Fudge Brownie Cupcakes

Fudge brownie cupcakes are typically cupcakes that are made to taste fudgy due to a high chocolate content. My fudge brownie cupcakes are actually made with fudge. Fudge is the secret ingredient in both the cupcakes and the frosting. In fact, the fudge brownie cupcake frosting is simply fudge that has been melted and spread on top of the cupcake! If you have extra fudge of any sort sitting around, I would highly recommend giving fudge brownie cupcakes a go. They were a huge hit!

Fudge Brownie Cupcake Recipe

I based this recipe on the chocolate cake recipe from the now-defunct Chockylit's cupcake blog that I used for my Better Than Sex Chocolate Cupcakes.

Makes 16 regular cupcakes.

• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 C sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 C flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C fudge, room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla

1. Beat butter until softened.
   
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
   
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Mix in fudge.
   
5. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
   
6. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
7. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine.
   
8. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
   
9. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full. Note that these cupcakes will not dome. Do not overfill them.
10. Bake at 350 F for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Fudge Frosting Recipe

This fudge frosting recipe barely qualifies as a recipe.

1. Take some fudge (I used 7 oz) and melt it in the microwave for about 30 seconds or however long it takes to be spreadable.
2. Spread the fudge on the cupcake.
3. Let the fudge sit until it cools.

Decorating Cupcakes with Cookie Cutters

I knew that I wanted a snowflake in the middle of this cupcake, but I wasn't sure how to do it. The easiest way would have been if I had some cupcake stencils. Alas, I did not.

Baking Bites had a informative post on making your own cupcake stencils. However, snowflakes were apparently too tough for me. I spent a lot of time trying to cut a snowflake out of a piece of paper that was the size of my cupcake - no luck!

Then, it struck me! I had recently purchased some awesome snowflake cookie cutters. I simply covered the cookie cutter with foil to keep the powdered sugar from landing on any spot in the cookie cutter shape and then sifted powdered sugar down onto the cupcake. I loved the effect and if you already have cookie cutters sitting around, it's something that you might be able to try.

Two of My Awesome Commenters

Who doesn't love it when people leave comments on their blog? Even though I see the numbers and I know you are out there, hearing from people in the comments always makes me so happy. Whenever possible, I like to acknowledge people who have made me smile and today I have good reason.

• Louise is an awesome regular commentor on this blog, but the reason you should know about her is because her blog, Months of Edible Celebrations, is fascinating. I love food history and her blog takes you in depth into all kinds of surprising food history facts. Did you know that the Sun-Maid raisin girl was a real person? Most relevant to today's post, Louise has a post on the history of cookie cutters that is definitely worth a read.

• Happy Cook is another commenter that I love! Not only does she comment on this blog, but she is very active in the food blog community. If you head to her blog, My Kitchen Treasures, you'll see that she participates in a ton of food blog events. This month, though, she is hosting an event for the first time called Homemade Christmas Gifts. I don't give Christmas gifts, but I'll go with the Homemade Holiday Gift concept and enter!
  
  Since cupcakes are hard to mail, fudge would make a great gift for someone far away. For those to whom you can personally deliver a gift to, bring them some of these cupcakes.