Mmmm, cupcakes!

Does anything beat a good cupcake? I mean, really...it's your own personal cake, covered in delicious frosting. And you are allowed to make a mess while you eat it because that's just how it's done!

My sister-in-law had a bunch of people over for a pizza party (homemade!) on Saturday night and I brought along a batch of devils food cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream. We spent all day packing boxes for our move and I baked both the latest Dorie recipe and these cupcakes in between wrapping dishes and glasses. I think it was a little overly ambitious to bake two separate desserts (and frostings for both) all while packing, but I survived. There was a little cupcake batter explosion, which I'll note in the instructions, so you don't make the same mistake. Chocolate batter + White Tile Floor = Mess.

Overall, the cupcakes were good. The chocolate flavor wasn't as rich as I would have liked, but they were really light, fluffy and moist. I think I'll use this recipe again, but I'll put in either more cocoa powder or some melted chocolate. The PB buttercream was A.MAZ.ING. Seriously, delicious. It smelled so dang good and I kept licking the beaters until there was nothing left. Points? What? No, I don't have to count the points for little licks of frosting. They don't count because it was done standing up, over the sink and everyone knows those calories don't count. The cupcakes were a big hit with both Alex and the party-goers, as was my handy-dandy cupcake carrier. I love that thing!

Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes (from the former cupcakeblog.com)

makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (maybe add a little more)

1.5 tsp baking soda

1.5 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure out everything but the eggs directly into your mixer bowl.

Mix on low speed just until incorporated. (Do not do this. Mix everything by hand until just incorporated and then continue on as directed. If you do this, your cocoa powder, milk and flour will fly out of the bowl, attack you and your countertop and coat your pajama pants in batter. Just sayin'...)

Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.

Add eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes.
Measure out into cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers.

Fill them about 1/2 way only, because these cupcakes rise a LOT. See picture below for proof!

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool slightly in the pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting (from How To Eat a Cupcake)

(this is the original recipe x1.5 and will generously frost 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp

1 TBS vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 TBS milk

Instructions:

Combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the confectioners sugar along with the milk, and beat until well combined.

If you use chunky peanut butter, the nuts will clog a piping bag. Learned that one the hard way!