Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

 

 NOMS

Ok so I’m just going to preface this with the fact that I am by no means a baker… It would be a lot less of a stretch to say I’m a cook, but I have been known to get a lil fill happy with my cupcakes and have something that can only be described as the cake version of a muffin top . So, in order to do these delicious cakes justice, you can thank Jenny from http://www.jennymeyerson.com for the lovely picture. And after that extraordinarily long introduction, here goes.

Kelly’s (semi)Homemade Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Cake ingredients:

1 Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix

3 large eggs

1 Cup of water

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil

Frosting Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups of powdered sugar

1/4 Cup of softened butter

3 Tablespoons of milk

1/2 Teaspoon of Peppermint extract

7-8 Candy Canes

Directions : Cake

1. If you’re using a metal or glass pan; preheat your oven to 350º, or  if you’re using a coated/ dark pan preheat your oven to 325º.
2. Grease 2 muffin pans using your favorite cooking spray, just in case of a cake-splosion.
3. Place baking cups into the muffin tin, you should have about 24 of them.
4. Crack your eggs into a small bowl, then mix them for about 30 seconds to a minute.  This should help make your cake more fluffy.
5. Blend the mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large bowl at a low speed till moistened, the beat at a medium speed for around 2 minutes.
6. Pour your batter evenly into the cupcake pans and bake IMMEDIATELY.
7. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes.  When finished set them out and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you frost.

Directions: Frosting

1. Mix the powdered sugar, milk, butter, and peppermint extract till it reaches a creamy, frosting consistency.
2. Remove the candy canes from their wrapper and then place them in a Ziplock bag.  Make sure the bag is zipped.
3. With a rolling pin, crush the candy canes till each piece is no bigger than 1cm.
4. When the cupcakes are completely cool, spread the frosting evenly across all 24 cupcakes (so no one gets gipped).
5. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint across the cupcakes, and enjoy!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

xoxo, Kell