Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

These vanilla cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting are the perfect birthday (or everyday) treat. They are simple, classic and delicious! 

This April weather has seriously got me down. We had a huge ice storm here this weekend. If you looked outside you would have sworn it was January and not almost May! We were stuck inside all day on Sunday, since the car was completely frozen over. I made a huge pot of tomato sauce for dinner and decided that we needed something classic and comforting for dessert.  The vanilla cupcakes are delicious and moist. They have a great crumb and nice bite to them. The real star here however, is this whipped milk chocolate frosting. It is light, fluffy and oh so delicious.  The frosting on its own reminds me of a big glass of chocolate milk. The sweetness of the milk chocolate makes the frosting lighter than your traditional chocolate frosting made with either cocoa powder or semi sweet chocolate. 

I decided to keep the cupcakes fairly casual. I didn't use my usual cupcake decorating technique but instead I used an off set spatula to quickly frost these cupcakes. I couldn't wait to dig into them and I love the more relaxed look this frosting technique gives. There is something nostalgic about it. Of course I had to add sprinkles! They brightened up the cupcakes (and the grey weather that we have been having). 

Vanilla Cupcakes With Milk Chocolate Frosting

Makes: 1 Dozen

For the Cupcakes 

½ c butter, at room temp

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½  tsp baking powder

1 ½ c flour

½ tsp salt

½ c milk

For the Frosting

1 c butter, at room temp

3 c powdered sugar

100 g milk chocolate, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a time, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Mix until just incorporated. Add in the vanilla. 

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. On a low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

Fill cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3s of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely. 

For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium-high speed cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Switch to a whisk attachment, over medium speed, mix in melted chocolate. Whisk on medium - high speed for an additional 2-3 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.  Once cupcakes are fully cooled, frost as desired.

Mocha Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream

These mocha cupcakes are a delicious combination of coffee and chocolate! Turn them Irish - and top them with a decadent Bailey's buttercream! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. If you asked my boyfriend, he would probably tell you its his favourite holiday. Lol. A day to drink beer and listen to Irish music - he's in.  I knew that I couldn't let St. Patrick's Day pass without making something for the occasion. I used Guinness last year for these brownie sundaes - so this year I wanted to make a dessert with Baileys. Switch things up a bit!

So I know that bakers always say "Trust me! You can't taste the coffee at all!" when we tell you to add coffee to your chocolate cakes. It's true - coffee enhances the chocolate flavour and typically you cannot taste it. However - that was not the goal with these cupcakes. I wanted a hint of coffee flavour to complement the Bailey's buttercream.  So, brew your coffee extra strong! Like double or triple the amount of coffee grounds you would normally use when making coffee. Trust me :) 

Mocha Cupcakes 

Ingredients 

½ c strong hot coffee

¼ c cocoa powder

1 ½  c flour

½  tsp baking powder

½  tsp baking soda

½  tsp salt

½  c butter, cut into cubes

½  c sugar

½ c brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

¼ c sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together coffee and cocoa powder. In another medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Stir occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. On medium, beat butter & sugar mixture until it begins to thicken (approx. 4-5 mins). You want to ensure the mixture has cooled slightly before adding your eggs. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and coffee mixture. Mix until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake liners. Fill liners 1/2-2/3rds of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Baileys Buttercream

Directions

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy

Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined. Beat in Baileys

Ingredients

1 c butter, at room temperature

3 c powdered sugar 

¼ c Baileys

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

A decadent, moist chocolate cupcake frosted with a luscious fresh strawberry buttercream and topped with a succulent chocolate covered strawberry! Perfect for Valentine's Day!

It only seemed appropriate to kick off February with these chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes! I am so excited for all things Valentine's Day! Give me all the pink, chocolate and sappy rom-coms! Is there anything more quintessentially Valentine's Day than chocolate covered strawberries? I knew that I wanted to take this Valentine's Day classic and turn it into a cupcake. The fresh strawberry buttercream is seriously delicious! The strawberry puree not only adds flavour to the buttercream but also turns it a beautiful soft pink colour. I went with my Classic Chocolate Cupcake recipe for the base - why mess with a good thing? And topped the cupcakes with their very own chocolate covered strawberry - can you tell I am huge fan of two desserts in one?Whether its your BFF, sweetheart or child, your valentine is sure to love these cupcakes!  

Tips for Achieving the Perfect Chocolate Covered Strawberries

• When melting your chocolate for your berries, I would recommend melting it in the microwave on medium heat for 20-30 second increments. Between each increment, remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir, repeat this until the chocolate is completely melted.

• It is important to make sure that your strawberries are completely dry and free of any water or excess moisture. If there are any water droplets on the berries it will cause the chocolate to seize up.

• Place your chocolate in a deep bowl or small cup to use when dipping your chocolate. Hold your berry by the stem and dip one side of the strawberry, followed by the other.

• Place your freshly dipped strawberry on wax paper to set up.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

with a fresh strawberry buttercream

Makes: 1 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

1/4 c hot water 

1/4 c cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp instant coffee 

1 c flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 c butter, cut into cubes

1 c sugar 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 c sour cream 

For the Frosting

1 c butter, at room temperature

3 c icing sugar 

1/2 c strawberry puree*

For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries

12 -15 Strawberries 

1 c semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions

For the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water, cocoa powder and instant coffee. In another medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine the butter and sugar. Stir occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. On medium, beat butter & sugar mixture until it begins to thicken and pales in colour (approx. 4-5 mins). You want to ensure the mixture has cooled slightly before adding your eggs. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and cocoa mixture. Mix until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour, followed by the sour cream, ending with the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake liners. Fill liners 1/2-2/3rds of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar until light and fluffy. Finally, beat in strawberry puree until just combined.

*To make the strawberry puree, blend fresh strawberries using either an immersion blender or regular blender until smooth. 

For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Dip strawberries in melted chocolate and let set on parchment paper

Assemble the cupcakes

Frost cupcakes as desired. Top with chocolate covered strawberry before serving. Assembled cupcakes keep for up to 3 days in the fridge but are best served fresh.