MMMMM----------------------FOR THE FILLING--------------------------- 1/2 c Heavy whipping cream 2 tb Confectioners sugar 1/2 ts Vanilla extractMMMMM-----------------------FOR THE ICING---------------------------- 4 oz Semi-sweet chocolate; -chopped 1/4 c Water 3 tb Granulated sugar 1 tb Unsalted cold butter TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES: Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350? F. In a medium mixing bowl, resift the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Then, with a wooden spoon, beat in half the buttermilk and half the flour and cocoa mixture, stirring well to combine. Add the remaining buttermilk, and flour mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin tins (about 1/4 cup of batter per tin) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcake tin on a cake rack. When completely cool, remove the cupcakes from their paper liners. TO MAKE THE FILLING: In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. With a small paring knife, cut out a small cone shape from the bottom of each cupcake and reserve them for later. With a knife or small spoon, remove about a teaspoonful of cake from inside each cupcake to create a hollow. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip, with the whipped cream and pipe it into the hollow (if you dont have a pastry bag, then just spoon the cream inside the cakes as best you can). Plug up the bottoms of the filled cupcakes with the reserved cake cones and set the cupcakes, bottom side down, on a baking sheet and refrigerate. TO ICE THE CUPCAKES: In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate, water and sugar and bring to a boil. When the ingredients are at a boil, lower the heat and simmer very gently, stirring on occasion, for 5 minutes exactly. Transfer the icing to a bowl, whisk in the butter and cool until the icing has set up a bit. Remove the cupcakes from the fridge, then pour the icing on each cupcake. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing out to the edges and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve the cupcakes on individual plates. Per serving: 1463 Calories (kcal); 127g Total Fat; (75% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 67g Carbohydrate; 732mg Cholesterol; 1191mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 24 Fat; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrates Converted by MM_Buster v2.0n.