Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes

I get it.  I realize that dessert is more exciting than broccoli or salad (seriously more exciting than when you pair the two together!).  Therefore, let me share a mother of desserts (seriously, I don't know of a mother who wouldn't like this cupcake--granted, I haven't done any formal research...), a serious chocolate fix, Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes.  The story goes that there used to be a famous bakery in Brooklyn that served "Blackout Cake," an intense chocolate cake that was filled and frosted with rich chocolate pudding and topped with crumbled chocolate cake crumbs.  Yummy!  The bakery closed long ago, but the memory of the cake lives on, has been introduced to new generations of chocolate lovers and is now being passed on to you in a personal-sized cupcake form.  Enjoy!

Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes
1 recipe Darn Good Chocolate Cake, baked into cupcakes (see below)
1 recipe filling and frosting (see below)

Once cupcakes and frosting are fully cooled, remove paper from and crumble 4+ (more as needed) cupcakes onto a plate or in a wide, shallow bowl.  Set aside.  Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread a generous amount of the frosting (about 1-2 tablespoons) onto each cupcake.  Sprinkle with crumbled cake crumbs to decorate.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Note: you can use an injector or pastry bag fitted with a pointed tip to add some of the frosting inside the cupcake as filling.  I have done this before and have decided that it's more work than it's worth and would rather just have extra filling on top of my cupcake but I thought I would throw it out there as an option if you feel more Martha Stewart than I usually do!

"Darn Good Chocolate Cake," adapted from "The Cake Mix Doctor"
1 box Devil's food chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for chocolate chips. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix to combine. Raise speed to medium and blend for about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. To bake into cupcakes, spoon batter into paper lined muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly.  Remove from oven.  Allow cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.

note: for a more intense, deep chocolate flavor, substitute miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Chocolate Pudding Frosting:
1 package (3.4 ounces) "cook and serve" chocolate pudding mix
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together pudding mix and milk in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for one minute, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in butter, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.  Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Pour into a wide flat dish (like a pie pan) and immediately cover with plastic wrap placed directly against the surface of the pudding so that a skin doesn't form.  Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator.


-or, if you don't have cook and serve pudding mix-


1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, corn starch and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Slowly add milk, whisking constantly to fully dissolve cocoa mixture into milk.  Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for one minute, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in butter, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.  Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Pour into a wide flat dish (like a pie pan) and immediately cover with plastic wrap placed directly against the surface of the pudding so that a skin doesn't form.  Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator.