quirky cupcake

I was a very lucky gal 2 days ago. Multiple packages came in the mail. I will blog about all of them, don’t fret. Right now though, let’s talk about the kickass cupcakes I baked up last night. I had been wracking my brain all day what I wanted to bake. What can I bake with cocoa powder that will really highlight the cocoa? I have cocoa from Askinosie and really want to show off this awesome cocoa powder! The sheer smell of it made me want to scoop it up with a spoon. However, I knew that would be bad news. So, brownies, pound cake, cupcakes, whoopie pies?? All of the choices were good, but I finally settled on the obvious, chocolate cupcakes. I went to my fav chocolate CH recipe from Molly of Batter-Splattered. Its a winner, no pun intended. Okay, maybe it was intended. Anyway, I did make a few changes. I did not have any buttermilk and was out of vinegar, so the good ole milk and vinegar trick was out. What I did have was vanilla yogurt. That should work right?! And my fav 1/4 measuring cup was dirty, so I filled up a 1/2 measuring cup 1/2 way. I eyeballed it, so it may have been a tad more than 1/4 cup. The recipe is easy as hell. It doesnt even use the KA. I mixed it all in a sauce pan. WOOT! I am all about minimal mess. Because I really do make one hell of a mess when baking. Its a definite flaw of mine.

The cupcakes were whipped up and in the oven in no time. They took just about 20 min like Molly says. They came out, smelling divine. Then, the question was what kind of frosting? I loved Molly’s ooey gooey chocolate frosting, but I was looking for something a little tangier. I decided to scour the internet highway for a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. Nothing was really found. There are tons of white chocolate cream cheese frosting recipes, but that is not what I wanted. Whelp, I just had to make it myself. Thats fine and dandy.

I used cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and the wicked Askinosie cocoa powder. Now, I am going to admit I slacked a little. I should have sifted my cocoa powder before putting it into the frosting. I did not. In my defense, it was later at night, I had tons of things to do, because company is coming today and I was baking cupcakes instead of doing said tons of things. Corners were cut, but it did not effect the outcome of the cupcakes. The frosting, even with the nicely speckled, cocoa powdered frosting, tasted asbolutely fantastic. It may be my new fav chocolate frosting recipe. (For today, Im fickle kids.)

Jaos dubbed these his new favorite cupcakes. That says something. Jaos hates everything. It takes a lot for him to even say something is good. He said these were his new favorite. That is an enormous compliment. Thank you Jaos, that totally made my evening. The cupcake itself was really moist. Surprisingly so. I am not sure if this was the addition of yogurt instead of buttermilk or not. But the cake was wicked good. The frosting, sweet, uber chocolatey and tangy at the same time. They are really very good. Its hard to impress me at this point too. I have had more than my fair share of cupcakes. (Thank you Cupcake Heroes!)

I want to thank Shawn at Askinosie for letting me give his cocoa a test drive. It is seriously awesome. You have to try it. I will not go back to Hershey’s. I WILL NOT! I just love Shawn’s story too. Please go check out his site. I love seeing people do what they truly love doing. It gives me hope!

This is the first of a couple Askinosie posts, I have more chocolate to bake with.

Mocha Cupcakes

Adapted from Molly of Batter-Splattered

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or 1 teaspoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup buttermilk (I used vanilla yogurt, and a very full 1/4 cup)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 10 paper cups. Stir 1/4 cup butter, coffee, 1/4 cup cocoa and vegetable oil in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl until blended. Whisk in cocoa mixture. Whisk buttermilk, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in medium bowl until blended. Add to flour mixture and blend well. Spread batter in prepared cupcake pan.

Bake until tester inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Askinosie)

2 cups powdered sugar (about)

Cream the cream cheese and butter until fully incorporated and smooth. Add the cocoa powder, mix to combine. Add the powdered sugar until desired sweetness and consistency is reached. Frost cooled cupcakes.