White cupcakes with choc. ganache.....

I whipped these cupcakes up for a friends birthday dinner last week. I saw them on Jen's blog and knew right away I wanted to make them. I frosted them with some ganache that I made at the Zingerman's chocolate class I took 2 weeks ago. The ganache was thin( it was meant for a truffles), but still tasty. I really enjoyed the fluffy white cake. Robin thought the almond flavor was a tad too pronounced so next time I'll cut back a bit.

Cake:

3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter and flour the walls of two 9-inch round cake pans and then line each pan with a circle of parchment paper.

To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together 3 times into a bowl or onto a piece of parchment and set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until its light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and whip until it's blended. One at a time, add the eggs, mixing after each addition until well combined. Whip in the vanilla and almond extracts. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake until the cakes are golden and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans.

Source: Chocolate & Vanilla by Gale Gand, 2006