My grand babies provide inspiration for a lot of my baking projects. Natalie, Hunter, and Zoe – they are so easy to please! My 5 yr old Natalie will evaluate a new cupcake that I make, and let me know if it has the “moist” texture that she loves! Can you tell – she watches “Kid’s Baking Championship” on the Food Network? They love anything I bring over, but cupcakes seem to be their favorite. So this one is a chocolate sprinkle cupcake, with my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, pink butter cream cheese frosting, a drizzle of chocolate ganache, and of course – sprinkles!
This is my “go-to” chocolate cupcake, which I’ve featured in a prior post. One recipe will make about 15 regular size cupcakes. (Feel free to double this for more!) Prepare muffin pan with paper liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 – 18 min.
Ingredients:
3 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped.
1/3 c Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 c hot coffee
Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee in a small bowl, and let sit for about 5 min – to melt the chocolate. Then stir gently using a whisk, til blended and smooth. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add:
2 large eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix til blended. SLOWLY pour chocolate mixture into mixing bowl, while mixer set on LOW speed.
Combine dry ingredients into a separate bowl, and sift together, or blend using a whisk.
1 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Add dry ingredients SLOWLY into mixing bowl with wet ingredients. Keep mixer on LOW speed until all dry ingredients added, then increase speed to med. Blend until very smooth.
Using a large ice cream scoop – add batter to each cup til 3/4 filled. (I usually use 1 1/3 scoop for each cup).
Bake at 350 for 16 – 18 min., until tops are rounded, and no longer “wet” looking. Test for doneness using a toothpick – should come out clean when inserted into the center.
Let these cool completely before filling or frosting. These are a great foundation for just about any flavor of frosting. Once filled/frosted, store in refrigerator covered lightly with plastic wrap, or in a cupcake container with a lid. (Air is the enemy of baked goods!) They will last for a week in the frig! These can be frozen as well!
Butter cream cheese frosting:
This recipe will frost about 12 – 15 cupcakes, or 1 layer cake. (This was also featured in a prior post. You can double it easily, and believe it or not, this frosting freezes very well! I just put it in a zip lock baggie, freeze, and take it out and thaw as needed! This too will keep in the freezer for about 3 months!
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
paste food color (optional)
your favorite sprinkle blend!
Add butter, cream cheese, and flavoring to a stand mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until very smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Start the mixer on LOW (you can even pulse it a few times, to incorporate the sugar into the creamed mixture, to avoid the sugar going all over you and the counter!) Then mix on med – med high, til well-blended. Once all 4 cups of sugar are incorporated, blend on high til there is a smooth, whipped appearance. Now is the time to add any coloring you may like. Blend again.
You can add 2-4 Tbsp of your favorite preserves, to make this a fruit flavored frosting. For a coffee-flavored frosting, dissolve 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla – add to frosting mixture. To make it chocolate flavored, replace 1/2 c of the powdered sugar, with 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder. Of course you can add any coloring you like – I prefer paste food colors since they allow for the most brilliant colors. Use a very small amount however – if you want a more “pastel” color.
Decorate the cupcakes using a pastry bag and your favorite decorating tip. I drizzled with a little chocolate ganache, then added the perfect blend of multi-colored sprinkles!
