October 18th was National Chocolate Cupcake Day.  Yes really, there is such a day celebrated here in the United States.

So even though I wanted to participate, sometimes I just want a cupcake without all the bells and whistles.. hassle-free, you know?  If I’m entertaining I’ll make the effort and bake from scratch, but every now and then I prefer to doctor up a boxed cake mix.

I’m going to show you my method for creating simple delicious chocolate cupcakes doing just that, doctoring a boxed cake mix.  And to finish, I’m going to slather them in chocolate cream cheese frosting.  YUM

 

See?  Perfectly simple.  No impressive piped frosting designs or fancy cupcake liners, just plain-Jane simple.

 

Delicious! ❤

 

Here’s the ingredients.  It’s primarily what the back of the box calls for, plus a few “enhancing” additions. 🙂

 

She’s pouring in the secret ingredient, instant pudding mix!

 

Om nom nom nom!!

 

Pour everything into a stand mixer or a bowl, and mix it together.  That’s it.

Tip:  Make sure you let the eggs and milk come to room temperature, about 20-30 minutes.

 

Make sure you turn them out onto a cooling rack after about 5-10 minutes from pulling them out of the oven.  I accidentally baked them for a couple minutes longer than I should’ve, hence the cracked tops.  Makes no difference, they’ll be covered in frosting anyway!

 

A trick I use to enhance moisture is to poke them in the top with a toothpick a bunch of times, and then brush them with simple syrup.

Simple Syrup:  1 tablespoon of sugar dissolved into 1 tablespoon warm water.

 

Now for the frosting!  This is my basic cream cheese frosting with the addition of 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.

 

Ta-daaaaa!  ❤

 

I use an ice cream scoop.  This helps me achieve a “frosting dome” and equal amounts per cupcake.  Then I use a small butter-knife to smooth it out, keeping the dome shape.

 

See?  Dome-shaped! 🙂

 

“Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain.”- Dave Barry

 

Belley-Boo wanted to decorate the cupcakes with pink sanding sugar and pink sixlets.  October happens to be breast-cancer awareness month so it was an appropriate color choice! 🙂

 

These turned out simple and SO delicious!  Pillowy cake and luscious chocolate cream cheese frosting.  LOVE!  Enjoy!  🙂  xoxo

 

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate or Devils Food Cake Mix
• 1 box Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix
• 4 Eggs (room temp)
• 1 cup Milk (room temp)
• 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 tablespoons Melted Butter
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Couple dashes of Salt

Simple Syrup:  1 tablespoon of sugar dissolved into 1 tablespoon warm water.

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pan with liners.  Blend the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, melted butter (slightly cooled), vanilla extract and salt until moistened.  Mix for a minute or two longer.

Pour into cupcake liners and bake for 13-15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  DO NOT over-bake!  Turn them out onto a cooling rack.  Using a toothpick, poke holes in the top of each cupcake and brush them with simple syrup.  Frost using the recipe below. 🙂

 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package (8 ounces|1 cup) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 1 stick (4 ounces|1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter
• 2-3 cups Powdered Sugar (depending on sweetness preference)
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Salt

Bring the cream cheese and butter to room temp.  Mix both together really well in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer).  Begin adding the powdered sugar in one cup intervals.  Once the sugar is fully mixed, add the cocoa powder.  Then add the vanilla and salt.  Mix until combined.  Needs refrigeration.