The Great Cupcake Disaster of 2013

As you can probably tell from the title of this post,  this weekends cupcake creation didn't exactly turn out as planned. I will get to that in a little bit. Let us first begin with last week. 

Last week school started up again, the hubby returned home from the states, and it was my precious niece's first birthday! I was also working on a group project for school that was due Saturday. As many of you know, we are anticipating a move back to the United States in late June and the closer we get to that moving date the busier we seem to be every day. I am  totally trying  not to complain in this post, it has just been a hectic couple of weeks. 

 I wanted to make something extra sweet because Friday was my niece Sydney's birthday and being in another country has made me quite sad. I figured this was a good way to celebrate her birthday here, even if we couldn't be with her. 

Sydney Rose 1 year old!

Another thing I have noticed is since starting this blog, I have not done a single chocolate cupcake recipe. It's about time we remedy this situation! I love pairing chocolate and fruit together and one thing that I love and the hubby loves is chocolate covered strawberries. This recipe isn't exactly chocolate covered strawberries, it has been a late spring here and I cannot find decent strawberries ANYWHERE. so I improvised. 

I should have known this weekends cupcakes were going to turn out disastrous. My first inkling should have been that I didn't have time Saturday morning to make my cupcakes. My group project for school was due Saturday and I had to combine all of the work into one working document. This weekend turned into Sunday morning cupcakes and apparently the cupcake gods are not happy with my schedule change. 

If you have been following my blog lately, many of you know that my last couple of homemade cakes have been dense. For me, this has been frustrating because I haven't been able to fix the problem. I admittedly wanted a cupcake that was light and fluffy this time around. Also, I haven't made a chocolate cake from scratch since culinary school and I was oddly intimidated. I broke one of my golden rules, I used a box mix. Box mixes are a sure thing for light and fluffy cupcakes so I broke my rule and was punished severely for it. I did change a few things with the suggested ingredients and then I topped these disasters with berry cream cheese icing. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Berry Cream Cheese Frosting

(Makes about 20 cupcakes)

Chocolate Cake 

1 chocolate box mix 

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup milk (the box called for water but I like using milk whenever I can)

1/4 cup chocolate chips 

Follow box instructions and remember to only fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full. 

Berry Icing 

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened 

1/2 cup butter, softened 

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/3 cups raspberry preserves 

1/3 cup strawberry preserves 

This icing is extremely loose! I don't mind it because I like the drippy look. 

So, why do I consider these cupcakes a disaster? They turned out light and fluffy and tasted amazing, not exactly disaster material. I filled the cupcake tins way too full and they popped up so high and they spilled over onto the cupcake pan. They just looked pitiful, I took a few pictures before I cut the tops off. 

After those were messed up, I just pretty much said screw it! I cut the tops off and iced them all. I am going to post the best looking ones because trust me, the ugly ones are UGLY. Other than looks, these cupcakes were delicious! 

Lessons Learned

Buck up and make a chocolate cake from scratch! 

Remember to only fill the cupcake liner 3/4 full!

Bake cupcakes on Saturday morning! 

Relax & Breathe, Breathe, Breathe!