These chocolate cupcakes are incredibly moist and tender with a rich chocolate flavor, due to the fact that the batter used is actually a double chocolate cake batter using both cocoa powder and chocolate. The recipe is adapted from Miette, one of my go-to bake books, both for the recipes and the pretty designs.
Come to think of it, cupcakes weren't a big part of my childhood. I can't really recall a special memory that includes them, even though I'm quite certain I've eaten a fair share at birthday parties and other seasonal occasions. But I do have a special place in my heart for chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake in Japan tastes different, and although I've been living here in Tokyo longer than I lived in the States, I still sometimes get cravings for a slice of classic American-style chocolate cake. No fancy flavors or decorations; just plain chocolatey chocolate cake, served with a layer of plain chocolate buttercream or maybe a dollop of whipped cream. That's my idea of perfection — something that fulfills my chocolate cake cravings — and that is exactly what these cupcakes taste like.
The buttercream is adapted from Call Me Cupcake!'s espresso chocolate cupcakes (by Linda Lomelino), and if you like your chocolate cupcakes with a cold glass of milk, this is the buttercream to use. If you want something a little less rich but as equally as satisfying, I recommend the raspberry buttercream I used for the cupcake photographs in my last post, also from Linda's blog.
It's hard to believe we've already come to the end of April. I'm still having trouble writing posts on a regular basis, but I guess writing random posts is still better than not writing at all. I really hope I can post a Mother's Day post before Mother's Day. One of my goals for May . . . *
* { espresso chocolate cupcakes, double chocolate cupcakes adapted from : miette by meg ray with leslie jonath, espresso chocolate buttercream adapted from : call me cupcake — espresso chocolate cupcakes }
— click on the images above, or continue reading for the recipe
