#34: The Magic Factor

i made these cupcakes for k.lu's birthday. i caught an episode of barefoot contessa and watched her make these chocolate ganache cupcakes. the episode title was "the magic factor", in which she tested a single recipe out, one with the magic ingredient and one without. she had a few people taste test and choose which one they preferred...and in each case the group chose the item that included the magic ingredient. the cupcake recipe had great reviews so i was eager to try out the recipe. the cake is very easy to make...just throw the ingredients into a mixer and then pop into the oven. the topping was a chocolate ganache - not quite a frosting, not quite icing. it was ooey and gooey on top of the cupcake. now, what was the magic ingredient you might ask? coffee. apparently the coffee brings out the chocolate flavor so it is richer and stronger to the taste buds. i managed to find a small sample packet of starbucks via - the perfect amount i needed for the cupcakes. not much coffee, only about 1.5 teaspoons for the cake/ganache. when i tasted the cupcakes i was surprised because i was a little distracted by the coffee flavor. perhaps it's because i don't drink coffee so i am more sensitive to the flavor. after the taste test, i decided to refer to the cupcakes as more of a mocha flavor rather than purely chocolate. good recipe, but i think the coffee was a bit overpowering...but maybe that's just me.