Marble Cupcakes

I love my brand new cooling rack.  It is double the size of the one I already own, and therefore, holds double the amount of baked goods!

Marble Cupcakes

Taken from Martha Stewart's CUPCAKES (pg. 90)


YIELD: 16 cupcakes

1 ¾ cups cake flour sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and cream.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, until just combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out one cup of batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved one cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with vanilla batter just over half way and add chocolate batter, filling each tin about ¾ full. Run knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls.

5. Bake, rotating tins half way through, until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

6. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before serving.

  Mmmmm....they smell delicious! 

Here's to you chocolate lovers....

And...as Anna Olsen used to do on every episode of SUGAR...

Time for the switch up!

How about a marble cupcake with fresh raspberry buttercream icing garnished with a fresh raspberry?

Or, a marble cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream icing, garnished with a Jelly Belly?

Or...better yet, some Skittles?

Personally, I prefer a little less icing with some good old fashioned sprinkles...

and more sprinkles!

But others prefer simplicity...

Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, I attended a Cupcake Class where Pastry Chef Melissa Abbou shared some delicious recipes for buttercream icing.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla


Cream butter scraping down sides of bowl. At slow speed, alternate adding icing sugar and milk. Add vanilla and the last bit of icing sugar. Whip together. If wanting to color the icing, or add raspberries, add now.
*For dairy allergies, soy milk can be substituted for milk, and margarine for butter.

Don't worry...I didn't forget about you chocolate lovers!

Chocolate Buttercream Icing
3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk

Follow same steps as above. Enjoy!