Month-of-Mini-Desserts: Cupcakes--Two for Two

No, this isn’t a sports statistic! The post for the recipe for a single chocolate chip cookie was very popular! So, I dropped a post to make space for this one. Okay, it’s not just one cupcake, but use some self-restraint and freeze one of them for later if you only want/need one.

DH likes cake but he hates it when I bake one. There is soooo much cake for the two of us. I usually cut it in half and freeze it, but the remaining cake is still more cake than we can eat in a reasonable time.

So imagine how happy he was when I found these recipes (and there are many more out there on the Internet. Go hunting!)

We have vanilla cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes here that I’m printing pretty much as they were published. I did make some modifications, such as spraying the liners with baking spray so they’d release better and to make the recipe formats consistent with mine. I also used the pictures from their sites.

Each recipe makes two cupcakes. Perfect for an evening’s dessert.

I’ve served mug cakes made in the microwave for years, but this gives us some variety with a different texture with little more effort. Interestingly, both these recipes are adaptations of others’ cupcakes.

Vanilla Cupcakes for Two (makes two cupcakes)  

1 egg white

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ tablespoons milk 

¼ cup all-purpose flour 

¼ teaspoon baking powder

frosting 

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin pan with 2 liners. Spray with non-stick cooking spray so they release better.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg white and sugar until combined.

Stir in the vanilla, melted butter, and milk. Add flour and baking powder and mix everything together well.

Divide the batter between two cupcake liners and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely and frost/decorate as desired.

NOTE: While the author used store bought frosting (I had leftover icing in the freezer), she did provide a homemade frosting recipe. 

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes for Two (makes two cupcakes)

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon vanilla

For the Nutella Frosting:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup Nutella
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½-1 teaspoon milk

For the Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line 2 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Whisk in milk, oil and vanilla until just combined. Divide batter evenly between cups.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the Nutella Frosting:

With an electric mixer in a medium bowl, beat butter and Nutella until smooth.

Mix in powdered sugar until well blended.

Add vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon milk; mix until incorporated. Add additional milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

DH’s RATING: 4 ½ Tongues Up

The cakes, while tasty, were no better than my regular cakes, but he did like that they were manageable portions. He wondered if I could make them more distinctive by adding in other ingredients. Yeah, I can do that! A little liqueur in the chocolate cake. A plug of Nutella in the vanilla. Nuts are always good.