Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

I have been wanting to enter a cupcake in Cupcake Hero for the longest time. So, here it is, my first entry for Cupcake Hero #4: Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes. Laurie of Quirky Cupcake has declared mint the official ingredient for Cupcake Hero. Ah, mint, it goes so well with a lot of things. I got the idea for the cupcake from my friend Katie. A couple of weeks ago she sent me a sampler of hot chocolate mixes. In the note she mentioned that sometimes she adds a packet of the cocoa mix to cake batter. For the cupcakes I used the Belgium Chocolate flavor.

Here's how I did it. The recipe I used called for hot water. I just added the cocoa to the hot water and whisked the mixture well. Then I just added the hot cocoa to the recipe when it called for water. I did decrease the sugar amount by a 1/4 cup. Since the cocoa contains sugar already. The result was a very mocha tasting cupcake. The peppermint icing is super easy. It's one stick of unsalted butter [softened], 1 pound of sifted confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of peppermint oil, 3 tablespoons of milk, and green gel dye. Next, mix, mix, and mix until light and fluffy. Finally, pipe on top of mint inspired cupcakes.

If you need more info on Cupcake Hero #4 click here. If not, I'll see you at the round up!