Chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling and whipped ganache frosting

Cake
8 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 c. sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
70 g each: brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sorghum flour, sweet rice flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup melted bittersweet chocolate


Caramel
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream
2 tbsp butter
water

Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate


Make the cake:
1. Place paper baking cups in muffin tin and preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream butter until soft and light. Add sugar and cream until fluffy.
3. Add eggs , one at a time, mixing for 1 minute between additions
4. Stir flour, salt, and baking soda together, then add 1/3 of mixture to the
egg/butter/sugar and mix
5. Add 1/3 of the buttermilk. Alternate thirds with dry ingredients until all
are incorporated
6. Add vanilla and chocolate, mix gently until just incorporated.
7. Fill cupcake papers halfway and bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway
through. Cupcakes are done with the top springs back after pressing it .
8. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on a wire rack

Make the caramel
1. Put sugar in a small pot and just cover with water
2. Heat on medium, stirring constantly, until it’s brown. Don’t overcook.
3. Remove from heat, add cream and butter and stir until mixed.

Make the ganache
1. Scald cream (heat until just before boiling) in microwave or double boiler
2. Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir to melt chocolate. Refrigerate for
several hours to set.
3. After removing from the refrigerator, whip with an electric mixer until
light and fluffy, slightly heavier than whipped cream.
4. Scoop into a pastry bag to pipe the frosting (or use a plastic bag with the
corner cut off)

Assemble the cupcake
1. Use a potato peeler to remove a circle of cake, about an inch deep and an
inch wide, from each cupcake. Rinsing the peeler in warm water between
cupcakes makes this easier
2. Fill each cupcake with caramel. The cupcakes and caramel must be cool
for this to work.
3. Generously frost cupcakes with chilled whipped ganache frosting.