Not to be trusted

These cupcakes are devious.  They're sweet and cute.  They draw you in with their nostalgic charm, and then BAM!  They turn on you.  You'll think you are strong, and you'll think you can resist, but forget it.  You'll be powerless against them.

These are the lovely, adorable Valentine's cupcakes from Martha's cupcake book.  They're made from her One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes and topped with a Shiny Chocolate Ganache Glaze.   Aren't they the best?

 The good news is that these were SUPER easy to recreate at home.  The bad news is that they are DELICIOUS.  And evil.  And not to be trusted.  Did I already mention that?  Here, I'll give you a glimpse of how things went down at my house this morning.....

See?  I told you, they're lovely, perfect, and sweet.  They even said so themselves.  They were beckoning to me with their perfectly smooth ganache and dark, moist cake.  I resisted, though.......

I had willpower.  I had restraint.  I had celery, too, but I didn't really want it.  The cupcakes totally sensed that weak spot in my reserve and upped their game.

Uh, oh.  Now we'd gone from lovely and sweet to luscious and sinful.  It was getting to be serious business, and I had to remind myself why I wasn't sinking my teeth into one of these tempting beauties.

The treadmill!  The Spanx!  The jiggly-ness!  These are all things I don't need any more of in my life.  

Must. Resist. Bossy. Cupcakes.  

The end.

So now you know how it's going to go.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes 18 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350º

Whisk together in a bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup warm water

Beat until smooth and combined.

Divide evenly among cupcake tins, filling each 2/3 full.  Bake 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.  

Shiny Chocolate Ganache Glaze

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

In a medium, heatproof bowl, place:

3 oz finely chopped good quality chocolate

In a small saucepan, bring just to a simmer:

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp corn syrup

Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate, and let sit for 5 minutes.  Slowly whisk until smooth and combined.  Dip tops of cupcakes in chocolate, and invert onto wire rack.  

Let dry for 30 minutes before piping words with 3 oz melted & cooled white chocolate.