Death By Chocolate Meets Tye Dye

I found this pin on Pinterest three or four weeks back, and couldn't resist going right to town making them.  Chocolate cupcakes.  With a brownie baked inside.  With fudge frosting. And chocolate chips.  Say whhhat??  The girls adore dark chocolate.  For me it's too much, so I was unsure if the finished product was overkill.  When I took them to my taste testers, I guess they were anything but overkill ("They're BANGIN!") That first time I chose to stick to the recipe pretty closely.  See the original recipe for Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes here. The only thing I really didn't care for with these cupcakes was that the brownie fell when it baked, and created kind of a hole inside the cupcake (which I just filled with the frosting, so all turned out well and good.)  Still, I felt the need to try and tweak (as I usually do because I can't leave anything alone.)

I'm still not 100% happy with the cake part but the frosting really is out of this world.  If you like  super dark chocolate I suggest to follow the recipe as written on the above link. 

Here's how I made it for these cupcakes...

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

5 sticks butter, softened
6-8 oz confectioners sugar (start with 6 and adjust to taste)
1 cup cocoa powder (not the special dark)
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 cups corn syrup
1 tbs vanilla
16 oz milk chocolate chips

In 30 second intervals, melt chocolate chips (stir in between each interval.)  Set aside.

With a mixer, mix together butter, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla.  Add confectioner's sugar and cocoa a little bit at a time (if you add too much at once you'll be wearing it.)  Once all combined, add chocolate until frosting is blended and smooth. 

My daughter's 9th birthday was Friday, and she requested these death by chocolate cupcakes for her school treat.  I found these tye dye liners that I knew she'd like, but they totally didn't fit the theme of death by chocolate.  In the end, I decided to color white chocolate and make little tye dye decorations to match the liners.  I watched 22 3rd graders devour them like maniacs and rave about them, so I guess they went over well!