"Nasty Woman" Cupcakes
This has been one hell of a ride you guys. DAMN. But it all ends tomorrow night. YAAAS.
There's really no point in getting into what has made this election season such an insane experience for everyone in this country. So, unlike most posts on Probably This, we're going to shut up and just present you with these cupcakes. Chocolate Chip + Pomegranate Cupcakes. These lil nasty gals are pretty uncomplicated and if you're in a real rush / as lazy as we are you can skip the whole pomegranate sauce part and just buy store-bought frosting for decorating. These are for all you nasty women and nasty women lovers out there. Happy election day, 2016!
Also, if you haven't signed up for our $200 Target gift card giveaway, that ends on November 13th at Midnight, so get on it!
Nasty Woman Cupcakes
(Chocolate + Pomegranate Cupcakes)
prep time: 10 minutes // cook time: 20 minutes // makes 2 dozen
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup full fat yogurt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
for pomegranate sauce:
- 1 cup pomegranate arils (plus 1/2 cup for garnish, if desired)
- 1/4 cup sugar
cocoa cream cheese icing:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 16 oz powdered sugar, sifted to remove impurities or hard lumps
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup melted and cooled semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- Place a rack in the center position of your oven and preheat that nasty woman to 350 degrees. Prepare two standard-sized cupcake pans with some super nasty parchment paper baking cups.
- Sift together your mega nasty dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and set aside.
- Use either a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer to cream the butter and both sugars until slightly fluffy and pale, about two minutes. With the speed on low, add the eggs in one at a time, waiting for each egg to be incorporated before tossing in the next. Add the yogurt, milk, and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add the first half of your dry ingredients and mix on low speed until there are no lumps left, add the second half and repeat. Fold in your chocolate chips. Fill the prepared cupcake pans (filling each cupcake cup about half way) and bake for 18 - 20 minutes, until a fork comes out clean).
- While the cupcakes bake, make your nasty pomegranate sauce: arils and sugar go into a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 10 minutes, use a muddler to crush arils just slightly, simmer five more minutes. Strain out arils and pulp, return liquid to saucepan to thicken over medium-low heat for about 5 additional minutes. Remove from heat.
- Once the cupcake are done, gently brush a tiny amount of the pomegranate syrup over each cupcake, letting it absorb into the cake. You can also go ahead and add a few of the cooked down arils on top at this time if you don't mind the texture! Let cupcakes fully cool before frosting.
- To make the frosting, use a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese until fluffy, abut two minutes. Add in half of the powdered sugar, cream again (starting out on low speed and moving into high speed) for about one minute. Add the remaining powdered sugar, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and half of the milk, beat for about 30 seconds. If your frosting is thicker then you'd like, add in the remaining milk a tablespoon at a time (beating between each addition) until you have the desired consistency. After you've reached the right consistency, beat for another minute to add volume.*
- To frost, I used a piping bag (actually it was a zip top bag), fitted with a #32 tip to create little star prints. I then used a #4 tip to pipe the lettering. Top them off with pomegranate arils and enjoy!
Notes
*If you want to reserve some white frosting for the lettering, remove about 1/2 cup of your frosting from the mixer (in step 7) before adding in the cocoa powder and chocolate. If you need to thicken it, whisk in a few tablespoons of powdered sugar.
