Yoo Eatz

I looooooove Mexican chocolate. And Mexican chocolate in a cupcake? Divine! Mission Minis does a great Aztec Chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream (and their Cinnamon Horchata is to die for!), but when I think of a staple flavor of the tropics that melds well with chocolate and cinnamon, I think of coffee, so a coffee-infused frosting was a must. They key to both is making that cinnamon flavor really stand out, so I put it in both the cupcake and the frosting so it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle. These cupcakes came out a little dry and the frosting a little too soft for my liking, so I have adjusted a few ingredients accordingly.

Spiced Dark Chocolate Cupcake

(adapted from Never Bashful With Butter's recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 c. Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 3/4 c. sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a heatproof bowl over just-simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate pieces. When smooth, add the cocoa powder and stir well until well-combined and smooth. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat until well incorporated. Add the chocolate mixture, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and beat on low until just incorporated. Add the sour cream, and beat on low until well incorporated. Add the rest of the flour mixture, and beat on low until just combined.
4. Pour into muffin pan lined with paper cupcake liners, filling cups to just below the tops of the liners. Bake 18-20 minutes for regular-sized cupcakes (rotating pan halfway through) or 15-18 minutes for mini cupcakes (rotate pan after 10 minutes) until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack, and frost with Cinnamon Coffee Frosting.

Makes 18 regular-size cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes.

Cinnamon Coffee Frosting

(Adapted from this one on AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
• 3 c. confectioners sugar
• 1/4 c. milk

Directions:

1. In a spice or coffee grinder, grind coffee granules until they become a powder. In a smal bowl, stir together the coffee, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high until smooth. Add the spice mixture and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
3. Alternately beat in sugar and milk until the frosting is fluffy.