hot chocolate - in a cupcake!

A few weeks ago, while in North Carolina, my friend Catt and I tried a hot chocolate cupcake from a local bakery, and it was delicious! In fact, it was almost disconcerting to be eating something that was so obviously a cupcake, but that tasted just like a yummy sip of hot chocolate. So when I needed a dessert to serve at my staff's holiday dinner last Friday, I couldn't resist trying a recipe for them that I found in the December issue of Family Circle.

As I was making the batter, I started to get excited when I realized that it smelled like that first whiff of opening an envelope of instant cocoa mix. Then I tasted the cupcake itself and was so pleased with the end result. This was a wonderful tasty treat, with frosting that I would happily eat by the bowlful!

ingredients for the cupcakes
1 cup, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon, baking soda
1/4 teaspoon, salt
6 tablespoons, unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup, granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon, vnilla extract
1/2 cup, milk

instructions for the cupcakes
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. (I like to spray the liners with nonstick spray, for easy release.)

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer on medium-high speed, until smooth and creamy (about two minutes). Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy (about one minute).

4. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full.

5. Bake for 25 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack; and let cool.



ingredients for frosting
2 cups, confectioners sugar
1/4 cup, solid vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, milk
mini marshmallows
candy canes (optional)

instructions for frosting
1. In medium bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, shortening and milk with mixer on low speed until smooth.

2. Spread over cupcakes, about 2 tablespoons each. (I recommend setting the bowl aside for spoon-scraping later.)

3. Top each cupcake with about 12 marshmallows. If desired, break a candy cane into a 2-inch piece and poke into top of cupcake.

4. Enjoy!

(and if you want to make 18 instead of 12, and you don't have a second muffin pan, you can improvise and fill a round baking pan with liners. They aren't as perfect looking, but they taste just as yummy!)



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What I'm reading: nothing at the moment