Chocolate Malted Cuppycakes and Vanilla Cuppycakes with Butterscotch Frosting

(aka my first semi-professional cupcake gig)

I baked these for my Dad's 60th birthday party, which was last night. I was really happy with how they came out. As always, Mike piped on the frosting for me. I'm still too scared to use the piping bag.


Chocolate Malted Cuppycakes (topped with Whoppers candies)


Vanilla Cuppycakes with Butterscotch Frosting (topped with Butterfinger minis)

Chocolate Malted Cupcakes (originally from Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1-1/4 cup Carnation malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs (room temp)
1 cup sour cream (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 degrees if using a dark or nonstick pan). Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

2. With mixer on Medium High, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filled halfway (NOTE: I actually filled them about 2/3 full). Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until until cake tester comes out clean or baked about 20 minutes.


Chocolate Malted Frosting (I stole the idea from a nice girl on LJ - see my previous blog post)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz Lindt 85% Cacao bar, melted
6 tbsp Carnation malted milk powder (I think it actually needs more than this)

NOTE: I updated this frosting recipe to use 6 tablespoons of malt instead of the 4 I used last time. It was much yummier this way.


Magnolia's Famous Vanilla Cupcakes (with a little help from me)
I have used this vanilla cupcake recipe before, and my only complete was that the cupcakes were a little too dry. This time around, I fixed that problem by substituting heavy cream for milk. The more I bake, the more evil and fattening my baked goods seem to become. But they are also becoming yummier! :)

1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk cream and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.


Butterscotch Frosting (adapted from here)
2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup butterscotch chips, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5-1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons cream
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butterscotch chips in the microwave along on low heat along with 2 tablespoons of cream. Mike and I did this by heating it for a few seconds, stirring a bit, and then heating some more. We originally tried melting it in a double boiler (which is how I melted the chocolate for the chocolate malted frosting), but it seemed to be melting too slowly and the first time we made this frosting we ended up with weird butterscotch chunks. Also, the frosting was a bit too sweet (so said my taste testers), which wasn't too surprising since (I failed to notice this initially) the original recipe did not include any salt. I do not believe in buttercream that does not include salt. Oh well.

In a bowl, beat butter, melted butterscotch chips, vanilla extract and powdered sugar with an electric mixer. It will be dry. Add cream 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time and combine. Continue adding milk and beating until you get your desired frosting consistency.