Aren't those just two of the best words when they're put together?
I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I LOVE filled cupcakes. I think they are beyond awesome, not to mention pretty genius. Someone definitely had their thinking cap on that night, let me just tell you.
Along with a recent cake I made, for my niece's first birthday, I also made some filled vanilla cupcakes. I used the Vanilla Cupcake Recipe from my five layer pink ombre cake, that I also made for my niece's first birthday. It's a delicious cupcake recipe so you should check it out.
As I said in that post, the theme was pretty and simple. I decided to make three different kinds of fillings for my cupcakes.
Strawberry, Lemon and Chocolate Ganache.
I know what you're thinking. "Chocolate Ganache again? This girl is addicted!" And I would have to respond with a resounding "YES. Chocolate Ganache just happens to almost make my entire life. Almost. And with that, a slight addiction may occur."
I have made a couple different kinds of filled cupcakes before and so far I have used the method of cutting a small hole in the top of the cupcake, filling and replacing the piece of cake, but this time I decided to try a new method. I decided to try 'injecting' the cupcakes with the filling to see which method I liked best. I placed the filling in a piping bag with my wilton tip #230. It's a great tip, made for fillings and such. Once all the cupcakes were cooled, I simply pushed the tip into the cupcake at about a 80-85 degree angle, squeezed for about 2-4 seconds, let go and then pulled out. The tricky part about this method is that I was unsure about how much filling was actually going into the cupcake. With the other method you have complete control over that, which I like, because you always want to ensure you have a good cake to filling ratio. However, the GOOD thing about using the 'injecting' method, is that it is MUCH MUCH faster and easier. It only took me a minute or two to fill all the cupcakes. I guess both have good and bad things about them. I think I will have to experiment more before I choose sides. Sorry, I'm not coming to the dark side today!
Anyways, let's get to the good stuff. The recipes!
Chocolate Ganache Filling
This is so easy it's really not even funny. Is there any wonder why I'm addicted? You really can't blame me. I have made this before in my Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies but I will post it here too.
1/2 cup whipping cream
3/4 semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips)
Heat the cream in a saucepan until just boiling (careful not to let it boil over!). Once it's boiling, pour over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Whisk together until chocolate is completely melted.
Cover and place in fridge to completely cool.
Strawberry Fruit Filling
Referenced from Wilton's Strawberry Filling
2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed in 2 tbsp of sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice
1. Drain strawberries over bowl, reserving all liquid. Take strawberry liquid and add water to equal about 1 1/4 cup. In saucepan, combine strawberry/water liquid, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Mix well over heat until mixture boils. (It will thicken up quite a bit). Cool completely.
2. In food processor, blender or magic bullet, puree strawberries until well blended.
3. Combine strawberries and cooled mixture. Cover and refrigerate.
This is very similar to the wilton filling, but I thought for cupcakes, especially when injecting them, it might be impossible to pipe a filling that has chunks of strawberries in it. That's why I thought it might be easier to blend them. I just used my magic bullet for about 10 seconds and they were a great consistency. The filling was a little thin so it was a little hard to control when injecting the cupcakes but it tasted great. It had a very similar taste to home-made jam.
Lemon Curd Filling
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp butter
1. Combine all ingredients in double boiler ( I used a metal bowl over a boiling pot of water). Heat while constantly whisking until thick. Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate.
This is not only a great filling, it is also great on toast, or other breakfasty-type foods. Like the strawberry filling, it was a little thin, so it was harder to control when piping into the cupcake, but it had a very fresh and strong lemon taste which was really delicious.
I know you can't really tell that the filling is there, but trust me, it is. Some of the best things in life are unseen. Someone smart had to have said that before, and if not, I just did, so it must be true.
I really liked how these cupcakes turned out. Next time, I think I will put a bit more filling, but overall, I think they were great. I used a great buttercream icing recipe, which I will share with you at a later date, but I really hope you try one of the fillings. They won't disappoint you.
-Always love.
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