If you're like me and eat the entire box of Girl Scout Thin Mints in under 48 hours, you're then left for an entire year without any of their minty goodness. These cupcakes are an attempt at re-creating their flavor. My rating: 4 out of 5.
Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter
2 oz bittersweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz semisweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/8 tsp salt
2.5 cups powdered sugar
2 drops green food coloring
Combine butter, 2 oz chocolate, and cocoa in a small saucepan and heat on low, stirring frequently, until butter and chocolate have melted. Remove from heat and let cool until just warm to the touch.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs lightly. Add vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Stir. Add sour cream. Stir. Add flour. Stir just until everything is combined. Don't overmix!
Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Fill each cup 3/4 full (recipe yields 12 cupcakes).
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.
Cool cupcakes for 45 minutes before cutting them.
In the meantime, combine 4 oz chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Cook until chocolate is melted. Stir well. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm. This will be your frosting.
In a medium bowl, combine remaining cream, peppermint extract and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar. Tint with green food coloring if desired. This will be your filling.
Once cupcakes have cooled, use a sharp knife to cut a square "plug" out of the middle of the cupcake--working from the top. This sounds more difficult than it is. Looking down at the top of the cupcake, cut a deep square and then carefully remove that piece from the cupcake.
Fill the newly-created hole with mint frosting (a Ziploc bag with a hole on the corner works well). Cut off the bottom of the cake plug, and replace the top back on top of the frosting. You shouldn't be able to tell that the cupcake was cut.
Top cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting.
If you are one of those people who think that everything mint tastes like toothpaste, then this isn't the one for you. For everyone else, here is an extremely easy soft mint recipe.
