Mocha Dream Cream Cupcakes

So, these are the cupcakes I made this week for our family fun day at church...

Ingredients:

• Cake
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, room temp
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• Filling
• 12 oz cream cheese (1 1/2 pkgs), room temp
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg white (save yolk for icing)
• Frosting
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 egg yolk, room temp
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 T instant expresso powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Chop chocolate for filling and cupcakes in food processor...I suggest you do it on low, because when I tried it on high, the chocolate began to melt.
3. Cream 2 sticks of butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. Add 3 eggs and beat another 3 minutes.
5. Add buttermilk and vanilla.
6. Mix boiling water and 4 oz chopped chocolate.
7. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into bowl.
8. Alternately add flour and chocolate mixtures to batter, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
9. Pour batter into cupcake pans liked with paper liners, filling each 2/3 full.
10. Cream together all filling ingredients except chocolate for 3-5 minutes.  Fold in chopped chocolate.
11. Drop filling by the tablespoonful into the center of each cupcake...part of it will peek out the top.
12. Bake 18-20 minutes.

When they are cooled, begin the icing.

1. Beat butter on med-high about 3 minutes, until light yellow.
2. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat another 3 minutes.
3. On low, gradually add powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium until smooth and creamy.
4. Dissolve the espresso powder in 2 tsp of the hottest tap water.
5. On low, add the melted chocolate and espresso to the butter mixture and mix until blended...don't whip.
6. Spread on cupcakes and enjoy!

*Makes about 24 cupcakes.

If you are like me and don't have buttermilk, you can mix 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 T white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes.  I didn't know what cake flour was until not long ago and had to look it up...to sum it up, cake flour has a finer texture and is milled differently than other flours, making the cake/cupcakes lighter and fluffier.  It really does make a difference!