Welcome to Peppermint Week, Day 3! The week of delicious peppermint themed recipes and treats continues with some peppermint mocha cupcakes. Yes, this is another one of my cupcakes inspired an extremely popular Starbucks beverage. It was only within the past few years that I branched out from peppermint hot chocolates to peppermint mochas. I have loved peppermint hot chocolate ever since I was a kid, so I was very excited to develop a cupcake inspired by the caffeinated version of my favorite childhood holiday beverage. While I enjoy trying the entire lineup of Starbucks’s holiday drinks, peppermint mochas are my go-to drink of choice this year because they are a classic holiday drink that really gets you into the spirit of the season.
Prepare the Chocolate Sponge Batter:
Click here for my go-to Chocolate Sponge recipe!
Prepare the Filling:
The filling for this cupcake is an espresso chocolate ganache that provides a great punch of espresso flavor. Add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of ground espresso to a small saucepan. Place the saucepan on the stove on a low heat. Let the cream and espresso cook on the stove for approximately 15-20 minutes. While the espresso steeps in the cream, add ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate and ½ cup white chocolate to a mixing bowl. Once the espresso and cream mixture is removed from the stove, place a strainer-sifter into the bowl and pour the cream into the bowl. The strainer-sifter will remove large pieces of espresso grounds, which will produce a smooth ganache. Let the chocolate sit in the warm cream for approximately 2 minutes before whisking them together. Once the cream and chocolate are whisked together, and all the chocolate is completely melted, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the top of the ganache, and set aside to cool. Note: To store the ganache, place in the refrigerator. When you want to use it, take it out and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 20 minutes so that it will be easier to pipe into a cupcake.
Prepare the Whipped Cream:
For the whipped cream topping, I recommend making a stabilized whipped cream because it will hold its shape better. When first making stabilized whipped cream, I looked up videos on YouTube in order to learn how to add the stabilizer. Tatyana’s Everyday Food’s stabilized whipped cream recipe is my favorite recipe to use because the whipped cream holds its shape nicely and it is not too sweet.
Here is how I make that stabilized whipped cream: Add one cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/3 cup of granulated sugar to a cold bowl. Whip on a medium speed until it thickens, but does not yet hold stiff peaks. Turn off the mixer and add 1 teaspoon of gelatin to 2 tablespoons of water and heat in the microwave until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Add the gelatin and ¾ – 1 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract to the heavy cream. Beat on medium-high speed until the cream holds stiff peaks. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 15 minutes and then it is ready to use!
Assemble the Cupcakes:
Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, I cut the centers out with one of my fondant circle cutters that is approximately 1.25” in diameter. Remove the top half of the center and lightly press down the remaining sponge in the center of the cupcake.
Next, add some of the espresso chocolate ganache to a piping bag and fill the center of the cupcake until it is completely full of ganache.
Add some of the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1M piping tip. Depending on how much whipped cream you would like on top, pipe either a rosette or muli-layer dollop of whipped cream.
Finally, sprinkle some crushed candy cane pieces over the top of the whipped cream. These delicious cupcakes are complete and ready to enjoy!
Thank you so much for checking out this post for the third day of Peppermint Week! I hope that you try these delicious cupcakes and please leave a comment below regarding how you enjoyed these cupcakes!
Make sure to come back tomorrow for another yummy peppermint treat that will feature a cookie twist!
