icing | Keeping Busy With B

I used to baby-sit this little girl who used to call these “cups o’cake” which always made me laugh until I realized that the recipe we always used to make these during our times together was actually called “Cups o’Cake”- although I can’t for the life of me remember which cookbook it was from all of these years later. (Help me out here, folks, if you know it.) Needless to say I haven’t baby-sat her in years and years, but these chocolate cupcakes have remained a staple in my baking repertoire because they really are like “cups o’cake”- light, and fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth. These will not stick around for along, and if you pair these with chocolate icing, all bets are off. Hide your cupcakes. I’m coming over.

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12)

¾ c. unsweetened cocoa

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

½ c. milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and beat. Add milk and beat. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat for 3 minutes. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Happy baking!

KBwB-Flower-50

Baking with B appears every other Monday on the Keeping Busy with B Blog. Find out why I like baking so much here. For more of my baking, click here. And for even more recipe inspiration, check out my Pinterest full of food eye candy that will have you licking your computer. Promise.

Wanna know more about making cupcakes en masse? Visit this post to see how I did it. Looking for other delicious cupcake recipes? Click here.

I normally don’t get weekends off so when I do happen to get two days of vacation in a row (it doesn’t happen often!) I try to cram as much in my schedule as humanly possible. Isn’t it funny that we use our vacation time to get things done?

So when I woke up yesterday morning and realized something had to be done with the rapidly ripening bananas in my fruit basket, I was feeling kind of frustrated and bored with everything. The solution? Whip up something a little extra-special to brighten my mood.

Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting (yields 12)

(based loosely on the recipe found here)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 c. butter, melted

3 ripe bananas, mashed (for a total of about 1 1/2 c.)

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Make a well in the bowl and slowly add in wet ingredients one at a time, stirring just until blended. Line a 12-muffin pan with liners. Slowly use a spoon to pour even amounts of butter in each muffin cup. Bake in the middle rack for twenty minutes.

B’s Tip: Wait until the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting, or you can end up making a runny, sticky mess with the icing.

Cinnamon Frosting

(again, loosely based on the recipe found here)

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. icing sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cream

Cream together butter and sugar. Add in the cinnamon; stir until completely blended. Add just enough drops of cream until it can be stirred into a smooth consistency.

The cinnamon in this frosting gives it enough of a spicy kick in the pants to cut the sweetness so you can enjoy the subtle yum of the banana cake part underneath. So far I’ve made these babies twice, and there have been no survivors.

Happy baking!

KBwB-Flower-50

Feeling ambitious? I’ve got more cupcake recipes here, and I share my method on how I make them for the masses here.

Keeping Busy With B

Tag Archives: icing

Baking with B: Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

Baking with B: Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting