Chocolate Peppermint Ganache Cupcakes

Meet the lone survivor. The last cupcake of the batch..... Oh so yummy :) It's not the best photo, but you all get that the taste is what's important, right?

The cupcakes:

3 eggs
½ C water
¼ C milk
½ C oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 C sour cream

Peppermint Ganache:

1/2 C butter
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
6 Tbsp buttermilk (or 5 ½ T milk, ½ T lemon juice)
3 C powdered sugar
½ tsp peppermint extract

Peppermint Buttercream:
8 oz cream cheese
½ C butter, softened
2 C powdered sugar
½- 1 tsp peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the eggs, water, milk, oil and vanilla together. Add in cake cake mix and sour cream until well blended.

Fill cupcake liner ¾ full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, make the peppermint ganache.

In a bowl, sift 3 cups powdered sugar. In a small pan, melt butter and add cocoa and buttermilk and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over powdered sugar and, add peppermint extract and stir until smooth.

Dip the tops of the warm cupcakes into the warm ganache and let cool before frosting. You can also poke a hole in the middle of the cupcake with a wooden spoon and fill the whole with ganache. So good!! Extra ganache will keep fine in the refrigerator. (I found it was easier to poke the hole and lightly spoon the ganache in while spreading a thin layer over the top. Then it wont drip as bad. Dipping was an epic fail for me)

Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar. Add extra sugar if needed for right consistency. Add peppermint extract and beat again.

Pipe frosting onto cupcake (I used my 1M frosting tip) and then top with candy cane kisses, crushed candy cane or even mint M & M’s.

adapted from home based mom (she has way more cool pictures than me and helpful tips)