"Happy Birthday to Us!" Cupcakes

Sunday is my 19th birthday (yay me!), and Thursday is my friend Arielle's 19th birthday (yay her!). This weekend, we're going to NYC, to see Avenue Q and In the Heights. In celebration of our turning-19-ness, I made chocolate cupcakes, with milk chocolate Swiss buttercream.

Oh. My. God.

This buttercream is heaven! So much work, true, but totally worth it. I'm drooling just thinking about it. (I honestly ate like 4 heaping spoonfuls of it while decorating the cupcakes, haha)
Swiss buttercream is by far my favorite frosting, not because of its ease (...'cause it's not easy...at all), but because it's so light and creamy, you forget you used nearly a pound of butter to make it.
Yep. A pound. Almost.
(Just pretend I didn't say that and it'll be okay :) )





Chocolate Cupcakes:(makes...2 dozen-ish)
2 Cups of sugar
1 3/4 Cups of flour
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. (I used Hershey's, but I usually use Ghirardelli's)
2 tsps of baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
2 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup of vegetable/canola oil
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your cupcake tins. Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Add everything else. Mix. (OH MY GOD THE EASIEST CAKE EVER. The difficulty of the frosting makes up for it :P ) Pour into the tins, filling each mold about 3/4 of the way up. (I did my first batch 1/2 of the way up, just to be safe, and they were a little smaller than I'd like, so 3/4 is good). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle (of one of the inner cupcakes) comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs are good!).

And now for the true test of endurance!


Swiss Buttercream:
4 oz egg whites (...I just used 4 egg whites. I'm too lazy for a scale and all of that)
1 Cup of sugar
2 tbsp of corn syrup
3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened. (3/4 of a pound. My original recipe said 2.5 sticks but I forgot and it was still good with 3, hehe.)


Whisk egg whites, corn syrup, and sugar in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. (I use my stand-mixer bowl, to make it easier). Keep whisking. Keep whisking. Just keep going. Keeeeeep whisking until a thermometer inserted into the mixture reads 140 degrees. (Though honestly, as long as the sugar's melted, you're good. You can check that by rubbing a bit between your fingers and checking for a grain). Once it's reached that temperature, whisk it (I hope you have a standing mixer) until it's about body temperature. (So it should feel BARELY warmer than your finger). Once it's reached that stage, change to a regular beater/ paddle attachment and add in your butter, a tablespoon at a time. Once everything's come together, you can add in any kind of flavoring you like, but try to keep excess water to a minimum. I added in a few tablespoons of melted chocolate. Yummmm.




Yesterday, I tried a different recipe for chocolate cupcakes, and failed miserably. Wanna see? Of course you do.


D:

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