cocoa powder. Whisk until fluid; set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, granulated and brown sugars until pale and fluffy. Next, add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition and being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Next add the vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. Pour the buttermilk into the coffee/cocoa mixture and stir to combine.

Next, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to your mixing bowl with the creamed butter/sugar/egg mixture; beat on low speed until just combined. Now add 1/2 of your coffee/buttermilk liquid to the batter and beat on low; scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat this process one more time and then finish by adding the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and beat until there are no lumps in the batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally and being careful not to over mix.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops spring back to the touch.

Remove cupcakes from the oven, and allow to cool completely before frosting. Prepare your butter cream while you are waiting for your cupcakes to cool.

Milk Chocolate Butter Cream
Finely chop your milk chocolate, and melt in the microwave until fluid. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, cream room temperature butter until smooth and there are no lumps. Add in 3 cups of the icing sugar and beat slowly to incorporate; add in the vanilla. Slowly add the whole milk and the remaining 2 cups of icing sugar and beat on high for 10 minutes until fluffy. Remove 1/2 of the butter cream and place in a separate mixing bowl and set aside for your white chocolate butter cream.

Now add your melted milk chocolate and cocoa powder to the 1/2 of the vanilla butter cream and beat for another 5 minutes until fluffy. Set aside for frosting your cupcakes.
**You may need to add additional few tablespoons of milk and/or icing sugar to get the texture perfect for frosting. 

White Chocolate Butter Cream
Finely chop your white chocolate, and melt in the microwave until fluid. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, take 1/2 of the vanilla buttercream, and beat the melted white chocolate into the buttercream until smooth and fluffy. Set aside for frosting your cupcakes.
**You may need to add additional few tablespoons of milk and/or icing sugar to get the texture perfect for frosting. 

Assembly:
To fill your cupcakes with the ganache filling, use a small sharp knife to cut a 3/4 inch round cone out of the center of each cupcake; reserve the little cupcake cones for later. Fill the holes in each cupcake with 1 heaping teaspoon of the chilled chocolate ganache. Once all of the cupcakes are filled, press the reserved cupcake cone cut outs back into the chocolate ganache filled holes gently. It is okay if they are sticking up a bit because they will be hidden beneath your delicious butter cream!

Place the butter cream into two separate piping bags fitted with your favourite tip and frost them as you like. I used the star tip and to frost the cupcakes, I simply moved the piping bag in a circular motion around the top of the cupcake and moved up a layer to create my finish.

Garnish the tops with shaved milk and while chocolate and you are ready to serve these beauties up to your family and friends! These cupcakes are sure to be the star of the next event you bring them to!

This is a cupcake, that is sure to make the people you share them with positively giddy with cupcake joy. What is not to love about these cupcakes?The chocolate cupcake itself is so moist and fluffy; the chocolate ganache filling is so smooth and creamy (and basically the best surprise hidden inside a cupcake ever) and the milk and white chocolate butter cream is quite literally the icing on the cake.  In short – these cupcakes are simply to die for. I brought these little beauties into work a few weeks ago for a colleagues birthday treat and everybody was talking about them for days afterwards.

So take this recipe, and share it with the people you love the most, because everybody deserves a little cupcake joy!
Let me know how much love you received when you spread a little cupcake love with this recipe!

Happy Baking <3

KP