By golly, I think I've done it! I finally "perfected" a chocolate cupcake recipe (yea, I know that earlier, it was the basic vanilla I was wanting to perfect), but I was in the mood for chocolate today. So I went through my recipes and laid out the 4 I have printed out - a couple I've tried, a couple not. I chose this recipe from the for the love of cooking (http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/12/super-moist-chocolate-cupcake-with.html )site and tweaked it just a bit. My main change was to use boiling coffee in place of the boiling water, since that is what my bestest cupcake buddy, Janie, taught me to do with chocolate cupcakes. BTW, she called from IL with some very exciting news today - she may be a huge step closer to opening up HER own storefront!! YAY!! How I would LOVE to move back up there and help her out. I think maybe she would like for me to as well. :) Alas, with 5 years left to go until full retirement from teaching, I'm afraid it just won't work for me now. :( She and I chatted, too, about how to possibly make our basic vanillas taste more like the mix - yea, I guess we're weird like that - but we both prefer the taste of a "tweaked" mix over the regular TFS recipes. SO, my thoughts are too use this chocolate recipe and turn it into a basic vanilla, by using the boiling water called for and substituting the cocoa powder with powder milk or the instant vanilla pudding, which is one of the things we add to our mix recipes. I won't be able to try it until Monday, though, as this weekend is a wedding in Mobile, AL. I will definitely let you all know, though!
Another great thing, today, too, was the discovery of a butter cream that held its shape! I went in Google and typed in crusted butter cream. I found this recipe that makes a ton, so I halved it. http://www.cakeartisan.com/2009/01/crusting-cream-cheese-buttercream/ It still made quite a bit! And it definitely seems to hold its shape better than any other recipe I have tried. I just had to add more powder sugar than I normally do - which I guess I could have figured out by myself, but I was always just a little too reluctant to overload it. But, I followed this exactly (using half of the amounts) and it truly did turn out fabulously! I took out part of the original frosting to make chocolate (added a couple of tablespoons of good cocoa powder) and still have quite a bit of the basic butter cream left. I plan to freeze it for Monday's cupcakes - no matter what "flavor" I may choose to make.
Unfortunately, no photos to share. I was in a hurry to get the chocolate ones to my son, Alex, and his roommates - they just moved into a new apartment in downtown Atlanta and I wanted to take cupcakes as a little housewarming. (I already took them a vacuum cleaner! Let's hope they use it!) I will definitely take pictures of whatever I make on Monday.
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