True to My Word

I told you I would post the recipe for the second flavor of cupcakes I made last week. And here it is. Mr. Doughboy seemed a bit ambivalent about them, but Doughnut Hole #1 (who is a culinary talent himself) loved them.

Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Almond Ganache

1 C all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

5 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 C sugar

1 large egg

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp raspberry syrup

1/2 C whole milk

1/3 C fresh raspberries, slightly chopped (leave them in fairly large chunks)

12 whole fresh raspberries, set aside for garnishing

2 Tbsp slivered almonds, finely chopped for garnishing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin cups with paper liners. In medium bowl, whisk together flour baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg, almond extract and raspberry syrup. At low speed on your mixer, add one-half of the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until incorporated. Then add the rest of the flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Fold in the chopped raspberries.

Fill the muffin cups about three-fourths full. Bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin and place onto a rack to cool completely. Spread frosting on cupcakes once cooled.

Chocolate Almond Ganache

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 C heavy cream

scant 1/4 tsp almond extract

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat cream in a small heavy saucepan. Watch it carefully. Once it is simmering, remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Cover bowl and let stand for 1 minute to melt the chips. Remove lid and stir until smooth. Once all lumps from the chocolate are gone, add the almond extract and stir until smooth. Let mixture sit at room temperature until it is a spreading consistency.

Once ganache is the consistency you want, spread it on top of each cupcake. (I like to leave a bit of the cupcake exposed, so I do not spread the chocolate all the way to the edges of each cupcake.) Place a fresh raspberry in the center of each cupcake. Sprinkle chopped almond bits around the raspberry on top of the ganache.