Devil's Food Cupcakes W/Chocolate Ganache Frosting & Centers

These are the comments of the original poster of this recipe: "These cupcakes are my favorite cupcakes in the whole wide world. I could eat these every day for the rest of my life. If I met a man who could make these I would marry him. :) I made these for a poker party and a friend of mine cried when she tried them - they are that good. " First thing to keep in mind is that you have to make the Chocolate Ganache first. You need half of the frosting for the fillings which need to be set so you can turn it into little balls before you start with the batter. Chilling time for ganache is not included with cooking time.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• GANACHE

• 13  ounces heavy cream
• 12  ounces bittersweet chocolate (I use a bag of chocolate chips)

• CUPCAKE BATTER

• 1⁄3 cup  cocoa (preferably, but not absolutely, Valrhona or Cocoa Barry Extract. Supermarket cheap stuff works also)
• 1  cup boiling water
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 3⁄4 cup mayonnaise (I use fat free and it works fine)
• 2  cups  sifted cake flour (I rarely ever sift as I find that cake flour seems to always measure right. I know.. I should)
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. GANACHE:.
2. In a sauce pan bring your cream to a light boil.
3. Then pour in the chocolate and start stirring immediately.
4. Keep going until you have a smooth mixture.
5. At first this will seem like it's not working as the chocolate hasn't begun to mix with the cream.
6. Then, in second, it will start to form. Just give it time.
7. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
8. Don't be tempted to taste throughout the cooling process as you're not supposed to touch the ganache until it sets.
9. Put ganache in fridge until you're ready to use.
10. If you're making these in a hurry, start making the batter.
11. If not, make the batter when you're ready to start baking your cupcakes.
12. CUPCAKES:.
13. Pre-heat oven to 375ºF.
14. Line cupcake tray with cupcake papers
15. Whisk together water and cocoa.
16. Set aside and let completely cool. (you can put this in the fridge too).
17. When cocoa mixture is cool, whisk in the mayonnaise and vanilla until smooth.
18. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low until combined.
19. Once mixed, increase speed to medium and beat in cocoa mixture for one minute.
20. The batter is supposed to be thin, but I've seen it thin/medium.
21. Poor batter into a measuring cup with a spout and fill each cupcake 1/4 the way full.
22. Now take out your ganache and with a spoon make a small ganache ball and set one ball in the center of each cupcake.
23. Continue to fill each cupcake until it's 3/4 the way full to prevent spilling batter.
24. Check to make sure your oven is at 375º and bake for 15-20 minutes until cupcakes are set.
25. Poke with a toothpick to confirm they are done.
26. The toothpick should slide out smoothly without any cake on it.
27. Once completely cooled (make sure you cool the cupcakes or your ganache will melt), frost with the rest of your ganache frosting.
28. You should have extra ganache left over - about a cup.