Chocolate Cupcakes

There is something fundamentally wrong with listening to a program called I Can Make You Thin while baking homemade chocolate cupcakes (with chocolate buttercream frosting of course) with your daughter!! Bwahahahaha! But that is what I did today!!

We had spent a half hour this morning cuddling on the couch watching the Food Network. Last night they had a show where the challenge was to make a Disney Princess cake and I knew Lou would LOVE it so I recorded it for us to watch today. Of course when we were done watching it she wanted to make a princess cake. She settled for the promise of making chocolate cupcakes after she cleaned her room.

So after her room was clean we got started. Besides the 400 times she asked to lick the beaters she was a great help and we had a good time. Toots even sat in her Bumbo and watched. They turned out pretty good. I am still looking for a recipe that has a more chocolaty cup cake and a less chocolaty frosting...sigh..the search continues! And it might of helped if I had read the part of the instructions that said to turn the oven down to 350! :P

I did bust out my frosting bag and tips to pipe the frosting on which was a fun change! So now I have to take cupcakes to Tball tonight to get rid of them so we don't eat them all!!

Here is the recipe I used:

1 stick Butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C. Sugar

2 Eggs, room temperature

3/4 C. Flour

1 t. Baking Powder

1/4 t. Salt

1/2 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 C. Whole Milk (I didn't have whole milk so I used Half and Half)

1 t. Vanilla

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, then turn it down to 350 just prior to baking

1. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft, then add sugar. Beat about 3 minutes.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until they are well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk them to incorporate them.

4. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat it just to combine.

Add 1/2 of the liquids (milk & vanilla), scrape down bowl and beat to combine. Continue adding the dry and wet ingredients alternately making sure you END WITH THE DRY.

5. Fill muffin tins 2/3's of the way and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool, then frost.

Chocolate Buttercream (This frosts about 24 cupcakes if you're doing it the old fashioned way-if you're piping it on fancy-like, it'll be only about 14)

1 Stick Butter, softened

1/2 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

4 C. Confectioner's Sugar

1/4 C. Milk (plus a few Tablespoons to adjust consistency) (again I used Half and Half)

1 t. Vanilla

Beat butter and cocoa until smooth, then add sugar 1 cup at a time, beating with each addition. Add milk and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes