On June 5th, my sister's husband leaves for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Having only been married for 2 months and 1 day when he leaves makes for an extra tough departure. On Saturday May 30th, we had a going away party for him which was a big success. Danny made delicious ribs that were fall off the bone tender with a homemade marinade/sauce of his own invention. Will attempt to steal recipe. And plenty of beer to go around.
It was a great time with lots of family and friends. Many well-wishes and lots of hopes for a happy return a year from now.
I was tasked with providing desert, so I made these incredibly cute chocolate cupcakes. They were easy to make and the combination of dark chocolate and cream cheese was devine. The zucchini helps keep these moist and makes them taste deceivingly healthy. The decoration was fresh raspberries and blueberries that went excellent with the cupcakes and helped cut the sweetness of the frosting. I attempted to lighten up the frosting using evaporated milk, but I had a hard time getting it to stay whipped. Definately better to use the heavy whipping cream although fat free coolwhip would probably work if you cut the sugar a little.
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
16 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 c sugar
4 egg
3 t vanilla
10 T Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa (if you can't get this just use your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder, though this makes for a wonderful dark chocolate)
4 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
3 c all-purpose flour
10 T buttermilk
3 c grated zucchini
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tins.
Beat together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg & vanilla. Add the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & 1/4 c of flour. Beat to combine. Add the buttermilk & beat until combined. Add in the remaining 1/2 c flour & beat until just combined, the dough will be quite stiff but don't worry the zucchini adds a lot of moisture. Stir in the zucchini.
Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.
Makes 36Fluffiest Cream Cheese Frosting
12 oz fat free cream cheese, slightly softened
1 1/3 c sugar
pinch of salt
1 t vanilla or orange extract
2 c heavy cream
In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar, salt & vanilla until smooth & not grainy from the sugar, about 3 - 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, beat the cream until stiff peak form. Fold 1/3 of the cream into the cream cheese mixture. Once incorporated, fold the remaining cream in.
Makes enough to frost 36 - 40 cupcakesrecipes courtesy of a good appetite.
I hope you will pray for Danny while he is deployed and for my sister left here at home.
Don't worry, I will have some cupcakes ready for your return! :)
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