Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I finally decided on a recipe for the holiday bake-off at work! It is below.

Hopefully the finished product will look something like this, with mashed up candy canes on top:



Chocolate cupcakes with peppermint butter-cream frosting:

Cupcakes:
1-1/4 cups flour3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup unsalted butter, softened1-1/2 cups sugar2 eggs1/2 cup whole1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peppermint Butter-cream:
1 package powdered sugar (16 ounces)1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)3 tablespoons milk2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon peppermint extract2-3 drops green food coloring (optional)

Cooking Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until sugar is fully dissolved. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir until completely mixed.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until all clumps of flour have been dissolved.
5. Add milk and vanilla, and stir until batter is smooth and velvety. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from heat.
6. Let cool for 15 minutes in tins, then remove and let cool outside of tins for at least 1 hour.
7. For butter-cream, beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth. If frosting becomes too thick, beat in additional milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is of spreading consistency. Makes about 2 1/2 cups frosting. Refrigerate until ready to use.
8. Once cupcakes are fully cooled, add Peppermint butter-cream. Optional: serve with coffee or milk.

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