Chocolate-Covered Mint Meltaway Cupcakes

*This recipe was AMAZING. The filling and glaze were delicious and easy to make. The cupcake itself was so moist and spongy with chocolate notes. The only problem was that it becomes a decadent small cake instead of a cupcake. I would serve this at a dinner party but can't imagine bringing them to work or a low-key party.*



     After being burnt by one of Martha Stewart's recipes last week I opted for a fresh start. While at Border's picking up my next book for the book club, I gave the cookbooks a quick glance. In the midst of the baking section I came across this book.

     It was between this book and another and when I saw that most of her recipes make 12 regular size cupcakes (instead of the usual 24) and how each recipe was broken into cupcake preparation and baking time and I was hooked.  The first recipe to try? 

Chocolate-Covered Mint Meltaway Cupcakes, pg. 85

     In this recipe you get to use three of her head start recipes, which include chocolate sour cream cupcake batter, chocolate fudge filling and glaze.  The chocolate sour cream batter was airy and fluffy. The recipe called for 12 jumbo cupcakes and I only got about eight out of the batch (may have filled them too full). They were delicious, but the centers caved in.

 

You spray the inside of your liners and are supposed to take them off. This resulted in some lovely ones....

and not so nice ones

    The filling was extremely simple and delicious. The instructions say to let it chill for an hour and a half, I left it in the fridge overnight. It was a very stiff, fudge like filling that I had to mold with my hands, as opposed to her whisking she speaks of. *Edited to Add- after re-reading the recipe, turns out you're supposed to reheat the filling! Oops!
     Next up was the glaze. 10 minutes later I had this deliciously glossy chocolate pouring on the tops of my upside down cupcakes (more like molten lava size cakes).

Chocolate-Covered Mint Meltaway Cupcakes 
from the book Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans
 Cupcakes
Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcake Batter
Filling
1 recipe Chocolate Fudge Sauce, just made
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Topping
2 recipes Chocolate Fudge Glaze, cooled to a thick but spreadable consistency

Line cupcake pan with liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray (silicone baking cups would be perfect for this!) Bake @ 350 for about 20 minutes. Cool.
     Make the filling. Transfer the chocolate sauce to a large bowl and stir in the peppermint extract. Cover and refrigerate until the filling is firm around the edges and the center feels cold to the touch but is still soft, around 1 1/2 hours.
    Remove the paper liners from teh cupcakes and turn the cupcakes upside down. Cut the cupcakes horizontally in half and move the "tops" (which were the bottoms) to the side.
     Using a whisk, beat the cold filling just until the color lightens from a dark chocolate to a medium chocolate color and it thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Immediately use a small spatula to spread about 2 tbsp. of the filling over the bottom half of each cupcake. The filling will firm up quickly. Replace tops.
     Glaze the cupcakes. The cupcakes have a preliminary crumb coating of the glaze, then a second thick, smooth coating. Using a small spatula, spread a thin layer (about 1 1/2 tbps.) of glaze over the sides of each cupcake. Let the cupcakes sit for about 15 minutes for the glaze to firm.
     Spread a second smooth layer of glaze, about 2 1/2 tbsp, over the glaze on each cupcake. Let the cupcakes sit for about 30 minutes to firm the glaze. Cover the cupcakes as soon as the glaze is firm, and serve cold.