A Chocolate Sombrero

Shame on me....for real. I am sitting at my computer for the first time in about 2 and a half weeks. With the Holiday, and other random things happening, it's been difficult to dedicate 30 minutes to typing. Isn't that sad? 30 minutes doesn't sound like much time, until you realize how many other things you do all day, every day.

Anyhoo....I'm back and was COMPLETELY shocked to see that my page views increased by like 2000 views in the past couple weeks. That is freaking amazing!! I'm not one to pat myself on the back, but geez louise! Who would have thought that there were people out there actually looking at this blog? Thanks to you!!

**Funny enough, as soon as I typed the above couple of paragraphs my 1 yr old woke up from his nap.  So much for having 30 minutes at the computer! An hour later...I'm back, hoping to get a few lines in before the older kids get home from school. Eeeek!*

I had some family members visit during Labor Day weekend, and they are from Mexico. Since I received rave reviews from my Tres Leches cupcakes, I decided to set aside some time (lots of time) to prepare a batch of these. After I prepared them, I had left over Dulce de Leche frosting that I felt awful about wasting. Instead of breaking my heart and throwing away hours of work, I looked around for some type of cupcake I could make that would go well with it, and found an idea for a Mexican Chocolate cake. It wasn't too difficult, especially since the frosting was already prepared. They were a hit....even more so than I expected.

Have fun...and enjoy!!

Mexican Chocolate cupcakes

For the cupcake:
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c Dutch processed  cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c water

For frosting:
Dulce de Leche frosting recipe
(make sure you set aside some time to make this frosting because it will take you at least 2 1/2 hours to complete)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with cupcake papers.
Cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and cinnamon together, then set aside.. In a large liquid measuring cup, combine milk and water, and set aside.
Set your mixer to low, and add 1/3 of dry ingredients, followed by half of your liquid. Repeat this, ending with dry's. Mix for another 30 seconds, or until batter is thoroughly combined.
Scrape down your bowl, then scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched.

Prepare frosting, as link above indicates. Spread or pipe on cupcakes, then keep in a very cook place and serve immediately, or refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving. Frosting is very soft, so if it is warm outside, it will melt into a puddle if you're not careful.