These Graveyard Cupcakes are TRIPLE the chocolaty fun. Chocolate cupcake, with chocolate ganache nestled inside,topped with chocolate frosting and a spooky Milano cookie decorated like a tombstone, these cupcakes are festive, fun and perfect for Halloween!
8ouncesmilk chocolate(can substitute semisweet or dark), melted** and cooled
Graveyard Decoration:
12Oreos Cookies(cookie portion only)*** – crushed
12Milano cookies
Black Decorative Icing
Orange Decorative Sugar or Sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Ganache Filling: Place the chopped chocolate, heavy cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave on high power until the mixture is warm to the touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until just barely chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.
Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin pan with liners. Place the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate mixture for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pan cups. Pour one heaping teaspoon of ganache filling in the center, on top, of each cupcake. Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cook time.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting: In a food processor, process the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 one-second pulses.
Make the Graveyard Decorations: Using black decorative icing, with a “pen” sized hole or attachment, write desired “graveyard message” on cookie. Set aside and continue with remaining cookies.
To Decorate: Frost the cupcakes with desired amount of frosting. Sprinkle crushed Oreo cookies overtop of frosting. Garnish with sprinkles, if using. Gently insert a ‘graveyard’ into the cupcake frosting, slightly off from the center, with the writing facing forward.
Notes
Inactive Time: 30 minutes--Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated*The chocolate can easily be finely chopped in the food processor**To easily melt chocolate: Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 50% power for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes, stirring ½ way through cook time.***For Oreo Cookie Garnish: gently twist top cookie apart from filling and bottom cookie. Use top plain cookie only. Either eat filling and bottom cookie, or put two filling and cookie bottoms together to make a double stuffed Oreo and place back in the container to eat later. -The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.