Recipe of the Week - Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Week 26

My visit to Mexico last weekend inspired the recipe for this week.  I had the most amazing dessert and it wasn't even a cupcake!  The dessert was a plate filled with Mexican wedding cookies and a cup of melted chocolate.  On the side was a small bowl of whipped cream floating in rum....the combination of all these flavors was unbelievable. 

If you are ever in Puerto Vallarta stop by Joe Jack's Fish Shack located at 212 Basilio Badillo and order this dessert.   You will not be disappointed! 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard cupcake pans with liners, or coat with non-stick cooking spray. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, until blended.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, and gradually add to the sugar mixture, until the mixture begins to come together. Very slowly, add the boiling water, and blend until the mixture is smooth. Fill the liners 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.


Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

4 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons milk
Chocolate curls for garnishing cupcakes

In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir the sugar to aerate it. Add the butter, vanilla, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon milk, and beat on high speed until the frosting is spreading consistency. If the frosting is stiff, add a few more drops of milk, beating after each addition. Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with chocolate curls.