Bounty Bar Stuffed Cupcakes

One of my favorite chocolate bars is the Bounty bar. The fun-size packs were on special the other day so I got some and went on the hunt for a recipe I could use them in. In the USA, Almond Joy would be the equivalent, with the exception of the whole almond on top of the bar (Bounty bars are solely coconut and chocolate). I came across an Almond Joy recipe from bakeitinacake.com and adapted it. The Bounty bar stuffed cupcakes are vanilla, with a coconut buttercream and a chocolate ganache.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/3 cup milk
12 Fun Size Bounty candy bars

For the buttercream:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp coconut extract

For the chocolate ganache:

120 grams semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (175 degrees celcius). Line 2 jumbo cupcake or Texas muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract and salt. Mix well until creamy. Then add the milk and flour, alternating between the two, and mix until well-combined. Place a heaped tablespoon of mixture into each cupcake liner then place a Bounty bar in the mixture and press lightly. Cover the Bounty bars with another heaped tablespoon of mixture, so that the liner is about 3/4 full.

3. Bake for 22-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden in color. The cakes will spring back when pressed gently with your finger. Allow cupcakes to cool while you prepare the buttercream and ganache.

4. To make the ganache, slowly melt the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a bowl placed over a simmering saucepan of water like I did. Add the milk, and once fully melted, stir in the butter until well-combined. Set aside.

5. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, and beat until combined. Add the coconut extract and mix well. Once you have the desired consistency, pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.

6. Once the chocolate ganache has cooled, drizzle over the cupcakes.