Chocolate and Lemon Butterfly Cupcakes

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:

*1 oz semisweet chocolate
*9 tbsp butter, softened
*2/3 cup sugar
*1 cup flour
*2 eggs
*2 tbsp baking cocoa
*confectioners' sugar for dusting


LEMON CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:

*3/4 cup flour
*1/2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 cup sugar
*2 eggs
*grated rind of 1 lemon
*2 tbsp lemon juice
*confectioners' sugar for dusting


HOW TO:

For the chocolate cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners. Place butter, sugar, flour, eggs and cocoa in large bowl. Beat til smooth. Melt the semisweet chocolate and add to the mixture. Spoon batter into the liners. Bake for 15 minutes or until springy to the touch. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

For lemon cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift flour and baking powder into large bowl. Add butter, sugar, eggs, lemon rind and lemon juice. Beat til smooth. Spoon batter into liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.


HOW TO DECORATE:

There are a few options for making the frosting for the cupcakes. One is making the buttercream frosting (recipe follows) and another is just buying frosting from the store (much easier, i know!).

When the cupcakes are cold, cut the top off each cake then cut the top in half to make two half circles. Spread or pipe a little of the frosting on each cupcake then gently press the two cut pieces into the frosting to resemble wings. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

*6 tbsp butter, softened at room temperature
*2 cups confectioners' sugar
*2-3 tbsp milk (for thickness)

Place butter in the bowl and beat til fluffy. Carefully add sugar. Beat in enough milk to make the frosting spreadable. Spread over cupcakes.


**Ok, so this recipe was interesting. Super easy and quick to make the cupcakes but the decorating part (although not hard) took a bit longer. I used margarine for the buttercream...**DON'T DO THAT!** The frosting tasted so gross. Use real butter. I ended up throwing out the buttercream and using regular frosting. It tasted fine that way and probably would have saved time. But by all means, be creative and try the buttercream. Just remember to use the right kind of butter. Enjoy!**