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I have been away from my blog and twitter for what seems like forever, but in reality, it’s only been a little over a week. A rough week, a sad week…keeping a long story short, our two and a half year old Maltese pup, Lola passed away unexpectedly last Monday.
Lola was a happy, loving, loyal pet and the best buddy to our male Morkie, Henry. We are all having a difficult time dealing with our loss and miss Lola dearly. It is truly amazing to me the bond that us humans can have with our four-legged babies, but it’s a bond I will never be without. In my opinion, pets can be one of the most pure forms of unconditional love you can ever experience and we were blessed to have Lola in our lives.
Needless to say, I wasn’t really into baking or cooking the last week, but I did manage to make some cupcakes. After they baked, I was contemplating how to frost them and decided to make them white and fluffy looking…just like Lola. This may seem a tad bit odd, but at the time, it offered me a bit of comfort, so I went with it! I topped them with traditional cream cheese frosting then tossed on some shredded coconut. These last minute Lola inspired cupcakes, turned out to be quite a tasty combination. Thanks so much for stopping by, have a fabulous day and if ya have a pet, be sure to give them some extra lovin today!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1-2/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/3 cups water
For the Frosting
2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
For the Cupcakes
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl; beat on high speed of mixer 3 minutes. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; add alternately with water to butter mixture, beating until blended. Add candy, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
(If making cupcakes, divide the batter into cupcake pans lined with paper liners and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Batter will yield approximately 24 cupcakes.)
For the Frosting
Using a mixer, blend all of the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Spread cream between layers and on top of cake. Top with shredded coconut if desired.
Notes:
The dark brown cupcake liners are from bakeitpretty.com
adapted from hersheys.com
All images and text ©Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
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Oh Sweet Lola! She had a great mom in you. She was beautiful.
I want to offer my sincere condolences for your loss of little Lola. As a Maltese Mommy myself I am filled with sympathy for you. Lola was beautiful and looks so sweet.
I enjoy all of your recipes immensely.
These were Wonderful!! I love the inspiration behind them too!!
I am so sorry for your loss, I know how that feels, I just lost my cat, Bubba, on February 29! It was such a sad day, I wish that I could honor him with a cupcake or cookie or something sweet, because he was sweet cat, (Even if he was on the chubby side!!)
This looks delicious! I would love if you shared this in my holiday dessert recipes Blog Hop. We’re giving away a prize from Wilton to the blogger with the most “likes”, come check it out! :) http://www.recipelionblog.com/december-blog-hop-holiday-dessert-recipes-giveaway
Sarah @ RecipeLion
just google chocolate cupcake with cream cheese…and bumped to yours…your cupcakes look so lovely and classy…so sorry for your lost.. I cried when I read your story..coz last 2 weeks I lost my handsome kitten…so so saaaaad :(((( ….and only now want to start baking again its my hobby…thx 4 recipe
Your story really hit me hard… i have a white fluffy dog named lola and i cannot wait to try out you recipe! Im sorry for you loss i can only imagine how hard it has to be. i send love to you and your family!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Taylor.
-Jamie
So sorry for your loss, Lola was such a cute puppy! And the cupcakes are such a great idea to remember her :) For sure I’ll give a little extra love today to my kittie!