½cup8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½cupspowdered sugar
3 - 4tablespoonsblood orange syrupor more as needed
small pinch of salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tine with cupcake liners.
Mix together the chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee together until it is fully combined. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Take the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk in the oil and the eggs and beat well.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until just combined.
Evenly divide the batter among the cupcake liners until they are about ¾ full. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to a wire rack.
Make the blood orange syrup. Heat the blood orange juice (and some of its pulp if desired) and sugar on medium heat and stir ocassionally. Cook until it forms a thick syrup. Remove from heat and allow to cool until room temperature. Lightly brush the cupcakes while they are still warm with some of the syrup.
Make the frosting. Beat the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar half a cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add in the blood orange syrup one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency and flavor. Add a small pinch of salt if you feel it may be a bit too sweet.
Remove the centers of the cupcakes and fill with the blood orange curd. Replace the tops of the cupcakes and top with the frosting. For ease, I filled a piping bag to fill the cupcakes, but a spoon would work just as well. I also used a large star tip to pipe my frosting. I made a small circle around the cut and filled portion of the cupcake, and then made a swirl around and on top of that center circle.