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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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So sorry for your loss. Dogs really are man’s best friend. The cupcakes look great!
Oh, man – I know what you’re going through – I lost my 16 year old dog this winter : http://tinyurl.com/yanpjf6 and I had to take a week off of posting. It’s still hard – every day I miss her. Your Lola looks like such a sweetie. We love our dogs, don’t we? And boy, I do love some chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! These look fabulous.
Oh no :( :( :( :( I’m so sorry for your loss. I have a maltese as well, I can’t imagine loosing him.
I’m so sorry about Lola. Thinking of you. <3
I’m sorry to hear about Lola as well. She was a beautiful dog! My thoughts are with you.
I’m sorry to hear about Lola. It is sweet of you to pay tribute to her through cupcakes.
I’m sorry about Lola. having lived my entire life with dogs, I know how hard it is to lose one, especially when it’s unexpected. I think these Lola cupcakes are a great tribute and I’m sure she appreciates it.
aw so sorry to hear of the passing of your sweet dog. I love your cupcakes though, they do look fluffy like her :( hope you feel better!
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. I remember when I lost my Zoe (a zillion years ago now) and it was heartbreaking. My thoughts are with you.
ps. The cupcakes look delish :-)
So sorry to hear of your loss and I know it is a great loss. I am sitting here typing with a cat on my lap. We have 5 pets in our home and the love is great. Your Lola cupcakes are a beautiful tribute to a lovely pup.