Mini Colorful Chocolate Cupcakes
After I professed my dislike of football in my last post, I came up with the idea of trying to make Steeler’s cupcakes. I wanted to go with the black and gold theme and thought it would be perfect with chocolate cupcakes and gold icing. Unfortunately I ended up with more of a brown and yellow theme, and instead of football, these cute mini cupcakes make me think of flowers and bridal showers. Not exactly what I was going for. But they taste fantastic, and they’re cute. And since I took them to a Superbowl party, I’m continuing to call them “Steeler’s Cupcakes”.
I combined a couple different recipes for these cute and flowery (ahem..tough and football-ish) cupcakes. I used the chocolate cupcake recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe to make mini cupcakes and topped them with the icing recipe from my black magic cupcakes. The moist cake paired perfectly with the sweet and creamy icing to create delicious little two-bite treats. I made these for a Superbowl party, but I couldn’t resist showing you how cute they would look all dressed up in red for Valentine’s Day!
Mini Colorful Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 squares (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
Vanilla Buttercream
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup shortening, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 ounces heavy cream
food coloring
Directions:
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325. Line 60 mini muffin tin cups with paper liners. (I baked them in two batches).
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and melt at 50% power for 30 second intervals (stirring each time) until the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy. Blend in the chocolate until mixed in. Add one-third of the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Add another third of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the other half of the sour cream and mix. Finally add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
Fill each muffin cup 1/2 - 3/4 full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. The cupcakes will be dry if overbaked. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely.
(You can also make 18 regular sized cupcakes. Increase the baking time accordingly).
For the frosting: Cream together the butter and shortening on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt. Put the mixer on low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Once it’s all added, increase the speed for about a minute. Then take your spatula and scrap the bottom of the mixing bowl to help incorporate the ingredients.
Pour in the cream while the mixer is on low. Then increase the speed a bit more. Now take a spatula/mixing spoon to mix up the frosting. The frosting won’t be smooth at this point, so don't worry. Turn the mixer on high speed and beat for about 5 minutes. Towards the end of the mixing time add desired food coloring. The frosting should be very light and fluffy.
adapted from My Kitchen Cafe and Gingerbread Bagels