Black cow cupcakes

Growing up, on special TV watching nights in our house, my mom, dad, sister and I would curl up in our pajamas on the couch, skip dinner, and instead have black cows (aka root beer floats) and popcorn. It was my very favorite thing - no vegetables, no table, and TV! How good does it get?!

So with the Oscars approaching last Sunday, I knew I wanted to serve up something special for a TV night-in, and to give my old favorite a little kick, I transformed black cows and popcorn into a cupcake! Complete with popcorn bucket!

They were delicious, fun, and the perfect mix of salty and sweet. Here's how I did it.

Black Cow Cupcakes
Adapted from Baked Perfection
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups root beer
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs

whipped cream or ice cream
popcorn (I used a sea salt variety)

1.Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (this will prevent the moisture of the cake from leaking onto your "bucket")

2. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

3.In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

4. Whisk eggs into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture and cocoa mixture together. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.

6. Once the cupcakes are cool, wrap each in a popcorn "bucket."*

7. Add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream to the top of each cake, inside the bucket.

8. Sprinkle popcorn on top so it looks like the whole bucket is full and enjoy!

* I created my buckets in inDesign, printed them, then used a scalloped edge scissor to cut them out. I then wrapped each cake in one and secured it at the back with tape so it could be easily unwrapped and eaten. Let me know if you would like this and I'll send you the PDF!