Mas

larger view

They’re cute, they’re sweet and they’re perfectly proportioned. Cupcakes are not only one of the hottest food trends this year, but they’re also easy and fun to make at home. These Valentine’s Day cupcakes were created for the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) by renowned California pastry chef and dessert cookbook author Emily Luchetti.
A tip Luchetti offers bakers is to never skimp on ingredients.
“For truly delicious cupcakes, you need to start with high-quality ingredients, and the best cupcakes are made with real butter,” said Luchetti. “The rich, natural taste of butter gives cupcakes the ideal flavor and texture. I always use fresh, unsalted butter from California when I bake. I prefer unsalted butter for baking because it allows me to better control the amount of salt in the recipe. But, if you don’t have unsalted butter, salted works fine. Just be careful about adding extra salt.”

Ingredients

Cocoa Cupcakes
Bite into one of these rich cocoa cupcakes for a gooey marshmallow surprise. Topped with airy whipped cream dusted with cinnamon, these chocolatey treats are sure to be a hit this Valentine’s Day.
Yield: 12 cupcakes

For Cupcakes:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted California butter, softened
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup California milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

For frosting:
12 tablespoons marshmallow fluff (for filling), whipped cream, ground cinnamon

Directions

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour insides of 12 muffin cups or insert paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next.
3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Note: mixture will curdle slightly.
4. With electric mixer on low speed, add one-third of cocoa and flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, mixing until combined.
5. Add half of milk mixture and mix well. Mixing well between each addition, add another third of the dry ingredients, the remaining milk mixture and then the remaining dry ingredients.
6. Evenly divide batter between cupcake molds. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans.
Cool completely before frosting.
Note: If you are using cupcake liners, insert a table knife along the inside of the cupcake mold and gently pry the cupcake out. If you are not using liners, remove the cupcakes from the pan by running a paring knife around the inside edge of each cupcake.

Frosting:
1. Scoop a hole out of the center of each cupcake about 3/4-inch deep and 1 1/2-inches wide. Fill each hole with 1 tablespoon of marshmallow fluff. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
2. Just before serving, place a large dollop of whipped cream on top of each cupcake. Dust with ground cinnamon and serve immediately.