I've made a decision. I am going to take on the hobby of baking. I LOVE food and being that I am constantly cooking for my family (which I also love) I wanted to do something that I'm not obligated to do. Something that I could do for fun and would also give me a creative outlet. I decided that my first attempt at baking would be to make cupcakes for my daughter's birthday. She wanted chocolate cupcakes so I thought what would be better than to make chocolate dirt cupcakes. Here is the recipe courtesy of Paula Deen ...
Ingredients
Cupcake:
8 ounces sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
10 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Topping:
30 to 40 chocolate sandwich cookies
36 gummy worms
Directions
For the cupcake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
For the frosting:
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cream. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add chocolate and butter, stirring until melted and smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in confectioners' sugar. Let mixture cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency, then top cooled cupcakes with frosting.
For the topping:
Place cookies into a resealable plastic bag. Crush cookies with hands to make a "dirt" consistency. Sprinkle frosting with cookie crumbs, top with gummy worm and enjoy.
Unlike the average aspiring Pastry Chef, I have not been baking "since I was a little girl". This is something that has only recently come over me. That being said, I am completely unprepared to bake anything. I actually had to borrow much of the supplies needed to bake these birthday cupcakes. I had no clue where a lot of the ingredients were located at in the grocery store. And I completely forgot the coffee! I think it's because I never drink coffee and had no way to brew it. My plan was to have my husband pick up a cup from Starbucks on the way home from work. That didn't happen.
Did I mention that I've never baked from scratch before...well maybe a few times in middle school Home Ec. I have to admit that I did have a lot of fun. But being that I'm from the Mile High city, my first batch came out not so good. After adding a little more flour (I didn't measure how much), they came out great. I altered the recipe, however, and added chocolate pudding to the middle of the cupcake. I couldn't resist. My memories of dirt cake involved cake, Oreo cookies, chocolate pudding and gummy worms!! After frosting and adding the "dirt", we placed a gummy grub and birthday candle on top of the cupcakes. My first attempt at baking was a success! The only thing left to do was to EAT!...
