Brownie batter chocolate fudge cupcake

With Outrageously Rich Chocolate Indulgence Frosting.



AKA
The Mega. Extreme. Chocolate. Overdose. Cupcake.



Almost immediately after making the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, I got the idea for a rich, decadent massively chocolate brownie batter cupcake, and I haven’t been able to get them outta my head since! This recipe uses a favorite chocolate brownie batter, my best chocolate cake ever recipe (just ask Google) and the most insanely ridiculously rich, fudgy, indulgent chocolate frosting you’ve ever had.

To all the chocolate lovers in the house… This is for you. XOXO.



It all starts with the brownie batter – this is seriously one of my favorite chocolate batter mixes ever. It calls for fat free sweetened condensed milk. You guys love me for that, right? Right back atcha.

It only calls for 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk though, and since I hate recipes that only call for a little bit of something in a can, leaving me wondering what the heck I’m supposed to do with the rest of it, go ahead and make this easy, no machine required homemade ice cream. You will definitely want some with these cupcakes! :)



Use your trusty 1.5 tbsp scoop to drop spoonfuls of brownie batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze overnight.



The next day, get ready to bake the best chocolate cupcakes ever.

This recipe calls for an entire cup of oil and an entire cup of sour cream. No wonder they’re good!



It also calls for 2 cups of mini chocolate chips, and if you want to help keep them from sinking to the bottom of your cupcake, mix them with a spoonful of the cake mix.

It’s tips like these that keep you coming back, I know.



Now using a large (3 tbsp) scoop, fill your cupcake liners about 2/3rds full.



Mmm, chocolate chips.



Grab your brownie batter from the freezer and press down into the cupcakes.



And when you pull them out of the oven…



You know how they say the muffin top is the best part of the muffin?

The best part of this cupcake is definitely this chewy, brownie batter top.

Think chewy brownie shell on top of an insanely gooey, soft chocolate cake.



Now these cupcakes are sho’ nuff good enough to eat just like this.

And this is coming from someone who basically only views cake as the vessel to getting frosting in her mouth.

But we’re not done here yet.



You know that rich, dark, fudgy classic chocolate frosting? The one that all chocolate frostings want to be when they grow up? The one that makes life worth living?

Here it is. This is what you’ve been looking for. Don’t be scared.



It calls for uh, quite a bit of butter. Can I promise you right now it’s worth every bite? I made four completely different types of chocolate frosting in one day – a buttercream, a sour cream, a ganache, and one that claimed to be fudgy, but wasn’t -  looking for the perfect complement to these cupcakes. By the end of the day, I was so sick of chocolate, I never wanted to eat it, smell it, or get it all over my hands again. I didn’t even want to lick the bowl. It was bad. Until I tried just one more recipe. That’s all it took. I couldn’t stop eating it. By the spoonful. That’s how I knew it was perfect.

Exactly what I was looking for.



Move the frosting to a Ziploc bag, cut off the tip and pipe away!



So chocolaty. So dreamy.

INGREDIENTS & HOW-TO

BROWNIE BATTER

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup milk
1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Using a small scoop (about 1.5 tbsp) drop batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze overnight.

CUPCAKES

• 1 (18.25 oz) box devil’s food cake mix


• 1 (3.9 oz) pkg Jello instant chocolate fudge pudding mix


• 1 cup sour cream


• 1 cup vegetable oil


• 4 eggs, beaten


• 1/2 cup milk


• 2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and line with cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into a very large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 mins until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a large scoop (about 3 tbsp) drop batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 2/3rds full. Remove brownie batter from freezer and press into the cupcake batter. Bake for 22-28 mins. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING

• 5 sticks butter, softened


• 8 oz powdered sugar


• 1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)


• a pinch of table salt


• 1.5 cups light corn syrup


• 2 tsp vanilla extract


• 16 oz milk chocolate chips

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring well every 30 seconds. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, about 5-10 seconds. Scrape the bowl again, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, about 10-15 seconds. You can use a mixer for this too, if you don’t have a food processor, just don’t whip the butter too much! :) Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.

Makes & frosts 36 cupcakes