Chocolate Blackberry Cupcakes

ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

1 box Devil's Food Cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup milk

1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blackberry Buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar

4-5 tablespoons blackberry puree, strained

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, use a whisk to gently combine remaining cake ingredients.

4. Add cake mix to wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

6. Buttercream: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar until the frosting becomes very thick. Slowly add berry puree a little at a time. Stop once the buttercream becomes the right consistency. If it becomes too loose, add more powdered sugar to thicken.

7. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and top with a fresh blackberry.

Notes

To make blackberry puree, place berries in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. Put the puree through a strainer to remove the seeds.

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Cooking Tips :

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Excellent Tips To Take Your Cooking To The Next Level

Cooking is one of the most interesting ways that people can express themselves. Cooking lets you exercise creativity as you combine food items to create new dishes that are unique. If you wish to express your creativity through cooking, then the tips in the article below will help you get started.

You can remove the garlic odor from your hands by rubbing them for thirty seconds on your stainless steel stove before washing them. Garlic adds a delightful flavor to many recipes, but the unmistakable odor can linger on your hands. Using this tip, you can enjoy your dinner without your hands smelling strongly of garlic.

To get the best sear and the crispiest crust on everything from fish to meats to other pan fried foods, the secret is a hot pan. Getting a nice brown color on your food requires a pan that is as hot as possible before the food hits its surface. Because the exterior of the food cooks first, you get only one chance to create that perfect golden color and crispy texture, so heat your pan and oil for several minutes prior.

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When cooking a meal for vegetarians and non-vegetarians, make separate sauces can be the best way to make sure everyone has enough to eat and knows what they can eat. Make rice or pasta, then let guests choose from a meatless sauce and one with meat. A dish with multiple components saves you from having to make two separate meals, and it makes both meat-eaters and vegetarians happy.

If you have a lot of pets around the house, they should not be with you in the kitchen, if the stove is near the ground. This can present a safety hazard because you want to reduce any risk of your animals getting hurt. Keep all animals and small children away from hot ovens.

After finishing up your Thanksgiving dinner, don't just discard the leftovers. Instead, cut it into slices, store it in an airtight container, and place it directly in the freezer. You can use the turkey later to make into sandwiches or a casserole.

Use your hands to cook the perfect steak. Pressing the fleshy pad at the base of the thumb, when your hand is making an OK sign, will give the same resistance as steak will during cooking. Start with the index finger OK sign and the thumb base will resist at "rare" temperature. Moving towards the pinky you will register medium-rare with middle, medium with the ring finger and well-done with the pinky. Look for the resistance in your steak to match the resistance when pressing your hand.

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