Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

There's no other flavor combination I like better than chocolate and raspberry. The smooth, rich taste of chocolate balances well with the slight tartness of raspberries. And there's no other season in the year when I crave this combination the most than fall. There's something so comforting about driving to the nearest Starbucks and ordering a tall hot chocolate with a shot of raspberry. Yum.

It's been a long time since I last baked a dessert with these two goodies. The last thing I baked many moons ago was the chocolate raspberry loaf. I don't know what took me so long to experiment with another kind of dessert. But here we are!

I adapted a simple chocolate cake recipe from here. It's a recipe for cake, but I turned it into cupcakes.

Directions for the chocolate cupcakes: (Makes about 24-26 cupcakes)
Ingredients

1 3/4 c	all purpose flour
2 c	sugar
3/4 c	cocoa powder
2 tsp	baking soda
1 tsp	baking powder
1 tsp	salt
2	eggs
1 c	boiling water; dissolve 2 tsp instant espresso
1 c	buttermilk
1/2 c	vegetable oil
1 tsp	real vanilla extract

Directions
1.   Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.

2.   Combine eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients

3.   Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin.

4.   Pour batter into the cupcake pan that is lined with cupcake liners.

5.   Bake at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes.

6.   Cool before frosting.

Directions for Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients

1. 2 sticks of butter, softened (unsalted)

2. 1/2 cup of seedless raspberry jam (not preserves)

3. Confectioners' Sugar (around 3-5 cups). Add 1 cup at a time until you reached your desired consistency.

A Friend's Farewell

A good friend of mine left for the army yesterday. For the farewell party, I wanted to do something a little special. Originally, I wanted to make a cake, but after looking at ideas, I decided to do a thin mint cupcake. Being short on time, I did what most bakers would call "appalling". I used a box cake. guilty. Basically, I bought some box cakes and added peppermint extract to the batter. How much extract? Oh, I eyeballed maybe 2 teaspoons or so. Add about 2 teaspoons of extract to the frosting as well. If you like a strong flavor, feel free to add more extract.



I also made some red velvet cake pops with 2 different flavored "frostings". One was the normal green candy melt, the other was semi-sweet chocolate. I think I prefer the green candy melt. The recipe is the same as my previous post with cake pops.



Sometimes the cake pops crack on the outside. Remedy: Decorate with chocolate!


Lastly, my friend asked me to make him a pie, but instead of making 1 big pie, I decided to make apple pie empanadas so it's easier to serve and eat. I adapted Emeril's apple pie turnover recipe here. I bought some pie crusts from the market (can you tell how lazy I was today?) and made the filling. 400F for 19 minutes turned out to be a pretty good estimate for these guys.



All in all, it was a pretty successful baking day!

Lemonade Cupcakes

Summer is here and the drink that seems the most refreshing during this season is lemonade. For a dear friend's birthday, I offered to bring the cake. Since it was going to be an outdoor picnic-style dinner, I figured that cupcakes would be easier to eat than a normal cake. And what could possibly be a better way to welcome summer and celebrate a birthday than with lemonade cupcakes?!

I was originally planning on doing a simple, lemon cream cheese frosting...


But after talking to a few people, I decided to do a strawberry frosting as well. And after talking to one more person, I decided to try a raspberry frosting too! Was I crazy? Definitely.


So here's the recipe for the lemon cupcakes AND all 3 frostings:

Lemon Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon extract


Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from My Baking Addiction: (I cut everything in half because I didn't need that much frosting)
2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice of one lemon (I used 1 teaspoon of lemon extract)

Using a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Finally mix in vanilla and lemon juice.

Raspberry/Strawberry Cream Frosting adapted from Squidoo: (Also cut in half)
1 pint raspberries or strawberries
2 pints heavy whipping cream + 4 tablespoons
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a blender, blend berries and 4 tbls heavy cream. Set aside. Whip the rest of the heavy cream in a stand mixer until thick. Slowly add the berry mixture and the sugar until it becomes smooth.

Final product before heading out!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I remember the first time I tried a red velvet cupcake...I hated it. *gasp* I mean c'mon, who hates red velvet?! I thought it tasted like a bland chocolate cupcake -- poser. And if you know me, you should know that I like bold, rich flavors. Anything remotely bland makes me want to gag. Maybe that's why I love Indian food so much.

The second time I tried red velvet, I knocked off the cream cheese frosting because I hated that even more than the cupcake. *gasp x1000* Yeah, I know. How can I call myself a true baker if I don't even like the beloved cheese frosting? But this time, I actually appreciated the subtle cocoa flavor and the not-so-sweet characteristic of red velvet.

The third time was the charm. There was a catch this time because I made it from scratch. And usually, when I make things myself, I tend to like it a little more. Narcissistic maybe? Maybe.

For these cupcakes, I used the recipe from Pinch My Salt. However, I am STILL not sold on cream cheese frosting, so I've done what goes against nature...I used chocolate frosting instead. These cupcakes are really moist, fluffy, and take all the will-power in the world to only eat one. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Yes, it will fizz! Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake cups with cake batter (they should be 2/3 – 3/4 full). You may not fill all the cups, I ended up with 20 cupcakes. Place muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.