Devil's Food Cupcakes

This blog is starting out with a devil's food cupcake recipe because I loooove cupcakes! They are so fun and versatile (and they make for an easy clean-up)!

Some times, Josh's friends come over to play video games, especially "Call of Duty: Black Ops." The game is kind of interesting and I like to watch, particularly when they play the "Zombies" mode. In one game, zombies overtake the White House, and it is up to JFK, McNamara, Nixon, and Castro to save the day.

And here are the fab four in action! www.thecodguide.com

The rowdy politicians spout off quote-worthy gems such as, "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names!" and "This gun doesn't suit my disposition," while simultaneously blasting some serious zombie cronies. I like to cheer Josh on, but usually, I just scream a lot. :)

But anyway, I'll serve these when Josh and friends want to indulge their inner zombie hunters. I tried to include any helpful tips I could think of. Let me know if you have any questions!

The Recipe:
 I got the recipe from the December 2002 issue of Martha Stewart magazine. The recipe is actually for making a devil's food CAKE, but I adapted parts of it to better suit cupcakes.

It's really important to read through the whole recipe prior to starting with the baking (I learned this the hard way). Usually, I like to just use box mixes (I especially love the Betty Crocker fudge varieties) and then just sub butter for oil and add chocolate pudding mix for extra moisture. Needless to say, it's much more time-consuming to make from scratch, but then, who doesn't love a homemade cupcake?

The resulting cupcakes are dense and chewy. I subbed regular cocoa powder for a darker cocoa powder (it really works  well against the sweetness of the frosting I chose). Here's how you do it:

Devil's Food Cupcakes


You need:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature*
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising, all-purpose is fine)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
frosting (below)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners on muffin pan.

2. Place cocoa in a bowl; stir in the boiling water until a smooth paste forms (I had to use more water than the recipe recommended, so you might want to eyeball it!). Let cool. When paste has cooled down, gradually whisk milk into reserved cocoa paste.

3. In the bowl with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides twice. Beat in the vanilla. Slowly drizzle in eggs (beat after each addition until batter is no longer slick and scrape down sides of bowl often). Meanwhile, in another large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. With mixer on low, gradually add small batches of flour and cocoa mixtures, starting and ending with flour and beating until incorporated after each addition. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 to 2/3 to the top.

5. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until your toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean.

Note: If you want to make this a cake instead, butter three 8-by-2 inch cake pans, lining the bottom with buttered parchment paper. Also, dust the sides with flour and tap out excess flour. Evenly divide the cake into the pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

* To get butter to room temperature, you can just take butter from the refrigerator and leave it out for about an hour. If you're feeling time-constrained, put the butter in microwave and heat for 15 seconds. The butter is at room temperature if you can press your finger into it, and it leaves an indention. If your butter isn't there yet, keep heating for about 5 additional seconds.

Easy Buttery Frosting

It's pretty tricky explaining how I make this, because I usually soften my butter first, and then just add powdered sugar until it creates the consistency I want. I really don't think you can add too much powdered sugar; if the icing feels too thick, you can usually keep mixing until it thins out (and if it's too thin, add more sugar or put it in the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes).

You need:
2 sticks of butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:
1. Soften butter in the microwave, and then cream it with vanilla.
2. Mix in powdered sugar until icing is thick but still pliable.

Decorating Tips:
Spoon your frosting into a large freezer bag and snip off a corner of the bag. Pipe the frosting over cooled cupcakes. Then, sprinkle some pretty colored sugars or sprinkles on top. You can try out different color combinations with the sprinkles (I think chocolate sprinkles or even chocolate chips would be pretty!). Also, you can add a drop of food coloring to the frosting for another fun look.

I also like the idea of using unusual cupcake liners (mine are plain, but decorative ones can really add to the look). I like the liners on etsy.com (it's kind of like an eBay for homemade arts and crafts!) and on kitchenkrafts.com.