Ta da!!! Here it is – the first recipe from last weekend’s cupcake-a-thon.
Mayan. Chocolate. Cupcakes. YUM!
These were without a doubt the crowd favorite of the evening. Which of course, came as no surprise — who can resist double chocolate?! But of course, we couldn’t just do plain chocolate. :) Decided to add in a hint of cinnamon, chili powder, and cayenne for a fun extra kick. And thankfully, people loved it!!!!!
As I mentioned in the cupcake-a-thon post, since we were making hundreds of these in one day, I relented and decided to go “semi-homemade”, using a boxed cake mix as the base for the recipe. But we also used the tips from “Hello Cupcake”, adding in an extra egg and a cup of buttermilk to make the cupcakes extra moist. (Which sooooo many people commented on — they truly were perfectly moist!)
As much as I’m humbled to admit, using the cake mix, these were some of my favorite cupcakes ever. So I definitely recommend giving them a try….soon!! :)
Mayan Chocolate Cupcakes with Cocoa-Cinnamon Buttercream
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 (18.25 oz.) box Devil’s Food (or other chocolate variety) cake mix
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 4 eggs
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer dark chocolate cocoa, but any works!)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more or less to achieve desired consistency)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Add the first six cake ingredients (cake mix through cayenne) together in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Increase speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the paper liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.
To Make Frosting:
- Cream butter in an electric mixer on medium-speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Then add cocoa powder and cinnamon and mix on low-speed until combined. Gradually add in the milk and powdered sugar, alternately, until combined. Then beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, another 3-5 minutes. (Add in more powdered sugar if consistency is too thin.)
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
For an extra kick, try grinding a pinch of ground sea salt on top of these! It truly kicks them up a notch! (And then you can tell your friends that they’re “salted cocoa-cinnamon buttercream”!)
any suggestions on a cake recipe to use if you wanted to make them entirely from scratch?
Dark chocolate is my favorite kind of chocolate. Chocolates have some natural antioxidants too.;.’
I made them last year for a friend who wanted a Fieata party. My son said these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. Now I am making them for a bake sale fund raiser. Easy and Delicious!
stumbled upon this recipe through a google search (i was making chocolate cupcakes and always wondered what the chocolate/chili flavor would taste like). when i told my husband what was in them, he said “what, are they mayan or something?” so the name is perfect! and these are incredible! my 2-year old said they were “spicy” but loved them. thanks for sharing!
Oh My, these look wonderful. For some reason calling them ‘mayan cupcakes’ makes them seem so much better, like a lost recipe from the ages that I just have to try. Yummy Yum!
Hey Amie!
Ha…I have to credit that one to the guys in my band. I told them chocolate-cinnamon, and then we thought of Mexican Hot Chocolate, but they insisted MAYAN sounded much more “gourmet”. ;) Ha…who knows, but they came up with the name for “Gimme Some Oven”, so I trusted them on this one!
~A
awesome. i can’t tell you how much seeing the specks of cinnamon in the frosting excites me. cinnamon rules, and these are fantastic.
Oh yummy! I can just make these with my go-to recipe on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa powder box and then add the spices. Thanks for sharing this! I’ve made Mexican chocolate ice cream, so it will be nice to taste these flavors in cake form.
These look delicious! I love the idea of a little spice in the frosting. And there’s nothing wrong with a box mix, especially when you’re making so many! I’ll have to try the Hello Cupcake additions next time I make some.
Oooooh yes, these are perfect for a birthday party I’m going to next weekend! I’m in charge of making dessert and I was totally set on cupcakes. One question – can I make them the night before and refrigerate?
I stumbled upon your website through Tastespotting, and love it.
I had to bookmark tons of your recipes to make in the future. They all look so yummy! Can wait to try them! ;o) These cupcakes will be at the top of the list for sure!
just kill me now, these look fantastic (as did all the others!! congrats on such a feat!)