Last Thursday, I woke up extra early to make a batch of cupcakes as an anniversary surprise for John. It almost felt like a MasterChef challenge as I rushed to the grocery store for fresh berries and mint, then baked my heart out under 90 minutes. All of this happened before I settled down at my desk to start work. The joys of working from home!
For these cupcakes, I used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe with some tasty additions. I found the original recipe online over 5 years ago and scribbled it in my recipe book, but unfortunately don’t have the source. If you happen to know where it comes from, please let me know so I can give credit.
Blackberry Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12 regular sized cupcakes
Ingredients
8 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4-5 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
24 fresh/frozen blackberries, lightly tossed in flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or use paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mint, then mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk. End with the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated — do not overmix.
Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons the batter. Place 2 blackberries on the batter, then cover the berries with 3 more tablespoons of batter. It’s okay if the berries are not completely covered.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Chocolate cupcakes don’t seem very summery to me, which is why I spruced them up with blackberries and mint. The blackberry puree made a mess in the kitchen — looked like a blackberry crime scene! I was expecting the frosting to come out more purple-gray, but the pink isn’t bad.
Blackberry Mint Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup butter (or margarine)
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup blackberry puree
4-5 sprigs of fresh mint, finely chopped
Directions
Blend the margarine and sugar on high, until it has the right consistency for frosting (about 5 minutes). Add the vanilla, blackberry puree, and mint. Blend for another 3-4 minutes, until combined and consistency is right for frosting.
I ran into some issues with my frosting separating (noooooo!) due to the blackberry puree, but after chilling it for a couple hours, it mixed into a much smoother consistency. This recipe makes enough frosting for piping, but I was out of time, so I just spread it with a spatula. Top each cupcake with a fresh mint leaf and blackberry. Enjoy!
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