Espresso Chocolate Cupcakes

I got to be a surprise for Kevin's Mom's birthday.  She knew that Kevin and Audra were going to join the family for lunch, but she didn't know that I was going to join as well.  So for her birthday I made cupcakes.  Decadent, rich, chocolatey cupcakes.  Like, you need a big glass of milk to go with it.  OMG were they good.  And rich.  And chocolatey.

Espresso Chocolate Cupcakes
(please forgive me, I had to convert the amount from the metric system)
1/3 cup butter (75g)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour (3 dl)
.42 cup cocoa powder (1 dl)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1.05 cup sugar (2.5 dl)
1 large egg
.42 cup hot strong coffee (1 dl)
.63 cup buttermilk (1.5 dl)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Melt the butter, add vanilla and let it cool.
3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar into a large bowl.
4. Lightly whip the egg together with the buttermilk.
5. Mix coffee with butter.  Add all liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix until batter is smooth but liquidy.
6. Divide between cupcake liners, filling no more than 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a tester comes out almost clean.

Espresso Chocolate Frosting
200g 70% dark chocolate
1 1/4 cup butter, softened (300g)
1.5 cup powdered sugar (3.5 dl)
.63 cup cocoa powder (1.5 dl)
2 tbsp espresso
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler and leave to cool.
2. Whip butter until white and fluffy.  Gradually add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until smooth.
3. Add the melted chocolate and whip until well incorporated.
4. Add espresso and vanilla, and mix until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

I'm gonna be honest, this recipe is hand written.  So I don't remember where I got it.  But kudos to them!

(cheater) Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

When you're in a pinch, you're in a pinch and you make it work.  In this case, it did!

The Perfect Cupcake Recipe (using a box mix)
Ingredients:
1 box mix (any flavor, but get the good kind - Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted (use butter, not margarine!)
1 cup of water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave.
3. Add cake mix, eggs, and water to the butter in large bowl.
4. Mix on low for 1 minute.  Then mix on high for 1 minute.  You will be amazed that your batter is nice and thick and creamy - not thin and runny like it is when you follow the box instructions.
5. Fill cupcake papers (tip: use an ice cream scooper, one scoop is just the right amount per cupcake!)
6. Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Let cool.

Salted Caramel Frosting
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter at room temperature
8 ounces of cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. 1 cup salted caramel (recipe in above frosting link)
2. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
3. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
4. Add 1 cup of the salted caramel and beat to combine. 
5. Add additional powdered sugar until the frosting is the sweetness and consistency you desire.

Comments:

• I didn't have time to make the salted caramel for the frosting, so I used Trader Joe's Fleur del Sel caramel sauce.

Recipes from Tidy Mom and Kimberly Taylor Images

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

Many, MANY months ago my brother had a birthday.  We all planned to get together for dinner to celebrate.  But instead of sharing a silly little scoop of ice cream between 8 people, I offered to make cupcakes.  And in my family we have a tradition of making "party in your mouth cake", aka funfetti to the rest of y'all.  But this year I decided to make homemade party in your mouth cupcakes!

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes


1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles, plus more for top of frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.  Add the milk.  Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.  Fold in assorted sprinkles.
4. Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool, then frost.

Vanilla Buttercream
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 tbs of milk, if needed

1. Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture until completely smooth and creamy.  With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly.  Gradually increase mixer speed and add vanilla, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl.  If frosting is too thick, and milk 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.  If its too thin, add sugar gradually until it thickens.  Frost cupcakes and top with sprinkles.

And boy were they good!

Recipe from the ever fabulous How Sweet It Is

Coffee Chocolate Cupcake with Irish Cream Frosting

 I made these cupcakes for Christmas this year, and they were a huge success!  And easy too!

Cupcakes:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 heaping tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup coffee
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in room-temperature buttermilk.  In a saucepan, melt butter and cocoa together at a low temperature.  When smooth, add coffee.  In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, flour, and salt.  Add cocoa mixture and egg and mix at low speed.  Add buttermilk mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 stick butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup irish cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coffee

Beat ingredients together until smooth.  Spread on cupcakes.

And what do you do with the bowl when you're done...?

Lick it of course!

Source: Ming Makes Cupcakes, #24

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Buttercream Frosting

Holy butter Paula Deen! These cupcakes are not for the weak at heart.  No, seriously.  If you are watching your cholesterol, do not read further.  I repeat, close this page now or you'll regret it later.

I came across this recipe some time ago and I knew that I had to make them.  But I had to be strategic about it too.  I would only make them when I knew there would be a crowd to eat them.  The last thing I needed was a plate full of cupcakes sitting on my counter.  So I we (Kaitlin mostly) made them a few weekend ago.  I definitely have some alterations I would make next time, but for the first time we followed the recipe.  Oh, and ah, the only pictures I took are from the first step - cookie dough.  So, here it is.

To see more pictures, as they're supposed to look, you need to visit KevinandAmanda.com's site, and really you just need to check out the recipe.  Ok, on with the recipe....

Ingredients:

For the Cookie Dough:

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 tbs milk

1 tbs vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup mini chocolate chips

For the Cupcakes:

3 sticks softened butter

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

4 large eggs

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

3 sticks softened butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

To make the Cookie Dough:  

Combine the butter and sugars in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffly (about 2 minutes).  Beat in milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Using a 1.5 tbs scoop, shape the dough into balls or tubes.  Freeze on a parchment lined baking sheet overnight.

To make the Cupcakes:  

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir together to blend.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla.

Using a 3 tbs scoop, fill the prepared cupcake liners 2/3 full with the cupcake batter.  Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

Bake at 350F for 16-18 minutes.

To make the Frosting:  

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the powder sugar until smooth.  Beat in the salt, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Adjustments:

• My 1.5 tsp dough balls were too big.  We ended up having to take some dough off each ball.
• Honestly here, I wasn't a fan of the cupcake batter.  It kinda had a cornbread flavor.  Next time, I'm just gonna use a vanilla cake mix from a box.  Plus that'll shave 3 sticks of butter off the recipe...
• They took longer than 18 minutes to bake.  And it was hard to tell when they were done because of the raw cookie dough in the middle.
• The frosting was really good, but it was a little grainy from the brown sugar.  Not sure how to make that go away without dissolving it first.

So if you counted, there were 8 total sticks of butter in this recipe.  Coleman was so kind to do the math and calculate that that is 1/4 stick per cupcake.  Yea, I'm definitely going to have to find ways to shave that down some if I want to make them again. 

Oh man were these good!

recipe from KevinandAmanda.com