The recipe in this post is one my friend Taylor and I developed for The Oregonian as a Valentine’s Day treat. These cupcakes are so decadent and delicious as well as being really easy to make. Cocoa powder and chocolate are combined, lending a rich chocolatey flavour. The cupcake also has a little sour cream in it, which gives the cupcake a beautiful smooth consistency.
The frosting incorporates blackberry puree, giving it a beautiful pink colour and a flavour that perfectly complements the rich chocolate cupcakes.
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder works too)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa powder in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water. Heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stir to combine and set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a separate, larger bowl, whisk the eggs; add sugar, vanilla and salt, stirring to combine. Add chocolate mixture and whisk together.
- Sift in 1/2 of the flour mixture and stir together. Whisk in the sour cream, then add remaining flour and whisk again until just combined. Don’t over mix. Divide batter between liners and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool.
- While the cupcakes bake and cool, make the frosting. Put the blackberries in a blender or food processor and puree. Strain the berries to separate the seeds.
- Beat butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add blackberry puree and 3 cups of the powdered sugar and beat to combine. Add more powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency.
- Once cupcakes are cool, pipe on the frosting. Top with a blackberry, if desired.
This weekend Portland was hit with a pretty big (for the West Coast) snowstorm. Snow started falling Thursday morning and continued through Saturday. I got about 6-7 inches at my house which was then topped off with about a 1/2 inch of ice overnight and this morning.
I’ve been stuck in my house since the storm starting and to say I have a case of cabin fever would be an understatement! We don’t get a lot of snow here in Portland so when we do everyone freaks out and the city pretty much shuts down. Schools and offices were closed on Friday due to the weather and most people (at least in my neighbourhood) haven’t tried to go out and do things although some kids here did bust out their sleds/snowboards/skis to have some snowy fun.
I’m really looking forward to all of the snow and ice melting so I can get out and do things. I haven’t spent much time out in the snow because I’m recovering from knee surgery and don’t want any setbacks. My dog has made the most of this weather though 🙂
While the ice might not be very safe to walk/drive on, it does make for some beautiful pictures. I’ll sign off this post with a few of the icy pictures I took this morning.
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