De-lurking to post this recipe. I made these for a co-worker. It was
her last day and she requested that I make them. They are amazing and
very easy to make. The cupcake is very moist and heavy/dense. My
only question is if I used semi-sweet- Nestles chips---would the
ganache frosting be as good. I ask because my son can't eat
Ghirardelli chocolate because of his nut allergy and I want to make
these so he can enjoy too. I made two batches because I am never sure
in baking when it is ok to double but only one recipe of ganache was
needed. I ended up with about 30 cupcakes.
-Tracy

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
(Ina Garten-Barefoot Contessa)


1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 (16 ounce) can Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour

For the ganache:

½ cup heavy cream
8 ounces good quality semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli
Bittersweet bars chopped)
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules


Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat oven to 325 F

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until
light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the syrup and
vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake 30 minutes, or until
just set. (You will fill to the rim). Let the cupcakes cool
thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate, and instant coffee
in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and
warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache.

Do not refrigerate.