I’ve been meaning to post pictures of these cupcakes, along with the recipe, for a while. And since I was thinking about it and can actually get to the pictures (they are in an online album of mine) without having to wait for my computer to be fixed, I thought that today would be the perfect day to share!
First, I have to thank my long time friend, Brandi, for coming up with the name of these cupcakes! They’re half vanilla, half chocolate, deliciously sweet and spicy at the same time. So, I think the name totally fits! It's perfect Brandi, thank you.
A recipe that I saw for half vanilla, half chocolate cupcakes is where it all started. I wanted to make them because they looked pretty cool and I figured I could do just about any flavor combination with the half and half cake. So, I played with ideas for the icing and toppings and decided on a sweet icing and a spicy topping. I was very pleased with the result...
Here's the recipe:
For the cupcakes:
* I copied this directly from The Busty Baker, where I got this recipe. It's Martha Stwert creation, I believe. If you keep reading past the cupcake recipe, you will see a recipe for Strawberry Buttercream icing which, with a strawberry slice on top, completes her very yummy looking Neapolitan Cupcakes!*
Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 12
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12
Follow instructions for Vanilla Cupcakes below, but reduce flour to 1 1/4 cups, and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk into dry ingredients.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons of each batter, side by side. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing:
*I just used a basic buttercream recipe. *I have the link on my other computer (the broken one) so, I can't remember the one I used. But, they are all pretty much the same. I found this one on one of my favorite foodie sites, Epicurious.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the spicy topping:
I selected a spicy chocolate by Chuao Chocolatier called "Spicy Maya". It's a dark chocolate infused with pasilla chile, cayenne pepper and cinniamon. I simply graded the chocolate (after putting it in the freezer, to firm it up, for half an hour or so) over the first batch of cupcakes once they were frosted. However, I found that the spice didn't pop like I had expected it to. So, for the second batch I chopped the chocolate into big rough chunks and placed them on top. As a result, the spice was definitely poppin'!
If you try these cupcakes, or make your own creation, let me know. I'd love to hear about it!
I was hoping to have time this weekend to do some cupcake baking, but we have a pretty full weekend planned already and I'm not sure I can fit it in. Tonight, Madison and her choir class will be singing the National Anthem at the Belton High School football game. So, we'll be spending our evening there. Tomorrow morning Jack, Madi and I are going to the food markets in Belton and Austin. Then in the afternoon Madi and I are going rock climbing with her swim team. Finally, on Sunday, we are going to see Jack's grandparents in Palestine, Texas, for the day. It's going to be a busy weekend, but I'm really looking forward to it ~ even though I wont get to bake and enjoy some cupcake yumminess!
Wish Madi luck tonight! She gets pretty nervous singing in front of lots of people. She's going to do fine, I'm sure and boy are we excited to see her singing on that football field! I'll take pictures if I can and post them later.
Enjoy your weekend! It's actually a long weekend for some (hopefully YOU)- yippee!
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