This is the last of the three part cupcake series. And I have saved the best for last – amazingly dense and rich chocolate mud cake, and the best chocolate buttercream frosting I’ve ever used for piping.
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There are some important things we need to cover here, so I’m going to be all business today.
Firstly, best piping tips in the world are over on part 1 – red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. These tips, pinched from a fellow blogger, taught me to pipe.
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Secondly, this type of cake is the ultimate make ahead trick. The cake gets better a few days after making it. Meaning you can make the cupcakes one day. The a couple of days later when you have more time, do the frosting. Then freeze.
The freezing is a bit of an art. It helps if you have a boyfriend who loves these kinds of challenges. Below was his inventive cupcake storage solution. He says he’ll make you one too… and will work for beer.
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(P.S. You’ll be pleased to know that two months after turning 30 – which these cupcakes were made for – I’m kinda OK with it now. Kinda. Being 30 that is. I was always OK with cupcakes. Obviously.)
Enjoy!
This recipe makes 26 chocolate cupcakes.
Ingredients
Chocolate cupcakes
250 grams butter, chopped
200 grams dark chocolate
2 cups sugar
1-1/3 cups of strong coffee/espresso
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (use good stuff!)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Chocolate buttercream frosting
(sorry for the strange amount, it’s 1.5x the original here at Sweet and Crumby)
340 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 1/8 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (good quality makes a huge difference)
1/3 teaspoon salt
6 cups icing (confectioners’) sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Method
Chocolate cupcakes
- Add first four ingredients into a saucepan and heat on low until melted and sugar is dissolved.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add all flours to the cooled liquid, mixing until incorporated.
- Add eggs and mix until incorporated well.
- Pour mixture into prepared cupcake pattys and bake at 180 C for approx 20-25 minutes. Every oven is different, so when it begins to crack on top, check it with a toothpick…when it comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs, it’s done!
Chocolate cupcake frosting
- To prepare the frosting, place butter, cocoa and salt in the bowl and mix with electric beaters. Cream the mixture on low until thoroughly combined, about 3 minutes.
- Add the icing (confectioners’) sugar, cream and vanilla. Combine on low for 10 seconds, then increase to medium and beat for 10 more seconds.
- Increase to high and beat until the icing is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for an additional minute.
- Keep at room temperature until needed
Garnish: I used choc chips, some candy-glitter, 100′s and 1000′s (these are a smaller, round version of sprinkles for the American readers), and basically anything else I could get my hands on. Get creative.
Makes: 26 cupcakes – I did have some leftover frosting, but always better to have too much.
Storage: They freeze well, otherwise best eaten within a couple of days. Store in airtight container. I froze mine for two weeks.
Source: Chocolate cupcake recipe from Jessicakes. The frosting is from Sweet and Crumby.