Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I absolutely love cupcakes and seriously, who doesn’t? But, if I’m completely honest, I must admit that I do find buttercream frosting to be overly sweet most of the time. So when my grandma asked me to bake her cupcakes for her birthday I decided to try this Cream cheese frosting I found on Glorious Treats instead of the buttercream I’d made up until now.

And now, I’m hooked. I loved this frosting that was still sweet but not overly so and it went amazing with the chocolate cupcakes I made! They were a real hit at the party too and some people were surprised that I’d made them since they thought they were bought in the store. Kudos for me and this is definitely a recipe I’ll be making again!

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Adapted from: Cupcake from 500 Cupcakes and the frosting from Glorious Treats

Yields: ± 15 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcake

• 230 gram self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 230 gram light brown sugar
• 230 gram soft butter
• 2 eggs, white and yolk separated
• 100 gram dark chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 125 ml milk

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting

• ½ cup butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
• 8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered confectioners’ sugar
• 1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)

Directions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 175°C/345°F and put the paper cases in a muffin tray.
2. Sift the baking powder and put aside.
3. In a medium-bowl whisk the sugar and butter until it’s creamy and light. Mix the egg yolks in and then fold the melted chocolate and vanilla essence trough the mixture.
4. Add the baking powder and milk bit by bit until they’re mixed completely through the batter.
5. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white until it’s firm and then fold it through the batter.
6. Fill the paper cases with the batter and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

Frosting

1. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
2. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
3. Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met (don't add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes).
4. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute (if you want, add some food colouring now).
5. Frost your cupcakes and add any other kind of decorations.

~ Enjoy!