Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream

If you follow me here or at my other blog Pine Cones and Acorns than you know I love chocolate and sugar, and that is not listed in any particular order. I also love to bake and I really LOVE to give the things I make to people who either no longer bake or people who would never bake. It makes me so happy to see a smile from a cupcake or a brownie.

I frequently make cupcakes because they are easy to make and are easy to transport. Lately I have been meaning to try something new in the way of frosting and I think this cupcake fits the bill. The frosting is basically butter cream but it is taken to a new level with the addition of Marshmallow Fluff! 

I cannot even begin to tell you how good this frosting is. I ate a few spoons fulls to make sure that it tasted great and that the consistency was as it should be. In fact I ate so much I did not even try a cupcake frosted!

For the cupcakes, you can use whatever chocolate cake recipe you like. I used the old standby, which is my favorite, from the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can, which you can find Here. But if you are in a hurry by all means use a mix. Any cupcake or cake is going to be fabulous with the addition of this frosting, I promise!

Marshmallow Cream Frosting:

Adapted from: Kraft Recipes

1 cup of softened butter (2 sticks)

1 7oz jar of  Marshmallow cream of marshmallow fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

2 cups of powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)

2-4 Tablespoons of heavy cream

In your stand mixer, place softened butter and beat for one minute until creamy. Add vanilla and marshmallow fluff, beat until mixed. Make sure to scrape the sides. Add the powdered sugar, mix on LOW! Slowly add the cream and then mix on high for 3-5 minutes. When you add the cream only add enough so that the frosting is at the consistency that you like.

I hope you try this out! I would love to know what you think!

Linking to:
Stone Gable

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

At the end of the week I always have a few bananas laying around.  I have a few weird food rules and I do not like bananas that have any spots on the outside and I really only enjoy them if they are "just ripe: so this actually happens pretty frequently. 

Normally I make banana cake or plain banana bread. This weekend  I thought I would try a Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. IT is delicious! The bread is moist, and the addition of the chocolate and the chocolate chips makes it a little decadent and seem more like a dessert as opposed to a quick bread. 

Chococolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

adapted from Joy of Baking

1 3/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 large eggs slightly beaten

1 stick of butter melted, and cooled

3 ripe bananas mashed well

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Mix together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Stir the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Carefully fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Pour into greased loaf pan or 3 mini pans. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pan than turn out onto wire rack.

I hope you try this recipe! And if you do or have any other great recipes do let me know in your comments. 

I hope you have a great week! Enjoy!

Julia Child Happy 100th Birthday

Today would have been the 100th Birthday of Julia Child!

Image here

 I have always been a fan of Julia and send her a Happy Birthday wish today along with many other fans!

Triple Chocolate Oreo Bars

Hello! Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend had be just that, an end to your week and a time to relax and rest. I have guest this weekend and I always like to have homemade baked goods for them.

 As I perused Pinterest I found a bar cookie that reminded me of a 7 layer bar that I frequently make, only instead of coconut and graham crackers there were Oreo and two additional kinds of chocolate.

Triple Chocolate Oreo Bars

Adapted from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreo Cookies (16.6) divided 8 for topping

1 stick of melted butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup of Ghirardelli 60% chocolate baking Chips

1/2 cup Ghirardelli, Milk Chocolate Chips

3/4 cup of  Nestle Tollhouse Semi Sweet Morsels

1/2 cup of 60% chocolate chips

1 cup melted white chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 325. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil. Place entire package of Oreo's EXCEPT the 8 set aside and place in food processor or blender and pulse until crushed.

Pour crushed Oreos and melted butter into foil lined pan. Mix well and then press into pan.

In a double boiler, place condensed milk and the 60% chocolate chips, the milk chocolate chips and the vanilla. Melt and mix well.

Pour chocolate mixture over the Oreo crust. Spread evenly. Sprinkle the chocolate filling with 3/4 cup of chocolate chips, and the remaining 8 Oreos, that you have broken into small pieces and the 1/2 cup of 60% chips.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely. When cooled, melt white chocolate and drizzle over the top of the bars.

Cut and serve.

These are delicious! Crunchy, chocolaty and tasty.  I hope that you try them and perhaps add your own twist! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! And if you feel like baking a great cake that is not chocolate, come over to Pine Cones and Acorns and check out my Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

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Chocolate Happiness

Enjoy your day!

Joy the Baker Chocolate Brownies with Whipped Butter Cream Frosting

Yes, another brownie recipe. I have been frantically pinning on Pinterest and I have noticed a disturbing trend, all of my recipes are either filled with sugar or cheese. Obviously this one is filled with chocolate and sugar.



I have been a follower of Joy the Baker for some time now and see her beautiful recipes and creations all over blog land and Pinterest. After seeing these brownies countless times I decided to order her beautiful cookbook and then to make a few things, these brownies are the first recipe I tried.

If you like chocolate, and I think you might because otherwise you would not be reading a blog called Once Upon a Chocolate Life, you will LOVE these brownies. They are chocolaty, filled with chocolate chips and then over the top with whipped chocolate butter cream frosting.

Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Buttercream Frosting:

3/4 cup of butter softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
21/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup malted milk powder (Kraft, Ovaltine, etc)

Directions:

Grease a 8x8 inch baking pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.

In a over a double boiler, melt the butter and the chocolate. Once melted stir to incorporate. Remove from heat, add brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix. Add eggs, and yolk and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and FOLD together until well incorporated. Do not over mix. Then fold in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until skewer in center comes out clean. Cool completely and then frost.

Frosting:

In a stand mixer, cream together butter, cocoa powder and sugar. Mix for 3 minutes on medium.

Turn off the mixture and add the powdered sugar, turn mixer on slow otherwise you will have the powdered sugar everywhere. Add milk and vanilla. Scrape down side and continue to mix. In separate cup, add your malt powder or Ovaltine to the heavy whipping cream. Add slowly to the mixture to desired consistency. I did not use all of the cream.

Use 1/2 of the frosting to frost the brownies. Save the rest for another project.

These brownies are scrumptious! I loved them, and the frosting is creamy, rich and has a hint of malt. If you do not like malt than leave it out.

Do you have a favorite brownie recipe? I would love to hear it. I am always looking for new recipes. Thank you to all of those who send me emails to say they have tried the recipes. I am not the source of the recipes, and I always site the place I found the recipe, but I love when you come back and tell me you made something you saw here or on my other blog Pine Cones and Acorns or what changes you made.

I hope you have a great day! Enjoy a little chocolate!

P.S: Joy's cookbook is available on Amazon and her BLOG is beautiful. I am in awe of her wonderful photographs and her sunny personality.

Linking to:
DIY by Design
Savvy Southern Style
Stone Gable
No Minimalist