Double Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Homemade Vanilla Buttercream

Happy Independence Day!

In honor of the 4th of July, I (surprise!) made cupcakes. They are double-chocolate cupcakes, topped with an amazingly simple (& delicious) vanilla buttercream frosting. The cupcakes themselves are densely chocolatey. Here's the recipe:

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup & 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sour cream*
6 tablespoons boiling water

*If you don't have sour cream on hand, then there are many different substitutes you can use. An easy google search list many good options, but I went with a mixture of buttermilk & butter. To equal a 1/2 cup sour cream, I used 3/8 cup buttermilk and 2 and 2/3 tablespoons butter.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (stirring constantly). 

Cream together butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time.

Add the vanilla and melted chocolate and stir well. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder & soda, and salt together.

Add the flour mixture in alternate batches with the sour cream. Stir.

Add the boiling water and mix well.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full (if doing mini cupcakes, then about 3/4 full). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (325 for dark pans) for about 10-15 minutes. (For mini cupcakes, check after 7 minutes).

Let cool in pan for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

FROSTING:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
a few drops of vanilla (or whatever flavor you choose - this is entirely optional)

Beat butter in bowl until really soft. Gradually add the sifted sugar and beat until pale and smooth. Beat in the vanilla or flavoring, if using.

This frosting is incredibly easy. The original recipe called for 3 sticks of butter and 3 cups of sugar, but I lessened it so I wouldn't have too much excess. That said, I still have an entire bowl full in the fridge, so it would even be possible to take it down to 1 stick of butter and 1 cup confectioner's sugar. And it's really easy to make more, if you run out.

I frosted these cupcakes with a flower tip and these super cool accordion-looking plastic tubes. You put the frosting inside, add the tip of your choice, and then simply press the bottom of the tube down to expel the frosting. These are from Pampered Chef, and make frosting cupcakes incredibly easy! It also makes it look more "gourmet" than the regular smooth frosting.

For the holiday, I topped them off with sugar red-white-and-blue stars. They were a big hit and I highly recommend them.

Enjoy!