Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

Happy National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

I had no idea that there WAS such a thing. If you google national food holidays, nearly every day has some sort of food celebration attached to it. It's kind of overwhelming. But it's also kind of motivating.

According to this site, October 1 was Homemade Cookies Day, October 4 was National Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Roll) Day (HOW DID I MISS CELEBRATING THAT? Excuse me while I go cry for a moment), October 10 was Angel Food Cake Day, October 21 is Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, October 27 is American Beer Day, October 28 is National Chocolate Day, and October 30 is Buy a Doughnut Day.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. For October. I don't even know what the other 11 months have. I need to gather my courage first before I freak out about the abundance of wonderful food 'holidays'.

Anyway, I wanted to figure out a good way to celebrate this holiday with you. What kind of chocolate cupcake? A chocolate overload cupcake, a mini chocolate cupcake, a peanut butter chocolate cupcake, a mint chocolate cupcake - the possibilities are basically never-ending. And then there's the question of white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, baking squares, candy melts - all sorts of chocolate components that can go into the cupcakes.

I decided on just a regular cupcake - but then another "problem" came up (your friends or co-workers won't view this as a problem and instead ask why you didn't just give them to them). Sometimes you don't want to make 12-24 cupcakes, and sometimes you don't want to share. It's a time commitment. So cupcakes for 2 that can be made in one bowl would be perfect. One for me and one for you.

Now for the story behind these. I've made Jessica's (from How Sweet It Is) Vanilla Cupcakes for Two multiple times and it's wonderful when I can make cupcakes in 1 bowl just for me and a friend after dinner - super low fuss. And they're super delicious.

It's just.. sometimes I want a chocolate cupcake. You know? A warm chocolate cupcake with some sort of frosting without the labor of making enough batter and frosting for a dozen people or more.

So I spent a morning looking at her recipe for two and tried to figure out how I could turn it into a chocolate cupcake. I made some little tweaks, and it turned out okay. It was good but not what I was looking for. So I tweaked a lot more. Like a lot a lot more. I HEAVILY adapted a recipe for the first time in my life. Her recipe provided the base, but asides from the toasted quinoa granola bars (which don't really count as a baked good), I have never made up a recipe for something with flour/baking powder/other ingredients that are dependent on certain ratios.

I was really proud of myself.

And the deal with these cupcakes: I'm still going to tweak and experiment. It wasn't quite as light of a cupcake as I'm used to, but it was delicious, chocolate-y, and moist. That's what ultimately counts right? And the icing on the cake? I made just enough whipped cream for two - not ready to tackle buttercream for 2 yet.

As for the ingredients, I had all of this on hand. No almond milk? Try another teaspoon of oil or of milk. No hot cocoa mix? Just try another teaspoon of cocoa powder. The world is your..cupcake?

Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

makes 2 cupcakes

1 egg white
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour minus 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon O'Boy (or Nesquik or any hot chocolate mix)
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon almond milk
mini Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg white and sugars and whisk until blended. Add in the vanilla and melted butter, stirring until combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, baking powder and salt, and stir until smooth. Stir in the milks and oil. Sprinkle in some mini chocolate chips and fold them into the batter.

Put 2 cupcakes liners in the center of a muffin pan. Divide the batter equally between the 2 liners. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely and then frost however you desire. I used this:

Whipped Cream for Two

1/4 cup heavy cream
Dash of vanilla

Combine heavy cream and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spoon onto your cupcakes.

[source: inspired by How Sweet It Is]