Devil’s Food Cupcake and Chocolate Frosting

Finished, beautiful product <3

I definitely considered naming this “The Anti-Chocoholic Cupcake” but I decided that my first rendition was simply TOO INTENSE for most people, and with a different chocolate (milk or semi sweet) it wouldn’t be so scary, haha. The recipe calls for semi-sweet: I used normal dark chocolate and got an intensely dark chocolate cupcake. I only recommend this if you love dark chocolate (my family does). Use semi-sweet otherwise, or possibly milk. This recipe makes about 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 3 1/2 Tbsp soft margarine
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Notes: Use the margarine. If you must use butter, melt it. Or make sure it is very very soft first.

Frosting

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate (dark chocolate if you want a very dark cupcake)
• 2 Tbsp superfine sugar
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Notes: make sure you taste before you finish if you are using dark chocolate, I added some more sugar and sour cream to lighten it.

Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine margarine, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, and cocoa in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until just smooth. Using a metal spoon, fold in sour cream.

Line cupcake tins, this recipe yields about 12 cupcakes. Spoon batter into tins, up to 3/4 full depending on how big you want your cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

These were for my brother's birthday. Do not ask.

Frosting: Break chocolate into chunks in a heatproof bowl (glass or ceramic). Set the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then whisk in sugar and sour cream until just combined. Make sure your cupcakes are cool before frosting.

For a beautiful toppin, save some choclate and shave it into curls using a potato peeler. Sprinkle the curls on top, or if you have finer, smaller pieces you can lightly press the top of the frosted cupcake into a small bowl of shavings (I did both).

Comments:

This is a very rich and EASY recipe!  It looks and tastes delicious but there really isn’t too much labor involved. Very impressive cupcake. My version used all dark chocolate, just the kind you buy bars of in the store, and it was very very dark. My dad, who loves dark chocolate, loved it. You could also use other frosting recipes ( I bet  the orange one would be great) on it. The shaved chocolate is a really lovely touch.