I have been on a crazy chocolate kick lately…not that I don’t partake in the usual fix, but I have been baking chocolate things a little more than normal. The past couple of weeks I have made a double dark chocolate cake (just because),
milk chocolate cupcakes (for a friend’s birthday),
and dark chocolate cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting (for dinner at a friend’s).
Now, I haven’t gone on complete chocolate overload as I have tried to share/give away as much as I can. My mom is a lover of chocolate, too, so I of course had to share a little bit of all of the above with her.
For the chocolate cake and frosting, I used Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate cake and frosting recipe straight from the box of cocoa. For the milk chocolate cupcakes, I used the original Hershey’s cocoa box for the cupcake and frosting recipe. I say, if the recipe is the BEST, why mess with it?! For the chocolate orange cupcakes, I did take a few liberties with the recipe. I used the Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate cake recipe, subbing one teaspoon of vanilla for a teaspoon of freshly squeezed orange juice. I also snuck in a little orange zest. For the frosting, I used 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed orange juice, 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, and half of a jar of marmalade.
I think these were kid tested and approved, wouldn’t you say? (Thanks to Beckham, 1, and Jack, 4, for letting me use them as my taste testers and posing so preciously for this photo. :))
Have you tried any new chocolate recipes lately? Feel free to share…
rue3twenty2 