Chocolate Chili Cupcake

Looking for something HOT and SWEET to give your Valentine? Well, here's the perfect treat for your someone special. Or, if you're looking to do quite the opposite, you can make this into a pretty mean weapon for the not-so-nice Valentine.  Here's my take on the Chocolate Chili Cupcake.  For this spicy treat you will need:

• Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Store bought Chocolate Icing
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of ground hot chilies (I used chili flakes and ground them myself) 
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Chili Pepper Flakes, Cinnamon Hearts, or Hot Lips

And here's the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the directions on your chocolate cake mix - from preheating your oven through to adding the eggs, oil, water, etc. Mix together the batter until all the lumps are gone. Now it's time to add some HEAT... and I don't mean the oven.

Step 2: Add in your ground hot chillies. It's up to you just how much you want to put in, but I wouldn't go over the 2 teaspoons.  I've experimented going over that and have made a few people breathe fire (sorry MM and SB - but thanks for being taste testers!).  But, if you're looking to play a mean trick, you'll want to go over the 2 teaspoons. Mix the ground chillies in well...no one wants a chunk of that in their cupcake.

Step 3: Once you're happy with how well you've mixed it all together,spoon your cupcake batter into your cupcake pan liners.  Now it's time for some hot, hot heat!  Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 4: For the icing, I like to make a very plain chocolate frosting to balance the spiciness of the cupcake.  As per usual I take the lazy way out and just jazz up my store bought frosting by adding butter and simply mixing it until smooth.  You'll want to give it a taste and if it's too buttery for you, add some icing sugar until you're happy with the taste.

Step 5: To frost your cupcakes you can do the classic knife spread, lazy man's spoon lump, or use a piping bag.  If you use a piping tip, your cupcake will look even fancier.  But really it's up to you.  To top it off, you can garnish your cupcake with hot chili flakes, a cinnamon heart, or maybe some hot lips.  

Step 6 (optional): Warn your cupcake recipients that these are made with hot chili's and may be a little hot


Happy Faking!