Martha Stewart Chocolate Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Buttercream

This chocolate cupcake recipe was from marthastewart.com. It was very good. A little dense. I think I will try to combine this recipe with the Cook's Illustrated and see if I can create a less dense cupcake with more intense chocolate flavor. Once again I made the easy vanilla buttercream.

I made these for Lucy's last day of Princess Ballet Camp. The wrappers are a little cheesy but perfect for a 3 year old princess!

Ingredients
Makes 12

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream


Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2.Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
3.Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4.Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Buttercream

This recipe I didn't care for. It had brown sugar and coffee granules in it. Not bad but not great.

The frosting was easy and delicious. I used a closed star tip (#5) from my Williams Sonoma Mechanical Pastry Bag set. A gift from my darling sister-in-law.

Easy Vanilla Buttercream from Cook's Illustrated

Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes. Published March 1, 2005.

This can be made ahead and refrigerated; if refrigerated, however, it must stand at room temperature to soften before use. If using a hand-held mixer (which I did), increase mixing times significantly (at least 50 percent). This recipe can be doubled to make enough for a two-layer cake.

Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (5 ounces)
Pinch table salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Instructions
In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

This is not your ordinary chocolate cupcake. It is a decadent, rich, dark chocolate, superbly moist, made from scratch cupcake complimented by light and fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting. It melts in your mouth. After savoring every bite you will surely be satisfied yet oh so tempted to have another.

Makes 12 cupcakes. Published March 1, 2005, Cook's Illustrated

This recipe does not double very well. Cupcakes made from a doubled batch and baked side by side in the oven yield a slightly compromised rise. It's best to make two separate batches and bake each separately. Store leftover cupcakes (frosted or unfrosted) in the refirgerator, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream (4 ounces)

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogenous and thick.

5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes. (To frost: Mound about 2 tablespoons icing on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread icing to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.)


Easy Chocolate Buttercream

Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes. Published March 1, 2005, Cook's Illustrated.

This can be made ahead and refrigerated; if refrigerated, however, it must stand at room temperature to soften before use. If using a hand-held mixer, increase mixing times significantly (at least 50 percent). This recipe can be doubled to make enough for a two-layer cake.

Ingredients

10 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1 cups confectioners' sugar
Pinch table salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , melted and cooled


Instructions

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then reduce speed to low and gradually beat in chocolate. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice

FYI: I don't have a standing mixer yet. So far the hand mixer works fine but I can definitely see how things would go faster with a standing mixer. Maybe an anniversary gift?