My cupcake journey, part 1

This is my first attempt at making "fancy cupcakes". I decided to go with the recipe from Annie's Eats for Guinness Cupcakes, but I substituted Young's Double Chocolate Stout for the Guinness. I only made half a batch because I didn't want to waste ingredients if we didn't like the cupcakes, LOL! Turns out I should've doubled the recipe because they are DELICIOUS!!! Very moist, and the chocolate isn't overpowering - which made it a hit with my family. This recipe called for Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, but my husband asked me to make regular buttercream frosting instead. So I used:

• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 8 TBSP. unsalted butter
• 4 TBSP. heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

cupcake ingredients

 stout, butter, & cocoa heated over medium heat

 

cupcake batter

mini cupcakes ready to bake

cupcake after baking

 pink buttercream frosting

 

getting ready to frost the cupcakes

the finished product!

 

These cupcakes were flying off the table faster than I could decorate them. I think my daughter ate two without frosting! And then two more after they were frosted, LOL! My son ate three or four, my husband ate one, and my daughter's boyfriend ate two (and they took four with them to eat later). I think this recipe is a keeper! My husband doesn't like a lot of frosting, so that's why some of them only have a little swirl on top. I definitely need to practice my decorating technique, but overall, they're not bad for a first attempt. And it was a lot of fun!

Things I learned:

• Mini cupcake liners/tins are a pain to fill - and it's hard to not make a mess on the inside of the liners.
• It doesn't matter if you get make a mess on the inside of the liner because the cupcake rises enough to cover it up. Duh.
• Don't bother buying cute cupcake liners if you're making chocolate cupcakes - because you can't see the design once the cupcakes are baked.
• Mini cupcakes take almost as long to bake as regular-sized cupcakes.
• Cupcakes are really messy if you try to peel off the liners before the cupcake is completely cooled. :-)
• Making cupcakes is addictive!

Now I'm off to find some really cool liners and sparklies for my next batch!