Chocolate Pretzel Cupcake

I'm prepping a fundraiser for our Youth Ministry. Every year we sell roses on Mother's Day. The kids assemble the roses, put water caps on the them and wrap them in a beautiful cellophane packages. This year we've added...cupcakes! So I'm going to be testing some recipes in the next few days before we bake. First one is "Chocolate Pretzel."

Vanilla and Chocolate are great flavors but my favorite are the unusual flavors. People love to try things they wouldn't usually make at home. Mmmm, chocolate covered pretzels are the best so why not make them a cupcake? I'm taking a Wilton cake decorating class a Micheal's and for my last cake I did trial one of the recipe. Check out that pretzel crust! Mmmmm salty.

Althought the salty and sweet combo was delish, it needed more chocoalte and the crust, well, needed to be more crusty.

I got the idea from Cupcake Project and decided to use the recipes she used and they worked.

THE PRETZEL CRUST - from allrecipes.com

• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together margarine, sugar and pretzels. Press the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; fill with desired pie filling.

Press the crust on the bottom of the cupcake liner. I added some chocolate morsels to add more chocolate flavor and somewhat deal the crunchiness before the batter hits it.

ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE - marthastewart.com

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (kosher)
2 large eggs (room temperature!)
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

And top with a CHOCOLATE GANACHE - allrecipes.com

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
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Directions

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.