Liz * Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cupcakes! Again? Yes, I have been on a bit of a cupcake bender lately. They are just so delectable and just the right size. I made these yummy treats for my friend Julia's birthday, which was yesterday. Flag Day Birthday! I know two people with Flag Day birthdays and one couple with a Flag Day Anniversary! Anyways, I used the same book as these cupcakes for this recipe and they were just as delicious. Here is the recipe as it appears in Cupcakes!:
Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 15
Cupcakes:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups
powdered sugar
Make the cupcakes:
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the water. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. The batter is ready to bake.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350
degrees. Line 15 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Fill
each paper liner with a generous 1/3 cup of batter, to about 1/8 inch below
the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a
toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool
the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.
Use a small knife to loosen any tops that have stuck to the top of the pan. Carefully
place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your
hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert
them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top
side up to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, about 1 minute, then beat on medium speed for 1 minute to lighten the frosting further. Use a small spatula to spread about 2 tablespoons of
frosting over the top of each cupcake (or use a pastry bag and tip to
pipe the frosting like I did.) Decorate as desired.
The cupcakes
can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Kalli * Basic Crêpes
I made crêpes for brunch because I've been craving them for quite a while, and I needed to use the yummy lemon curd I bought on a whim. I made banana & chocolate and raspberry & lemon with this simple and effective recipe. Next time I'll probably try cinnamon baked apples or strawberries with Nutella, but these were pretty light yet filling.
They look amazing, Kalli! We are so sweet this week.