Thursday, 21 February 2013

My Favourite Cupcake Recipe


This probably comes as a surprise to a few people, but I don't always cook paleo/healthy.  Once in awhile, I've been known to create crazy decadent creations for dessert.  When my coworker's birthday came up (and she bakes for us ALL the time) I decided to break out my Kitchenaid and get to work.

 The chocolate cupcake is an Ina Garten recipe and is hands down my favourite chocolate cake/cupcake recipe of all time.  It's got a ton of ingredients, but it's worth it in the end.  It's chocolatey, slightly tangy, and moist.

Ina Garten Chocolate Cupcakes

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.



 I also use the Peanut Butter Frosting listed at the end.  Normally, I actually need a little under a double batch of her icing, and I'm assuming it's because I pipe my icing.  This time, I totally forgot that and didn't have enough cream to do a second batch, so I just added milk and icing sugar until I got a good consistency and taste.

Peanut Butter Frosting 

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.





Little (okay they were huge) cupcakes of love:


But wait!  There was a secret to these fellas:


You can just barely see it, but I filled them with dark chocolate ganache.

Original Recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-cupcakes-and-peanut-butter-icing-recipe/index.html

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