Today Dishing: Chocolate Cupcakes

The next time you're looking for an activity to share with kids consider baking and or decorating cupcakes.

Yesterday  I had the opportunity to watch my thirteen year old neighbor, Ashley who is battling leukemia. Having just returned home the day before from her latest month long stay in the

hospital, Ashley couldn't do anything too physically taxing.

Naturally when brainstorming for activity ideas, my mind automatically turns to food. Ashley has two younger sisters who  love a good sweet treat. With that thought in mind, cupcakes seemed the perfect solution to my dilemma.

Before Ashley arrived I made the cupcakes. Her job, should she be up to it, was to decorate them. She jumped at the prospect of being a cupcake decorator and just like that using a pastry bag, she iced the cupcakes.

Chocolaty cupcakes wait to be decorated.

Next Ashley showed off her creative self by selecting colorful and seasonal decorations. She is a natural  at decorating and although she tired easily she had fun discovering this side of herself. And hopefully her sisters enjoyed the fruits of her labor.
     
Not having a go-to chocolate cake recipe (because I'm constantly searching for the "best" one) I was under pressure  for a quick recipe. I turned to my Betty Crocker Cookbook, which served me well when I first began cooking. I wanted only to produce cupcakes quickly for decorating and oh my, what a pleasant surprise. The texture of these cupcakes is dense, yet light. The flavor is clean and chocolaty. I highly recommend this recipe.

This find reminded me that good food need not be difficult and fussy. We don't have to search the world over to find the best results. And as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz would say," I didn't have to look any further than my own backyard."

CHOCOLATE CAKE from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all purpose or 2 1/2 cup cake flour

1 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease cupcake tin or use cupcake papers. I recommend papers
Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Beat on high speed for three minutes.
Pour into papers.
Bake cupcakes for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of one cupcake comes out clean.
Remove cupcakes from tin onto wire rack .
Cool completely about 45 minutes before frosting.

Use the frosting of your choice. I used Seven-Minute Frosting.  Recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl.

Cupcakes: A fun activity to share with kids with cute, tasty results.

Yummy