Tomorrow night is the long-awaited Cupcake Camp Boston. Today, I’ve been busy baking and prepping for the event. This year, I’m making these Chocolate Mashed Potato Cupcakes that I first saw on the Sprinkle Bakes blog. I made a few minor modifications to the order of adding and mixing ingredients but otherwise left the recipe as-is.

Yes – these cuppies have mashed potatoes in them, but you wouldn’t know it! The 1/3 cup of leftover taters in the batter helps to make a dense but moist cake. However, instead of making standard size cupcakes, I’m bringing minis tomorrow night since event attendees are assaulted by so many different tempting treat combinations. It’s nearly impossible to eat a full size cupcake. So, hopefully, these little guys won’t dry out too much before tomorrow night.

Now, here’s the recipe so you can try these the next time you have some leftovers!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup cold, leftover mashed potatoes*
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup milk (the original calls for whole but I used 2%)
• 2 eggs

*Notes about the mashed potatoes

• Avoid mashed potatoes with skins, chives, sharp cheeses, garlic or anything else that could affect the texture or flavor of your cake.
• If your mashed potatoes are too runny, you may need to add in up to 1/8 cup of all-purpose flour to the batter.
• It’s OK to use mashed potatoes with any combination of the following ingredients:  salt, butter, margarine, sour cream, milk, heavy cream, half and half, evaporated milk. A little pepper is OK.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with papers and set aside. (This recipe will make about 15 standard cupcakes or about 30 mini cupcakes.)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Then, add eggs and mashed potatoes. Whip until fluffy.
4. Next, add the flour mixture in several batches to the egg/potato mixture, alternately with milk. Note: Your batter will be really thick.
5. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full using a small cookie scoop. Bake for 15-20 minutes (for standard cupcakes) or about 10-12 minutes (for mini cuppies), or until the a toothpick comes out clean, or the cake springs back when touched.
6. Let cupcakes cool for about two minutes in the tin, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Chocolate Buttercream

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup milk (the original calls for half and half)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1. Cream the butter in a medium bowl. Then, add the cocoa, powdered sugar and vanilla, alternating with the milk.
2. Whip until light and fluffy, and the frosting is the consistency that you desire. You may need to add some more milk or some additional sugar, depending on how thick you’d like it. Transfer to a piping bag with the tip of your choice.
3. Frost cupcakes.

For the Chocolate-dipped Potato Chip Garnish

• 30 hand-selected ridged potato chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Mini, multi-colored nonpareils

1. Pour 3/4 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips in a small microwaveable  bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals until half of the chocolate is melted and the bowl is warm. Stir very well after each interval.
2. Add remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Heat at 10-second intervals until fully melted. Stir between each interval.
3. Dip potato chips in chocolate and shake off the extra chocolate. Then, sprinkle with the nonpareils and place on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Place in fridge to completely set and harden.
4. Finally, garnish frosted cupcakes with a chocolate-covered chip.

Enjoy! And remember to come see me at Cupcake Camp Boston 2012 tomorrow night at the Armory in Somerville!

P.S. You can see my Q&A with the Cupcake Camp team here.