Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Enjoy a homemade version of the classic packaged treat! These dreamy cream-filled chocolate cupcakes start with a moist and deeply chocolatey cupcake, which is filled with fluffy whipped vanilla buttercream, and topped with a rich 2-ingredient chocolate ganache. Truly one of the best desserts I’ve ever baked and every single taste tester has RAVED about them.

I feel like I’ve said this before, but this is truly my new favorite cupcake recipe. Honestly. I close my eyes in delight every time I bite into one. They are that good.

Why You’ll Love These Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

The cupcakes are basically this popular chocolate cake, but halved
Extra soft & moist, not dense or dry at all
Extreme chocolate flavor; hot liquid “blooms” the cocoa
Sweet, fluffy vanilla cream in the center
Chocolate topping is just 2 ingredients and sets into a soft fudge-like texture
Like the packaged American treat, but fresh & homemade

Even for an assembled/decorated cupcake, the process is still pretty straightforward. Make the cupcakes, carve a little hole in the center of the cooled cupcakes, fill with an easy whipped buttercream, and spread ganache on top. Use any extra filling to pipe on a squiggly loopy-loop (technical terms)..

Spoon/pour the thin batter into a 12-count muffin pan lined with cupcake liners—you should have enough batter to make 15 cupcakes, so you will either need 2 muffin pans or you can divide and bake them in 2 batches. Fill the liners about 2/3 full. If you use the batter to make fewer than 15 cupcakes, you are overfilling the lined cups and your cupcakes will spill over the sides.

Optional (but recommended) step: When the cupcakes are completely—or nearly completely—cool, place them in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes to make them a bit easier to carve into and fill.

The cupcakes bake up nice and flat on top:

And now… is there any topping more rich and indulgent-tasting than chocolate ganache?

Whipped Vanilla Buttercream

For the cream portion of these cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, use fluffy whipped vanilla buttercream. This is the same whipped buttercream frosting I use for vanilla sheet cake, but with the ingredient ratios adjusted to yield less. You need just enough to fill 15 cupcakes, with a little leftover to pipe the squiggly loops on top. LOL.

You’re basically making a regular vanilla buttercream frosting, but whipping it on high speed for a few minutes to make it extra light, fluffy, and almost marshmallow-tasting. Many homemade Hostess-style cupcake recipes use shortening or store-bought marshmallow creme (fluff) in the filling, but this one uses just 5 simple ingredients: butter, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Feel free to use this marshmallow meringue as the filling instead, if you’d like. Some readers have also filled them with raspberry cake filling or pastry cream—YUM!

Let’s see all of that come together:

Optional: Pipe the Squiggly Loopy Loops

For the finishing touch, fit a small round piping tip (I use Wilton #6) to a piping bag and fill with the remaining whipped buttercream. I went for the signature Hostess cupcake look by piping the loopy loops across the top of each cupcake, but feel free to get creative with your design. An initial, a heart, smiley face, birthday age/number, etc. You could even decorate them as Halloween cupcakes. Or skip this decorating step entirely.

How about a cake version? I thought some might ask! See recipe Note below.

And if you love trying this nostalgic treat, be sure to try my chocolate cake roll recipe, too!

See Your Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes!

Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 22 mins

Total Time 1 hr 2 mins

Cuisine: American

Courses: Dessert

Servings: 15

Description

Fill these deeply chocolatey cupcakes with fluffy whipped vanilla buttercream and top with a rich 2-ingredient chocolate ganache..

Ingredients You’ll Need

1 cup (125g)
1/2 cup (42g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (80ml)
1 cup (200g)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml)
1/2 cup (120ml)
6 ounces (170g)
2/3 cup (160ml or 5.3 ounces)
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g)
2 cups (240g)
3 Tablespoons (45ml)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
salt, to taste

Instructions

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe yields about 15 cupcakes, so line a second muffin pan with 3 cupcake liners or bake in batches.
2
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and buttermilk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot coffee/water, and whisk until the batter is completely combined. Batter is thin.
3
Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, filling only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. You should have enough batter for 15 cupcakes.
4
Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5
Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cupcakes must be completely cooled—and even chilled for 20–30 minutes in the refrigerator if they’re particularly sticky on top—before assembling.
6
Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Ganache is thin. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream. If it’s not melting, do not microwave it. If needed, see Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache. Once ganache mixture is smooth, transfer it to the refrigerator and let it chill for at least 30 minutes to thicken before spreading on cooled and filled cupcakes.
7
With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup (30g) more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another 1 Tablespoon (15ml) of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I add a very tiny pinch of salt.) Frosting should be extra fluffy.
8
Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a little pocket about 1 inch deep. The piece you removed will be sort of cone-shaped. Spoon or pipe whipped buttercream inside each carved-out cupcake—use however much frosting will fit. (I use either a teaspoon measuring spoon or Wilton piping tip #12 to fill cupcakes. Usually you can fit between 1–2 teaspoons of frosting in each.) Slice/tear off the pointy end of the “cone” piece of cupcake you removed, and gently press the round piece back on top of the filling. See my How to Fill Cupcakes post if you need extra visuals or help with this step.
9
With a knife or small icing spatula, spread the thickened chocolate ganache on top of each cupcake. Spread on a thick layer, so it sets as a thick fudge-like topping.
10
Fill a piping bag with the remaining vanilla buttercream. Pipe a looping swirl, or any design you prefer, on top of the ganache-covered cupcake. (No need to chill ganache-topped cupcakes before doing this.) I use Wilton piping tip #6 for piping.
11
Serve immediately or store covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before serving. Cover and store leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.

Keywords: buttermilk, chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, confectioners-sugar, heavy cream, oil

Read it online: https://recipetweets.com/recipe/cream-filled-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/

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