Chocolate Cupcakes & Fall Bliss

Hi everyone!

Hope you're all having a lovely week. I don't know about elsewhere in the country, but our weather here in the Twin Cities has been AMAZING this week. Fall suddenly came with a vengeance; the temperature hasn't risen above 60 the past couple of days, and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm so excited to break out my boots again. :) Fall is definitely my favorite season - I love the weather, the leaves, the clothes, the holidays, the activities and, of course, the food! In fact, I was thinking about making some fall treats this weekend... namely apple cider and either chili or corn chowder. I would also love to make some pumpkin spice and/or chai cupcakes soon. So many ideas! Let me know if you have any goodies to recommend. :)

For now, though, I have another cupcake recipe as promised! For my mother-in-law's birthday last weekend, I made classic chocolate fudge cupcakes topped with a yummy coffee buttercream. I wasn't crazy about the recipe I used for the cakes - they were a little bland and very dry. The dryness may have been my fault, though, because I stuck them in the fridge without covering them. Nevertheless, the buttercream was delicious. I decided to go with coffee because Mr. G's mom is an avid coffee drinker and it's more fun than plain buttercream. :) I got my recipes from my 200 Cupcakes book. If you have a delicious chocolate cupcake/cake recipe, please share!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lightly salted butter, softened (I always use unsalted - not sure if that makes a difference)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

• Line muffin pan with paper cake liners.
• Put all ingredients in a large bowl and beat for about a minute, until light and creamy (I started with dry ingredients then added wet).
• Pour mix into pan - fill each cup about 2/3 full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until risen and just firm to the touch. 
• Make buttercream while cupcakes are baking.
• Makes 12 cupcakes.

Coffee Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp espresso coffee powder (I just used regular coffee)
• 2 tsp boiling water (add any more and it's too runny)
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• chocolate chips for garnish

Directions:

• Beat ingredients in a bowl until pale and creamy.
• Spread or pipe buttercream on cupcakes after they are cooled down.
• Makes enough for 12 cupcakes.
• Enjoy!

I have to admit that I almost messed up the buttercream, too... I wasn't thinking and put the whole stick of butter in, then I tried to fix it by adding more of the other ingredients, which was a complete fail. So I ended up throwing it out and starting over. Ha oh well, at least I got it right the second time.

Let me know your fall recipes! I'll post mine if I end up making them this weekend. 

P.S. If you're on Pinterest, you should follow me. :) If you're not, read my post from yesterday to see why you should be!

<3 Mrs. G