Cheers!

Here’s to a new year filled with love, laughter, creativity, and of course, cupcakes! We are thrilled to start sharing our thoughts on beauty and baking with others who love those things too, and what better time than on the first day of 2017!

But first, an explanation. Sugar Laced is an idea hatched out of our mutual passion for battered spatulas, whimsical layer cakes, bright pops of lipstick, and flowy skirts. By the end of this year, our hope is for this blog to be brimming with shared recipes, reviews, and statements – a fun place to explore beauty, fashion, and baking.

And so we begin this journey with a tried-and-true staple of ours, a recipe for chocolate cupcakes that is effortlessly moist, thanks to the addition of mayonnaise. We whipped up a batch of luscious Swiss meringue buttercream to top them off with. Finally, we decked the cupcakes out with silver, purple, and blue sprinkles for a little holiday sparkle to ring in the year.

Although we’ve had our fill of Christmastime treats, there’s still room for a New Year’s dessert. These are perfect because the lightness of the Swiss meringue cuts through the rich chocolate cake, making them a slightly less heavy after-dinner treat. You’ll find the chocolate cupcake recipe below and the instructions for the buttercream here.

The frosting is silky, the cupcakes are fluffy, and the new year is looking bright!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mayo
1 1/3 cups water

Method:

Set all cold ingredients out prior to baking until they come to room temperature. When ready, preheat the oven to 350° and fill two 12-cup cupcake pans with liners.

Melt chopped chocolate over a double boiler until smooth and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, sift four, baking soda, and baking powder together into a medium bowl that is separate from the one you’ll mix the ingredients in.

In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high for about 3 minutes or until light in color. Meanwhile, mix melted chocolate with mayo until smooth, and beat into the batter on medium-low until no streaks remain.

On low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter in three separate parts, starting and ending with the flour and alternating with two parts water.

Pour batter into cupcake pans, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the pans to cool.

Thanks for visiting!
xo Carly and Kelli