Chocolate Goodness

Last night at our church we had a special activity dinner/devotional for all the women in the ward. It was actually supposed to happen in January and was rescheduled because of all the snow- so when i accepted to do the dessert & centerpieces for the evening i didn’t realize i would be baking the week of my due date, but it was actually nice to have something to do all day. and i spent all day baking, let me tell you… 🙂 and it was worth it. I made chocolate cupcakes with orange-nuttella filling with chocolate fudge icing. I had tried another recipe for the chocolate cake and this one is the best- most moist- by far. I also made mini fruit tarts from my Martha Stewart baking cookbook and they were so delish. The centerpieces were just styrofoam rounds that i covered with paper, i think they turned out like nice little cake stands. Here are the recipes for the cupcakes in case you feel like whipping up some chocolaty goodness for your valentine this weekend. 🙂

Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
Makes 20 cupcakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 8-oz carton of sour cream
1 cup milk

Preheat Oven to 350
In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. In a large bowl beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in melted chocolate and sour cream. Alternately add flour mixture and milk; beat on low after each addition just until combined. Put batter into cupcake liners, i used a little less than 1/4 cup of dough for each cupcake.

Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Orange-Scented Chocolate-Hazelnut Filling

Mix all ingredients in a mixer with paddle attachment.
1 small container of nutella
1 small container of marshmallow cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2- 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese