Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes

Even though it is July, here it is not really sunny... the wind has been blowing like crazy and I decided to simply spend the evening baking. So this is what came out of it: Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes! They were easy and simple to make, and so was the icing. The only time-consuming part is the sunflower. I had them on hand (made them about a week ago when baking for my aunt's "party"), you could skip them if you're in a hurry. Or use sprinkles... or make them! They are simple too, just take a bit of time.
Line a sheet of parchment paper to pipe on. Simply melt some good quality white chocolate, colour it with food colouring, and fill a piping bag with it, using a small round nozzle (I believe I used Wilton's nr. 2... don't quote me on that, though!). Pipe the outlines of a sunflower. This takes a bit of practice, but it is not that hard. You can do it ;) Let the outlines set and harden. Then, take a bit bigger piping nozzle (I believe Wilton's nr. 3... but again, no quoting!), and gently flood the leaves of the sunflower. Be careful not to overflood. When set, you use a small piping nozzle (Wilton's nr.2... no quoting, lol!) to pipe a little dot of melted brown chocolate in the middle of each sunflower. Let set and then gently, very gently, remove from the parchment paper. There you go!


Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes
Adapted from Baking Bites. Some slight changes were made.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream (I used 5% fat)
1 cup coffee (room temperature)
1/2 cup finely chopped chocolate (or small chocolate chips)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
Mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix the chopped chocolate in.
Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl, and beat a bit. Gently, mix the wet and dry together. Make sure everything is well blended, no lumps! Don't overblend, though.
Line about 18 muffin cups with muffin liners, and fill them ca. 3/4 full.
Bake for about 15 to 18 min. (I had to bake them a little longer, just watch them carefully.)

Chocolate Icing
My own recipe

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup chopped 70% chocolate, melted
3 tbls. coffee (room temperature)
3 tbls. cream, if needed to thin the icing.
About 3 cups powdered sugar (just as much as you need, I didn't really measure...)

Cream the butter, then mix in the melted chocolate. Mix in the coffee, than the powdered sugar. If you need to thin it, use the cream, otherwise, skip it.
Ice the cupcakes when they have cooled, garnish if you want, and enjoy! (My family and I sure enjoyed!)

If you make these, let me know what you think! And if you need further information on the flower-making, just comment and I'll get right back to you!

My... chocolatey regards,

Miss Diorista