Bad Weather Cupcakes

After leaving work early due to the ice and “wintry mix,” I decided to make some cupcakes. I was pretty limited since I could not go to the store for any ingredients. I realized that I had all the ingredients to make Chocolate Filled Cupcakes. I’ve made them before and included them on my blog here.

It’s a really easy recipe and they are great for transporting, since you don’t frost them. You don’t even miss the frosting with the gooey center. They are best when eaten right after coming out of the oven- cool about 4 minutes. But if you have some left the next day, you can microwave for about 10 seconds and the center will be gooey again.

I use vanilla bean paste, instead of a whole vanilla bean. I also made a little substitution on the chocolate this time. I happened to not have a bar of bittersweet chocolate, but I did have Dove dark chocolate miniatures. Those worked perfect!

But I made them a little special in honor of V-day. So I thought I would share them again with a few more pics and the actual recipe!

Chocolate-Filled Cupcakes

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved, beans discarded
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 12 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. Put butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites, milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla seeds; mix until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix until just combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Insert a piece of chocolate into center of each, pressing about halfway into batter to cover. Bake until pale golden brown, about 24 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. Cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.