We’re off to spend part of our day at Children’s Hospital today getting little Gavin’s kidneys tested and I’m very much not looking forward to it. Although we’ve known from before birth that one kidney was larger than the other and this is decidedly not normal, it hasn’t bothered him in the least, and I’d really rather pretend we never noticed in that ultrasound and carry on in happy oblivion.
Of course, such ostrich manoeuvres get no one anywhere, so off we go. To take our minds off baby x-rays and chemical dyes, let’s talk about something beautiful and special and sacred, and add to that something chocolatey for good measure.
What’s not to love about weddings?
I recently had the honour of making cupcakes for a dear friend’s wedding, and, as one does when making 100 cupcakes, I did some recipe testing. I knew going in that there was going to be cake mix involved. I wanted to make the cupcakes a day or two in advance, and no homemade cake recipe I’ve ever made or eaten stays “fresh” the way a box mix does. For the white cupcakes, I ended up using the Recipe Girl’s White Wedding Cupcakes, which got rave reviews from commenters and lived up to all the hype splendidly. If you’re looking for a good white wedding cupcake, I highly recommend them.
Unfortunately, simply adapting that recipe with a chocolate cake mix and some additional cocoa didn’t cut it in the chocolate department, so more work was needed. After a few tweakings, these turned out perfectly, exactly the moist, chocolately, not-too-domed cupcake I was hoping for! I hate a chocolate cupcake that is just a dark brown vehicle for great frosting – I want the cupcake to be stand-alone chocolatey and delicious. These deliver, and I happily “test ate” a few even before they were frosted. Then of course the fudgy chocolate buttercream was a given – I don’t think a more addictive frosting exists.
In fact, I hope it doesn’t – I couldn’t handle anything more delicious.
Perfect for a wedding, a birthday, or your regular Tuesday, these are everything a chocolate fix should be! Enjoy :)
- 1 (515 g) box chocolate fudge cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
- 3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup milk (not skim)
- 1 cup hot water (from the tap - not boiling)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 6 cups confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar/icing sugar)
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder, sifted to remove any chunks
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth and well combined. Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups, filling cups about ¾ full. You should get about 30 cupcakes.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool completely before frosting.
- FROSTING:
- Cream butter with 4 cups of the confectioner's sugar. Beat in vanilla extract, 2 tbsp milk, remaining 2 cups confectioner's sugar, and cocoa powder. Gradually add another Tbsp of milk into mixture if necessary and beat until smooth and desired consistency, adding more milk if necessary 1 teaspoon at a time.
- (I frosted these with a 1mm star tip).
I hope that the testing went well Anna and that everything works out!
These cupcakes came out absolutely beautiful!