I Like to Cook. Sorry if You Don't.: Chocolate Cupcakes with Banana Buttercream

Happy birthday to the most important person in my life. Besides myself, of course. No, not Jagger, I said person! Adam you win! And you win cupcakes! I hope that your birthday was as special and as much fun as it could be, since that I could not be there with you. (omg boys weekend!)

Happy Birthday to you!!

Chocolate. Pretzels. Bananas. Three things that don't really stay stocked very well around here. Some of Adam's favorites. So I combined them into the ultimate birthday cupcake. He got them a few days early since I was shipping up to Boston (to see NKOTBSB OMGOMGOMGOMG!!! and relive my childhood, but wasted this time around). Speaking of that song.. they PLAYED IT DURING THE NKOTBSB concert. And if I wasn't freaking out enough already, this was the icing on the cake.

Speaking of the icing on the cake, this frosting is damn good. Definitely my most favorite part. And there was extra. And it was glorious. Please note, that's the best part. Now go make this.

Having extra frosting reminds me of a story my grandparents love to tell about me. At probably around 11/12, I was staying at their house for a week during the summer. I decided to make a funfetti cake (doesn't funfetti just remind you of childhood?), which came out of the oven and was set out to cool. We were all spending some time under the house (think beach house, built on stilts) and I asked to go frost it. They let me go upstairs alone (first mistake) with a tub of frosting to do just that. I don't remember eating that much of it. Honestly. But they came up to check on me at some point after I had finished. They describe a pretty much naked cake with some frosting here and there in spotty areas, huge holes in the cake, etc. Empty tub in the trash. Yep, I love me some frosting. Like I said, embracing my inner fat kid in a healthier way.

Anyway, let's begin here. Before I go grab another one.

Soundtrack: SBTRKT

Chocolate Cupackes with Banana Buttercream (and Pretzels!)

Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe from Joy of Baking)
Yield: 16 cupcakes

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup boiling hot water (just a tip - boil more water then you will need, don't boil exactly 1 cup. Seems obvious, but I gotta admit I would do it.)

1 1/3 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature (check here for a tip on how to do this quickly!)

1 c sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 and fill 2 muffin tins with 16 cupcake cups. Spray with cooking spray to ensure they will peel easily. Combine cocoa power and boiling water in a small bowl; set this aside to cool completely to room temp. (I stuck it in the freezer). Meanwhile, in another small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set this aside as well. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. This requires a minimum of 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture, slowly. You will get a thick batter, this will seem weird. Don't over-mix. Using a spoon, stir in the cocoa until mixed though. Pour into cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean! Cool the cupcakes on a rack, then frost and decorate!

Banana Buttercream Frosting

1 large, very ripe banana

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 c butter, at room temperature

4 c powdered sugar

6 drops yellow food coloring

In a small bowl, mash the banana and stir in lemon juice; set aside. Cream together the butter and 1 c powdered sugar. Beat in the banana mixture. Then add the rest of the sugar, slowly. Once combined, add food coloring.