Cinco de Chili Chocolate Cupcakes with Chili Cream Cheese Frosting

33 Reviews

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 18 min
Ready In: 1 hr 18 min

“Dark chocolate cupcakes with a bite! Topped with Chili Cream Cheese Frosting. This recipe was inspired from a combination of recommendations from AR Buzzers. Thanks all! They were a huge hit at our annual Chili Cook-off. Many wanted THEM to be allowed as an entry. Add more chili and cayenne powder to taste. (IF YOU CAN TAKE IT!)” - by Candice

Adjust Servings

Adjust

Metric US

Original recipe yields 2 dozen cupcakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.
Empty the boxed cake mix into a mixing bowl, and whisk in 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground ancho chile and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat in the water, vegetable oil, and eggs; beat for 2 minutes. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling them 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove and cool completely before frosting.
In a bowl, sift 1 teaspoon of ground ancho chile, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and the cinnamon with the confectioners' sugar. Beat in the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the frosting is smooth; mix in the vanilla extract. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes in attractive swirls, and poke a small dried chile, stem-side up, into the frosting as a garnish.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (24 total)

Calories
273 cal
14%

Fat
13.5 g
21%

Carbs
36.1 g
12%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Reviews (33)

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CookinBug

Jun. 27, 2011

"Fantastic!!! Love, love, LOVE this recipe! The ancho and cayenne work wonderfully with the richness of the devil's food cake. As written, I found it to have just the right amount of kick - not overwhe..." See morelming at all. It really is a great 'adult' cupcake. The frosting is KILLER and compliments the cupcakes perfectly. I will definitely make these again. Thanks! :)"

Christina

Jul. 13, 2011

"WOW...these were AMAZING!!!! Made them exactly as written and feel there are no changes needed...just the right amount of 'heat', not a hot, spicy heat, just a warm heat that you can feel in the back ..." See moreof your throat....SO YUMMY! The icing is definately the star of these cupcakes, and would go great on a variety of cakes, or from a spoon as I was doing, lol. Even my little guy LOVED these, but he is partial to spicy foods, so I knew that he would be ablr to handle this. Can't wait to share these with my family and friends. Definate repeat recipe! Thanks for sharing. :)"

Gina

Jun. 24, 2011

"This was quite interesting! I just made this for my husband & our neighbors whom were over.. These were a hit with all the guys for sure... very different, but worth a try.. IMO the frosting didn't ..." See morelook too appealing because of the spices, so I topped it with caramel sauce to help. Regardless, by the time everyone left they had eaten them all gone! They are an adult cupcake, I wouldn't recommend these for kids, unless they have a eclectic pallet & can tolerate heat.. I will note that I used tofutti non-dairy cream cheese & earth balance butter."

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