Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Cupcakes:

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1.5 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp room temperature butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
6 oz Greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c water

Mixins (use whatever you like, below is just what I used):

1/4 c dried cherries
1/4 c toasted walnuts
1 tsp cocoa powder (I didn’t use dutch process, I used the ordinary Hershey’s kind)

Directions:

1. Mix butter and sugar on high in kitchenaid until fluffy.

2. Add eggs. Blend on high until fluffy.

3. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt. Blend on low until fluffy.

4. Add greek yogurt, water and vanilla extract. Blend on low until fluffy.

5. Add flour. Blend on low until cohesive dough forms.
6. Stir in mixins. Mix well, but not so well that cocoa powder gets integrated. If it is NOT integrated, there are cool swirls in your finished cupcakes.

Bake 350 degrees for 25 min.

Remove from pan, let cool.

Frost when completely cool.

Lasts 3 days in the fridge, a month in the frozen (unfrosted! or it gets nasty).

Chocolate Ganache:

(This is my amended Martha Stewart recipe because I don’t want to get fat by dumping whipping creme into everything).

3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c milk
1 tsp corn syrup
2 tsp butter

Mix well, microwave on low heat for 15 seconds, stir, microwave for 5 seconds, stir.
Keep microwaving and stirring for 5 seconds until chocolate is melted and shiny.
Use right away.

To save for later: Fridge the extra ganache. When ready to use again, add a splash of milk, and do the microwave routine from the first step again. I’ve kept mine in the fridge before two weeks without problem. YMMV.

As far as how long recipes can be kept without storage: it depends a lot on where you live, humidity in your area, your fridge’s efficacy, and the quality of the products you put into your recipe. I live in Chicago, there is basically no humidity here, the fridge is all right as far as efficiency goes, and the products are standard US supermarket fare. If your circumstances are different, your results will be different too. So, as I say, YMMV.