TYPER HERE TO SEARCH!

Double Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

I love mint and chocolate together! It is one of those combos like milk chocolate and peanut butter or dark chocolate and orange that I could never turn down. For these cupcakes, I used my favorite moist fudgy chocolate cupcake recipe and simply added a little mint extract to my smooth, creamy chocolate buttercream frosting recipe.


Bake, frost and add a sprig of fresh mint for a finishing touch!



Double Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Yield: 14 cupcakes 

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes:
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (105g) all-purpose flour, weighed or spooned and leveled
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, dutch processed or "Special Dark"
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee granules
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
Mint Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick/4oz) unsalted butter, softened 
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract 
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups (1/2lb) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (sub half and half or milk if necessary)

Directions

Prepare Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa and sugar. In a measuring cup whisk together oil, egg, vanilla and sour cream. Gently stir into dry ingredients. Dissolve instant espresso or coffee in the boiling water and stir into batter. Batter will be thin and liquidy.

Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full, about 3 tablespoons of batter per cup. Bake for 16-19 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (For mini cupcakes, fill with about 1 1/2 tablespoons batter each and bake for about 8-10 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth and pale in color, about 2-3 minutes. On low speed, beat in vanilla, peppermint extract and salt. Sift together cocoa and powdered sugar, and beat it in, about a half cup at a time, followed by the cream. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 3-5 minutes until smooth, light and fluffy.