Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing for my work potluck. Yummy!

2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
4 tsp Baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.
3. Cream butter and gradually add sugar.
4. Mix in one egg at a time to the butter and sugar, then add vanilla extract.
5. Stir in melted chocolate and blend well.
6. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
7. Pour into greased and floured cake/cupcake pans, or lines cupcake pans.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes for cake pans, 15 to 20 minutes for regular cupcake pans, and 8 to 12 minutes for miniature cupcake pans.
9. Test with toothpick in the middle of the cake to make sure it doesn't stick to the toothpick.
10. Cool completely before icing.

Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

These are different and are just like the real thing!

3/4 cup milk
2 bags of black tea
1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with liners.
Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat, remove from heat, add tea bags and cover to steep for 15 minutes.
Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl while milk steeps and cools.
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, then add flour mixture in 3 batches while alternating with tea-infused milk.
Divide batter evenly into lined cups, filling each 3/4 full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through until golden brown and spring back when touched; approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
To finish, dip top of cupcake in icing.

Condensed-Milk Icing
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer, whisk butter and condensed milk and salt until smooth.
Add sugar and whisk until combined.
Use immediately.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I made 5 different types of cupcakes tonight with one recipe of my favorite White Cake.

Mix 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips into cake batter.

Frost with Butter Cream Frosting.

Swirl Cupcakes

I made 5 different types of cupcakes tonight with one recipe of my favorite White Cake.

Split the recipe in half in two different bowls.
Melt 2 squares of semi-sweet chocolate and mix into one bowl of batter.

Fill one side of the muffin liner with chocolate batter and one side with white cake.  Swirl with a knife.

Mix cocoa powder into Butter Cream Frosting.

Coconut Cupcakes

I made 5 different types of cupcakes tonight with one recipe of my favorite White Cake.

Substitute 1 tsp of vanilla extract with 1 tbsp coconut flavoring.
Add 3/4 cup of medium, unsweetened coconut.

Mix coconut into Butter Cream Frosting or frost cupcakes once the have cooled and roll frosting into a bowl of coconut.

Mocha Cupcakes

I made 5 different types of cupcakes tonight with one recipe of my favorite White Cake.

Dissolve 1/4 cup instant coffee into 2 tbsp of boiling water, or more if needed.

Melt 2 squares of semi-sweet chocolate or 1/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix coffee and chocolate together and let to cool.

Add to previously made cake batter and follow instructions for baking.

I added 1 to 2 tbsp of instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp of hot water to my Butter Cream Frosting and add icing sugar to make frosting thicker after adding liquid.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling

I made 5 different types of cupcakes tonight with one recipe of my favorite White Cake.

Substitute 3/4 cup of milk with 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp of milk and 1/4cup and 2 tbsp lemon juice.  Add the lemon juice first and mix.  If you want more lemon, add 3/4 cup of lemon and no milk.

Add Zest of one lemon.

Lemon Curd

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 tsp powdered sugar

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, piece by piece.

Cover and cool in the refrigerator.
By hand, whip together cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
Fold cream into the chilled curd.

Fill a long tipped piping bag with Lemon curd and fill the baked cupcakes once they have cooled.

I frosted my cupcakes with my Butter Cream Frosting mixed with some lemon zest and raspberry jelly.  For some, it may be too sweet, so try dusting with icing sugar instead.

Filled with Lemon Curd

Raspberry Jelly

Lemon Curd

Applesauce Pecan Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe was perfect for girls night!  I felt like I could eat more and not feel guilty about it because there was a lot of apple sauce in the cake.

I have made them again since then, and they are a HUGE hit!


Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

¼ tsp salt

½ cup margarine

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 ½ cups unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir flour, soda, salt, and spices in a small bowl. 

In a separate larger bowl, cream butter with sugar, then add eggs one at a time.
Add apple sauce and chopped pecans and mix.
Once combined, softly fold in flour mixture until combined. Don't beat it to hard as you don't want a lot of air bubbles in the cupcakes.
Pour the batter into a greased and lined muffin pan.

Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until done (poke with toothpick in the middle and it should come out clean).

Let cupcakes cool and ice with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
If you have more pecans, top the ice cupcake with them.

First Time

Second Time

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These cupcakes are great for any cookie dough lover.  I made my ususal butter cream frosting and shaved chocolate into it, to make a chocolate chip icing on top to finish it off.

I baked these cupcakes in silicone cupcake liners.  They work really well and look great too!

Cookie Dough

1 ½ cups flour

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips  

White Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

4 eggs

4 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

3 ½ tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

For cookie dough:

Mix the flour, baking soda, and sea salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.

Add the egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

Mix the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until it is all incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips just enough to evenly combine.

Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place onto a baking sheet or plate and freeze until solid (about 2 hours).

For cake & adding cookie dough:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Stir in the milk until batter is smooth.

Pour or spoon batter into the prepared cupcakes liners, filling each 2/3 full.

Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Once wool, mix chocolate shavings into butter cream frosting and spread on to cupcakes.  Top with chocolate shavings and enjoy!

Ready to go in the oven

The finished product.
Buttercream icing with chocolate shavings mixed in.
Topped with chocolate shavings.