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Chocolate Cupcakes with Dragon Fruit Buttercream

My mother-in-law's amazing chocolate cupcake recipe topped with my dragon fruit buttercream!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 cupcakes
Calories: 459kcal
Author: Eden

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup boiling water

Meringue Dragon Fruit Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup blended dragon fruit
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  • Boil 1 cup water.
  • Combine all of the wet ingredients in a bowl and with the mixer on medium slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  • Then add 1 cup boiling water and continue to mix.
  • Pour into cupcake molds and then bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overcook these cupcakes or they’ll become dry.

Meringue Dragon Fruit Buttercream Frosting

  • Add the sugar and the egg whites into a heatproof mixing bowl. Fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water. 
  • Whisk constantly until the mixture is hot, sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are a little frothy. About 4 minutes. It should look like a shiny marshmallow cream.
  • With the whisk attachment, beat eggs on medium speed until cooled and thicker for about 5 minutes. 
  • Switch to the paddle attachment and one at a time, add in one stick of room temperature butter beating until smooth. 
  • On medium speed, add in the dragon fruit juice and vanilla bean extract. 
  • If the buttercream curdles or separates, just keep beating until it comes back together. You should end up with a shiny, smooth and absolutely delicious buttercream frosting!

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 585IU | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2.2mg