Have you made Ina Garten's "Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes"? And did you find them as disgusting as I did?

Question

Ok, so my husband was on a business trip with my friend's husband, so we planned a girls night with movies and "gourmet junk food". So I made these cupcakes (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-ganache-cupcakes-recipe/index.html ). They were DISGUSTING! I was really skeptical about using Hershey's syrup instead of cocoa powder, and even more skeptical as to why there were no leavening agents. They didn't rise, turned out like hockey pucks, had an artificial flavor, and were just really nasty. The icing was also gross- Ina said that you "can't taste the coffee, it just brings out the chocolate's flavor". BS! That was all I tasted. I spent about $12 buying Hershey's syrup, chocolate chips, heavy cream, etc., and about 2 hours making them. I got to her house and she made a face when she ate one. Then I tried it, spit it out, and we just threw them away. I followed the recipe to a T!

What would have made them better?

Answer 1

the only thing I can think of that you might have done wrong would be overcooking them.  I have had some bad experiences with recipes I got from the Food Network and I tend to shy away from the site now.

Answer 2

Maybe the idea of having ganache as a "frosting" to the cupcake turned you on to the recipe. If it did, try baking up regular cupcakes with an alternative recipe for a ganache. There's different recipes for different kinds of ganache. I don't personally make my own ganache, I have it shipped in from Sysco pre-made.

Experiment with it. Look for other recipes of the same. There's many variations to a single recipe.

As for the coffee, it is true that the coffee does bring out the chocolate flavor a bit more. But it also depends on the kind of coffee you use. Cheap coffee won't be nearly as good in a recipe as the more expensive fine ground, pure-roasted coffees. I've found that cheaper coffee usually has an "earthy" taste unlike the expensive stuff.

I'm sorry to hear that they turned out a disaster. Hope it wasn't too embarrassing and I'm sorry if it was. Again, try different variations of the recipe. Alter it here and there. Best of luck to you.  

Answer 3

It doesn't surprise me that they didn't turn out well.  I've tried a couple of her things and I didn't find them quite as gourmet as they look on her show.  AND, I completely agree about the coffee flavor.  If you add coffee to something, it's going to taste like coffee.

I probably would have opted for a Sandra Lee inspired recipe instead.  She's always got good stuff and it's usually pretty easy to prepare.

Good luck!