Chocolate Lover's Cupcakes | How Sweet It Is

Chocolate Lover’s Cupcakes.

February 14, 2012

Roses are red… violets are blue… I made you cupcakes that I hope you will chew.

Yes yes yes.

And yes.

Sooooo it’s supposedly the most romantic day of the year and stuff and I can’t think of anything more romantic than face planting into a pile of that frosting with the one you love.

And since I really love YOU, I had to share something uber romantic. Piles of chocolate frosting for the win.

Surprise! You’re my valentine. Isn’t that cool?

I mean, technically I already HAVE a valentine but he can be weird and not want to eat chocolate lover’s cupcakes and also spends a fair amount of time hoping to perfect Ric Flair’s shin breaker and carries a tattered picture of Conway Twitty in his wallet.

Yeeeeeah.

Okay not really, but I swear that is exactly what he’s like in real life. And this is my… real life. Luckily he redeems himself quite often by surprising me with chocolate lava cake truffles. That’s nice.

Not sure if you know this, but I’m a chocolate fanatic. No, really. REALLY. I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that I could eat chocolate for every waking moment of my life. I do not wake up craving eggs or oatmeal or waffles or any baloney like that. I wake up wanting chocolate. I want truffles for lunch. I want Godiva mousse cheesecake for dinner. And only then, after all that, do I want dessert. GOOD dessert.

It’s not the sugar I want… give me cake or candy or ice cream and I’ll easily win that staring contest. It’s the creamy dreamy cocoa. Obviously these cupcakes make my head spin.

I wish I could give you five thousand of them every single day for the rest of your life. Because I like you LIKE THAT.

Chocolate Lover’s Cupcakes

[adapted from peanut butter hot fudge cupcakes]

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup fat-free milk

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons sour cream

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

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

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

3 8-ounce blocks of cold cream cheese

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and add cocoa powder, increasing the speed to mix. Add in melted chocolate. If the frosting it a bit too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. If it is too thin, add additional sugar gradually. Frost cupcakes once cooled. Top with chocolate sprinkles, shaved chocolate, chocolate bars, etc.

Note: as you can see I used a TON of frosting on my cupcakes. I had about 1/2 cup of frosting left over, so if you plan to use less frosting (i.e. you are going to spread it on with a spatula or use a tiny blob), then cut this recipe in half.