Friday, August 5, 2011

I'll have a scoop of the (mint) chocolate chip

This post was almost titled "why you should check your cabinets for ingredients before you start baking," but I decided that was a bit wordy.  In any event, let my story serve as a cautionary tale...

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.)




15 comments:

  1. If someone is allergic to milk, can you substitute non-dairy margarine, or will the taste be totally off?

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  2. Good question! I haven't tried it, but I did find a roundup of vegan buttercream recipes that might fit the bill: http://ask.metafilter.com/112901/Dairyfree-frosting-alternatives-please

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  3. I've got rocky road brownies in the oven...

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  4. Life Student - rocky road brownies sound delicious!

    Talking Dogs - Hehe... mission accomplished then! :)

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  5. Your cupcakes sound and look yummy! I did the same thing yeseterday...realized I didn't have enough sugar after I started mixing stuff...Must be the heat!

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  6. Looks yummy! Love mini chocolate chip...especially ice cream!
    Thanks for joining us on Cupcake Tuesday!
    ~Liz

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  7. MrsFoxsSweets, I'll definitely blame the heat. :)

    Liz - Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Chocolate mint is my FAVORITE ice cream flavor!! These look great, Must Try!!

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  9. Ahhhh Those are so yummy looking!!!

    Licks and barks,
    Ruthie

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  10. We made these and they are DELISH! Thank you! Okay.... what's next? :-D

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  11. Oh.My.Yum. Love this blog! Love cupcakes! Love this blog! Did I mention Yum???!!!

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  12. Talking Dogs - I'm glad they turned out well! :)

    Five Sibes - Thanks! I need to update this one more often though!

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  13. All your recipes look delicious. I am going to have to keep up with your newest bakes.

    If you ever have the desire to, come on over and link up to Bake with Bizzy. More important, just keep baking.

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  14. Bizzy - I'll definitely link up. Thank you! :)

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Spoonfuls of sugar...

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