Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

For a few months now I have been searching for the perfect Hot Chocolate Cupcake recipe.  I never did find the one, but I found three different recipes that when put together would create my perfect Hot Chocolate Cupcake.

My Perfect Hot Chocolate Cupcake

When searching for the cake recipe, I debated between a white cake and a chocolate cake.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I was making a chocolate cake.  The only change I made was to use boiling hot chocolate instead of boiling chocolate milk.  I doubt it made a difference in the taste, but I felt better knowing I had used hot chocolate in the cake mix.  🙂  Since I made cupcakes instead of a cake, I also adjusted the baking time.  I left them in for about 18 minutes, but I think they could have come out sooner.

Kitchen Unplugged: Hot Chocolate Cake

Once the cake recipe was determined, I had to figure out how I wanted to incorporate the marsmallows.  I decided that I wanted to use the marshmallow icing recipe that I used in our S’mores cupcakes, and pipe it into the chocolate cake.

Whipping the egg whites, sugar and corn syrup

Marshmallow creme piped into cake

The last step was to find the perfect icing to compliment the other ingredients and make it look hot chocolate-y.  I finally decided on the Chocolate Cool Whip Topping, but I was a little apprehensive the whole time.  I wasn’t sure if it would provide the taste/texture that I was looking for.  But I stuck to my decision, and was totally impressed by the look AND the taste of it.  Holy Cow, was it yummy!  It tastes and looks like hot chocolate.  I love it!

My Makeshift Double Boiler

Melting milk, semi-sweet morsels, and marshmallows

I’m very pleased with the final result.  And Child #3 was eager to let me know this was the best cupcake yet.

"The Best One Yet"