When Joe and I got married it was kind of spur of the moment. After high school he went off to college and I stayed home on the farm. After his first year of college we decided pretty quick to get married over the summer before he had to go back to school. It just happened that we married on August 14th and as a young girl I thought it romantic that every Valentines day would be our half year anniversary. Every Valentines day we kid each other and say “We made it another 6 month’s”. Well, this Valentines day it will be 31 and a half years, I guess we made it! I usually make him a special dinner and a something sweet since he is a sweetheart, after all. This year I decided to go big on chocolate and found these lucious chocolate chip cupcakes with a chocolate buttercream frosting from Your Cup Of Cake. I knew these cupcakes would get his attention and I was pretty happy with them too.
This recipe calls for a box of yellow or white cake mix. Since I rarely have a cake mix on hand I made my own. I like to use the scratch recipe from Chickens in the Road. I made the white cake version which included cake flour, sugar, non-fat dried milk, baking soda and baking powder.
The wet ingredients include melted butter, egg whites, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla and chocolate chips.
In a stand or a hand mixer begin adding the wet ingredients, first the melted butter, sour cream and buttermilk.
Add the egg whites . . .
And the vanilla. Blend that together with a few turns of the mixer.
Begin adding the dry cake mix ingredients a bit at a time beating after each addition.
Continue beating until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
When you have it all blended into a nice batter, add the chocolate chips. Either give a few turns of the mixer or stir them in by hand.
Fill about 24 muffin cups almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 – 20 minutes.
Time to make frosting. You’ll need 2 sticks of butter, some cocoa powder, vanilla, half and half or milk and powdered sugar.
Let your butter get soft or put it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to get it nice and soft.
I used my hand mixer with the whisk attachment and whipped the butter.
Add the chocolate and vanilla . . .
And the half and half.
Whisk that all together with your hand mixer. Chocolate butter, Yum!
Now to make it sweet. . . Whisk in a cup of powdered sugar at a time. I added a little over 2 cups of powdered sugar until I had the taste and consistency I wanted.
Once the cupcakes were cool, I put the frosting into a piping bag and cut the tip off. Then I just squeezed the frosting in a circular motion onto the cupcakes. Some were pretty, others looked like cow patties on top!
A few chocolate chips would have looked pretty on top but I didn’t have enough and went with my backup of chocolate toffee bits to sprinkle on top.
How do you like my Wilton cupcake tree. I found it at the Goodwill store in the box and brand new. I think I paid a buck or two for it.
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes aka Sweetheart Cupcakes (adapted from Your Cup of Cake)
1 box White Cake Mix (recipe follows for scratch White Cake Mix)
4 egg whites
1/2 cup Butter, melted
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Mini Chocolate Chips
extra Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Coated Toffee Bits for sprinkling
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks Butter, softened
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 tablespoon Half and Half
2 – 3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
White Cake Mix from Scratch (adapted from Chickens in the Road)
2 3/4 cups Cake Flour
1 3/4 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Non-Fat Dried Milk
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or plastic zip lock bag for future recipes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your cake mix and set aside. In a mixing bowl of a stand or hand mixer, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla. Begin adding the cake mix mixing after each addition until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Prepare cupcake wrappers and fill almost to the top and bake 18 – 20 minutes or until toothpick tested.
To make the frosting, beat butter with a whisk attachment of a hand mixer. Add cocoa powder, vanilla and half and half. Begin adding the powdered sugar a cup at a time mixing well until you have the desired taste and texture. Fill the frosting into a piping bag and snip the end. Pipe the frosting in a circular motion over cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips or chocolate covered toffee bits.
Makes approx 24 cupcakes
Enjoy the special moments! A walk on the boardwalk in Yellowstone, 2010.
Happy Valentines Day!
An Inspired Cook 