Happy Easter!

Besides being the anniversary of Jesus Christ's resurrection (observed), today is Dan's sister Jennifer's birthday (observed). To commemorate the occasions, we got together at Carolyn & Don's house for dinner with all the Easter favorites (Ham, Scalloped potatoes, and Green Beans) and some birthday/Easter cupcakes for dessert, courtesy of me.



The cupcake recipe I used is from Cupcakes: Luscious bakeshop favorites from your home kitchen, another wonderful cookbook given to me by a coworker. There are a lot of cupcake cookbooks on the market, but what I really like about this one is that the first section is all cupcake cake recipes - yellow, chocolate, devil's food, etc. - then there's a sections of various icings and frostings, fillings, toppings, and so on. They all cross reference, and the book is full of suggestions of combinations. But I think it really inspires you to think of making cupcakes as a mix-and-match affair - selecting your cake flavor, picking a frosting, and maybe some toppings or a filling.



That's what I ended up doing, using the chocolate cupcake recipe, pairing it with a simple butter/sugar/milk frosting from my Wilton Cake Decorating for Beginners Guide booklet, and then using another suggestion from Cupcakes to tint coconut, dip the frosted cupcakes in the coconut, and then press an Easter egg candy in the top of each. I used the silicon muffin cups my sister gave me for Christmas, which worked great, and saved me from having to find paper liners that would just be tossed in the trash anyway. The batter does tend to stick a bit to the liners, though, so a spritz of cooking spray might be a good idea next time.

The cupcakes with no frosting are for my nephews, who seem to have suddenly stopped eating the stuff, and the one without coconut is for my brother-in-law, Matt, who doesn't like coconut.



Here's the slightly adapted cupcake recipe (I doubled the original and added coffee powder) and the buttercream recipe, which halved is the right amount for 24 cupcakes. I like to use a piping bag with a big tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, which for me makes quick work of the process. Since I was dipping them into coconut, I didn't have to be very precise, and I used a star tip to give lots of ridges for coconut to attach to.

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
5 Tbspn unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup, plus 6 Tbspn unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup plus 4 Tbspn sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tspn vanilla extract
1 tspn instant coffee crystals*

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two standard 12 cup muffin pans with liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and set over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan. Stir frequently until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let the mixture cool to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until combined. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition, and then beat in the vanilla (and coffee crystals). Gently fold in the flour mixture just until no traces of flour remain, but don't overmix. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 22-24 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Buttercream Recipe
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar
1-2 Tbspn milk

Cream butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.