Oh Look, cupcakes!

There is a giant Asian market near where I live, in fact it is Grand. As in, Grand Asia Market. They have allllllll kinds of stuff (ie. Duck's with heads still on, see previous post about that adventure.) and it's not expensive. Which makes me smile in the pockets.
BUT.
We have found another market that sells "frozen reconstituted steamed fish paste"* and "sea vegetables" right near the workplace!!! This one is called Shilla Oriental Market. I got a kimbap** maker so I've been eating that for breakfast the past week. Kimbap maker implies some sort of cam/lever having machinery but really it's a plastic mould you stuff rice into and squish it into a triangle. It's supremely satisfying to squish stuff into a mould. Try it, you'll be reminded of your play dough fun factory and that time you read a "Ramona" book about her squeezing out all of the toothpaste from a tube and thought it sounded amazing and you too, MUST DO THIS RIGHT NOW. Of course there were repercussions to the toothpaste incident and the play dough factory wasn't so much fun when it became too encrusted with old playdough blobs to function properly...
BUT.
I shall stick to my conviction: Squishing stuff is satisfying.

CUPCAKES

Preheat 325
Grease & flour muffin tin
Whisk the following until chips melt & set aside
1/3 cup Coco powder
1/3 cup choco chips
½ cup hot coffee

Cream together and set aside
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup veg oil
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift, mix and set aside
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Mix choco liquid into egg liquid, gradually add to flour mix
Bake for 18-20 minutes
COOL COMPLETELY on a rack
cut tops off placing the knife at an angle so you cut out a cone from the cake, chop the top off the cone, fill cake, replace top, glaze and decorate

Filling

Mix in heat proof container:
3 tblspn water
¾ tsp gelatin
Heat in microwave for 30 seconds (or until dissolved) set aside to cool slightly***

Mix with
4 tbspn unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt

Let sit 5 minutes
Whisk in 1 ¼ cup fluff

Fridge at least 30 minutes and it will get pretty stiff
place cream into a piping bag or a ziplock, reserve about 2 TBspn to decorate top of cakes
fill cakes

Chocolate ganache
Melt together in heatproof bowl (either 30 seconds in microwave or using a bain de marie)
3 tblspn unsalted butter
½ cup chips
Pour ganache over filled cupcakes let cool for 15 mins or until ganache sets and decorate with reserved cream filling

*sounds horrid but is absolutely tasty and satisfyingly chewy
**think giant rice blob with something in the middle wrapped in flat toasted seaweed
*** Be warned, this stuff smells like sweaty hairy ass