Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

Deliciously moist these rich chocolate cupcakes are sure to become an instant classic in your home. A recipe that you will return to again and again for special occasions, birthdays and every day treats. 

I am so excited to share this classic chocolate cupcake recipe with you! It is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. I make this recipe so often that I actually have it memorized. One of my favourite things about this recipe is that you don't need to remember to take your butter out of the fridge beforehand since the recipe calls for melted butter. Here's to not needing room temperature butter! 

These cupcakes are deliciously chocolate-y! The touch of coffee really brings out the chocolate flavour. I promise you won't even know there is coffee in the final cupcake! The recipe also includes sour cream (or you can substitute yogurt) which you know means that you will end up with a perfectly moist cupcake! They also bake up really well, into perfect rounded even cupcake domes. 

I typically pair these cupcakes with my vanilla buttercream recipe but they are the perfect base for pretty much any kind of buttercream frosting you can think of! Make them double chocolate with your favourite chocolate buttercream recipe. Fill them with Nutella! Top them with a minty buttercream frosting for a delicious chocolate mint cupcake - the possibilities are endless! 

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Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes: 1 dozen

Adapted from: Annie's Eats Basic Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

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Ingredients

1/4 c hot water 

1/4 c cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp instant coffee 

1 c flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 c butter, cut into cubes

1 c sugar 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 c sour cream 

Vanilla buttercream

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water, cocoa powder and instant coffee. In another medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine the butter and sugar. Stir occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. On medium, beat butter & sugar mixture until it begins to thicken and pales in colour (approx. 4-5 mins). You want to ensure the mixture has cooled slightly before adding your eggs. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and cocoa mixture. Mix until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour, followed by the sour cream, ending with the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake liners. Fill liners 1/2-2/3rds of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost as desired with vanilla buttercream.  I tinted my buttercream with wilton gels (Sky Blue & Lemon Yellow) and frosted my cupcakes with a Wilton 1B tip. You can see how I frost my cupcakes here. 

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Pina Colada Cupcakes

These Pina Colada cupcakes are perfect for summer and will make you feel like you are on a tropical getaway! 

If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, then these cupcakes are for you.  These coconut cupcakes are filled with a pineapple puree and topped with a silky rum buttercream. A cherry on top and a cocktail umbrella complete these festive cupcakes. These cupcakes will make you want to head to the beach.

The cupcakes are full of coconut flavour. I used both coconut milk and shredded coconut in the cupcakes to really highlight the coconut flavours. Coconut pairs so well with different tropical fruits. I decided to go with a pineapple filling but I think mango would also work great with these cupcakes, if you're looking to do something a little different. 

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I decided to put together a video for you of me making these cupcakes. There a couple of steps to get to the final product but trust me they are worth it! The flavours batter, filling and frosting each come together to create the tropical pina colada flavour!  The recipe for the cupcakes, filling & frosting are below. Enjoy! 

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Pina Colada Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

Makes: 1 Dozen

Ingredients

1 1/2 c cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 c sugar

1/3 c butter, melted

1 egg

1 c coconut milk

1 c shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners, set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar

In a small bowl whisk together, coconut milk, egg, and butter. Mix into dry ingredients until just incorporated

Stir in shredded coconut, until just combined

Fill cupcake liners with approx. 1 tbsp of batter, or approx. 2/3s of the way full. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean

Pineapple Puree Filling

Ingredients

1 can ringed pineapple, 3 rings removed - reserve for decorating

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Using a blender, blend together remaining pineapple rings and pineapple juice from the can, until pureed. You should have about 1-1 1/2 cups of pureed pineapple

In a small heavy bottom pan over medium heat mix together pineapple puree and sugar. Bring to a light simmer (3-5 minutes)

Whisk in 1 tbsp of corn starch. Bring to a boil for 3-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened - should be able to coat the back of a spoon

Remove from heat and allow pineapple puree to cool completely before using

Rum Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 c butter, at room temperature

3 c icing sugar

1 tbsp white rum

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium - high speed whip butter until light and fluffy

On low speed, add in icing sugar one cup at a time. Mix on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until buttercream is light and fluffy and has increased in volume

On medium speed, mix in rum until just incorporated

Assemble the Pina Colada Cupcakes

Directions

Use a knife, or cupcake corer, to remove the centre of each cupcake. Set aside. Fill each cupcake with approx. 1 tsp of pineapple puree. Replace top of cupcake

Fill a pipping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D pipping tip, with buttercream. Frost each cupcake as desired

Top cupcakes with slice of pineapple, maraschino cherry and cocktail umbrella

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Almond Peach Galette

Juicy peaches combined with a delicious gluten free almond crust make this almond peach galette the ideal summer dessert. Top with ice cream and enjoy outside after a BBQ for the perfect summer evening

Well I didn't mean to take almost an entire month off from blogging but somehow the time just got away from me. I went on vacation for a couple of weeks with my family and didn't do enough advanced planning to get blog posts out while I was away. But I have  been busy the last couple of weeks planning new content, recipe testing and editing photos/videos for you! I am excited about some of the new recipes and tutorials I have coming your way. Starting with this Gluten Free Almond and Peach Galette.  I've been into baking with fruit lately. Can you tell? 

I have always wanted to make a galette. When ever I browse through Pinterest and one pops up in my feed I think I need to make one of those. I love their rustic look. All the deliciousness of a pie without the hassle of creating a beautiful looking crust.  I decided to go with an almond flour crust to make the galette naturally gluten free. It took a couple of tries to get a good consistency on the crust that held together while baking. Since almonds are naturally oily - not much butter is needed for the crust. The crust is still a bit challenging to work with, as the more you work with it the more it begins to fall apart. I highly recommend starting with a well chilled crust and rolling the crust out onto parchment paper to avoid having to transfer it later. 

Peaches are so sweet this time of year so I kept the amount of sugar to a minimum to allow the natural sweetness of the peaches to really shine through.  Just add a scope of vanilla ice cream and you have the perfect summer dessert. Or top the galette with a some yogurt and you have a delicious breakfast or snack! 

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Gluten Free Almond Peach Galette

Makes: 1 Galette

For the Almond Crust

3 c almond flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes

1 egg, beaten

egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp water)

1/2 c slivered almonds (optional)

For the Peach Filling

2-3 large peaches, sliced

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp almond flour

Directions

In a large bowl mix together almond flour, salt and sugar

Using a pastry cutter or your hands, mix together almond flour mixture, butter and egg until dough comes together. Take care not to over mix. Flecks of butter should still be visible in the dough

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of one hour

In a sperate bowl, combine peaches, sugar and almond flour. Stir to combine. Allow peaches to sit for a minimum of 10 minutes before assembling galette

Pre-heat oven to 400F.

Roll almond dough out between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Dough should be about 1/2 inch thick and approximately 7-8 inches in diameter

Arrange peaches in the centre of the almond dough leaving an approximately 2 inch boarder. Gently fold the excess crust up and over the peach filling

Brush crust with egg wash and if using top crust with slivered almonds

Transfer galette on parchment paper to a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until filling bubbly and crust is golden brown

Allow galette to cool on baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before serving. Galette can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for three days