CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE WITH RED VELVET FROSTING #Valentine Day

Dark and decadent Chocolate Cupcake Recipe with creamy Red Velvet Frosting!

 What?!? These chocolate cupcakes are like a shot of love potion right to the heart. Plus we’ve got a super cute Valentine printable today.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES:

• 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE RED VELVET FROSTING:

• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• Red food coloring

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GARNISHES:

• 1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate candy melts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line muffin tins with 24 paper liners. Sift all dry ingredient together. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Set the mixer to the lowest setting and add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet, until the batter is smooth.
2. Fill the liners half full and bake for 15-20 minutes—until the cake springs back when touched. Remove the cupcakes from the tins and allow them to cool completely before frosting.
3. While the cupcakes are cooling, place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Then pour the chocolate in a squirt bottle (or piping bag with a small tip) and pipe cursive or connected words onto wax paper. Keep them small so they fit on top of the cupcakes, and write more words than needed, in case a few break. Allow the chocolate words to dry completely before peeling off the wax paper.
4. For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl, and beat in the buttermilk, salt, cocoa, and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar until your desire thickness is reached. Then beat in red food coloring until the frosting is as dark as you want it. I used almost 2 teaspoons.
5. Place the frosting in a piping bag with a large tip and pipe the frosting high onto the cupcakes. Then gently place a chocolate word on top of each cupcake.