Erin’s Easy Eats

I whipped these up tonight for dessert but couldn’t resist sampling one before dessert time rolled around.  I also couldn’t resist eating any icing that may have found its way out of the icing bowl and on to my finger.  The original recipe yeilded 16 cupcakes – I halved to make 8.  The halved recipe is below.

• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 c. boiling water
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 Tbs butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c. flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix cocoa powder and boiling water together until smooth.  Set aside and cool to room temperature.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg, beat 1 minute.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix until just incorporated.  Add cooled cocoa/water, stir until smooth.  Pour into 8 greased or lined muffin tins.  Bake 16-20 minutes at 375, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove and cool to room temperature.

• 1 stick (8 Tbs) butter, at room temperature
• 2 – 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 4 Tbs Bailey’s Irish Cream liquor
• 5 drops green food coloring, 2 drops yellow food coloring

Beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 c. at a time, mixing well after each addition until it clumps together and is thick.  Add liquor, and beat until smooth.  (If you need to, you can add more sugar or Bailey’s at this point to make it a spreadable consistency.)  Add food coloring and mix until color is uniform.  Spread over cooled cupcakes.  This will make more frosting than you need for 8 cupcakes.

Tags: baking, chocolate cake, cupcakes, recipes, sweets