Dark Chocolate Cupcakes With Cherry Buttercream

Paula Deen; dense and fudgy

• Ready In: 1 hr 46 mins
• Yields: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1  cup butter
• 6 (1 ounce)  squares  semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
• 4  large eggs
• 2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk

• Cherry Buttercream

• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 6  egg whites
• 2  cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1⁄4 cup  maraschino cherry-flavored  syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line 24 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, chopped chocolate, and cocoa powder.
4. Cook over med-low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth; cool for 15 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs at high speed with a mixer until thick and pale.
6. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
7. Gradually add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
8. Stir in butter-chocolate mixture.
9. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
10. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
12. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
13. Meanwhile, make buttercream--in the top of a double boiler, whisk sugar and egg whites until combined.
14. Cook over simmering water until mixture reaches 140° on a candy thermometer; do not stir.
15. Immediately pour mixture into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer.
16. Beat at high speed for 10 minutes; decrease speed to med-low.
17. With mixer running, add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating just until combined after each addition.
18. Add cherry-flavored syrup, beating until combined.
19. Keep buttercream at room temperature until ready to frost cupcakes.
20. Pipe or spread Cherry Buttercream over cupcakes.
21. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 5 days.