Spice Cake Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

 I was looking through our cabinets this past week trying to find something quick and tasty that I could make as a special Valentine's Day treat.  I happened to notice that we had a boxed spice cake mix and decided to make some bakery style cupcakes with that.

I whipped up some dark chocolate cream cheese frosting and topped each cupcake with some festive Valentine's sprinkles. 

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

Spice cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup almond milk

2/3 cup melted butter 

red food coloring (optional) 

For the frosting:

8 ounce block cream cheese; room temperature

1 stick butter; room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/c cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

Typically if I use a boxed mix to make cake or cupcakes I substitute the water called for on the box with milk, add an extra egg, and replace the oil with double the melted butter. This makes for a buttery flaky cake that tastes more like a fresh bakery cake than a boxed mix.  

I added a bit of red food coloring to turn my cupcakes pink. Once they were well mixed I scooped them into cupcake liners using my cupcake scoop and baked them for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Once my cupcakes were cooked and cooled I whipped up my cream cheese frosting.  In the stand mixer I whipped up the cream cheese with the butter until  I had a smooth even consistency.  I turned off the mixer and added the cocoa and the powdered sugar altogether then turned the mixer on low until all the powder was incorporated.  I added the vanilla extract and turned the mixer to medium/high until it was nice and fluffy and I had the perfect frosting consistency.  

I taste tested it and realized this might be my favorite frosting ever!! It's all thanks to the dark cocoa.

I scooped the frosting into my piping back and piped a pile onto each cupcake.  

I finished up by adding some red sprinkles to the top. 

Linking up with: Spread the kindness,