Superbowl Cupcakes – Go Giants!
Hubby grew up a New York Giants fan. I grew up an Indianapolis Colts fan. When we lived in Cincinnati, we became Bengals fans (Who Dey!) Then we moved to Boston. At first we loved the Boston sports scene since we’re both Red Sox fans, but then football season started… Let me tell you how rough it is to live here and not be a Patriots fan, let alone being a Colts fan.
Hubby was so excited that his G-men made it to the Superbowl this year. We’re going to a party where there will be a mix of Patriots fans, Giants fans, and anti-Pats fans. I consider myself in the last group. I’m not a Giants fan, but I’ll root for the Pats to lose any day.
I wanted to make some “simple” flavored cupcakes and stumbled upon these recipes in my Google Reader starred items. The cupcakes came out perfectly and the buttercream is to die for. I did all vanilla buttercream so that I could decorate them, but next time I’ll definitely try the chocolate version as well. I also added some chocolate chips to the batter at the last minute because I love chocolate chips.
Chocolate Cupcakes – recipe from Quirky Cupcake
Makes 12 to 15 cupcakes
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour – I use King Arthurs White Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil – I used 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesuace
1 cup cold water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vinegar
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a 12-cupcake tin with foil or paper liners and set aside. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, water, and vanilla.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and the vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Working quickly, distribute the batter into the foil- or paper-lined 12-cupcake tin. If you have leftover batter (depending on how high you fill the liners) you can make a few extra cupcakes by using a few foil liners on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes. Set the cupcakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool in pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
I doubled the recipe and got 26 cupcakes. I filled them about 3/4 full.
Vanilla and Buttercream
2 sticks butter
7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk – I used Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl
Add 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beat until combined
Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want (not too stiff so that its hard to pipe)
NOTE: I think that by using Heavy Cream, it made this buttercream so much better. I go so many comments on the frosting alone for these guys! The cake is delicious as well.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love this simple recipe, and it will be a great idea for my sister-in-law’s bridal shower (both she and her fiance have M names). You mention in your other posts about using a squeeze bottle – is this any particular type of squeeze bottle? I’m not sure how to find one that would work for this purpose. What do you use? Thanks!
Awww, totally cute! It came up in my google reader and my stomach growled!!! YUM!
Yum! I’m making these this weekend for birthday treats. Can’t believe you can’t find almond bark. There are stacks of it at our small-town grocery store in Iowa.
Sarah – I use squeeze bottles from Michaels. They look like this.
Teresa – yes, it’s crazy that they don’t have almond bark out East. In the Midwest you can get it anywhere!
Thanks Jen! These are awesome. I have so many new pages bookmarked since finding your blog. P.S. I was in TJ Maxx tonight and found a jar of polka dot sprinkles, like true big polka dots, and I thought of you!
Do you have any Super WalMarts near you? I get them there all the time in Massachusetts. They are carried year round in the baking aisle. I’m not sure if regular WalMarts have them too.
These look yummy and I think that my college-age nephews would love them…how whould they travel? Have you got suggestions for things that will travel well in the mail? Thank you
mrs. c – these would travel really well. I like them straight from the fridge or freezer. I would freeze them for a few days prior to mailing. That’s what I do with anything I ship. I have great luck with cookies and brownies going in the mail.
have you tried coloring almond bark before? I tried a couple months ago and it was a disaster, so just curious
KV – I have not tried to color almond bark. The Wilton’s candy melts do come in a variety of colors though, so you could use those. They are sold at Michaels or Hobby Lobby.
Just wanted to clarify that I meant I find almond bark at Super WalMart here in MA. I went back to see if you had responded, and I realized my comment didn’t really make much sense!
Thanks. I don’t shop much at Walmart… It’s probably better that I can’t find this stuff anywhere, otherwise I’d be making these all the time!
Retirer en discernement en visitant cette d?mes plaisanteries tel cette contradictoire localité.
OBAT LUKA BAKAR