Birthday cakes

I'm no Eric.  I don't seem to have the knack for art in general, and that doesn't translate into any sort of talent when it comes to decorating birthday cakes.  We have 2 birthdays coming up in our family and I would like to be able to make some sort of cake that isn't plain and boring.  I came across this one in my email this morning and just might get up the courage to try it.  Test runs never hurt, and I'm sure it will at least taste good if it doesn't look good!  The recipe below is for the chocolate layer and the base for the buttercream frosting, but I'm sure you can change it up to make the other 2 flavors.

 

Chocolate wedding cupcakes

Yield: 36 cupcakes

CUPCAKES:

One 18.25-ounce box of chocolate cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

4 large eggs

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

(double this recipe if you want to pipe the frosting)

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)

1. Prepare the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (you'll need approx. 36).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add the remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.

3. Use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

4. Frost the cupcakes: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium, and slowly add milk and vanilla, beating until smooth.

5. Microwave the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30 second intervals. Gradually add melted chocolate to mixture; beat until blended and smooth. If the frosting is too soft for piping, cover and refrigerate for a few minutes until it firms up a little bit. Otherwise, spread frosting on top of cupcakes and decorate as desired.

tips:

*If you are swirling the frosting on with a tip (to use a generous amount of frosting), you'll want to double the recipe for the frosting. If you're just spreading it on, the recipe listed will be fine as-is.

*You can use either regular or light sour cream for this recipe, but heck... since it's a wedding cupcake and you want it to be as delicious and moist as possible, I recommend going for the full-fat kind.

*Using an ice cream scoop is perfect for getting the batter into the cupcake tins without spilling.

*You can also use this mix to make cake. Pour into greased and floured cake pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

*For best results, keep the cupcakes refrigerated until ready to serve.