German Chocolate Cupcakes & Blackberry Buttercream

On Saturday night, following a wonderful dinner at Balsamico restaurant (review post to come!), John and I went home to spend an evening baking cupcakes, eating said cupcakes, and watching Mad Men.

Our (read: my) original plan was lofty: to pick 3 recipes each and make 6 batches of cupcakes.

We ended up with one and then the following day my mom and I made lemon cupcakes.

For our cupcake date we picked a Martha recipe for German Chocolate Cupcakes.

I've made these several times before and I'm never disappointed with the results.

John did all of the baking, I stood back and read out the instructions. The only time I touched the bowl was to show him how to cream the butter and sugar.

He even decorated his with Philadelphia chocolate spread (super addictive, keep your spoons out of it or I promise you'll eat way more of it than you should) and candy pebbles and army men (bottom right).

I topped a few of the chocolate cupcakes with the blackberry buttercream I made which, if I can be totally honest, is the best icing I've ever ever EVER made.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

(A Martha Stewart recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with cake flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together 2 cups cake flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream  3/4 cup butter and 1 1/3 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of 1 cup buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in 5 ounces (about 2/3 cup) melted chocolate until combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes. Run a small offset spatula or knife around the edges to loosen; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.
4. Spread frosting on top of each cupcake. Serve immediately.

Blackberry Buttercream

1. Beat 1 cup butter with 1 tsp vanilla until smooth.

2. Add in 4 cups of icing sugar, one cup at a time until creamy.

3. Using a blender, puree 1 cup blackberries. Fold into icing then spread or pipe onto cupcakes.

Enjoy!