Save Room for Dessert…Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

Andrew and I had a baking day yesterday.  Last week, I won an auction at a PTA function, the annual Pelican Palooza.  My win was a large basket filled with cookbooks, measuring spoons, and Andrew’s favorite, a kid’s baking set.  All week long he asked when he was going to be able to use his baking stuff.  I asked him what he wanted to bake and he chose cupcakes, chocolate, of course.  Before we even starting on the cupcake batter, he had pulled all of the gel food coloring out of the pantry.  I asked him to choose 5 colors, and voila, you can see his choices.  I mixed the icing, but I let him do the rest.  He chose pink, because “moms like pink.”  His favorite was the blue.
The recipe I used was from Rebecca Rather’s The Pastry Queen.  I adapted her Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake for the cupcakes, leaving out the cinnamon and halving the recipe.  It’s a nice cupcake; Andrew was happy, and I’m sure you will be, too, so be sure to save room for dessert when you make these!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing Printable recipe
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
3 oz water
1 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners (15-18)
Over medium heat, melt butter, add cocoa and stir until smooth.
Pour in water and continue to stir over medium heat.
Pour mixture into a bowl, the add the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, and egg; whisk mixture until smooth.
Add flour, soda and salt, whisking until dry ingredients are incorporated in the wet.
Divide batter amongst liners and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tester inserted comes out clean.  
Allow to cool before applying the icing.


Buttercream Icing
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
2-3 cups powdered sugar


Cream together butter and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  With the mixer on low, gradually add 2 cup powdered sugar, then slowly pour in the 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add more powdered sugar or milk, to reach desired consistency.
Divide icing and mix in gel food coloring.
When cupcakes have cooled, frost as desired. 


3 Comments

Rita

Congratulations! Oh what fun that must have been…cooking with your handsome son. I have 4 sons and loved cooking with them. Still do, but doesn’t happen much anymore.
Enjoy it while you can.
Rita

Merut

Congrats on your win! If I was to win anything, cookbooks would be on my list. That is awesome that your son is getting into baking. I love the colors!

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