1.22.2011

valentine cupcakes

IMG_1241
As I was poking around the internet for Valentine cupcake inspiration, I ran across these lovely little bites of heaven over at Joy the Baker.
IMG_1233
Normally I am a "scrape off 1/2 of the frosting to get to the cake" kind of girl but... This frosting has a secret ingredient. An ingredient so completely irresistible I couldn't help but eat every last bite and even steal a nibble...or five from the mixing bowl. Can you guess what the secret ingredient might be??

IMG_1232

It's Ovaltine! I chose the Chocolate Malt flavor for my frosting. Joy doesn't specify so I'm thinking maybe she used the Classic Malt Ovaltine. I'm sure either one would be fantastic.

The cake recipe is so darn good as well. In fact, I think it's my favorite one yet.

Here is my adapted version of Joy's recipe.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate (Ovaltine) Buttercream Frosting
~adapted from Joy the Baker

makes 24 cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups baker's sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Position oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and vanilla. In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar 3 or 4 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating one minute after each addition.

With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures in three batches. When the batter is almost combined, turn off the mixture and finish mixing by hand.

Evenly divide batter into cupcake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Ovaltine Frosting
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Chocolate Malt Ovaltine

Cream the butter, cocoa powder and salt. Turn off mixture and scrape down sides of bowl. Add the confectioner's sugar. With mixer on low speed, mix the sugar while slowly adding the milk and vanilla. Raise speed to medium and beat until smooth. In a small bowl, mix together the cream and Ovaltine and slowly add to the mixer bowl in a steady stream until you reach the desired consistency. (You may not need all of the cream and Ovaltine mixture.)

Now get busy frosting your yummy cupcakes!

Print recipe

I know you'll love these! ;)

Happy Sunday!





Share/Bookmark

36 comments:

scrambledhenfruit said...

I love Ovaltine! These cupcakes sound (and look) fabulous! :)

Angie's Recipes said...

How pretty they look! Bet they taste heavenly!

♥peachkins♥ said...

wow! I guess you're ready for valentine's huh?

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Ovaltine was my mom and dads drink of choice when we were kids. Warm milk before bedtime seemed to do the trick. I can only imagine how it's malt flavour amped up these cupcakes Kim.

Joanne said...

I'm so not in the mood for valentine's day but I'm ALWAYS in teh mood for cupcakes! These look delicious!

Cathy said...

Gorgeous photo, Kim. That is one perfect cupcake.

Faith said...

Love the use of Ovaltine here! Such pretty and festive cupcakes, Kim!

Molly Anne said...

Oh I will definitely be making these! I adore chocolate malt - never thought about putting it in frosting! Yum!

Beth said...

What beautiful cupcakes! And I love the secret ingredient.

teresa said...

how fun! i would never think to put ovaltine in frosting, but that's probably what makes it so good! yummy! and they're so pretty!

Shelby said...

The cupcakes are gorgeous!

Delicious Dishings said...

I remember seeing these on FB. They look gorgeous. And I need to try that frosting one of these days!

Claudia said...

Yes, you are right - I love this. Sweet morsels. And love getting a headstart on Valentine's Day.

The Scrappy Bug said...

I don't know why I do this to myself but I always visit your site at night and I either go to sleep hungry or raid my fridge....not good. But your blog is fantastic. Thank you for sharing your ideas.

MaryMoh said...

Gorgeous cupcakes...perfect for Valentines Day. I love the cupcake cases and the frosting.

Julie said...

With the ovaltine in there, it's sort of good for you, right? They're too cute, that's for sure :)

Kim said...

I bet the malted flavor from the Ovaltine is wonderful!

Erin said...

Oh my gosh! Chocolate malt Ovaltine??? I LOVE the flavor of malt. And add it to a cupcake and I'm all over it! Can't wait to try these!

The Blonde Duck said...

Oh these are adorable!

Juliana said...

Ovaltine frosting? I sure want to try this :-) The cupcakes look so pretty and tasty :-) Perfect for valentine's.

Janice said...

Great timing, I have ovaltine left from the cheesecake I never got round to making at Christmas!

jacquelilne said...

WOW kim this is perfect for valentine's!! I love Ovaltine too!! :) These cuupcakes look really truly yummie! Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!

Monet said...

Hi Kim! I've heard about this frosting recipe before, and I've been tempted to try it for a long time. Now I just need to get to it! Thank you for sharing your sweets with me...I hope you have a great Tuesday...I'm already ready for the weekend :-)

Anonymous said...

These are very pretty, and the frosting sounds excellent!

clearlytangled said...

the second you mentioned "secret ingredient" i guessed malt!! anything with malt in it is delicious. well, almost anything!

Joyti said...

Awww, those are so cute! And so Valentine-ish.

Randi Troxell said...

i LOOOOVE cupcakes, and this recipe sounds awesome!!

thnx for sharing!!!

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

What a great valentines treat. Maybe I'll whip them up for my oldest's kindergarten class!

Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

Faith said...

What pretty and festive cupcakes these are! I love the use of Ovaltine here, what a great idea!

Jeannie said...

I love ovaltine too! When we were young we used to spread some on our bread and eat it....these cupcakes must be very delicious!

The Blonde Duck said...

I hope you have a delightful weekend!

Magic of Spice said...

I still love ovaltine and was nuts over it as a child...what a wonderful ingredient.
These are just gorgeous :)

Magic of Spice said...

I still love ovaltine and was nuts over it as a child...what a wonderful ingredient.
These are just gorgeous :)

Suzi said...

I think I am going to have to make these for the kids classes for Valentine's Day. Thanks for sharing Kim!

UrMomCooks said...

Ovaltine you say??? I will have to keep this in mind... Beautiful cupcakes too...very professional looking!

Unknown said...

The Chocolate Buttercream with Ovaltine recipe is actually from Delilah Bakery in Echo Park. Joythebaker used to work there and is now claiming she came up with the recipe. I am glad it is being shared with others, but the courtesy protocol is to at least reference where the recipe came from.

To check out the bakery that CREATED this recipe, go to www.delilahbakery.com

Related Posts with Thumbnails