I promised to bake chocolate cupcakes for my fellow classmates after I included a recipe as part of my advanced beginner French presentation. I decorated them with some leftover cupcake toppers featuring dinosaurs, cats, robots and spaceships. These acted as mini-flashcards, once I labeled them in French. Mon professeur préférait le dinosaure rouge.
Below is the recipe in French and its English translation. (Note: I’ve made a few additions/changes to the English version since this post was first published.) I also included a recipe for the basic buttercream icing I used on the class’s cupcakes. Bon appétit!
Recette: Cupcakes au Chocolat
1 1/2 bâton de beurre
2/3 tasse de sucre blanc
2/3 tasse de sucre marron
2 œufs
2 cuillères à café de extrait de vanille
1 tasse de lait battu
1/2 tasse de crème
2 cuillères à soupe de café
1 3/4 tasses de farine
1 tasse de cacao en poudre
1 1/2 cuillères à café de bicarbonate de soude
1 pincée de sel
Préchauffez votre four à 350 degrés Fahrenheit. Avec un batteur électrique, mélangez le beurre et le sucre pendant cinq minutes. Puis, ajoutez des œufs, un à la fois, et ajoutez l’extrait de vanille.
Dans un bol, combinez la farine, le cacao, le bicarbonate de soude et le sel. Dans un autre bol, mélangez le lait, la crème et le café.
Ajoutez les deux mélanges au bol avec le beurre, le sucre et les œufs. Mélangez bien.
Mettez la pâte dans les moules à muffins. Cuisez-les pendant vingt minutes.
Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes about 18 cupcakes
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup sour cream, buttermilk or plain yogurt (or a combo)
2 tablespoons coffee (brewed)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for five minutes. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla extract.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, the cocoa, the baking soda and the salt. In another bowl, mix the buttermilk, the sour cream (or yogurt) and the coffee.
Add the two mixtures to the bowl with the butter, the sugar and the eggs. It is best to alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients. Mix well.
Put the batter into muffin tins lined with cupcake papers. Bake them for 20 minutes. (Rotate after 10 minutes, check at 18 minutes.) Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on racks.
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