Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes

I have to admit, frosting is not my strength!

Belated happy valentine's day! I hope you had a sweet one. Here is my post-Valentine offering for you.

I made this sweet treat after seeing that we have a pack and a half of butterscotch morsels in the pantry. And because I was lazy pressed for time, I just used the boxed cake mix instead of making it from scratch. So yes, this is another semi-homemade recipe, but one of the best ones I have made. The cake was delicious and moist, and the butterscotch frosting was just heavenly. Hubby couldn't stop eating them!

I adapted and tweaked the frosting recipe from here. 
 

What you need:

boxed cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Decadent cake mix)
3 eggs
1/3 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

For the frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature, divided)
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt


What to do:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare cake according to package directions. Add 1/2 cup butterscotch morsels to the batter. Place in baking cups and bake for around 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the frosting.

Sift your sugar!

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter for about 7 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add the brown sugar, salt and heavy cream. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of your electric mixer.

Beat the mixture on medium speed for around 10 minutes. Pour in vanilla extract, then add the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time, making sure that each addition has been incorporated. In a steady stream, add in the confectioner's sugar and beat for another minute or so. If the frosting is not firm enough for piping, cover and refrigerate for around 30 minutes or until firm enough to pipe.

To assemble the cupcake, place frosting in a piping bag with the tip of your choice (I used WIlton's 1M Swirl tip). Frost the cupcake and top with candy sprinkles. Enjoy!

Hubby couldn't wait and ate one before I could even frost it!

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. I used boxed cupcake mix for this recipe, but feel free to make yours from scratch! I recommend this chocolate cake recipe, especially if you like dark!
2.  If you don't have piping bags, just use a resealable bag and cut one corner. Voila! Instant piping bag.
3. Don't forget to refrigerate your frosted cupcakes! (The frosting will "melt" if you just leave it sitting on the counter).

Superbowl Strawberries

My sister-in-law made these cute Super Bowl strawberries. They really look scrumptious... i can almost taste the delicious chocolate that contrasts with the tart fruit... mmmmm! In case you are wondering why I said "almost taste", it is because my sister-in-law and her family lives hundreds of miles from us. So all I can do is to stare at the picture of these gorgeous strawberries... 
 
Oh, and she provided instructions on how to make them! So enjoy!


 What you need:

strawberries
semi-sweet chocolate morsels
white chocolate


What to do:

Wash strawberries and let dry.

Melt  semi-sweet chocolate on a double boiler. Using the tops of the strawberries as handles, dip them one by one in the melted chocolate. Place on parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for a few minutes to harden.

Meanwhile, melt some white chocolate and place them on a piping bag with a thin round tip. Remove strawberries from the fridge and pipe the football lines on the top. Return to the fridge to harden for a few minutes.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. No double boiler? Your good ole' microwave will do!
2. Use a resealable bag and cut one corner as a piping bag if you don't have one. 
3. Having a hard time working with the chocolate? Add a little bit of canola oil (about a teaspoon or so). It would make the chocolate a bit thinner and easier to work with.