oreo cupcakes.

Many things I say are understatements.

Like I don't like to exercise or I hate cheese or this cupcake is friggin-finger-lickin-delicious.

How can you look at a picture of an oreo cupcake like this and not make it? Duh, you can't! That's why I did it.

I took my favourite chocolate cake recipe and added coarsely chopped oreos that were tossed in a bit of flour, at the bottom of each paper liner. Each cupcake should have 1 oreo's worth of chunks. I did the extra step of tossing the oreos in flour even though some other bloggers may not have done so is because my recipe's batter is fairly thin, being an oil-based one, so the oreos are prone to sinking. It's not foolproof though, majority of the chunks still remained at the bottom.

I finally attempted a duo tone frosting! I swear others make it seem a lot easier than it looks. I followed the method of filling two separate piping bags with two different frostings then placing the two piping bags in another piping bag with a largish tip. I struggled the entire way through.

Firstly, it was a pain trying to insert two piping bags into one tip. Secondly, I couldn't get the frostings to come out at the same time so sometimes a swirl would have more chocolate frosting than cream cheese frosting. Ooh... speaking of cream cheese frosting, that was delish although I did have that same problem of it being too soft- I had to stick it in the fridge for a while to firm up.

I think an easier method would be just simply filling one piping bag with the two frostings side by side. I wish I'd tried that first. But the end result is kinda worth it, don't you think?

Oreo Cupcakes
makes 6

For the chocolate cupcakes:
1/4 of this chocolate cake recipe
6 oreos, coarsely chopped

Make the cupcake batter as directed and before filling each paper liner with the batter, add 1 oreo's worth of chunks into each one. You may wish to toss the oreos with a bit of flour beforehand.

For the chocolate frosting:
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
2 + 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla until incorporated. Beat in the milk until the frosting reaches spreading consistency. This frosting tends to be a bit grainy so I like to make it a day in advance, two would be better, so that the icing sugar and cocoa powder have a chance to dissolve completely.

For the cream cheese frosting:
2 ounces cream cheese, cold
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat the cream cheese and vanilla until blended. Add the sugar one third at a time and beat just until smooth and of desired consistency. Do not over beat as it can cause the frosting to become too soft.