Espresso Infused Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Sea Salt Buttercream, Honey Caramel Sauce, Smoked Fleur de Sel, + Crispy Cake Crumbs

Y'ALL. I am a self-proclaimed cupcake hater. Feel free to glitter bomb if you please, but it's just not my thang. Buttttttttt, these cupcakes have changed my tune. They are by far the best cupcakes I have ever made. The base is a luxurious espresso infused dark chocolate cupcake that has a deep complex flavor, yet manages to stay utterly moist during the baking process. My secret for that texture... a little bit of mayo. I know some of you will squirm, maybe throw your hands up in the air, or scoff at the idea of putting in a condiment that normally belongs on a hamburger into cake batter. But hear me out, okay? My great grandmother, Mama Jones, always added some creamy mayo into her recipes for cake. This is especially important in red velvet cake + any kind of chocolate cake. Listen though, it isn't too weird if you really think about it... mayo is simply eggs + oil whipped together. And well, we already put that in a lot of our cakes from the get=go, so why not give it the little push it needs to make an extra moist cake. Now that you've gotten over the initial shock factor of the mayo, the res of the batter has dark cocoa powder, freshly brewed espresso, buttermilk, and other classic baking ingredients. The star of this show, however, is by far the whipped sea salt buttercream. Why, oh why, I had I never thought of the concept. I never really like buttercream... it was always far too sweet, to the point where I almost just drop dead on the spot. But with the sea salt whipped in, it makes it not too sweet, not too salty... just rightttttt. While living in Savannah, a little gourmet chocolate shop was down the street from our apartment. We went nearly every week, if not twice, just so I could get my favorite truffle that had dark chocolate and a gooey local honey center. It was the most mind-blowing combination that I have ever come across. So a light bulb went off in my head and I just had an itch to top the cupcakes with a homemade honey caramel sauce. It was the perfect. And all those cupcakes needed was a sprinkle of smoked fleur de sel and a crispy dark chocolate cake crumbs. Voila! The best cupcakes y'all will ever eat, and I mean it!! Enjoy :)

For the Espresso Infused Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 ¾C AP Flour

2C Sugar

1C Dark Cocoa Powder (high quality)

2t Baking Soda

1t Baking Powder

1t Kosher Salt

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

½C Mayo

½C Vegetable Oil

2 Extra Large Eggs, Beaten

1t Vanilla Extract

1C Freshly Brewed Espresso

For the Whipped Sea Salt Buttercream:

2 Sticks of Salted Butter, Room Temperature (very soft)

½t Kosher Salt (add a little at a time until you have reached your desired saltiness)

2t Vanilla Extract

4C Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted

¼C Chilled Heavy Cream

For the Honey Caramel Sauce:

½C Honey

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

¾C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

1 Can of Sweetened, Condensed Milk

¼t Kosher Salt   

Smoked Fleur de Sel, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners. Set this aside while you make the batter.

2. For the Espresso Infused Dark Chocolate Cake: Sift together the AP flour, sugar, dark cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment). In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayo, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until completely combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. With the mixer still on low, pour in the coffee and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the finished batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 10-15 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before topping them with frosting.

3. For the Whipped Sea Salt Buttercream: In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, add the softened, salted butter and beat until creamy. Throw in the salt and vanilla, and beat again. Start by adding one cup of confectioners’ sugar at a time, whipping it until it is smooth and incorporate before the next addition. Repeat until all of the confectioners’ sugar has been used. Finally, whip in the heavy cream to loosen the texture (you can use a little more if you need to).

4. For the Honey Caramel Sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the honey, butter, and brown sugar on medium heat. Once melted, let the mixture come to a rolling boil for 2 minutes while stirring continuously. Add in the sweetened, condensed milk and stir to combine. Allow it to cook for another minutes or two so that it will thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Let this mixture cool slightly before topping the Buttercream with it.

5. Finishing the Cupcakes: Using a large ice cream scoop, gather the whipped sea salt Buttercream and plop it on top of the cooled chocolate cupcakes. Using a knife or a spoon, smooth out the sides and create a hollowed out center. Pour a little bit of the honey caramel sauce into the center and garnish with a sprinkle of smoked fleur de sel. If you want to decorate them, you can sprinkle on some chocolate sprinkles or toasted cake crumbs.

Classic Red Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting

Classic Red Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting

I consider myself a Red Velvet junkie or addict. I mean honestly, I've tried to make just about every recipe under the sun into a red velvet recipe. I've made red velvet crack pie, red velvet cookies, red velvet fried chicken, red velvet strawberry shortcake cake, red velvet cake truffles, red velvet whoopie pies, red velvet ebelskivers, rainbow velvet layer cake, red velvet gooey butter cake bars, and yall's personal favorite, red velvet cinnamon rolls. I might as well turn this into a red velvet blog at this rate. But, I noticed the other day that I didn't even have a classic red velvet cake recipe for y'all to make. That's just plain bat-shit crazy... excuse my french, but it is. These cupcakes are a go-to dessert for me. Whether it's a birthday party, tailgate, or holiday... these are usually at the top of my list. Everyone loves classic, good 'ole southern red velvet cupcakes. It's fool-proof. I like to mound a big fluffy pillow of frosting on top of my cupcakes and it most certainly, always has to be a cream cheese based frosting. I especially like this one because it is light & airy, but has that whipped decadence you want from an icing. And as any other southerner knows, pecans pretty much belong in any dessert, so I like to add finely chopped, toasted pecans into my frosting. I'm not too big on making my cupcakes look to gorgeous... I kind of like the homemade, rustic look, with a lot of frosting, ya know. The kinds that have an equal ratio of frosting to cake. That's my kind of cupcake, or you could just do like me, and eat it with a spoon. That'll work too!! Enjoy :)

For the Red Velvet Cupcakes:

2 ½C AP Flour

1 ½C Sugar

1t Baking Soda

1t Salt

1T Cocoa Powder

1 ½C Vegetable Oil

1C Buttermilk, Room Temperature

2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature

2T Red Food Coloring (1 oz)

1t White Distilled Vinegar

2t Vanilla

For the Whipped Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting:

10T AP Flour

2C Milk

2t Vanilla

4 Sticks of Salted Butter (or you can use unsalted and just add salt to taste)

2C Sugar

16oz Whipped Cream Cheese

1-2C Toasted Pecans, Finely Chopped (you can decide how much pecans are in it)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners. This recipe makes roughly 24 cupcakes.

2. For the Red Velvet Cupcakes: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled (I did this by using a large ice cream scoop to make sure there was an even amount of batter in each cupcake liner). Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

3. For the Whipped Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting: In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla. While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream. Once it has reached the consistency you liked, gently adding in the whipped cream cheese and beating to combine. It should be fluffy and light, but smooth. Right before you are ready to serve, fold in the finely chopped, toasted pecan bits.

4. Assembling the Cupcakes: Using a large ice cream scoop, gather the frosting and plop it on top of the cooled cupcake. You can also do any decorative work that you like, but I like my cupcakes to look homemade and rustic. You can also top your cupcakes with a whole toasted pecan, pecan bits, or sprinkles if you like. Enjoy these little cakes at your next tailgate :)

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Whipped Rainbow Chip Buttercream

This is an early celebration for my birthday tomorrow. I can't believe I'm going to be another year older. So dreadful. I don't really have much planned besides shopping, dinner, and birthday cake. I almost always have a red velvet cake because that's my favorite kind, but this year I opted for something a little different and got a Tiramisu Cake from a local bakery. Anyway, I typically don't make cupcakes, but I decided to whip up a batch of Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Whipped Rainbow Chip Buttercream. I had made a birthday cake last year with homemade rainbow chips, and it was awesome. If you want to make them, refer to this recipe. And, let's be honest, the best part is the frosting... I'm kind of a "1:1 cake to buttercream ratio" girl. So, feel free to do less frosting if you like. But, I don't think you will want to because this frosting is like buttercream on steriods. It's deliciously fluffy like whipped cream, but got body to it like a buttercream. I guarantee that you won't regret the heavy helpin's. These would be awesome for a birthday party!! Enjoy :)

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Whipped Rainbow Chip Buttercream

So many sprinkles :)

For the Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes:

½C Butter

1C Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1T Vanilla

1 ½C AP Flour

1t Baking Powder

1/3C Milk

½C Sprinkles (heaping)

For the Whipped Rainbow Chip Buttercream:

5T AP Flour

1C Milk

1t Vanilla

2 Sticks of Salted Butter

1C Sugar

1C Homemade Rainbow Chips (heaping)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine.
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined, and then add in the milk. Once mixed, add in the remaining dry ingredients. Fold in the assorted sprinkles.
4. Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely while you make the Buttercream.
5. For the Whipped Rainbow Chip Buttercream: In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla. While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream. Beat in the homemade rainbow chips until incorporated throughout.
6. Using a large ice cream scooper, scoop a large ball of Buttercream on top of each cupcake. Using a knife, smooth the edges of the frosting. Garnish with sprinkles or more rainbow chips.

source: that's the best frosting I've ever had. homemade funfetti cupcakes.