Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Big Sky, Little Kitchen Recipe barely adapted from The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook
Recipe type: Dessert
Makes: 4 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
¼ cup (1¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature OR 2 tablespoons Silk coconut milk + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frosting
Frosting (makes about 2 cups):
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (8 ounces) confectioner's sugar
food coloring (optional)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 4 cups of muffin tin (can be any of the cups) with paper or foil liners.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl.
In a separate bowl, microwave butter, chocolate, and cocoa at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Be careful not to overheat the mixture. Let cool slightly.
Whisk sugar and egg together in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in milk and vanilla until combined. Whisk in cooled chocolate mixture until well combined.
Sift flour mixture over chocolate mixture in 2 additions, whisking gently after each addition until just a few streaks of flour remain (batter will be thick). Continue to whisk batter until most of the lumps are gone (but do not overmix).
Using a cookie scoop or dry measuring cup, divide batter evenly among prepared cupcake liners. Bake cupcakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes, making sure to rotate muffin tin halfway through baking.
Let cupcakes cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin and let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour (or until cakes are cool to the touch and no residual warmth is detected).
Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cooled cupcake and serve. Or, if you have halved the frosting recipe, spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of frosting over each cooled cupcake and serve.
For the Frosting:
Stir cream, vanilla, and salt together in bowl until salt dissolves.
Using hand-held mixer set at medium-high speed, beat butter in medium bowl until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Reduce speed to medium-low, gradually add sugar, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add cream mixture and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Optional: add a drop or two of food coloring to tint your frosting.
Recipe by Big Sky, Little Kitchen at https://www.bigskylittlekitchen.com/small-batch-chocolate-cupcakes-with-vanilla-buttercream-frosting/