We somehow have a 14-year-old on our hands! I mean, I know 13 was technically “teenager” zone, but things really feel like they’re getting serious now. And we weren’t about to let this one slide by earlier this month without a proper celebration. So, since our girl was super embarrassed when we recently greeted her at the airport with a big “Welcome Home” sign (after she’d been away from us on an overseas school trip) we, naturally, greeted her when she got off the bus with a big mess of balloons to help ring in her big milestone day! :) (Just for the record, I think she secretly liked it.)
And, since this is a girl after my own heart, she requested chocolate, chocolate, and … more chocolate for her special birthday treat! We don’t normally do much refined sugar—here on the blog, or in real life—but a birthday is most certainly the perfect time for an exception to the rule. Especially when it’s homemade! So today I’m excited to share a super yummy and moist cupcake recipe, along with a decadent chocolate frosting recipe to top it off. We used dye-free sprinkles and raspberries to add a little color to this deliciousness.
Sponsor Shoutout: Grassland Butter
Before we dive in though, I want to share another little recent adventure … I had the opportunity to meet our newest sponsor, Grassland Dairy, when I shot some TV commercials with them in Philadelphia earlier this month. There’s a first time for everything, right? It was so great to learn more about the passion and family history behind their dairy products and why they’re so excited to be bringing a new choice in butter to real food fans like us… it’s Non-GMO Project Verified, the most trusted third-party verifier for Non-GMO food and products!
What I learned is that when you buy Grassland Butter, you can feel confident that the butter is traceable to the farm, from seed to feed to cow to butter and finally to your table. Here’s what their non-GMO certification means:
- The absence of GMO’s from seed to feed to table for verified products
- No fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides used
- Veterinary treatments include no hormones
Grassland Butter is made by The Wuethrich (pronounced “wee-trick”) Family and has been a family-owned company for 115 years! Their ancestors immigrated from the Swiss Alps to Central Wisconsin, bringing dairy farming with them. (In fact, you may already know Grassland. They’ve been supplying your favorite restaurants with those little foil-wrapped butter packs for decades.) Their new Project-Verified Non-GMO butter line includes Grassland quarters and spreadables (unsalted and salted), in addition to Wuthrich European Style Butter (83% butterfat), which is great baking butter, and South Isle Grass Fed Butter, both of which are coming soon. Grassland Butter is just being introduced now in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, but plans to make it available nationally are coming next. Find Grassland Butter at a store near you.
Now back to that tasty cupcake recipe … this would be a great one to help ring in Valentine’s day, which is coming up in less than a month!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine and Bunny's Warm Oven
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup white flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate bar, cut into small chunks
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, I used Grassland
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
For the Chocolate Frosting
- 1/3 cup butter, I used Grassland
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, I used the Hershey's "Special Dark" variety
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small saucepan, bring the water and the sugar to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves, and transfer to a large bowl. Add the chocolate and butter pieces, along with the vanilla, and let it sit until everything melts and cools slightly.
Beat the eggs into the chocolate mixture at medium speed until well combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until smooth.
Fill up the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake until no longer jiggly in the center and a toothpick comes out clean, about 17 to 20 minutes.
For the Chocolate Frosting
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa until smooth and then scrape into a medium bowl.
Beat in the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar until you've reached the desired consistency. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a spatula to spread on top, garnish with any other desired toppings, and serve.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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These are so amazing. I can’t get over how delicious they are! Thank you!
Any flour that can be used instead of whole wheat if there is an allergy
You could use something like coconut flour but may have to use a little less. – Nicole
I’ve made this recipe twice now and both times it tastes like baking soda. I was careful measuring it the second time with the same results. Are the measurements for baking powder and baking soda in the recipe correct?
Would this recipe turn out ok in cake form? I assume I would just need to bake it longer?
Yes, a cake would be fine. Cooking time would be similar (if you break it up into two standard cake pans).
If I wanted to do a vanilla cupcake with the chocolate icing I’m guessing I could just omit the chocolate bar. Do you think the consistency would still be ok for the cupcake?? Thanks
You might end up with a dryer outcome. I would opt for a vanilla cake recipe instead honestly!
Although a bit late, hug your princess for me :-)
The cupcakes look fantastic and more importantly, Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter.
Could you use regular whole wheat flour in these or is whole wheat pastry flour necessary? I’ve never used pastry flour.
I would recommend staying with the pastry flour, as it may give you a different consistency since pastry flour has more of a white flour texture. BUT, if you don’t have pastry flour, you can still use regular whole wheat flour.