Bear with me. It’s another Valentine’s post! But this time with chocolate. And cake. And ganache – with Four Roses bourbon in it! I hope you can get behind this.
Now originally for this post, I made the above cupcakes. Which are pretty and fanciful and cute and all. But the flavor of these cupcakes were terrible. They were too dry and tasted almost bitter and was a total failure. I ended up throwing them away because I couldn’t bare the taste of them and I did not want to share those cupcakes with anyone. But damn, they were pretty! What a waste.
Instead I made these beauties:
Chocolate cupcakes with bourbon ganache. They are 100 times better than the previous cupcakes and for that I am very glad.
I used some Four Roses bourbon that was given to me for this post. The roses on it make it seem more like a Valentine’s Day bourbon , don’t you think?
The chocolate cake has a nice texture and crumb to it.
I used semisweet chocolate chips and the Four Roses bourbon to make the ganache. You can play with the flavors here to change it from bourbon to something else for an extra kick of flavor, or just use vanilla to keep it a little more basic.
Another idea would be to put the ganache inside the cupcake as a filling instead and then top with your favorite buttercream. I didn’t feel like doing that extra step though and I actually think the bourbon ganache topping it quite pretty (and incredibly tasty) on its own.
Booze up your Valentine with these yummy cupcakes this year! I’m sure it will make their heart go pitter-patter. Or if you’re a chocolate lover, just hoard them for yourself. No one will know and I promise I won’t tell.
- 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- For the Ganache
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons Four Roses bourbon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with wrappers. Mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until blended. Set aside.
- Mix together the sugars, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs until smooth.
- Spoon in half of the dry mixture and half of the buttermilk into the batter. Mix until it just comes together. Add remaining dry mixture and buttermilk and mix until it is just incorporated. Do not overmix!
- Fill cupcake wrappers about 2/3 full. You should get about 12 cupcakes total. Bake for 18-19 minutes. Test with a toothpick that the batter comes out clean. Let cool on a baking rack.
- For the ganache, place your chocolate chips into a bowl. Heat your heavy cream on low until it just starts to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Add butter and let it sit for 1-2 minutes untouched. Stir the mixture together and add Four Roses bourbon. Stir until the butter is totally melted. Let sit for a few minutes until it reaches desired consistency (about 5 minutes). Carefully spoon batter on top of cooled cupcakes and let set (at least 15 minutes).
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Four Roses Bourbon. Ideas, opinions and photos are all my own.
Both sets of cupcakes look good, but too bad the first batch tasted horribly. I love the little heart sprinkles! Very cute!!!
Thanks, CC! I was telling my friend about the failed cupcakes and she said, “They probably weren’t as bad as you think, especially to people who buy grocery store cupcakes.” haha. Well, no one else had them really so that’s okay. The heart sprinkles are my favorite, I have seen them used as “lips” before on other cupcakes so they have multiple uses at least.
These look so yummy and quite festive I have never heard of this brand of bourbon but the bottle and label are cute.
Thank you! I liked making these with the ganache topping because it’s way easier than frosting. Though I love buttercream frosting, too. It just involves more dishes to clean.
Such pretty cupcakes! I think I need to make boozey cupcakes for my bourbon-loving husband.
I think you worked with this sponsor before. Did you get a new bottle of booze to use for this?
Thanks, Lynn! These were fun to make and so tasty. Yes, I did work with Four Roses last spring and yes they send me more booze. 🙂