There’s nothing like a chilly day around the holidays to bring out my inner baker. I love baking (yeah, I know it’s kind of girly) but unfortunately don’t do it very often because I never seem to have enough time. But, today I had the urge to eat some cupcakes so I went in search of a good recipe. I looked online and found hundreds of recipes but ended up using my trusty cookbook “Baking Illustrated.” It’s a cool book that’s made by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and the people from America’s Test Kitchen on TV. I think I like it so much because it’s very scientific. All of the recipes are tested many times over with many different variables until the best combination is found. It suite me well since I’m a techie kind of guy.

The cupcakes turned out really well and definitely satisfied my craving. Chanin really like them also. The only thing that bothered me a little bit is that they seemed a little too “thick.” I feel like I need a big glass of cold milk to really enjoy them (but that’s OK because I love milk).

I attempted to do some fancy frosting work on the cupcake tops but that was pretty much a disaster. First, I tried using a Pampered Chef cake decorator but it didn’t hold enough frosting so it was a little tough to use. Then I used a pastry bag which ended up bursting about 1/4 of the way through the first cupcake. So I ended up just spreading the frosting with a butter knife which worked out well. I’ll pick up some real pastry bags and tips for the next batch.

Overall, the cupcakes were a success and I’d try this recipe again. It’s about time for bed right now but I’ll be looking forward to a cupcake for breakfast!!

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Yellow Cupcakes with Simple Chocolate Frosting

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

CUPCAKES

• 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. For the frosting: Bring the cream to a simmer in a small pan or in microwave. Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream in. Then, cover with foil and let sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and place in refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour.

2. Transfer the frosting to a bowl and whip at medium speed until it’s fluffy and and can form medium-stiff peaks.

3. For the cake: Heat over to 350F and line muffin tin with paper liners

4. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking power, and salt. Add the butter, sour cream, egg, yolks, and vanilla and beat the wet ingredients into the dry at medium speed until smooth and satiny (about 30 seconds). Then, mix by hand until no flour pockets remain.

5. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until tops are pale gold and toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack

6. Spread lots of frosting on top and enjoy!