A Belated Happy Birthday to Me--and Dark Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi, guys! I celebrated my birthday this week! It was on Monday, the 21st, and I had actually drafted a blog for you--it was like a "year in review" kind of thing. However, it got to be pretty lengthy--and then the week was SUPER busy--and now, here we are, Saturday morning...ugh, sorry!

I'll probably split the other blog post into two, to make it easier to read! In the meantime, let me tell you about these dark chocolate truffle cupcakes that I made for my birthday. Mmm. They are rich, decadent, and so much fun to eat! Solid chocolate. YES. Also, let's just go ahead and say it: while the frosting looks *remarkably* similar to dog poo, I can wholeheartedly assure you that it DOES NOT TASTE like it!

I looked for a recipe that would yield only four cupcakes, so as not to overwhelm myself with the temptation of dozens of cupcakes in my apartment! I loosely adapted this recipe from Dessert For Two. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :)
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
• Four Chocolate Truffles (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate!)

For the frosting:

• 4 ounces cream cheese (half a block), softened
• 2-3 ounces semi-sweet Baker's chocolate, melted
• 2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar (to taste)
• Splash of vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with 4 paper liners. Set aside.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and espresso powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, and brown sugar until fully combined. Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

When the cupcakes come out of the oven, cut an "X" into the tops of the cupcakes with a sharp knife, and insert the unwrapped truffles. They'll melt into the center and create a gorgeous, melty chocolate lava filling. Mmm. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting, first beat the cream cheese until completely smooth and lump-free. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, and melted chocolate, and mix until smooth. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and decorate with chocolate shavings (or however you prefer!)