Sweet 16!

I am pretty sure it is a law that you must have cupcakes for your 16th birthday.  And if it isn't I am declaring it right now!  My cousin Ali turned sixteen on Monday and we had a little dinner to celebrate.  I got to make the dessert!  Ali loves cappuccino and mocha flavored things.  She has good taste.  We'd probably get rid of her if she didn't.  Just kidding!  Just kidding!  We like her.  We'll keep her.  She's fun!  Anyway back to those cupcakes...

I decided to make two different cupcakes.  That way we could have the chocolate coffee combo and and the fruit chocolate combo.  Turns out it was a great plan!  All but three or four of the sixteen, of course I had to decorate sixteen it was her sixteenth birthday for goodness sake, cupcakes were gobbled up.  And there were eight of us at dinner.  I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe and then made flavored whipped cream to use as frosting.  YUM YUM YUM!

For the cupcakes:

2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbls white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups cold water

This makes enough batter for 32 standard sized cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin pans with fun paper or foil wrappers.

Mix the dry ingredients then stir in the wet ingredients until the batter is smooth.  EASY EASY EASY.  Pour batter into lined muffin pans.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  You may want to check after 15 and if a tester comes out clean they are done.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Because the frosting is just whipped cream you want to frost them just before serving.  You can make the whipped cream about two hours in advance.

I made two different flavors of whipped cream so I'll give it to you in two separate sets of directions.  This made enough whipped cream to frost about 20 of the cupcakes so you'll have to make more if you want to frost all of the 32 cupcakes.

Blackberry whipped cream:

1/2 pint whipping cream
4 tbls seedless blackberry jam
1 tsp vanilla

Whip cream with blackberry jam and vanilla.  You can add a little sugar if it seems too tart from the jam.

Coffee whipped cream:

1/2 pint whipping cream
2 tbls instant coffee powder mixed with about 2 tsp warm water
2 tbls sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip cream with instant coffee/water mixture, sugar and vanilla.  You can add a little more sugar if it doesn't taste sweet enough to you.

Top the cooled cupcakes with the flavored whipped cream.  I put fresh blackberries on the blackberry whipped cream cupcakes and chocolate covered espresso beans and a little cinnamon on the coffee whipped cream cupcakes.  Stick candles in the appropriate number of cupcakes and present to the person of honor!

Happy 16th Birthday Ali!