I'd call this a "semi-homemade" recipe since I must admit that I purchased store-bought frosting - Duncan Hines Whipped White Frosting - in the big container. But of course, I had to tweak it - otherwise I really couldn't take any credit for how tasty the end product would be. For the cupcake, I used my trusted source: joyofbaking.com.
Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Frosting:
1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water
2 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners (I used my mini muffin pan and made around 48 mini cupcakes total).
In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.
Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes (less for mini cupcakes) or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls (I used a ziploc bag cut in the corner...would like to have some nice baking accessories but this worked).
Orange Frosting
1 tub Duncan Hines Whipped White Frosting
4 Tbsp. Cointreau
1 orange, zested (only zest used)
Mix all ingredients together and stick in the refrigerator to cool slightly to make sure it isn't runny when you apply it.
Yum yum yum. I could (and did) eat that frosting just by itself - and I'm not a frosting person. The cupcakes came out a little dense but I believe that was due to two factors:
1. I stuck them in the refrigerator shortly after I frosted them
2. I used regular unprocessed cocoa powder which reacts with baking soda whereas dutch-processed cocoa powder reacts with baking powder. Here's what joyofbaking has to say about that....
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. Because it is neutral and does not react with baking soda, it must be used in recipes calling for baking powder, unless there are other acidic ingredients in sufficient quantities used. It has a reddish-brown color, mild flavor, and is easy to dissolve in liquids. Its delicate flavor makes it ideal in baked goods like European cakes and pastries where its subtle flavor complements other ingredients. Droste, Lindt, Valrhona, Poulain and Pernigotti are some popular brands.
Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder tastes very bitter and gives a deep chocolate flavor to baked goods. Its intense flavor makes it well suited for use in brownies, cookies and some chocolate cakes. When natural cocoa (an acid) is used in recipes calling for baking soda (an alkali), it creates a leavening action that causes the batter to rise when placed in the oven. Popular brands are Hershey's, Ghirardelli, and Scharffen Berger.
I found this to be a very useful tidbit of information to know that will now guide my baking. My cupcakes had that fantastic deep chocolate flavor as the natural unsweetened cocoa powder is supposed to have - if I would have just mixed it with baking soda instead of baking powder then they would have been just perfect! Note taken.
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