CHOCOLATE MUDSLIDE CUPCAKES WITH BAILEYS AND KAHLUA SMBC

I decided to try and make mudslide cupcakes again because the first recipe I tried didn't live up to my expectations, probably because I ultimately screwed up somewhere since I was relatively new with the chemistry required in baking and also since my oven is effin' jacked up. When I found this recipe, the frosting in the picture were two different colors and ultimately, that is what made me want to try it again. I thought that it'd be a cool effect to say that I've done even thought it's not a difficult achievement. And the fact that I had all the ingredients helped a lot too. 

When Ry's coworkers ate these, they (of course) loved them. A boss of his said that these were her favorite. I, on the other hand, thought that the chocolate cake was on the dry side. In my opinion, the frosting is what really made these cupcakes awesome and I would actually replace the chocolate cake with another recipe that I adore, which I haven't quite found yet. 

The extra work in making the frosting is well worth it. It looks really cool and like I said before, makes the cake. 

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP CUPCAKES WITH BROWN SUGAR SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

So. R's two favorite cookies are peanut butter and oatmeal. If I had to narrow mine down to two (which is terribly difficult), I ultimately chose sugar and shortbread. And with that, I decided to makes these oatmeal chocolate chip cupcakes for Ry and because I had all the ingredients on hand.

I read a warning that these cupcakes were super dense, which kind of made me leery. After making them, however, they were so super delicious, I didn't mind them being as dense as they were. They were still moist and the chocolate chip gooey-ness was just what I needed. When I brought them to Ry's coworkers (who look forward to me bringing them cupcakes every Wednesday/Thursday), they were all sitting at the door. I don't know if they were waiting on the cupcakes or just happened to be all standing there, but when they saw my tins.. they all smiled and whooped in unison.

There was a new girl there that hadn't had tried any of my previous cupcakes. She thought they looked too good to eat, which I stored the compliment in my brain. Presentation is everything, you know? Well, I warned them that they were dense and when they took their first bite (Ry included) they groaned and rolled their eyes in their head in unison. Christy said, "You outdid yourself yet again".

The cute re-usable tins that I bring the cupcakes into Ry's work have been coming home sooner and sooner. A dozen cupcakes used to last almost a week there, but recently, they've only been lasting before the weekend. I can't help but feel that the cupcakes I've been making have gotten better and better and everyone loves loves LOVES the swiss meringue buttercreams as much as I do.

I'm telling you, swiss meringue buttercreams are now my favorite type of frosting, beyond cream cheese frostings, which I love me my cream cheese.

Ry loved these cupcakes, which is good because I made them for him. He graded these babies an A+, which is a coveted grade that he doesn't give out lightly. Although they are dense, the dense-ness works for these. I couldn't imagine them tasting any better. There's just nothing I can think of to really improve these.