A Luck o' the Irish Month o' Cupcakes #2 - Mint Chocolate Cupcakes for the Bride

The second cupcake in my tribute to St. Patty's Day series is Mint Chocolate Chip. I am so excited to introduce you to this cake! Remember my post about random things a little while back where I told you all about my favorite chocolate cake recipe? Well, scratch that! I found my NEW favorite and it is to die for! I mean it. Unbelievably, ridiculously, slap-your-mama good! Trust me. Even my mama would agree. She loves this cake so much and that, my friends, is HUGE! I think I've told you before how picky she is. Well, she was licking her lips over this cake. I found it in a cookbook that my parents got me for Christmas. This book is so cool and has so many recipes that I can't wait to try. It's called Baked Explorations and I love it! The chocolate cake recipe that I am referring to is their Devil's Food cake. High quality dark chocolate (I used Ghirardeli Intense Dark 60%), dark chocolate cocoa, and strong hot coffee are the secret ingredients in this decadent, oh-so-scrumptious cake. Try it. You will be hooked, I promise!!

Love this book!

For the icing on these cupcakes, I used a recipe I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest. This mint chocolate chip icing tastes just like the ice cream. No kidding. In fact, my sister whose favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip and who also happens to be lactose intolerant, said that she could freeze the icing before eating it and never feel deprived again! I will say this, though. I don't think I will ever use it for cupcakes again! Piping this stuff is a nightmare. One of the reasons I love cupcakes so much is because they are just about the cutest things ever! Well, these babies are not at all cute. I tried two different sized round tips. Then I tried just piping through an open piping bag without a tip. Ugh! So, in the end, I just had to flatten it out and smooth it with a spatula. Thankfully, these were for a bridal shower and I had cute toppers to go on them. From now on I'll just be using this one for cakes - not cupcakes!

Ugly but oh-so-delicious icing! :)

The bridal shower colors were pink and green (spring wedding, of course) so the mint chocolate chip icing was the perfect color. I piped the letter "W" (for the couple's last name) and hearts with green candy melts and I think they turned out quite adorably. We also had carrot cupcakes from the previous post (I made a double batch because I knew we had the bridal shower) and tiramisu cupcakes (you'll get to read about those in my next post). These may seem like strange combinations that have nothing to do with the other and, well, you'd be right except for one important thing. The bride's two favorite desserts are anything minty and tiramisu. Therefore, that's what I made. Hello! What the bride wants...the bride gets!! :)

Carrot, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Tiramisu Cupcakes (post coming soon) 

The recipes:



The BEST chocolate cake EVER: (found on page 133 of Baked Explorations)

1 oz quality dark chocolate (60-72%), broken into a few pieces
1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup hot coffee
1/3 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cup AP flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
10 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325*. Prepare cupcake liners in pan. Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the hot coffee directly over them and whisk until combined. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean.

Mint Chocolate Chip Icing: (original recipe found here)


2.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
2-3 tsp mint extract, adjust to taste
150g dark chocolate, very finely chopped or pulsed through a food processor
green food coloring, enough to reach desired color


Cut up butter into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high until fluffy and smooth. Add sifted sugar one cup at a time, beating until combined. Add mint extract to taste and then green food coloring. Gradually add chocolate chip pieces until well combined. 



Oh, I almost forgot! Yesterday I was the lucky winner of an awesome giveaway! Yep, me. I never win anything! I guess I can't say that anymore but before this it was true. Jen over at Tater Tots and Jello hosted this giveaway last week. The prize? A fabulous purse and wallet from Georgana over at You Love Deals (yes, I do love deals!). I can't wait to receive these beauties in the mail. You don't understand. I have a purse/bag problem. I'm addicted and have no intention of being cured...ever! Head on over and check out these fabulous sites! Thank you, Jen and Georgana, for a fun giveaway!

Well, that's all for now. Yesterday was my lovely friend's birthday and we have lots of fun planned for the week! Be watching for my next post, " I Do with Tiramisu", and as always, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!