Darcie Bakes //

Baking from scratch… because good things take time.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream Frosting.

Working for a huge corporation is a funny thing. It takes a while to adapt to that kind of environment [*cough* bureaucracy *cough*], especially straight out of college.*

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One of the things that has probably helped me the most when adapting to the “real world” – especially in a huge company – has been mentors. My company is pretty big on mentoring anyway, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have about five great mentors [some formal and others informal] thus far. Some people might find it silly, but I find mentoring to be one of the best tools out there for those who are pursuing any career – regardless of your field.

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There’s just nothing that can compare to establishing a relationship with another person in your field. A person that you can pretty much call your friend – but who’s also an expert in the same field. I am able to go to my mentors for help needed, advice in general, to rant… Or to just talk about baked goods. And for all of my mentors, I am very grateful. So this post is dedicated to all y’all: Thanks for being there for me. Thanks for teaching me. Thank you for putting up with my crap. And thanks for simply being awesome; you all know who you are!

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{I LOVE mint green. Best color ever. If you don’t agree, you’re just plain wrong.} 😛

I’m dedicating this post to all of my IT career mentors because well, I’m pretty sure you all love mint and chocolate, so it just seems fitting. And who can blame ya? Now, I will fully admit that mint + chocolate is actually not my favorite combination. I love chocolate, obvz. But mint hasn’t ever been my favorite. {Of course, that won’t stop me from shoving it in my face when it’s put in front of me. Especially in the form of cupcakes!} However, I really enjoy these cupcakes. I love making them for my mint fiend buddies, and of course, I always have to sample at least one.

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The cake is rich and chocolatey, and it has a subtle mint flavor. The frosting is creamy, sweet, and has a hint of mint. I had to add a bit of green food coloring to it, just to give it that pretty mint green hue! So yeah. Enough said. Make these, and enjoy!

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{Yes, I own a cupcake carrying container. #BakingNerd} 😛

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Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream.
Yield: The original recipe says 18 cupcakes, but I got more like thirteen… So your mileage may vary!

Ingredients:
For the mint chocolate cupcakes:
– 1 cup plus 1 TBSP. granulated sugar
– 3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
– 7 TBSP. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
– 3/4 tsp. baking powder
– 3/4 tsp. baking soda
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1 large egg, at room temperature
– 1/2 cup milk [I used 2%.]
– 1/4 cup vegetable oil [I used canola oil.]
– 3/4 tsp. peppermint extract
– 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup boiling water

For the mint frosting:

– 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
– 4 TBSP. unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 3 TBSP. heavy cream
– 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– Green food coloring, if desired
– About 5-9 Andes chocolate mints, halved

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin pans with 18 paper cupcake liners. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer [or small bowl], mix together the egg, milk, oil, peppermint, and vanilla extracts. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, and beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then continue to beat on medium speed for a minute or two. Add the boiling water, and stir to combine. {Note: The batter will be pretty liquid-y… That’s normal.}

4. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4ths of the way full with the batter. Bake until the tops are firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for ten minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pans and allow to cool completely.

5. To make the frosting, beat the powdered sugar and butter until the mixture is crumbly, for about one minute. Add the heavy cream, vanilla and mint extracts, salt, and food coloring [if you’re using it], and beat on high until smooth, for about three minutes. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip, and pipe frosting onto each cooled cupcake. Top each cupcake with half of an Andes mint.

– Recipe from Handle the Heat.

*You’ve probably noticed that I don’t discuss my day job too much on this blog. I do that for a reason, and that reason is twofold: 1) I have no desire to think about my 9-5 job on this blog – this is my creative, personal space that has absolutely nothing to do with my IT career; and 2) I want to be as professional as possible, so while I do enjoy my day job, I don’t feel the need to discuss it in depth on here. 🙂

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