Ever since I can remember my absolute favorite ice cream has been mint chocolate chip. I always wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream cake for my birthday. Unfortunately, my love for mint chocolate chip ice cream did not extend to the rest of my family, so I usually ended up with chocolate or chocolate chip ice cream cake. In other words, boring! I know I am supposed to be talking about these cupcakes but I just have to tell you about this great ice cream place near my house. It is called Capannari’s. And they have THE best ice cream. The best ice cream I have ever had. I only allow myself to go one time per summer, otherwise things would get out of hand real fast. This summer, I tried an ice cream flight (think wine flight). Best decision I ever made. You get 4 small scoops of ice cream. I chose chocolate peanut butter, Frango mint, cake batter and coconut. It was so good, and only $4.50! So, if you are ever in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, check it out!
But back to these mint chocolate chip cupcakes, they were amazing! The only thing that could make them better is if we served them with a scoop of Frango ice cream! Kelly is making all the desserts (including these cupcakes) for a friend’s bridal shower in a few weeks. So to prepare we have been testing out tons of recipes. I decided to take the cupcakes to work. I wasn’t sure if they’d be a hit or not. I suspected the mint/chocolate combo was a kind of a love/hate thing. Turns out it was strictly a love thing! Everyone was so excited to try them. This may have been the best frosting I have ever had. It is definitely right up there with caramel frosting as my favorite. And you really can’t go wrong with a chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips in it! Whether you are a.) a die hard fan of mint chocolate chip, or b.) unsure about the combo, I definitely recommend giving these a try!
Here is what you'll need
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder
Cream the sugar and butter and add the eggs
Add the vanilla extract
Add the peppermint extract
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
Add the chocolate chips to the remaining dry ingredients
Add the buttermilk to the batter
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix
Fill each cup nearly to the top
Bake about 20-25 minutes. Looks like someone got a little stingy towards the end.
While the cupcakes cool, get started on the frosting. Cream the butter.
Add the heavy cream
Add the peppermint extract
Add the powdered sugar
Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and top with an Andes mint
Where is that Frango ice cream when you need it?
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ¼ cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
¾ cup buttermilk
4 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped(we used chocolate chips)
Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
4-5 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350F. Line muffin pans with liners. Mix together the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add both extracts. Add half of the dry mixture into the egg mixture and mix until combined. Add the chopped chocolate to the other half of the dry mixture and set aside. Mix in the buttermilk. Add the rest of the dry mixture with the chopped chocolate into the batter. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin pans. Fill each cup to the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cupcakes cool start the frosting. Combine all ingredients and mix with your stand mixer until the frosting comes together. Pipe the frosting on your cupcakes and top with a mint sprig or an Andes mint.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Source: Chasing Delicious
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