butterfinger cupcakes with chocolate ganache buttercream

“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger.”

it's almost christmas and i still have halloween candy left. i have been eying the few snack size butterfingers left in our pantry for the last two months, trying to come up with a good use for them. so i smashed them up with a meat mallet and mixed them into my all time favorite yellow cake. topped with the best chocolate buttercream and it's the perfect butterfinger cupcake.

except the butterfinger flavor isn't as pronounced as i'd like it to be. yes, they taste like butterfingers. no, they aren't as peanut-buttery as butterfingers. and as my all time favorite yellow cake and favorite chocolate buttercream, it's the perfect cupcake anyway. as jason and i stuffed our faces with the "rejects" we brainstormed ideas to make the butterfinger concept even better:

• chunks vs pulverized candy bars. when i crushed the candies, i did a pretty good job of crushing them almost into a powder. larger chunks might be better instead.
• peanut butter cupcake, chocolate buttercream, and top with crushed candies. plain and simple.
• swap the cupcake & buttercream flavors. instead of making the cupcake taste like peanut butter, make a chocolate cupcake topped with butterfinger buttercream. how exactly to make butterfinger buttercream we didn't get to, but it sounds delicious.
  

butterfinger cupcakes
adapted from yellow butter cake in martha stewart's cooking school
30 minutes, makes 20 cupcakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 mini or 2 full size butterfingers, crushed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. line cupcake pan with paper liners. preheat the oven to 350F.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. stir in the butterfingers and set aside.
3. in a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time. gradually add the flour mixture. stir in the vanilla extract.
4. fill each cupcake cup about halfway with batter. bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. while the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. let cool in the pan about 10 minutes, remove from pan, and finish cooling on a wire rack. frost cupcakes when completely cool.

chocolate ganache buttercream
adapted from alton brown's chocolate buttercream in i'm just here for more food
30 minutes, makes 3 1/2 cups

1 cup semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok, chocolate bars work better)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. in a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and butter over medium-low heat until smooth. remove from heat.
2. stir in the confectioner's sugar.
3. place the pan in an ice bath. using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until frosting gets lighter and holds it's shape. the frosting will slowly change in color from dark dark brown to light brown and will take about 10 minutes to beat. do not allow the pan to sit in the ice bath without beating the frosting, or the chocolate will actually freeze to the bottom of the pan.
4. frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool.