Small Batch Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

My partner got a new job!! In my hometown!! Supporting the critically important election efforts!! This is cause for celebration.

But there are only 2 of us, and I’ve made the mistake before of making full-batch desserts and then we continue to eat them as they slowly get not as good. Luckily a quick google for small batch gf cupcakes landed me on this recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking which only makes 4 cupcakes (more on that later). Pretty easy and quite rich and delicious!

– Heat 1/4c butter and 1/4c chocolate chips until melted

– Mix in 1/3c brown sugar (I used coconut), 1 egg, and 1tsp vanilla

– Mix in 1/3c cocoa and 1/4tsp salt until just combined

– Fill your cupcake liners (they say only 2/3 full which is how we ended up with 5 cupcakes instead of 4, but they don’t really rise that much so I would make them fuller) and bake at 350* until the tops are just set – about 12 min

Let cool, then frost:

– Whip 1/4c room-temp butter until fluffy

– Beat in 3/4c powdered sugar until really fluffy

– Beat in 1/6c cocoa, 2.5tbsp milk (careful – this is where I went wrong, see below), and 1/2tsp vanilla

Decorate your cupcakes, and serve!

The frosting didn’t work out so well for me because I didn’t have an electric mixer and I was trying to make a half recipe (which is all you need with 4-or-5 cupcakes and what I’ve given you above) – I added the milk too quickly or added too much or something, so the frosting split and got runny. But it still tasted good! Just be forewarned and be smarter about it than I was…

Serving suggestion – especially if you need to make up for frosting mistakes: add a frozen cherry to the tops of your cupcakes for a Black Forest type thing. Yum!