Chocolate Ganache Blackout Cupcakes are dark chocolate cupcakes filled with rich chocolate ganache filling and topped with whipped ganache frosting!
What Are Blackout Cupcakes?
Blackout cupcakes, traditionally, are dark chocolate cupcakes filled with a chocolate fudge, chocolate ganache, chocolate pudding, or another rich filling! They can be topped with any sort of decadent chocolate frosting.
These cupcakes are moist dark chocolate cupcakes, have a thick dark chocolate ganache and are topped with whipped, fudgy dark chocolate ganache!
Cupcake Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour: All purpose flour creates a light, stable cupcake! PLEASE measure the flour correctly- either by weighing in grams OR by scooping flour into your measuring cups before leveling off the tops of the measuring cups with a knife. If you pack flour into your measuring cups, you will have dry and dense cupcakes!
- Dark Cocoa Powder: Using dark chocolate cocoa powder is SO important in this recipe. I use Hershey's Special Dark, which is a dutch blend!
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these cupcakes rise and helps with the texture. Do not substitute with baking powder!
- Salt: Salt helps to bring out sweetness in these cupcakes!
- Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is the fat in this recipe! I love using vegetable oil in cupcakes and cakes because it helps to create moist baked goods and helps to keep baked goods moist days later after baking!
- Sour Cream: Using full-fat sour cream interacts with the baking soda to create a light and fluffy cupcake. It adds to the moisture in these too!
- Granulated Sugar: Even though these are dark chocolate cupcakes, granulated sugar adds to the sweetness! It also adds to the texture and stability of the cupcakes- I don't recommend adjusting the amount or type!
- Eggs: You'll need 2 large eggs for this recipe! Make sure they are at room temperature- simply take them out ahead of time or place them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using!
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds to flavor. Do not leave it out, as it truly makes a difference in the taste of your cupcakes!
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk, similar to the sour cream, interacts with baking soda to create the lightest, moistest cupcake! You can make buttermilk from scratch if necessary! Read below in "FAQ" for instructions!
- Boiling Water: Boiling water. I normally use warm water in my chocolate bakes, but boiling water is incredibly important in this recipe because it brings out a deeper, richer, darker chocolate flavor!
What Type of Cocoa Powder Do I Use?
I tested this recipe NUMEROUS times. The first few tests were epic failures even though they were based off of my Easy Chocolate Cupcakes... which are almost fool-proof!
I couldn't figure out why I was ending up with flat cupcakes, why my cupcakes were sinking in the middle, and why they were falling after baking. Then, I realized that I had been using dutch-processed cocoa powder. Hershey's Special Dark is dutch-processed, and regular Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder is not.
Well, in THIS recipe, the type of cocoa powder you use is CRITICAL. Not only will it impact how the cupcakes rise, but it will also impact the texture and taste! If you use regular, natural cocoa powder, you will more than likely end up with flat, tiny cupcakes. Using dutch-processed will give you light, fluffy, and much taller cupcakes! Here is the exact cocoa powder I use in this recipe!
Ganache Cupcake FAQ
Using vegetable oil, sour cream, and buttermilk aids in creating super moist cupcakes! Vegetable oil, specifically, keeps cupcakes moist for several days! Additionally, do not overmix your cupcake batter when combining your dry and wet ingredients, as this will lead to dry cupcakes! Finally, do not overbake. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake should not come out clean!
In this recipe, add two teaspoons of white vinegar to a glass measuring cup. Add any room temperature milk (the higher the fat percentage, the better) to fill to the ⅔ cup line. Slightly mix the milk and vinegar together before letting the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.
Chocolate cupcakes are finished baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs. The tops should spring back when poked in the center.
Chocolate ganache is a mixture of heavy whipping cream and chocolate! Different ratios of cream to chocolate impact the texture and stability of the ganache! In this recipe, we use dark chocolate chips! You heat the cream, pour it over the chocolate chips, let the mixture sit, and then stir with a whisk beginning from the center of mixture and slowly working your way outward!
Ganache does need to be in the fridge after 1 day at room temperature! Luckily, these cupcakes do not lose moisture in the fridge!
Chocolate Ganache
Dark chocolate ganache is the filling and frosting for these cupcakes! Ganache is made from heavy whipping cream and chocolate!
The type of chocolate you use impacts the ratio of heavy cream to chocolate! I use dark chocolate chips in this ganache, so make sure to do the same for best results! You'll bring your heavy cream to a simmer over the stove before pouring it over your chocolate chips. You'll, then, let the mixture sit for 3 minutes before stirring in the center of the bowl. As the mixture combines, you will start stirring in larger circles and moving towards the outside of the bowl!
Remove part of the ganache to keep at room temperature. You'll use this for the filling. For the remainder of the ganache, place a piece of cling wrap right on top of the ganache. Place it in the fridge to firm up until it reaches a thick peanut butter consistency. My ganache take about 45 minutes in the fridge to reach this point.
Then, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer to whip the thickened ganache for 3-5 minutes. The ganache will lighten in color, turn slightly fluffy, and will be much more airy in texture! It will still be incredibly fudgy and rich!
Expert Cupcake Tips
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients is so important. In this recipe, sour cream, buttermilk, and eggs will need to be at room temperature! If you forget to leave your ingredients out ahead of time, microwave the sour cream and buttermilk in a medium bowl for 15 seconds and place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
- Filling the Cupcake Liners: You'll want to fill the liners to be almost completely full! I like to use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the liners!
- Baking: Do not open the oven while these cupcakes are baking unless you have an uneven oven like I do! If you do have an uneven oven, rotate the tray at the 16 minute mark to prevent the cupcakes from deflating but to more evenly bake the cupcakes! Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs and the tops spring back when poked. Underbaking will lead to cupcakes that deflate and overbaking will lead to dry cupcakes!
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Chocolate Ganache Blackout Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cooling Time: 15 minutes:
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate, Ganache
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chocolate Ganache Blackout Cupcakes are dark chocolate cupcakes filled with rich chocolate ganache filling and topped with whipped ganache frosting! These are the most decadent, indulgent, moist, and chocolatey cupcakes EVER!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (27g) dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (4g) salt
- ⅓ cup (75g)vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (65g) sour cream, room temperature
- ¾ cup (170g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (100g), room temperature
- eggs 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (160g) buttermilk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (75g) boiling water
For the Ganache (Filling + Frosting)
- 3 cups (525g) dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups (320g) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the Ganache
- Place dark chocolate chips in a medium, heat-proof bowl.
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, heat heavy whipping cream until it begins to simmer. The mixture should just begin to bubble, and you should see steam coming from it. Do not let the cream boil, as a film will form over the top of the cream.
- Immediately pour the cream over your chocolate chips. Push chocolate chips under the cream if they aren’t fully covered by the heavy cream.
- Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes, uncovered, before using a rubber spatula or wire whisk to combine. Start by making small circles in the center of the bowl. Continue making a swirl motion and slowly begin working outside the center of the bowl as the mixture combines.
- Remove about ⅔ cup of the ganache and transfer to a smaller bowl. Leave the smaller bowl at room temperature, but place a piece of cling wrap directly on top of the ganache in the larger bowl. Place the larger bowl in the fridge until later.
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 12-muffin tin with liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk all purpose flour, sifted dark cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk vegetable oil, room temperature sour cream, granulated sugar, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk until fully combined.
- Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and boiling water, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. To do this, add ½ of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk for about 5 seconds before adding ½ of the boiling water. Whisk in ½ of the remaining dry ingredients to the batter before adding the remaining ½ of the boiling water. Add final portion of dry ingredients to the batter, and mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Batter will be very thin and will not be completely smooth.
- Divide batter between the 12 cupcake cavities- somewhere between ¼ cup and ⅓ cup of batter. The batter should almost fill the liners.
- Bake cupcakes for 18-23 minutes. If you have an uneven oven, turn your tin at the 17 minute mark, as turning earlier will risk deflating the cupcakes. Cupcakes should bounce back when poked in the center, and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out with just a few crumbs.
- Let cupcakes cool for about 15 minutes before filling and frosting.
For Assembly
- Use a teaspoon, small spoon, or coring tool to remove a portion of the center of each cupcake. Take about ½ tablespoon of the ganache from the smaller, room temperature bowl of ganache to fill each cupcake.
- Remove the ganache from the fridge. Use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment to beat the ganache for 3-5 minutes until the ganache has turned lighter in color, smooth, and airy in texture.
- If desired, transfer whipped ganache to a piping bag fitted with a star (or any) tip. Frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or other topping as desired! Store cupcakes covered at room temperature for 1 day before transferring to the fridge for up to 3 days.
Keywords: Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, Blackout Cupcakes, Blackout Cake, Ganache Cake
Aisha says
Made these delicacies today and omggg!!! These are the best choc cupcakes I have ever made. They were super soft and moist as promised in the recipe. Definately look forward to trying out more recipes from you❤️
★★★★★
Elise says
Thank you so much for leaving such a kind comment, Aisha! This made my day! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!