Thursday, March 8, 2012

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting



For my first post, I decided to post something that I have done recently, so I'll start with these delicious chocolate chocolate cupcakes I made a couple days ago! I've been baking more and more from scratch these days and was feeling a chocolate craving, so when I found this recipe for chocolate cupcakes on Glorious Treats blog I had to try them! I modified the recipe a little, adding a cool whip frosting and some chocolate chips. These cupcakes are dense, moist, rich and addicting!!

Want to know a little more about me? I hope so because you're about to find out! I'm a student of life, and of Urban Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. I love baking, fashion, art, and I really love baking. I'm always trying new recipes for desserts and meals and hope to share my food adventures with all of you -- the good, the bad, and the tasty!

Back to the cupcakes! Here's what you'll need:

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1 cup boiling water

Filling: Cool Whip (I used Trader Joe's brand- I love that store!)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(adapted from Glorious Treats blog)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (salted, or unsalted)
pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons milk


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with cupcake linings (or bake one pan at a time, like I did). 
In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 




Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute.
Stir in boiling water. The batter will look really thin, but thats okay!
Fill liner about 2/3 full with batter.
Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. If you are like me and lose track of time easily I suggest setting a timer, most phones have this feature. My cupcakes were done in about 21 minutes, test to see if a toothpick comes out clean.

Once cupcakes are cooled, use a thin knife, or an apple corer if you have one, to cut small holes in the center of each cupcake. Do not cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake (too messy!) Take the chilled cool whip and spoon into a pastry bag, or in my case a ziplock bag with a small hole cut into the corner. Us college students do a lot of improvising.



To start on the frosting:

With an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat butter (on medium speed) until completely smooth and fluffy
Add salt
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar, beating in to combine
Add vanilla, then cocoa powder, beat to combine
Add about 1 tablespoon of milk, and continue beating
Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar, and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy
You can add additional milk by the tablespoon until your frosting reaches desired consistency. If you want to pipe your frosting with a pastry bag it should be somewhat stiff. If frosting is too soft, add powdered suger until you get the consistency you want.



Now go ahead and frost those cupcakes!!! I used a plain ol' knife to frost, and garnished my cupcakes with a trio of chocolate chips. Have fun with decorating and add your own twist!


 Enjoy!! Store in airtight containers

-Ki


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