Chocolate Malt Cupcakes

Gerald turned 30 last month and I told him I would make whatever he wanted as a birthday treat. He loves chocolate malt balls. If we go to the movies he has to get Whoppers. If we go to get ice cream he gets a chocolate malt. Chocoalte + malt= heaven for Gerald. So naturally he wanted chocolate malt cupcakes. Challenge accepted.

I decided to do a nice moist chocolate cake with a chocolate malt buttercream. I have a fabulous chocoalte cake recipe from Baked: Baked Explorations. These guys have two cookbooks and two bakeries. I have both books, been to one of the bakeries, and have a Baked coffee cup that I adore. I trudged two miles in the pouring rain from a subway station in Brooklyn to visit their shop and it was so totally worth it. They make fantastic desserts and coffee. Whenever I am making a cake it is always from one of their books. Their cakes are moinst and delicious and the frostings are flavorful without being heavy. Oh and if you do have their books and you are wondering, yes I have made the brewer's blondies with malted milk balls for my husband (and they are freaking spectacular).

Anyways, you can tell if a chocolate cake is going to be moist and flavorful if the recipe calls for sour cream. Its just magical. And the dark brown sugar gives the cake depth. It wasn't hard for me to decide which chocolate cake recipe to use because this one is just amazing. Naturally I am too lazy to type it out, but go over here to find the cake recipe (and buy their books! Do it!). I have not made the coffee buttercream that is on the post I linked to, but I will. I love coffee in everything. I have a coffee brownie recipe that will knock your socks off. Mmmm...


Ok, so the recipe above is for a three layer cake. I think it made two and a half dozen cupcakes. Keep that in mind! I frosted these bad boys with a buttercream from the amazing Dorie Greenspan. I am dying to get her book: Baking from my Home to Yours. I haven't done it yet, so I grabbed this recipe off the internet (Okay okay I found it on Pinterest). Here is the recipe with some great instructions. There was enough to frost all of those darn cupcakes. I piped on the frosting and stuck a Whopper in the middle. Cute and delicious. Seriously one of the best cupcakes I have ever made. And I have made a loooootttttttt of cupcakes. Really. Enjoy!