February has been a pretty festive month so far. Kevin and I celebrated Chinese New Year just last week and now we are celebrating Valentine’s Day. Today, I wanted to share a first date story and one more sweet treat for Valentine’s Day. I’ve been sharing Valentine’s Day celebration recipes all week, but this one takes the cake. The inspiration for my chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting came about as I reminisced about one of my first dates with Kevin many years ago. Back when I was still a student at Michigan, Kevin brought me to The Melting Pot in Ann Arbor to celebrate one of our very first Valentine’s Day holidays as a couple. He had made reservations ahead of time, met up with me after one of my classes, and walked with me down to Main Street to surprise me with a romantic dinner. We ordered a cheese fondue with assorted meats, and a chocolate fondue with assorted fruits. We spent the entire night chatting and connecting over good food. While we enjoyed the cheese fondue, we both loved the chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. Mostly, I loved the combination of chocolate with fruit. This combination inspired me to make chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting mainly because chocolate pairs very well with raspberries. Our date was such a sweet moment in time. Eating these cupcakes definitely transported both of us back to our date at The Melting Pot. Cupcakes are probably one of my favorite go-to celebration desserts. They are easy to make, feed a bunch of people, and are the perfect portable treats. Instead of just using cocoa powder, I also folded in some chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips to enhance the chocolate flavor within these cupcakes. The chocolate cupcakes turned out moist, tender, and had just the right amount of sweetness. Kevin, who isn’t a huge fan of sweets, actually enjoyed these cupcakes. The Valentine’s Day dinner I made last weekend and these cupcakes were my presents to Kevin for Valentine’s Day. Now, I’m just waiting to see what he got me…just kidding.
For the chocolate cupcakes:
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ cup cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 2 large eggs, room temperature
· ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
· ¼ cup chocolate syrup
· ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Frosting:
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
· 1 tablespoon pureed raspberries
· ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2½ -3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add half of the flour mixture, and half of the milk. Combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Combine until batter is smooth. Fold in the chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.
4) Using a spoon, scoop the batter and distribute the batter evenly into the muffin tin.
5) Bake the cupcakes in the center rack of the oven for 22-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let completely cool before frosting.
6) To make the frosting, combine the butter, pureed raspberries, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time and mix until desired consistency is achieved. You may not need to use all of the confectioners' sugar.
7) To decorate the cupcakes, use a large star tip and pastry bag. Make large swirls on top of the cupcakes, starting at the outer edge and finishing at the center.
Takeaways: I love to mix and match frostings with my cupcakes. My chocolate cupcakes also work well paired with my strawberry frosting, lemon frosting, or vanilla frosting topped with rainbow cereal.