Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Another colleague’s birthday came around a few weeks ago.  He requested a chocolate chip cupcake, and I was delighted to provide it.  I had previously tried the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcake, and I consider this the cute little cousin of that cupcake flavor.  These are straightforward, easy to make, and no-assembly-required cupcakes.  I stuck to the original Martha Stewart recipe here, opting for a brown sugar cream cheese frosting to top it off.  The brown sugar cream cheese frosting was a huge hit-although I will tell you in advance that no matter how much you whip it, it still retains a bit of that grainy texture.  Some people love it, and some people don’t love it.  I love any kind of frosting made with cream cheese, so it was fantastic for me.  I hope these are for you, too.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

3 and 1/4 cups cake flour

1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 and 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 egg whites, at room temperature

2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar

Instructions

1. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line your cupcake pan with the liners of your choice.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing until combined.

4. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low.

6. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla, mixing well.

7. Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, alternately add the flour and milk mixtures to the butter mixture.

8. In a separate bowl using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

9. Gently fold the egg whites into the cupcake batter, mixing until combined.

10. Add the chocolate chips to the batter.

11. Divide the batter evenly among your cupcake liners and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.

12. For the frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar, mixing well until light and fluffy.

Source: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.