Recipe and topper project by Ann Drake of On Sutton Place.
My old Betty Crocker cookbook was a wedding gift, and it’s still where I turn for basic recipes. These chocolate cupcakes use buttermilk and melted unsweetened chocolate, with a buttercream frosting and handmade stars for an Independence Day finish.
Cupcake ingredients
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 1 ⅔ cups flour, divided
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
Buttercream frosting
- 1 cup butter, or 2 sticks
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Bake and frost
- Heat the oven to 350°F and prepare cupcake tins.
- Combine the shortening, white and brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, and melted chocolate.
- Add the salt, baking soda, and 1 cup of the flour.
- Add the buttermilk and remaining ⅔ cup flour, mixing them in slowly.
- Beat on high for 3 minutes.
- Divide the batter into the prepared cupcake tins and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a standing mixer. Beat until fluffy, then add milk until you reach the consistency you want.
- Top the cooled cupcakes with buttercream.
Paper or burlap stars
I used a printable star template, choosing the size I wanted for each topper.
For a paper star, trace the shape on the back of scrapbook paper and cut it out. Punch two holes, thread a stick through them, and add a little twine bow.
For the burlap version, fuse two pieces of burlap together with iron-on interfacing before tracing and cutting the star. The interfacing stiffens the fabric and helps contain stray threads. Punch the holes and add the stick and bow as for the paper version. The stars are decorations; remove them before eating.
For another of my guest recipes, the strawberry cream cheese muffins have a piped filling and cinnamon streusel.
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