Pear & Vanilla Bean-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes With Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

recipe from Chockylit

Cupcakes
4 dozen cupcakes

1 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, hot
147 g cocoa powder
1 3/4 hot milk

675 g all-purpose flour
3.5 tsp baking soda
3/4 + 1/8  tsp baking powder
1.75 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
396 g unsalted butter, room temperature
3.5 cups sugar
7 eggs, room temperature
3.5 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, stir the coffee and cocoa powder together until dissolved. Stir in the milk. Set aside until cooled to room temperature.

Once the cocoa/coffee mixture has cooled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt & cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined; stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture over the bowl and mix until just combined. Add 1/2 of the chocolate mixture, mixing again until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and chocolate mixtures, ending with flour. Mix only until flour is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Bake for 21 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

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Pear Filling

1 good sized pear, peeled, pitted, and chopped into small dice

1 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 vanilla bean

To make the filling

Add pear and water to a medium sized pan. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat.

Stir together sugar and cornstarch then stir into the pears.
Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the pears.
Cook until thick, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

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Soft Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 vanilla bean

2 tablespoons milk

To make the frosting

Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy.

Sift powdered sugar into the mixer bowl (right on top of the beaten butter). Beat to combine.
Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the frosting.
Add the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined.

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Pear Chips

1 good sized pear

To make the pear chips

Preheat oven to 200 F.

Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice thin cross-sections of pear.
Place on a baking sheet making sure that the slices do not touch.
Let them dry in a 200 degree oven for about 2.5 hours (depends on how thin the slices are) flipping every 30 minutes until they are dried out and no longer soggy.