Andes Inspired Cupcakes!

 

I may not always be the best baker, but one thing that I always seem to get just right is cupcakes!  Over the weekend, my husband and I were wondering the mall with our twins when we noticed a new cupcake stand!  YAY!  We were thrilled to see the latest Ben and Jerry's stand pop up, this was just as awesome!  And that is where I first spotted her......the Andes mint cupcake.  Oh my gravy, did she look Delicious!  We were in a crunch, so I did not have a chance to stop and savor her, but my brain was stewing with ways to create them! 

 

We were on our way to the supermarket, and lucky for me, I know this recipe by heart, and I had a pretty good idea of what we had at home, but I always err on the side of caution when it comes to groceries.  That could be why I think we have enough baking soda to last through my grandchildren, but oh well! 

 

Mommies Little Helper <3

 

I knew I wanted to use my go do devil's food cupcakes for the base.  I have to be honest, I was ready to get tricky when it came to the frosting, but got lazy when I found the Betty Crocker create your own frosting in mint chocolate!  How easy was that?!  I know what you're thinking, "homemade frosting is the best", "I would never use store bought frosting".  I never make my own frosting, to me it's not that important because it's just going to get devoured anyway by a bunch of sugar crazed looney's.  But I'm sure these cupcakes would be SUPREME with a fabulous homemade ganache with mint.  I just don't have that much time, and have to pick my battles.

 

 

I topped these babies with an Andes mint, and served them to the kiddo's with a small scoop of Vanilla Bean ice cream.  These were so incredibly amazing!  I don't have very many pictures as we were creating this masterpiece, because Izobel decided that she needed to get in on the action too.  So, my hands were a bit full. 

 

For The Devil's Food Cakes, I used Martha Stewart's recipe.  I've been using this one for a long time now, and I really enjoy it. The directions may seem tedious, but they really are not.  These are just supreme! Like I stated, I used Betty Crocker's create your own frosting, and topped these babies with an official Andes mint and they are complete. 

 

What do you think?

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line standard muffin tins with liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt butter with sugar over medium-low heat, stirring quickly. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
3. I like to use a soup ladle to pour the batter into the liners. Bake until the inserted toothpicks in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.