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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!
[pinit]
Thanks for your post and I am sorry to hear of your loss. I had a puppy named Lola and she passed away unexpectedly as well.
We had her for a short two weeks and she made such a huge impact on our lives.
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I’m pretty new reading your blog and this is my first comment. I just wanted to say I’m very sorry for your loss. I have a 8 mos. old Scottish terrier and he’s like another son to me (I have a 3 yr old boy. It’s just the 3 of us). Hugs from Argentina.
My daughter’s name is Lola :)
I’m very sorry to hear about your loss…i have a pup named Lola, too, which we got a little while after our last dog passed away. they are truly amazing animals with unconditional love.
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your pup. Lola was adorable and I’m sure she had a great life with such a sweet owner :)
I’m very sorry for your puppy, Lola.
I would be really bummed if my puppy died..T.T
ANyways, I made your cupcakes, they came you AMAZING!
REallly good, simmple and EASY!
Thank you!
Hello, I just read about your Lola pup and wanted to let you know I am thinking of you and your family. I have been following your blog, as have several of my coworkers at Sur La Table in Arizona and we all enjoy your writing and photography. I have a 12 year old Maltese named Jonah. The bond we have with our ‘dog children’ is nothing short of our human bonds and is the loss is just as difficult. Thank you for your blog, and my heart goes out to you.
I also have a 3 year old havanese named Bridget, also a terrific breed, very loving and active.
So sorry to hear! Losing a pet is never an easy thing–but keep eating good treats like that and it might make it a bit easier!