Mexican Hot Chocolate Inspired Cupcakes
It's cold here today. 40 degrees to be exact, and I'm not mad about it. The windows of my apartment are open and I'm getting a lot done, including test baking a new chocolate cupcake recipe. Since it's cold, I've been craving hot chocolate but I don't have the ingredients to make it unless I wanted to use heavy whipping cream instead of milk, so I decided to bake it.
Since moving to Texas, my spice tolerance has probably doubled or tripled which is great! I figured adding some cayenne pepper to these cupcakes would give them some extra warmth, and topping it with vanilla buttercream would be like a marshmallow on top!
This chocolate cake is a little lighter and more crumbly than the last recipe I posted on here. Feel free to increase the cayenne amount in the cake if you're looking to spice up your life a little more!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
Cake:
¾ cup flour
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp cinnamon
¼ - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
⅓ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/3 cup hot water
Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp milk
Cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients and mix to thoroughly combine. In a different bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients except the hot water. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry. Stir until smooth, and add in hot water. Mix until it’s a smooth consistency. Pour evenly into a prepared cupcake pan. Bake for 18 minutes or until a tester comes out smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then move to wire racks to cool completely.
For the frosting, whip butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla and one cup of powdered sugar. If you want your frosting to be almost white, whip the frosting at the highest speed possible. Continue to add the powdered sugar, alternating with milk until gone. Frosting should be firm and stand up on its own. Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a light dusting of cayenne if desired.