Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

Back before Halloween I was out shopping and found these great "eyeballs" that were really ping pong-type balls.  I have no idea what they were for, other than the kid's goody bags.  They didn't bounce, so they weren't very entertaining.  That is unless you love creepy stuff and love to bake!  Then those packages of 12 crummy, non-bouncing eyeballs suddenly because a great purchase.  I knew right away I wanted to put them on top of mini cupcakes.  Scare the family with one giant eyeball staring back at them atop a mound of buttercream frosting.  So yes, I stocked up on eyeballs.  My only dilemma after that was what kind of cupcakes to make.  Cooler weather is finally here, and that means one thing:  Hot Chocolate.  And you can't have Hot Chocolate without Marshmallows.  And then Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting were born!  These cupcakes are yummy for any holiday.  They make a very dense, moist cupcake.  It doesn't rise up a lot like a standard cupcake.  They stay pretty flat, but look really cute topped with a dollop of the delicious frosting.  They certainly don't HAVE to be decorated with eyeballs.  I topped some of them with a simple mini marshmallow.  Frankly, I like the creep factor of the eyeballs. I may start putting them on all of my cupcakes
Um what's better than a mug of hot chocolate
with marshmallows?
A Hot Chocolate Cupcake
with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting!
Even better?  Cupcakes with EYEBALLS!
The Line-Up
(Don't panic, it's easy!)
Combine granulated sugar and vegetable oil.
Mix together flour, hot cocoa mix, baking cocoa,
salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Set aside.
Add eggs to sugar mixture.
Then add vanilla.
Mix in prepared hot chocolate.
Alternate adding the flour mixture
And the buttermilk.
For the frosting, combine butter and
marshmallow cream.
Add vanilla.
Add powdered sugar and whip until fluffy.
Let cupcakes cool completely
before frosting.
Frost each cupcake with
marshmallow buttercream frosting.
Garnish with a mini marshmallow...
Or an eyeball.  I prefer eyeballs.


Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup powdered hot cocoa mix
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup prepared hot cocoa
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup marshmallow cream
mini marshmallow OR eyeballs for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare pan by lining with cupcake liners.  Combine flour, hot cocoa mix, baking cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl.  Set aside.  Cream together granulated sugar and vegetable oil with a mixer.  Add eggs, mixing well.  Add vanilla.  Stir in prepared hot cocoa.  Begin adding flour mixture to sugar mixer.  Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.  When mixture in well-combined, fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.  Depending on what size cupcakes or cake you are making, these will bake anywhere from 15-30 minutes.  (I made mini cupcakes that baked approximately 18 minutes.)  Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cool.  Meanwhile with an electric mixer, whip together unsalted butter and marshmallow cream.  Add vanilla, and mix until combine.  Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and desired consistency.  Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes and garnish with a mini marshmallow.

NOTE:  The batter will be really thin and runny.  This results in a very moist, dense cupcake.  They don't rise and dome like standard cupcakes, but taste fabulous topped with the marshmallow frosting!

Prep Time:  Approximately 25 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 18 minutes

9 comments:

  1. how many regular cupcakes does this recipe make? Thanks!

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  2. Hi Samantha~
    The recipe should yield approximately 24 regular-sized cupcakes!

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  3. I tried this recipe today, twice! The batter was really runny and the cupcakes didn't rise up in a nice dome like cupcakes are supposed to, they just sorta spread out over the top and looked like they had fallen or something. I made the recipe twice thinking I had mis measured, I hadn't. Any suggestions? I thought maybe using shortening instead of oil but don't want to waste the ingredients if this won't help.

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  4. Yikes! I'm really sorry they didn't work out for you. I adapted the recipe from my Black Magic Cake recipe:

    http://thedevilishdish.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-magic-cake-because-im-cravin.html

    and both make a really moist cake. As you can see in the picture of the cupcakes above, and especially in the picture of the black magic cake, they stay pretty dense and moist and don't rise up a lot. It does make a super runny batter, because there is a lot of liquids in there (the buttermilk, hot cocoa and oil)

    I just compared the two recipes side by side and in the directions of the Black Magic Cake it says "batter will be thin" but I failed to put that in the Hot Chocolate Cupcakes. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I will change it right now.

    They really don't dome up much at all, they do stay kinda flat. I made up for the lack of prettiness by topping them with lots of delicious frosting.

    I'm not sure how shortening would work instead of oil. Most of the recipes I use for cupcakes call for oil. And I agree with you, I would hate to waste more ingredients trying to experiment.

    I think it's probably because I adapted a very dense, moist cake recipe into a cupcake. They come out moist and dense, just like the cake.

    I hope that helps, and again, I'm very sorry they didn't come out as you had planned. I'm going to re-write the recipe right now.



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  5. Well, I didn't make another batch but added some cake flour to the remainder of the batter I had. I do r know how much as I just threw some in, I'd guess somewhere between 1/4 & 1/2 cup. But it worked! They didn't dome up as high as most cupcakes but are presentable. These are one of 3 kinds I am making for a friends housewarming party tomorrow evening. I'm just about to make the frosting now so I'll let you know how they are received. I'm excited!

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  7. I'm so glad that worked for you. It's frustrating when a recipe doesn't turn out as expected, especially when it's not based on human error, but rather something in the recipe. I hope everyone enjoys them and again, I'm glad they turned out okay!

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  8. I follow directions to a T & ended up with a mess! I had cupcake shells!

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  9. Nicky- I'm really sorry to hear you had disappointing results. As you can see from the comment thread above, the cupcake recipe was adapted from my Black Magic Cake recipe, which is a very moist cake. When I made them, they did not turn out as shells, but they did not rise up and dome like a regular cupcake. I have not made them in a while, so I'm not sure if there is some kind of technical error or type in the recipe. Unbeknownst to me this recipe was published on another site and has received a lot of traffic. Which is sometimes a blessing and sometimes not as not every recipe has the same results for everyone. Again, I sincerely apologize that they did not turn out for you. I will try the recipe again soon and see if there is something that needs to be adjusted. My friend Michaela, at An Affair From The Heart has made them several times with good luck, so I don't know if the variations in oven, altitude, pan type or some other quirk could be causing results to vary.
    Regards,
    Candi

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