These guys are a little involved, but they're more than worth it. It starts with a cookie crust, followed by a moist chocolate cake, a mint buttercream filling, and it's all topped off with a smooth, creamy chocolate ganache. Thin Mint Cupcakes: Win.
edit: I wanted to post a slightly updated version of this recipe containing a more accurate peppermint buttercream recipe so that there is enough frosting to fill and decorate, a better chocolate coating for the top of the cupcake, and (ultimately) a better final product.
Thin Mint Cupcakes
yield: 24 cupcakes
Chocolate Cookie Crust
Found originally at food.com
40 Nabisco Chocolate Wafer cookies (about 1 box)
6 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Crush the cookies by grinding in a food processor. Otherwise, use your hands and the bottom of a heavy, plastic cup of some kind. They don't have to be uniformly crushed; the butter will soften slightly larger crumbs.
Add the melted butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until all of the crumbs are moist. Press into the bottoms of the cupcake liners. Bake for about 6 minutes. Watch them closely; you do not want them to burn. Let cool for about 20 minutes in pans on racks.
Chocolate Cake
I'm using a slightly modified Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot coffee
Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine thoroughly. Add in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in coffee. Batter will be thin. Pour on top of cooled crusts in cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full. This recipe makes enough batter for about 30 cupcakes, so there will be some left over.
Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on wire racks before removing from pans and allowing to cool completely.
Peppermint Buttercream
I'm using a modified version originally found on Pink Parsely's blog
edit: Having made this recipe quite a few times now, this frosting in this (the previous) quantity isn't really enough to fill the cupcakes and to top them decoratively. Below, I have made some changing, increasing the recipe by 1/3 to have enough:
1 cup of butter, softened
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
about 6 drops green food coloring
4 tbsp heavy cream
Cream the butter in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla, peppermint, cream, and food coloring, and beat until light and fluffy.
Fill pastry bag fitted with a wide or rosette tip with peppermint butter cream. Be bold. Plunge the tip into the center of the cupcake until it hits the crust and fill each cupcake with pastry cream. The cupcake will likely bulge and buckle. Inevitably, you will have to spread some frosting on the top as a kind of crumb coat to make the top smooth and to make it easier to dip the cupcake into chocolate.
Chocolate Ganache
edit: I have used a ganache to top the cupcakes quite a few times, and the ganache never quite seems to come out right. After a recent batch of Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes (with an amazing salted caramel buttercream found over at Buttercream Couture), I decided to use plain melted chocolate. Below, these changes have been reflected.
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (though I got away with using Ghiradelli chocolate chips)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Place chocolate in a bowl in the top of a double boiler and heat gently (over medium low to medium heat) until melted and smooth. Turn cupcakes upside down and dip into warm chocolate, coating the top. I had to occasionally use a spoon to cover up a missed spot or two.
This is one of those recipes of which I'm enormously proud. Other than the extra cupcakes that the batter makes, the only thing I would change is a slightly thicker layer of chocolate on top. Otherwise, these are Thin-Mint cookies in Cupcake form. Enjoy!
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