Preheat the oven to 160°C fan and line a cupcake/muffin tray with 12 cases.
Add the instant coffee to 3 tbsp of boiling water and stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Cream together the sugars and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract, along with a large spoonful of the flour and beat together.
Fold in the remaining flour with the cocoa powder and coffee mixture, using a spatula/metal spoon.
Fill each case approximately 2/3 full and bake in the oven for 20-22 mins.
Leave the cupcakes in the tray for 5 mins, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
Chocolate Ganache
Break up the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and add the cream.
Heat for 30 – 40 seconds in the microwave, remove and stir until smooth. If there are still some lumps of chocolate, pop the mixture into the microwave for 20 seconds and stir.
Set aside the ganache to thicken, you want the consistency to be similar to toothpaste. If necessary, put the ganache into the fridge in 10 minute intervals, stirring in-between.
Once the cupcakes are cool, hollow out the middle of each and fill with the ganache (approx. 2 teaspoons).
Buttercream
With a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter for 2-3 mins until pale and fluffy.
Add half the icing sugar and beat again until combined. Repeat for rest of the icing sugar.
Add the cream and mix, then add the peppermint extract and beat the buttercream for 5 mins.
Mix the green food colouring into the buttercream until fully incorporated.
Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes and top with the dark chocolate chips.
Tips
By folding in the flour with a spatula or metal spoon, this ensures the air bubbles in the mixture are retained and it will help make your cupcake mixture light.
You can replace the dark chocolate with milk chocolate for the ganache if you would like a less dark centre.
To hollow out the middle of the cupcakes, use an apple corer or the end of a large piping nozzle. You ideally want to go about two thirds of the way down, be careful not to go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.
