Cupcake Friday at the office is Cupcake Thursday this week. I am taking a much needed day off Friday to stretch out the long holiday weekend!! Woohoo!  So, today’s cuppy is a vanilla  cupcake, filled with a yummy pastry cream. Then they are topped with a decadent sticky chewy  chocolate frosting that is one of my favorites. OMG, this stuff is just dangerous. It’s like the best……..like eating a slightly melty fudge candy….but better. You could just eat it by the spoonfuls. But don’t do that! You will get a headache…. and probably go into a sugar coma. After all, it is pretty darned sweet. It will turn into a bad experience and you will never make this frosting again.  So, just use  it sparingly.

The pastry cream here is really good too. I used vanilla extract, but you can use orange zest, almond…..pretty much whatever you want to flavor your filling. Rum is good too! oh yeahhhhhhhhh.

If you don’t have a little cupcake scooper thingy to make a hole in your cupcake, not to worry. Use a spoon, knife, or don’t make a hole at all. Just insert your piping bag tip right into the cupcake, and fill the cuppies that way. BUT DON”T SQUEEZE too much or you will have a cupcake explosion. Hope you will make these and enjoy!!

White/Vanilla Cupcake

I used my White Velvet Cake recipe, listed in my recipe index.
but instead of buttermilk, I used regular milk. Either works.

Pastry Cream

4 large Egg Yolks
4 tbsps of Corn Starch
1/2 cup of Sugar
2 cups of Milk
1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla

In a saucepan, whisk the egg yolks. Add the cornstarch and the sugar to the eggs and mix together to form a paste.
Slowly add milk to the paste while continuing to whisk. Turn heat on medium. Continue stirring until the mixture starts to bubble and boil. STIR CONSTANTLY. Don’t walk away. Don’t stop to fix yourself a drink, fold laundry, or pet the dog etc. STAY with it. If you don’t, you’re gonna have a lumpy scrambled egg mess. Remove from heat, add vanilla and chill for a couple of hours. Makes about 2 cups. When you’re ready to use it, mix it all up first if it has gotten too thick.

Sticky Chewy Chocolate Frosting

1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz milk or semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons of butter

In a saucepan, heat the sweetened  condensed milk and chocolate chips, just until the chocolate is all melted. Don’t let it burn. Remove from heat, stir in the butter. Let it cool for about 15 minutes. Stir and ready to use. Just slather it on and enjoy.