Black Forest Cupcakes
 
 
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
  • 1 batch Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 1½ cups cherry preserves
  • 1 cup chocolate ganache
  • 1 ounce chocolate
  • 24 cherries
for the frosting
  • 1 8-ounce package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract
  • 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
Directions
for the cupcakes
  1. Using a cupcake corer, apple corer, or knife create a large cavity in the center of each cupcake. Reserve the top of the removed cupcake piece. Fill the cavity with a tablespoon of the cherry preserves. Place the top of the removed cupcake piece on top of the cherry preserves to seal the cupcake back up. Place the cupcakes in the fridge to chill.
  2. Remove the cupcakes from the fridge and carefully pour chocolate ganache over the top of each cupcake to coat it. It’s okay if it doesn’t look pretty because it’s going to be topped with frosting. Place it in the fridge for the ganache to harden.
for the frosting
  1. Whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and lemon extract in a metal bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy. Transfer to medium bowl then chill in the fridge.
  2. Clean out the bowl of the stand mixer and chill with the whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once the bowl has had a chance to chill, whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks start to form, but be sure not to over-beat the cream or it will break. Remove the bowl of cream cheese mixture from the fridge and gently fold in the whipped cream.
  3. Remove the ganache-topped cupcakes from the fridge. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round thick tip with the frosting. Hold the pastry tip over the center of a cupcake and squeeze until a large dollop covers most of the cupcake. Using a microplane, shave some chocolate over the whipped cream frosting and top with a cherry. Repeat for the remaining cupcakes. Store in the fridge until serving.
Recipe by Lemon & Mocha at http://www.lemonandmocha.com/2014/05/01/black-forest-cupcakes/