Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Icing & a GREEN & BLACK'S Chocolate and Cookbook Giveaway!

Do you ever wonder how bakeries and pastry shops make their cupcakes look so perfect?

Well, it's really not difficult. You can also make professional looking cupcakes at home; all that is needed is a couple of basic cake decorating tools.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because if the cupcakes don't taste really good, no one will care that they look so beautiful. So I'll start with a homemade buttermilk chocolate cupcake recipe, which has never failed me. Then I'll show you how to make a lovely mocha buttercream icing, so that it's not an overly sweet cupcake that only a 5 year old would want to eat. Sound good? Then, read on...

Since Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, this would fit the bill for dessert after a lovely romantic dinner, cupcakes for your child's classroom (just substitute milk for the coffee in the icing), treats for your colleagues, or just so you can have a cupcake for a coffee break!

Everyone LOVES chocolate, but many people have never tasted truly fabulous chocolate. I've been singing the praises of Green & Black's chocolates because their chocolate tasting amazing, they make their award winning, organic chocolates with the highest environmental and ethical standards. Although I often see their brand on store shelves, I'm shocked at how many people have never heard of Green & Black's.

Here's a chance for you to taste it for yourself, as I'm offering a giveaway of five (5) Green & Black's chocolate bars, along with a Green and Black's chocolate cookbook! All of these prizes are being graciously provided by Green & Black's.

More on the giveaway and how to enter at the end of this post...

A lovely Valentine's Day gift idea!

BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES 
with MOCHA BUTTERCREAM ICING
original cake recipe here

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (12 oz) sugar
1 1/4 sticks (5 oz) butter
1 2/3 cup (7.5 oz) flour
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder (I used 1 tsp instant coffee granules)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 oz) good quality chocolate, like 70% Green & Blacks

Mocha Buttercream

1/2 cup (4 oz) butter, at room temperature
5 cups ( 22 oz) confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup (1.5 oz) unsweetened cocoa (if you can get your hands on Green & Black's, do it!)
1/4 to 1/2 cup (2 to 4 oz) cold strong coffee
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C)

Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake liners. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until blended, then increase speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 6 or 7 minutes, clearing sides and bottom of bowl with spatula every few minutes.

Reduce speed to low and add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

Then add baking soda, flour, salt, cocoa and espresso powder, beating until well mixed,
constantly scraping sides of bowl with spatula.

Increase speed to high and beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl once or twice more.

Here is the first part of getting professional looking cupcakes at home: making them all the same size. I have tried with a measuring cup, but it is very difficult. What does work is the handy-dandy batter dispenser you see in the photo below. Here is another type.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
I like this recipe because the cupcakes are light yet don't rise too high
so the tops do not need to be cut off.

 

Make the buttercream by beating the butter until soft, then adding the sugar, 

cocoa, 1/4 cup (2 oz) coffee and salt, and mixing until creamy and smooth.

Then continue to add more coffee until a soft spreadable or pipeable

consistency is reached.

The next step to professional looking cupcakes is the decorating. 

Fill a disposable piping bag and use whichever tip you like ( I used a #2D tip) 

and slowly, but smoothly pipe out the frosting like this:

Ta dah!! Now, wasn't that easy? 

If it's not "perfect," don't worry, practice is all you need. 

Mine don't always come out exactly how I'd like, 

but once they're all finished, they always seem to look better!
You can add powdered sugar, sprinkles or whatever decorations you like,
but I like to keep it simple.

You can also just eye how much batter you put in each cupcake liner using a tablespoon, and spread the icing on top with a knife.
 It may not look as pretty, but I guarantee they'll taste the same!

Here are some other yummy chocolate treats you can make~

Green & Black' Toffee & Dark Chocolate Meringue Parfait

Dreamy and Decadent Chocolate Mousse

Christina's Italian Style Hot Chocolate


PLEASE NOTE:
IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, PLEASE COMMENT
IN THE WHITE BOX BELOW. COMMENTING ON MY BLOG DOES NOT COUNT
AS AN ENTRY.
I love the comments, though! :)

~GREEN & BLACK'S CHOCOLATE and

COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY~

• Just go to the white giveaway box below and answer the first question, then you can earn extra entries!

 Please note: due to shipping costs, entry is limited to readers in the Continental US.
Sorry, international readers! :(

Contest will close on February 11th (12:00 PDT,) and the winner will be announced on Valentine's Day, February 14th.

Winner may receive different flavored chocolate bars than those shown in the photo.

Prizes to be supplied by Mondelez: 
1 set of five (5) full-size GREEN & BLACK'S chocolate bars and 
a GREEN & BLACK’S Cookbook.

Mondelez is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Mondelez or its affiliates, but solely by Christina’s Cucina.

All opinions expressed are my own and I received no compensation from Mondelez or Green & Black's

GOOD LUCK!!

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