Foodie Friday: Rainbow Cupcakes , Dark Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

My Christmas present this year was my gorgeous boysenberry colored Kitchenaid Mixer which means lots and lots of upcoming baking .I've never been the New Years resolution type and especially not the "eat healthier in the new year" type . I'm a dessert junkie and that's just the way it is ;)

Needless to say,this Foodie Friday includes two delicious cupcake recipes that I whipped up for New Years Eve with the help of my trusty Sous Chef.She helped me bake up a batch of Rainbow cupcakes for the kids to eat and I mixed up some special cupcakes for the adults. The "grown up cupcakes " were dark chocolate & Merlot ..... It's ok to drool, they were as good as they sound!

 The base for the rainbow cupcakes is a basic vanilla cupcake.Once the batter is made up distribute evenly into 6 bowls . I have ramekins that are the perfect size so that's what I used. Add food coloring to each bowl of batter to make one bowl of each color of the rainbow: red,orange,yellow,green,blue,purple. Use cupcake liners in your cupcake pan and spoon small amounts of each colored batter into each cupcake liner. We started backwards (purple first and red last) so that when they baked up they would follow the colors of the rainbow. If you want even layers of each color I suggest using a piping bag to ensure uniformity. We went with the easy way and when we didn't get them perfect they turned into "tie-dye" cupcakes :) Here is the Vanilla cake recipe that we used. 

             Dark Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

Ingredients:

cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk (2% or higher)
3 tablespoons merlot
8 ounces of high-quality dark chocolate chips  

                                                           frosting

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

7 tablespoons merlot

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

melted chocolate for drizzle

chocolate sprinkles for topping

Instructions:

cupcakes
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2.Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, powder and salt. Set aside. Line a cupcake tin with liners.
3.In a bowl, whisk egg, oil and sugar until together until smooth and no lumps remain.
4. Add melted butter, merlot and vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients, stirring to combine.
6. Add the milk then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until batter until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. 
7.Fill cupcake tins 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

frosting
1.Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy
2. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed until it's combined. 
3.Add in vanilla extract and merlot, then beat on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy ( about 5 min) 
4. Frost cupcakes and finish with chocolate sprinkles.

The flavor of the Merlot is delicious but not too strong so you could indulge in a glass of Merlot while enjoying your cupcakes ;)

Thank you for checking out this week's Foodie Friday post. If you try any of these recipes be sure to leave me a comment and let me know how you like it:)