Chocolate Cupcakes with Blackberry Passion Fruit Chocolate Lava

If these cupcakes look like a rich, gooey diabetic coma in cupcake form, then you’re right.  These cupcakes started out as an experiment and ended up being a huge hit at a friend’s graduation party.  Ganache is the secret to fool proof chocolate lava.  The oil and buttermilk make for a very moist and rich cake.

Blackberry Passion Fruit Ganache
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (not chocolate chips), cut into very small pieces
.7 oz passion fruit puree
.7 oz blackberry puree
.7 oz heavy cream
.5 oz unsalted butter, room temp cut into small pieces

Place chopped chocolate pieces in a small glass bowl. Heat fruit purees and heavy cream to boiling.  Pour over chocolate.  With a rubber spatula, stir until the chocolate and liquid emulsifies and takes on a shiny chocolate syrup consistency.  Stir in butter.  Chill until firm (put in freezer to speed up the process).

Cupcakes
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c water
2 c sugar
2 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder (not instant)
2 lg eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare cupcake pans with papers.  In a saucepan, combine butter, oil and water and bring the mixture to a boil.  In a mixer with a paddle attachment, mix sugar, flour and cocoa powder on low for 30 seconds or until the mixture is combined well.  Add the butter mixture in a stream while mixing.  Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and baking soda.  Mix until batter is just combined.  Spoon batter into cupcake papers until half full.  Using a small portion scoop, spoon small balls of ganache into the center of each cupcake.  Spoon more batter on top until cupcake paper is 3/4 full.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are firm and spring back when touched.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

When the cupcakes are cool, heat the remaining ganache until it regains a liquid consistency (20-30 seconds in the microwave).  Gripping the base of the cupcake, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the ganache.  Return the cupcake to the wire rack.  They are ready to serve once the ganache has set.  Should only take a few minutes.