Finally! I found a chocolate cupcake that satisfies my chocolate-loving teenage daughter. She tends to prefer rich chocolate desserts such as ganache, fudge, or french hot chocolate. She usually feels short-changed by chocolate cupcakes because they have a chocolate flavor but are not “real chocolate.” If you can relate to this taste preference, I highly suggest trying these cupcakes. However, these cupcakes need to come with a warning: Seriously Rich Cupcakes – don’t even try consuming more than one at a single sitting.

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 c dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)*

3/4 c butter

6 eggs

1 c brown sugar

1/4 c maple syrup

1 c ground walnuts

1/3 c chopped walnuts

Directions (makes 23-24 cupcakes):

Pre-heat oven to 325 F

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Remove from heat.

Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, ground walnuts, and chopped walnuts.

Pour in the melted chocolate and butter and stir until fully combined.

Fill cupcake papers 3/4 full. Bake for 27 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Remove from pan immediately and allow to cool completely.

* I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips. They are rich and melted quite well. With a recipe like this, using a good quality chocolate is essential to the flavor of the cupcake.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

6 c powdered sugar

1/2 c Crisco (shortening)

2/3 c milk

pinch salt

3 tsp vanilla

1 c cocoa

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Be sure to start on a very slow setting and increase the rate as the ingredients begin to combine.

Decorating

Don’t forget that cupcakes should look great as well taste great. I covered these cupcakes with mini chocolate chips. To do this, I frosted the cupcakes then immediately turned the cupcake upside down and dipped them in the chips. I needed to use my hand to help form a nice mound and sprinkled with a few more chips to help fill in the gaps. Because the cupcakes include nuts, I added a walnut half on top to clearly indicate that the cupcakes contain nuts. I would never want someone with a nut allergy to accidentally have a bad reaction to my baked goods.