Step aside, carrot cake! These Eggs-sta special Easter chocolate dirt cupcakes with carrot decorations are a surprisingly tasty and perfectly whimsical Easter dessert idea.
Servings: 14
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 16 min
Total Time: 26 min
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 Tony Chocolonely Dark Milk Chocolate Bar
- 1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 2 large Eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil, or melted butter
- 2 tbsp. Granulated Cane Sugar
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp. Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Hot Water
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 3 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1/4 cup Melted Chocolate, about half of a Tony Chocolonely Dark Milk Chocolate Bar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp. Heavy Cream
- Pinch of Salt, about 1/8 teaspoon
For the "Carrots":
- Tony Chocolonely Great Big Chocolate Eggs
- Curly Parsley
- (Optional) Chocolate Cookies, for the "dirt" crumbs
Instructions:
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 180c. Line 1-2 muffin pans with cupcake liners (batter will make 14 cupcakes).
- In a small bowl, whisk the milk and lemon juice together to create a homemade buttermilk. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Using a double boiler, or large bowl over a small saucepan, melt the chocolate.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, olive oil, granulated cane sugar and brown sugar for 1 minute, or until creamy. Whisk in the milk mixture.
- Stir in the melted chocolate.
- Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter out between the cupcake liners, filling each only halfway.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely before icing.
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth.
- Gradually add in the sugar on low speed.
- Add in the melted (and cool to touch) chocolate, vanilla, heavy cream, and salt.
- Beat on medium high speed for 4-8 minutes, until fluffy.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag, then pipe a generous round dollop of the chocolate buttercream on each cooled cupcake.
For the "Carrots":
- To make the "dirt" on the frosting, crush chocolate cookies in a small bag until fine crumbs. Add to a bowl, then dip the tops of each frosted cupcake into the bowl to evenly coat the frosting in "dirt."
- Add an orange easter egg, then place a small stem of parsley behind it. Enjoy!
