Makes 18 cupcakes
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ cup whole milk
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Cream
Chocolate-Ganache Glaze for Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes (see below)
Directions
Preheat oven, prep muffin tins, and combine dry ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour standard muffin tins. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Heat milk and butter:
Warm milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Beat eggs and sugar:
Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
Add dry ingredients:
Beat in dry ingredients.
Boil milk mixture and add to batter:
Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture to batter, and beat until smooth. Add vanilla.
Place batter in muffin cups and bake:
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each halfway. Bake cupcakes until light gold, about 15 minutes.
Cool:
Let cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Let cool.
Spilt cupcakes and spread with cream filling:
Using a serrated knife, cut each in half horizontally. Spread 1 tablespoon vanilla cream on each cupcake bottom.
Sandwich and spoon glaze over cupcakes:
Sandwich with top. Spoon glaze over each and serve immediately.
Ingredients
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (we like 61 percent cacao)
1 cup heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon coarse salt
Directions
Chop chocolate:
Coarsely chop chocolate. A serrated knife is best for the job; its sawlike teeth grab the chocolate, breaking it up.
Heat cream:
Bring cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate, and add salt. Let stand for 10 minutes (don’t stir—doing so will cool the ganache too quickly, making it grainy).
Whisk the mix:
Stir with a whisk until smooth and shiny to break up any pieces and emulsify cream and chocolate.
Scrape the bowl:
Chocolate will often settle on the bottom or sides of the bowl. Scrape the dish with a silicone spatula to incorporate all of it.
ganache https://www.marthastewart.com/865175/ganache
Ingredients
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (we like 61 percent cacao)
1 cup heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon coarse salt
Directions
Chop chocolate:
Coarsely chop chocolate. A serrated knife is best for the job; its sawlike teeth grab the chocolate, breaking it up.
Heat cream:
Bring cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate, and add salt. Let stand for 10 minutes (don’t stir—doing so will cool the ganache too quickly, making it grainy).
Stir with a whisk until smooth and shiny to break up any pieces and emulsify cream and chocolate.
Scrape the bowl:
Chocolate will often settle on the bottom or sides of the bowl. Scrape the dish with a silicone spatula to incorporate all of it.
How to Fix Broken Ganache
If the fat starts to separate from the cream, much like the oil in a vinaigrette, fret not. To bring a “broken” ganache back, whisk in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is smooth and emulsified again. Resist the impulse to add cream, which will disrupt the ratio of chocolate to fat (generally, 1 ounce chopped chocolate for every fluid ounce of heavy cream—plus 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt for every 8 ounces chocolate).