Dark Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Cappuccino Buttercream & Dark Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

So, the title is a mouthful but if you are like me, you stopped paying attention after dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate, it is my favorite of all the chocolates in the land. Not only does it taste better than the other kinds but it also offers some health benefits too. Lets take a second to list just a handful of reasons why dark chocolate is the king of awesomeness. 1) contains a large number of antioxidants, 2) Lowers blood pressure, 3) lowers cholesterol, 4) contains serotonin and 5) it stimulates endorphin production. Now when you factor in all of the benefits listed, how could this not be the perfect Valentine's Day cupcake? Slap on the coffee and you have the perfect make you feel good and forget your worries cupcake. Really, who could think of anything else when you are diving into one of these beauties?


I made two dozen of these guys for Valentine's Day. My work was hosting a bake sale and I really wanted to contribute, so I took a dozen over to them in the morning and then the Mr. and I shamelessly polished off a dozen at home. I should have probably made more to give to the bake sale because when I showed up for work a couple of hours later my cupcakes were not only gone but they were the first ones that vanished. Everyone kept telling me how fast they went and how good they were. So I think that it is safe to say that they were a huge hit, I know that the Mr. and I loved them. I am so glad that I thought of making this recipe. However, even though I came up with the idea as a whole I have to give credit where credit is due because I did surf the internet for the frosting and cupcakes and found them over at Brown Eyed Baker. Now be advised that this recipe does have three components that you have to make since everything was made from scratch, the chocolate coffee beans, buttercream and the cupcakes. All it takes is a bit of planning ahead, you can do the the chocolate coffee beans one day, buttercream frosting the next and then bake the cupcakes when you are ready for them. So even though they are a little bit more lengthy than your average out of the box and container cupcakes, you can break it up into three small days of work and end up with a cupcake masterpiece.


*This recipe is for 1 dozen cupcakes

Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

• coffee beans
• 1/2 c. dark chocolate

1. Place the dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is melted.
2. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
3. Pour a handful of coffee beans in the chocolate and mix until they are covered. Using a fork lift up the coffee beans and place them one by one on the wax paper. Make sure they are not touching. Repeat until you have the desired amount of covered beans. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator until the chocolate sets.

Cappuccino Buttercream Frosting

• 1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. instant cappuccino powder

1. Mix the cappuccino powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the cappuccino and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.
3. Place into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until use.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

• 8 Tbsp. margarine or unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
  
• 2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. fat free sour cream

1. Preheat to 350 F. Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium microwave safe bowl and microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

Assemble

1. Once cupcakes are cooled frost the cupcakes. I used a No. 12 round decorating tip but you can also put the frosting in a plastic bag, snip one of the corners of the bag and pipe the frosting on. After frosting place the chocolate covered coffee beans on top of the cupcake. Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator.

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