Hot Cocoa Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
Hot cocoa cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling & toasted marshmallow frosting. Ultra-moist chocolate cake that stays soft for days!
Servings: 14 cupcakes
Calories: 330kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder natural unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ cup hot water
Marshmallow Frosting
- 4 large egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and place 14 cupcake liners in your cupcake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a mug or small cup, mix together the espresso powder and hot water until the espresso powdered has dissolved. Set aside.1 teaspoon espresso powder, ½ cup hot water
- In a large jug, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.2 large eggs , ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup sour cream
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour, stirring until it is just about smooth - we don't want to over mix the batter! Then pour in the hot coffee and mix until smooth.
- Fill the cupcake liners so they're ¾ full and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the tray, then take them out and place on a cooling rack.
Chocolate Filling
- Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until steaming - you don't want it to boil.½ cup heavy cream
- Pour over the steaming heavy cream over the chopped chocolate, let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Let sit until hardened.4 oz semisweet chocolate
- Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, use a cupcake corer or the base of a large piping tip to core each cupcake. Set the cupcakes aside.
- Scoop out chocolate ganache from the medium bowl into a piping bag with a round tip, and fill each cupcake with ganache. You can also use a spoon to do this but I found using the piping bag was much easier! If the ganache has gotten too hard, place in the microwave in 5 second increments until it's scoopable.
Marshmallow Frosting
- Place the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl - I prefer using a metal bowl for this.4 large egg whites , ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, pinch salt
- Fill a saucepan with an inch or two of water on the stove and place over medium-low heat, so the water begins to simmer. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves. It'll go from thick to frothy. To test, I like to (carefully!) lift the whisk up and rub the mixture between my fingers. You shouldn't feel any of the sugar.
- Take the bowl off the double boiler and place in your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer). Add the vanilla.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until you get stiff and glossy peaks.
- Frost your cupcakes. Optional, but use a kitchen torch to toast the frosting and enjoy!
Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven't tested the recipe with this method.
Ingredients: I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.
Salt: If you don't have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I'm using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not Morton salt which is too salty!
Cocoa Powder: I'm using natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not sure what you have? Check the ingredients. If it says 'acidity regulator' or mentions 'alkali', then it's dutch processed).
Storage: You can store the cupcakes in the fridge for 3-4 days. I recommend letting it come to room temperature before enjoying! I do find that because of the meringue frosting, the cupcakes are best enjoyed on the day of frosting.
Nutrition
Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 219IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg
