Super Chocolatey Chocolate Cupcakes

Chef PickyKid really enjoys cooking and being in the kitchen.  When she was younger, her attention span was very short; she usually lost interest after about 30 seconds.  Now that she’s a little older, she likes to stay in the kitchen with me a little longer, especially when we’re baking up something sweet.  She reallllyyyyy enjoys baking…or, should I say she reallllllllyyyyyy enjoys sampling the treats while we’re baking them? Maybe a little of both, but either way, she loves sweet treats!

I’ve never been much of a baker, as I’m typically not one for following recipes.  That’s the beauty of cooking; you put a little of this, a handful of that, and (usually) you get something tasty!  I learned the hard way that baking doesn’t quite work the same way; it’s a very precise art form.  If you put in too much flour or bake it just a minute too long…well…you have a disaster.  But in the last few years, I’ve taken more of an interest in baking (and in following directions! :)), and my baking skills have improved. I don’t know that I’m incredibly good at it, but it’s something fun Chef PickyKid and I can do together, and that’s what this is really all about anyway.

Last weekend Chef PickyKid wanted to make chocolate cupcakes (chocolate is her favorite, of course).  In the past we just used boxed cake mix, but this time, we decided to make something that would actually taste good, so we created our own chocolate cupcakes from scratch. Chef PickyKid decided she wanted these to be “super chocolatey” by adding chocolate chips; hence the recipe name. This is a very basic recipe, but it’s a good start for home made cupcakes.  Maybe next time we’ll experiment with some other ingredients!

Here’s what you’ll need for Super Chocolatey Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 1/3 Cups white flour; I like to use cake flour, but you can use all purpose flour too.

1/4 Teaspoon baking soda

2 Teaspoons baking powder

3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 Teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 Cups white sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Cup milk

3/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin pan with paper or aluminum cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt and set aside.

In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until its fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each egg.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the chocolate/flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture a little at a time.  Between each addition of flour, add milk and mix together before adding the next addition of flour; you should be alternating between flour/milk until you’ve mixed all of it together.  Add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until the chocolate chips are folded in.

Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  In my oven, this actually took 18 minutes, but oven temperatures can vary.

I don’t have a recipe for frosting this time; Chef PickyKid likes to use white frosting and add food coloring to make her cupcakes bright and colorful.  🙂