Black Bottom Cupcakes

Leave a Comment

These cupcakes are like little, choclate-y bundles of happiness! They’re so comforting and make you feel like you’re back in your grandma’s kitchen. Plus, who can resist that combination of chocolate and cream cheese? It’s so tangy and sweet at the same time and satisfies all of your holiday cravings. Happy holidays everybody! (P.S. For those of you keeping track, there’s only 5 days until Christmas. )

Black Bottoms

Cake:

• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• 5 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c water
• 1/3 c oil
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. vinegar

Filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 c mini chocolate chips

Start by combining the dry ingredients for the cake.

Then add in the oil..

..and the water. The cocoa powder made the water turn brown…I don’t have dirty water. Stir all the ingredients together.

After the ingredients are combined, add the vanilla, baking soda, and vinegar.  The baking soda and vinegar make a cool little science experiment in your cupcakes. Mix that in as well.

Then, grab some cute Christmas cupcake liners with penguins on the bottom and line a mini muffin tin.

Fill the cupcakes up about 3/4 of the way full. Make sure to spill a little on the pan, just for good measure.

Then combine all the filling ingredients and put a little dollop on each cupcake. Bake them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 36 cupcakes.

---

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Comments (2)

 

Two of my best friends, Morgan and Nicole, had their birthday parties together this year, and when I asked them what they wanted,  they both said Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! So guess what I made?

I had so much fun making these because I knew that it would make Morgan and Nicole so happy! That’s what I love about baking, it makes people feel good. Even if you aren’t the next Jacques Torres or Gaston Lenotre (two very successful pastry chefs), you can still bring joy to the people you love through food.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (Karen in the Kitchen, sporkandfoon.com)

• 3 1/2 c flour
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 2 1/2 c sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 6 tbsp. red food coloring
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c buttermilk (or 1 1/2 tbsp. white vinegar and enough milk to make 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Frosting:

• 12 oz cold cream cheese
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, firm but not cold
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 c powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes).

To make the batter: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and bake the cupcakes, switching positions of the pans halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before icing.

Frosting:
Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes.
Add sugar until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. It should be thick but not fluffy.
Add vanilla. If necessary, add milk to thin.
Use tip#12 to ice the cupcakes. Then, color the remaining icing pink and pipe their initials with tip#2.

These were Morgan’s……

…and these were Nicole’s! I just got the boxes at Hobby Lobby and gave them to them as is!

Makes 24-36 cupcakes.

---

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Comments (4)

Carrot cake…….Mmmmmm. Who knew a vegetable could taste so good? Certainly not I!

These cupcakes are special.

These cupcakes are heavenly.

These cupcakes are extraordinary!

All you skeptics out there, don’t fall into the trap of believing that carrots and dessert can’t live happily together! They CAN! They can, and they will, and they’ll have little baby carrot cakes that I’ll happily pop into my mouth!…….Ok, that was a little extreme.:) But really, if you’ve never had carrot cake, a great way to try it is by making this recipe. (BTW, this is another amazing recipe from the amazing kitchen of my Aunt!)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (The Pioneer Woman)

• 2 c sugar
• 1 c veg. oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 c grated carrots
• 1 c chopped walnuts
• 1/2 c raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 4 c powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs in a mixer with the paddle attachment until combined. In another bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon, and slowly add to the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Pour into a muffin tin fitted with muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before icing.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour into an icing bag fitted with the tip #: 2D. Ice the cupcakes when they are completely cool.

---