chocolate cupcakes + cream cheese icing

after making my birthday cake, which was my first experimentation with chocolate, i wanted to make cupcakes as well. on thursday night i whipped up this batch & i'm proud to say i'm very happy with them! paula deen recipes haven't disappointed me so far. i've found that i'm starting to prefer cakes made with oil instead of butter, they're always lighter & fluffier, which is the texture i prefer. dense cupcakes can still taste nice, but i love bouncy cake.

i used 2 separate paula deen recipes for these. for the cake, i used this recipe, but omitted the filling elements. the filling is supposed to be coffee buttercream by the way, so maybe i'll try that one day! for the icing, i used this recipe, which i always use for my red velvet cupcakes as well.

lately when it comes to icing i've just been using a good old ziploc bag. i need to get some tips & get creative! round icing is pretty but i want to experiment.

for the cupcakes:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. line muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.

in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. add oil, coffee, & eggs. beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. mix in the sour cream & vanilla.

spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, for 16 to 18 minutes. let cool before icing.

for the icing:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

beat the butter, sugar & vanilla together until smooth. add confectioners sugar slowly until incorporated.

sinfully delightful chocolate mousse cake

normally, i don't undertake endeavors like cake. i enjoy their tiny counterparts, the cupcake. however, for my 21st birthday in october, i knew i wanted to make something special... something divine. i stumbled upon this recipe for a chocolate mousse cake & knew it was the one. when i read further & discovered that it was a paula deen recipe... let's just say my heart was set.

cake decorating is something that i haven't really experimented with, so i was grateful when this recipe called for simply covered the cake in chocolate shavings. more chocolate? don't mind if i do. i found that tilting the cake to cover it was kind of a daunting task, & i wasn't ready to risk the cake itself for the sake of it's beauty. so, it's sort of a monster chocolate cake. it's not the prettiest. it's not even in some places. & that's totally ok with me, because it tasted so damn good.

here is the recipe i used for those interested. i would highly reccomend this cake for any special occasion, or just because! if you're more dedicated to cake decorating than i, it can look amazing. or it can just taste delicious, which is what i focused on.

a post on my 21st birthday & life since then is coming soon! i'm getting photos developed from my camping trip to cheaha state park tomorrow so that i can include them. i've got a busy week ahead of me & i'm probably going out of town this weekend.

the perfect red velvet

every southern girl should know a good red velvet recipe. i hadn't experimented with red velvet before & i had no desire to until i tasted a batch of cupcakes my grandmother made a year or so ago. it was the most amazing red velvet i had ever had the pleasure of putting into my mouth, & i vowed to make it some day.

turns out, it was a simple paula deen recipe. while i originally was planning some dark chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling for our 4th of july festivities, i whipped out the mixer & got to work on these after my mother reminded me of them. i had never made cupcakes with vegetable oil replacing butter before, so this was definitely something different. i'm really happy with the way they turned out & i can't wait to make them again.


for the cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

preheat the oven to 350 & line a cupcake pan with 12 wrappers. in a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. in a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

to make the frosting: in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.