I have been baking cakes for some time now, since college. My cakes are usually nothing very fancy, just the ordinary kind. You know, cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, then flour and whatever flavours the cake calls for, then pour the batter into a cake tin and bake it.
My cupcakes are much the same, so far. But every now and then, I would dream of making cupcakes with unusual or different flavour combinations and decorating them too.
The Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit is a blog with an amazing variety of cupcakes and frostings. I have been wanting to bake some cupcakes using one of those recipes for quite some time now. Well, I finally did it.
I made her Sweet Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes. I followed her recipe but instead of layering the peanuts with the cupcake batter, I folded the peanuts into the batter at the end. I also used 1 egg less.
I also decided to use a chocolate ganache (melt 3/4 cup chopped chocolate + 75 ml cream + 1 tsp oil) instead of the frosting to decorate the cupcakes.
Most frostings seem to need a lot of sugar making them too sweet for my taste. I need to find one which has just the right amount of sugar.
I, personally, liked the combination of dark chocolate ganache and these honey peanut cupcakes.
I used dark chocolate here but I would advise using milk chocolate to make the ganache. It would pair better with these cupcakes. I would also recommend trying the frosting accompanying the original cupcake recipe, if you like frosting as it seems a perfect pairing for the cupcakes.
These cupcakes turned out quite light, not to sweet and we liked the honey-peanut combination. The original recipe was for 9 cupcakes, whereas I got 10 cupcakes. I guess my liners were a bit smaller.
I also had a go at decorating the cupcakes. I know I’m still not there but would like to believe I’m improving.
These cupcakes are my contribution to Cupcakes, the Final Chapter: A Sugar High Friday event hosted by Fanny of Foodbeam.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
that looks yummy! i am going to try some muffins this weekend. starting from the basics 🙂
Wow it looks so beautiful.I love the way you have piped the ganche on top of the cakes.Real pro 🙂
Great looking cupcakes Aparta and they are perfectly decorated.
pass me those will you????
I love the second pic.Very professional and appealing.Well,when can we come over there?You made it for us,right?;)The cupcakeshop has many tempting recipes as u said
I must come to Goa just to eat your cupcakes, I love the way you ice them, it just struck me they look like little girls with a big bow in their hair!
Hey these look awesome…especially loved the second pic…
I have an award waiting on my blog for you 🙂
Those are elegant cupcakes with ganache 🙂
these are soooooooo yummy. i usually dont love the buttercream frosting on top of cupcakes, but chocolate ganache………..oh my god, just love it. cupcakes are indeed sinfull
For me… frosting is the best part of a cup cake… it looks impeccable.
Oh god,this is awesome too Dear Aparna,I love the beautifully spread Ganache.
Aparna..you temptress! Perfect combination- peanuts and chocolate!
Thanks, once again for all the support.Good luck with baking, Nags.Sure Rachel and CL, and everyone else, virtual cupcakes winging their way to you.:)Waiting for you, Sra. Cute idea. Yes they do with a little stretch of imagination.Thank you so much, Ivy.
I’ve always searched for a chocolate ganache that pipes well – according to your lovely photos, that’s the one!
these look so so yummy 🙂