Now that it's Thanksgiving is over, why not go straight into Christmas desserts? For some reason, peppermint is one of the main Christmas flavorings. in desserts..... So, I decided to make a Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting. Ugh, such a long recipe name. I did make a few changes to the recipe, though. The first change was, I added 1 t. peppermint extract to the chocolate batter, it was originally without the peppermint. The second change was I added an extra 1/4 t. of peppermint extract to the cream cheese frosting. More peppermint the better, right? My brother suggested instead of coarsely chopping the candy canes (on top) to create a powder. Sounded like a cool idea but I had already added the candy canes. I would suggest powdering your canes instead of coarsely chopping but whatever you like :)
Enjoy the recipe and eat up!
Lydia
PS Stay tuned, Monday I'll be making a sweet breakfast treat!
Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
yield: 12 CUPCAKES
total time: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS:
for the cupcakes-
1 cup almond milk {or regular milk} + 1 teaspoons white vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
for the frosting-
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
crushed or powdered candy cane pieces for garnish {optional}
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside..
2. In a large bowl, whip oil and sugar together. Stir in vanilla. In a measuring cup, stir almond milk and vinegar together. Set aside to curdle.
3. In a different bowl, stir all dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. Alternate mixing in wet and dry ingredients to the batter starting and ending with dry.
4. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs after being inserted. Cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting, whip all ingredients together in a large bowl 3-5 minutes or until smooth and fluffy. Frost cupcakes and top with crushed (or powdered!) candy canes, if desired.
Enjoy the recipe and eat up!
Lydia
PS Stay tuned, Monday I'll be making a sweet breakfast treat!
Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
yield: 12 CUPCAKES
total time: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS:
for the cupcakes-
1 cup almond milk {or regular milk} + 1 teaspoons white vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
for the frosting-
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
crushed or powdered candy cane pieces for garnish {optional}
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside..
2. In a large bowl, whip oil and sugar together. Stir in vanilla. In a measuring cup, stir almond milk and vinegar together. Set aside to curdle.
3. In a different bowl, stir all dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. Alternate mixing in wet and dry ingredients to the batter starting and ending with dry.
4. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs after being inserted. Cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting, whip all ingredients together in a large bowl 3-5 minutes or until smooth and fluffy. Frost cupcakes and top with crushed (or powdered!) candy canes, if desired.