As you know, I've been in an ice cream-inspired mood of late. So, when deciding what to make for a barbecue two weeks ago (obviously, I'm on blogging delay), I decided to go with something classic - just a basic cupcake inspired by some of my favorite ice cream flavors. Chocolate chip ice cream or mint chocolate chip ice cream? Why choose when you can have both?
I thought these turned out pretty well... don't they look like two scoops of ice cream waiting to be enjoyed?
I decided to do a simple chocolate cupcake as my base. I found this recipe for One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes on Sprinkle Bakes, and it seemed like the perfect choice. (My dear reader, do yourself a favor and click over to see what Sprinkle Bakes did with those chocolate cupcakes. It's awesome.) I with the cupcakes had been a tad more moist... so I think I'd make a few tweaks next time. However, I was somewhat scattered that day, so perhaps I wasn't at the top of my game. Exhibit A: I barely had enough sugar to make the cupcakes. Once I'd measured it all out, my sugar supply looked like this:
I've never used all of my sugar before! I usually have plenty on hand. I should have recognized this bad omen and checked to make sure I wasn't running low on anything else, but I did not...
In any event... for the frosting, I decided to make two flavors - chocolate chip and mint chocolate chip. (Recipe appears at the end of the post.) After I creamed the butter, I realized that I was completely out of powdered sugar! That's also something that has never happened to me before - I generally buy it in bulk from Costco. I'm the only person I know who keeps 7 pound bags of powdered sugar on hand... and yet, I was out. So, I left the butter in the mixing bowl and made an emergency run to the grocery store for powdered sugar. Once that crisis was averted, I returned home to finish making the frosting. Here are a few photos of the finished product - they were pretty tasty!
(Mint) Chocolate Chip Buttercream
2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk
6 oz. mini-chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
24 drops green food coloring
Cream butter in mixer on low speed. (I'm a Kitchen Aid addict - buttercream is a snap when you can use a stand mixer.) Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add vanilla extract and milk - beat on medium speed until creamy. Add chocolate chips and mix on low speed until incorporated throughout.
Divide frosting into two portions. Remove half from mixing bowl and set aside - that's your chocolate chip buttercream. Add peppermint extract and food coloring to remaining frosting. Mix on low speed until frosting is a consistent green color. (Add more food coloring if you want a darker green color.)
