Devil’s Food Cake: Cupcake Recipe

It’s hard to get that picky eater to suck down a couple carrots, but offer up a devil’s food cake cupcake and the full stomach suddenly has “just enough room”.

I know that trick. No… I’ve done that trick.

With this devil food cake recipe, you won’t have to worry about being unhealthy. While, there is still sugar and such, you may find that this chocolate cake isn’t too much of a diet-buster.

Using unsweetened cocoa powder, low-fat yogurt and wheat flour, are all great ways to make this devil’s food cake a little less of a guilty pleasure so go ahead… have two cupcakes instead of just one.

Yield: Two 9-inch or three 8-inch rounds, 16 servings each,
2 dozen cupcakes or one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, 24 servings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (7-1/2 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) superfine or granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (3 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain low-fat or whole-milk yogurt
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the pan or pans of your choice or line with parchment paper. For cupcakes, lightly grease two muffin tins or line with papers and coat the papers with non-stick spray.

2) Cream together the butter, sugars and salt in a large mixing bowl till fluffy and light, at least five minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once during that time. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa and baking soda. If lumps remain, sift or strain the mixture.

3) Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well (at least a full minute) after each addition, and stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next egg. Mix in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and mix until evenly combined. Add the yogurt and water, and mix again. Add the remaining flour, mix, and stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to make sure the batter is evenly moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

4) Bake the cakes; 30-35 for layered cakes and 35-40 for a sheet cake… even less for cupcakes! The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the side of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Place on a rack to cool completely before frosting.

These tasty devil’s food cupcakes are great for parties, or any other occasion really. For a frosting, I love to top these delicious cupcakes with a smooth cream cheese frosting. For an added twist, try torting your cupcakes. (That means to put a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the middle of your cupcake!) No matter how you ice it, this devil’s food cake recipe is devilishly delicious!

4th of July Cupcake Design

Uncle Sam wants you… but you may have to tell him to wait! These July 4th cupcakes are so good, you won’t want to miss them. These cupcakes are great for parties, Fourth of July firework shows, or just for you to enjoy! The little cakes may be red, white, and blue, but let’s face red, white, and blue are always in season!

The fun part about this holiday cupcake recipe is that it’s so versatile. For fun variations, you could try using vanilla cupcakes. Add some red or blue food coloring for additional color.

Ingredients:

• 24 pre-made chocolate cupcakes
• 1/2 cup marshmallow crème
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, halved
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1) Refrigerate pre-made cupcakes.

2) Place marshmallow crème in small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 10 – 20 seconds, until softened. Beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add slightly cooled marshmallow crème; continue beating until stiff peaks form.

3) Frost cooled cupcakes with whipped cream mixture up to two hours before serving. Arrange 2 strawberry halves on top of each frosted cupcake. Place 3 - 5 blueberries around the strawberry halves. Keep refrigerated until served.

You could also substitute the fruit for more variations. Strawberries could be switched out for raspberries. If you don’t like blueberries, try putting a small dollop of blue icing next to the strawberries. This ties in the red, white, and blue all together in a festive little cupcake.