Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I love to bake. It's something that I don't really have time to do often, but there is something very calming about baking that is always worth taking the time for. Ross also loves to eat what I bake, so it's really a win-win situation.

We're moving into a house (yay!) in a couple of weeks, so I'm slowly trying to get rid of extra things in my pantry. I found a yellow cake mix, and it may be cheating a little bit, but I wanted to show you all how I made these cupcakes with a really delicious chocolate buttercream frosting.

Making the actual cupcakes is quite easy and fast, just follow the directions on the box. I'm pretty sure anyone can make a box mix. I still had a few fresh farm eggs from when my parents brought some down with them on a visit, so it was great to be able to add a little bit of "natural" ingredients.

After baking the cupcakes and allowing them to cool, it's time to make the frosting I've mentioned! I found the original recipe on Pinterest and you can find it on the Chef in Training website.

My grandma always made the most amazing chocolate frosting and I remmebered that her trick was to add a touch of cold coffee if she had any. Have you ever had Starbucks Hot Chocolate? Imagine that in a frosting. It just has a hint of a little something-something, but it's so good.

Here's my version of the recipe to allow for the coffee.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 4½ to 5 cups powdered sugar

• 4 Tablespoon cocoa

• 1 teaspoons vanilla

• 4 Tablespoons milk

• 1 Tablespoon cold coffee

• ¼ teaspoon salt

Mix all of the ingredients together in your handy mixer for 5 minutes, and get ready to deck out your cupcakes!

My favorite way to decorate cupcakes is to use a piping bag and a Wilton cake decorating tip in the size 2D, or a large flower tip. You can find them at any craft store, but of course I recommend going to Hobby Lobby and using a 40% off coupon. It's so easy and fast, and the results are so impressive!

After frosting, what is a cupcake without sprinkles? I am a firm believer in sprinkles, and I went with these adorable heart shaped sprinkles that I found from the Target Dollar section during the Valentine's Day season. They added a pop of color since I used white cupcake liners.

And now you're done! Get a glass of milk, put on Netflix, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I sent this picture to the hubs while he was at work, and he was quite excited! There's nothing better than other people enjoying your work.

Do you like to bake? Let me know what your favorite thing to bake is, or if you try out this recipe! I would love to hear how you like the dash of coffee if you try it!

#baking #cupcakes #frosting #chocolate