Just Call Me Cupcake ;)

I am going to preempt this post with a little warning:  I am completely bragging about the cupcakes I made.  Pat-myself-on-the-back-toot-my-own-horn BRAGGING.  And want to know something else?  They contain dairy, sugar, wheat, and pretty much everything else I am not supposed to eat.  But sometimes, sometimes, there is somebody who is worth that sacrifice!

I have a really awesome brother-in-law.  We have been friends since 10th grade, and a few (many) years ago when we were in Teachers' College, I brought him home to do some homework (so he could meet my sister and fall in love with her since I knew they were perfect for each other).  They have been married over two years now and are even making me an auntie this summer!!!!!!!  SO...  Does he get his own signature cupcake for his birthday?  You bet.  And THEN some!

I found a chocolate cake recipe online (http://www.bestmoistchocolatecakerecipe.com/).  Um, yeah.  That's the name of the website, so obviously, it's pretty great.  I DID alter it a little...  I don't use vegetable oil, only olive (I have never had complaints about taste) and because I ran out of oil, I used half a cup, and then substituted a half cup of butter.  This?  Was a stroke of pure freaking genius, I have to say.  The cake was rich, moist and delicious, and yet surprisingly extremely fluffy!  I also used the cup of coffee instead of water.  This will be my new go-to chocolate cake recipe, no questions asked.

What say you for filling?  I love the filled cupcake.  It's a little surprise, and it adds a depth of flavour that I think is important.  Scott convinced me to do a peanut butter filling.  I wanted it to be thick enough, but not so thick that it made filling the cupcakes impossible.  (I had other things to do like buy onesies and make pink and blue cupcakes for my sister!)  So I mixed peanut butter with sweetened, condensed milk.  I am of the school of thought that pretty much anything mixed with sweetened, condensed milk is amazing, and peanut butter was no exception.



Scott helped out by eating the little triangles of cake that had to be removed to make room for the filling.  What a guy!

As for the frosting, oh.... the frosting.  I mixed confectioner's sugar, butter and a nice, thick caramel sauce.  And then, AND THEN!  I topped the whole thing off with a pinch of fleur de sel to bring out the sweetness of the caramel.  It might have been my brother-in-law's birthday, friends, but we all got a gift.  Sweeeeeeeeeet!!!!



Good thing I could cover up the evidence with Salted Caramel Buttercream!  The perfect crime!

Truly, cupcakes worth growing older for :)
















Pardon the less-than-stellar photography, but you just had to see the inside!