Vanilla Fudge Sundae Cupcakes

The last two days have been awesome! Even though we've had some thunderstorms here and there and today is a little cloudy, it's been so warm and so inviting to be outside. I even let Charlotte play with her brand new water-table toy from Aunt Katie, which she is totally obsessed with! 
Tell me that isn't the cutest bathing suit EVER!

 So the warm weather has me thinking of yummy summer treats, like hot fudge sundaes. So, I made my cupcake version of one! Bean got in on the action today too when it came to making the batter!  We made a vanilla cupcake, topped with dark chocolate ganache and a vanilla whipped cream. Here is what we did:
3/4 cups butter, softened
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups milk
The batter made 20 cupcakes which I baked @ 350 for 17 minutes.
Here are some shots of my big girl helping me out!

OOH she looks so serious with that mixer! I love it!
SO by then Charlotte was bored and tired so it was nap time for her. I had to do all the icing myself :(
For the dark chocolate ganache all I did was rough chop four ounces of dark chocolate, and pour 4 ounces of heavy cream that I had warmed in a saucepan, over it. I also added 1/4 tsp of sea salt. I whisked it until it was all melted and smooth. To be honest, I should have done half that (2and2) because it was too much ganache but I can melt it down again and use it later for something else. I frosted the cooled cupcakes with a thin layer of ganache and let it set up a bit.

For the whipped cream I beat 3 tbsp of softened butter with about 2/3 cup of vegetable shortening. I added in about 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 heaping tbsp of clear vanilla extract. I beat it all together until it was smooth and a good consistency. Then I put it in a little sandwich baggie, snipped the end and piped it on top of the ganache. They look adorable. I was hoping that I'd have some red sugar or sprinkles to top with, but I didn't so I just added a little more ganache on the top for decoration. They are so sweet and delicious! I'm sure they'd be even better with a scoop of ice cream along with one!