I made these cupcakes the other evening, then waited to frost them until yesterday. And as I was making frosting and slapping it on the cupcakes, I watched Working Girl, one of my favorite movies in the world, while also busting Nutcracker moves and applauding myself since no one else was home to applaud me.
And I’m absolutely positive they would have applauded me.
That’s normal Christmas behavior, right?
Oh, good. I thought so!
First make the cupcakes, which are made with the same chocolate batter I’ve made ever since my husband and I were married: Melt two sticks of butter in a large saucepan. Meanwhile, boil some water either in the microwave or in a tea kettle.
Then measure 4 heaping (like, totally heaping) tablespoons of cocoa…
And throw that in with the butter.
Stir it until it’s a nice, smooth chocolately mess…
Then pour in a cup of boiling water…
Stir it around, and let it bubble up for about 15 seconds or so. Then turn it off and set the mixture aside.
Measure 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar in a mixing bowl…
Then stir it together and set it aside.
Then, in a separate bowl, mix together 2 eggs with 1/2 cup buttermilk (I did whole milk and 2 tablespoons of vinegar)…
Add a teaspoon of vanilla…
A teaspoon of baking soda…
And whisk it together with a fork.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the flour mixture.
It’s still pretty hot at this point.
Then give it just a few stirs until it’s halfway mixed together. You just want to give the chocolate mixture a chance to cool…
Before you pour in the egg mixture!
Stir the batter until it’s all combined!
Line 2 muffin pans with liners…
Then fill the liners with batter! I like to keep the cupcakes kind of manageable, so I fill them about 2/3 full. You can go higher if you want the cupcakes to have more of a dome that comes over the tops of the papers.
Then just bake ‘em about 18 minutes or so.
Poifect!
To make the frosting, grab a bunch of peppermints.
Unwrap them…
Then put ‘em in a plastic bag. Now, normal people will use a zipper storage bag of some sort. But people like me will have to resort to using a bag that is used with a vacuum sealer because they are all out of zipper storage bags.
Use a rolling pin to crush the heck out of the peppermints.
You want most of it to be nice and powdery, with a few crunchy little pieces. I’ll take out those large chunks, though, lest I cause anyone to break a tooth.
Start with 2 sticks of very soft butter. I used unsalted because my cinnamon roll and cookie baking had wiped out my salted butter supply…but I would definitely recommend using salted butter! The frosting is way too sweet if you don’t.
Beat the butter a bit to get it started…
Then add 5 cups of powdered sugar to a sifter…
And sift it right in.
Let the mixture start to mix on the lowest speed, and add in about 3-5 tablespoons of heavy cream. Add it gradually; you want to add enough to make the frosting soft and spreadable, but not so much that it will be too “loose.”
Mix it until it all comes together…
Then add in the crushed peppermints, reserving a little for garnish.
Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, then mix it on high for about 20-30 seconds, until it’s very light and fluffy.
Gorgeous!
Schmear the frosting on the cupcakes as thick or as thin as you want it, then sprinkle some more crushed peppermints on top.
As you can see, I’m from the 1970′s school of cupcake decorating: Bake cupcakes. Let them cool. Slap some frosting on them. Sprinkle them with something. Done.
They’re just going to be eaten, anyway.
These are fun for Christmas!
Even cuter with extra peppermints scattered all over the platter.
A couple of things about the buttercream frosting: It will “crust” or harden on the outside (the inside will still be creamy) the longer it sits out. You can lessen this effect by storing them in covered containers, but I actually like the crust because it makes the cupcakes easier to transport. Up to you!
Enjoy these! And you can do a mix of red and green peppermints to make them extra festive.
Here’s the handy dandy printable!
Ingredients
- Cake
- 2 sticks (1 Cup) Salted Butter, Softened
- 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk (or Whole Milk Mixed With 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar)
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- FROSTING
- 2 sticks (1 Cup) Salted Butter, Softened
- 5 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
- 40 whole Peppermint Candies, Crushed Very Fine
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream, More If Needed (use 3-5)
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 36 muffin tins with paper liners.
To make the cake, melt 2 sticks butter and stir in cocoa. Pour in boiling water, stir to combine, allow to boil for 15 seconds, then remove from heat and set aside.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and stir until halfway combined. Pour in the egg mixture and stir until the batter comes together.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
To make the frosting, beat the butter to get it started, then add in the powdered sugar. Beat on low while adding the cream. When it comes together, add the crushed peppermints, reserving some for garnish. Beat the frosting for a good 30 seconds on high until it's light and fluffy, longer if needed.
Frost the cupcakes however you want, then sprinkle on more crushed peppermints.
Note that the frosting will develop a light "crust" on the outside if left out.
Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on December 19 2013
No comments :
Post a Comment