Birthday Cupcakes
German chocolate cake is my brother’s favorite type of cake. For his birthday this year, the plan was to go out to eat as a family to a favorite local Mexican restaurant and then go back to his and my sister-in-law’s house for dessert and presents. Well, I was kind of hoping to make his birthday dessert, so I texted my sister-in-law asking her if there was anything I could bring for the party, secretly hoping she would ask me to make the dessert.
She responded saying that she was planning on buying store-made German chocolate cupcakes and couldn’t think of anything for me to bring, UNLESS I had any suggestions. I spent a couple minutes trying to decide if this was her subtly asking me if I wanted to make his dessert. I eventually decided it was and responded saying if it would be helpful for her, I could make the dessert. And guess what? She responded with, “oh my goodness, that would be great!”.
Later at the restaurant, we were laughing about how we both tip-toed around the subject, each of us not wanting to trespass on the other. From my end, I didn’t want to be presumptuous by just assuming I could be in charge of the dessert. And from her end, she didn’t want to inconvenience me time-wise!
The cupcakes were a hit all around, especially with my 18-month old niece who was on a sugar-high the rest of the evening, running laps around the house and giggling uncontrollably.
Blessings on your home and table, ~Natalie
German Chocolate Cupcakes
Serves 12
Ingredients:
Cake
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces German chocolate, melted
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons hot coffee*
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- Maraschino Cherries
- Fudge icing**
Coconut Pecan Mixture
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup full-fat evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter, cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Chocolate Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 5-7 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
- In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and sour cream.
- Mix in melted chocolate and hot coffee.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix in half of the flour mixture. Add in buttermilk. Mix in remaining half of flour mixture.
- Distribute batter evenly between muffin liners. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Coconut-Pecan Mixture: Whisk together egg yolks, evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Add in cubed butter and place mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is a pudding-like texture. Stir in pecans and coconut and let cool completely.
- Frosting: Place butter, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, adding sugar one cup at a time, until fluffy. If frosting is too stiff, add heavy cream halfway through.
- Assembly: Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the cupcake. Spread a couple spoonfuls worth of coconut pecan mixture in the middle of the ring. Pipe a dollop of fudge icing on top of the coconut pecan mixture and place a cherry on top.
*You can use hot water if you’d rather.
**The fudge icing was a last minute decision, and since I was in a rush, I just bought some from the grocery store.
For more cake recipes, check out my pumpkin cream cheese bundt cake!
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