Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made an Ina recipe. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve made any recipe and then wrote a blog post about it. But last weekend for the first time in a while, I actually had a reason to bake! So I took advantage of it and decided that perhaps it might be good to write a blog post, too.

Over the weekend I attended an Oktoberfest party and I was asked to bake something. Sticking with the German theme, I quickly decided on making a German chocolate cake. But then I realized that for a party, cupcakes might be easier to both make and eat. The dessert becomes finger food, perfect for an outdoor gathering during the last few warms days of the year. Luckily for me, Ina Garten had a German chocolate cupcake recipe. It was like the stars aligned.

Making It

I’m going to be honest. It had been a while since I’ve baked anything cake-like. Over the last few months I’ve done a couple batches of cookies but that’s it. I don’t even recall the last cake I made prior to this recipe. I didn’t make my birthday cake this year so it had to be before June.

Dealing with all the steps to make this recipe was a little overwhelming. It wasn’t difficult, just a lot of dishes. I was quickly reminded one of the downsides to baking — especially an Ina recipe. While I adore Ina and her recipes, she does use a lot of tiny dishes.

Anyway, I digress…

The batter came together quickly, albeit a bit messily. I had to deal with both flour and cocoa powder. Which means that it can easily make a mess. And it did. I spilled some dry batter mixture when trying to mix everything in.

Once everything was in the bowl and combined, the batter turned to a deep, rich chocolate color that resembled a buttercream. Just slightly less stable. I then filled the cupcake wells and got more cupcakes than I thought I would. But that was fine.

Since it was late, I had planned to make the frosting the following morning before the party. So, once the cupcakes were completely cooled, they were nestled back into their wells and covered with plastic wrap over night.

After thinking for a moment that I possibly overfilled the cupcake wells, I decided to just let the chips fall where they may. I pushed the tins in the oven and they baked for about 24 minutes before they were done.

Making the Frosting

The next day, it was time to make the frosting. Ina’s recipe uses the traditional German chocolate cake filling of coconut, nuts, brown sugar, and butter as the frosting to these cupcakes. It’s just one of the many ways that Ina likes to change-up the recipes and keep the classics fresh. Personally, I thought it was a wonderful way to get the German chocolate look and taste into a cupcake without fussing with filling every single cupcake.

The frosting was made with butter, brown sugar, evaporated milk, coconut flakes, pecans, and almonds. Thankfully, I read the recipe ahead of time since the frosting had to sit for an hour before being able to be used. Otherwise it would be too loose and warm to spread.

The frosting took a tad longer to cook than I thought it would but I sped up the process by letting the bowl chill in the refrigerator for the last twenty minutes or so. The texture of the frosting made spreading a bit challenging and I used a combination of both a regular spoon and my offset spatula.

About 15 minutes later, the cupcakes were frosted and placed on a white platter to bring to the party.

I tried not to crowd them too much, but I still feel like they ended up looking like a dog’s breakfast.

Tasting It

A few hours after leaving the house, it was finally time for dessert at the party. Since I was worried about the frosting, I kept the cupcakes in the fridge. This kept the frosting from melting, literally, but it made everything a bit chilly and harder to eat.

However, these cupcakes were so good. The flavor of the chocolate cake was a classic in the “Ina Garten” way: the use of coffee allows the chocolate flavor to really pop. The cupcakes were a tad dry, but that was probably due to the chilling and the overnight rest.

The frosting was extremely flavorful. Almond was the preeminent flavor since both sliced almonds and almond extract as used in the frosting. I was concerned that the frosting would be hard to eat due to its texture, but that wasn’t the case for me.

The cupcakes, needless to say, were a huge hit at the party!