Or alternatively titled “These Cupcakes Are Really Weird and I Like It.”

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

You know things are really getting bad if I make frosting with… technically… a vegetable in it. Don’t even try to fight me on this. Mint is green, and it grows in dirt. It is a freaking vegetable.

 

Hmmpf. Now that we got that out of the away.

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

I had really high hopes for this weirdo frosting. I love chocolate and mint together – I can easy down a bag of bite-sized peppermint patties – and I knew I could make a mint chocolate cupcake with some crazy extracts I’ve seen at the store. I’m just soooo incredibly fond of fresh mint that I was dying to make it into something sweet. And I was also playing single lady, which really just means that I eat a. wine, b. ice cream, c. peanut butter out of the jar, d. hummus and e. all of the above for dinner while my husband travels. Time was on my side.

 

Except fresh mint sort of tastes like toothpaste. And dirt. Really, really good dirt.

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

Don’t even look at me like that. You know it does! Sure, it’s delicious in things like boozy salsa and watermelon salads and tall icy drinks, but… it also tastes like toothpaste. I cannot tell a lie. And yes, I will eat it by itself (which I guess means I will eat raw vegetables but whatever) and while I find it chewy and crazy, I also sort of love it. Like, a lot.

 

So I present to you chocolate toothpaste and dirt cupcakes. Preferably served after an extra garlicky dish of shrimp scampi swimming in butter. Kiss away! Can I make a date night meal or what?

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

Really, the milk chocolate cupcakes were the bees knees. Those were fab. So was the milk chocolate frosting which I may gladly finish off for dinner tonight, albeit this time I may go a bit buck wild and dip some pretzel sticks in it. I actually really enjoyed the fresh mint frosting, but in a super small amount, like plopped on top of that sprinkle-covered icing blob. Which I know you’re thinking probably means I should now slather it on every single dessert I make for the rest of my life in order to exhibit portion control, but STOP YELLING AT ME. Man, you are really on my case today.

 

If you were here, I’d totally wish that you’d faceplant into this.

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoon vanillas extract

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 ounces of high-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Fold in milk chocolate. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a heaping 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

 

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

2 sticks of butter (1 cup), softened to room temperature

3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

3 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled for about 5-10 minutes (still in liquid form)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons milk, if needed

Beat butter in the bowl of your electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed and it combines. Add in milk chocolate and vanilla and continue to mix. I scrape down the sides and bottom of my bowl about 4-5 times, and mix for about 4-5 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in milk one tablespoons at a time if you need it or find that the frosting is not creamy enough.

 

Fresh Mint Buttercream

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped very fine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed

Beat butter in the bowl of your electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed and it combines. Add in fresh mint and vanilla and continue to mix. I scrape down the sides and bottom of my bowl about 4-5 times, and mix for about 4-5 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in milk one tablespoons at a time if you need it or find that the frosting is not creamy enough.

Note: this can easily be multiplied, and you can also add some green food coloring if you wish. I’m thinking a possibility may be to process the mint leaves with vanilla extract in a food processor to make a “liquid” of sorts, then add it to the frosting.

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Mint Frosting I howsweeteats.com

Oh P.S.: I love your guts.