Dark Chocolate, Baileys and Kahlua filled Cupcakes

So my dear friend Glorie, who I have had the pleasure of working with for two years, received a really awesome job at the Hintz Alumni center.  While I was really excited for Glorie, it also meant that the person who I bounced recipe ideas off of and who shared her exceptional recipes and baked goods with me, was going to be leaving.  Therefore, the moment called for an exceptional cupcake to celebrate her last day at work.  Since chocolate is her favorite thing, this chocolate cupcakes was a complete no-brainer.  It is luscious, chocolaty, smells divine, is light and has a velvety smooth frosting.  It's also not hard to make at all.  I used the recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker's blog, who does some phenomenal baking, but I made some changes to the ganache.  Since I like my cupcakes to have a boozy element, I thought that the ganache would be a perfect place for some changes.  Below is my recipe for these cupcakes and I highly encourage you to give these a try if you need chocolate cupcakes and let's be honest, we all NEED chocolate cupcakes!  P.s.  I doubled the ganache filling because I think the more filling the better!

INGREDIENTS:
For the Ganache Filling:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped  (I used dark chocolate chips)
1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur
1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur
1 tbsp half and half


For the Cupcakes:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
⅓ cup black cocoa powder 
¾ cup hot coffee
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
1¼ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup black cocoa powder
1/2 regular cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
¾ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet or dark), melted and cooled

DIRECTIONS:
1. Make the Ganache Filling: Place the chopped chocolate and liqueur in a small sauce pan.  Place over medium heat and whisking constantly, stir until the mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for one minute to cook off the acidic bite of the alcohol.  Set aside and let cool.

2. Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin pan with liners. Place the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pan cups.  Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

6. When cupcakes are cool, use a corer to remove the center and then fill the cooled cupcake with the cooled ganache mixture.  Fill the center until the ganache is even with the top of the baked cupcake.

6. Make the Frosting: In the mixing bowl attached to you Kitchen Aide stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl with your mixer, process the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then slowly drizzle in the chocolate and whip until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Frost the cupcakes as desired. The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes:

The ganache filling can be omitted it if you'd like a more traditional chocolate cupcake.
The frosting can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours before using, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.