Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Dulce De Leche Frosting

Mexican chocolate, if you haven’t seen it before, is a combination of sweetened chocolate, cinnamon and sometimes other spices and is sold in discs at some regular grocers and all Mexican grocers. It can also be purchased online, even at Amazon. Mexican chocolate is a complex combination of flavors and when added to these cupcakes, produces a velvety soft crumb that is almost addicting. Topped off with a Dulce De Leche buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are sure to dazzle.

You probably remember me posting about these Mexican chocolate cupcakes before. In my previous version the cupcake recipe was from scratch and the frosting is different. While those that have made the recipe and my neighbors that taste tested these for me all thought the frosting was great, I was concerned that it was a bit too sugary. Notice I didn’t use the word sweet since the frosting I have chosen to replace it with is made from dulce de leche, a thick, sweet milk caramel.

I also decided to use a cake mix this time because around the holidays the kitchen is a hectic place. We want to spend time with our families and not have to be a slave to the oven. So in the interest of convenience, I’ve adjusted my from scratch recipe to this doctored cake mix version.:)

You can make your own homemade dulce de leche by slowly simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk immersed in water for a few hours. It can also be made in less than 20 minutes by placing an open can of sweetened condensed milk in a pan of simmering water. You can also but pre-made dulce de leche in the Mexican food aisle of your supermarket. For convenience sake, that’s what I did to make this frosting. If you use a homemade version you will need the mixture to cool completely before making this recipe.

The Dulce De Leche frosting turned out wonderful, sweet but not face puckering sweet, and a marvelous compliment to the Mexican chocolate flavor of the cupcakes. I’ve made it both with a convenient can of ready made frosting and also a from scratch version. Both are below, choose whichever suits your tastes. A perfect finish to a tasty Mexican meal!

Note: You can make the cupcakes and the frosting ahead, just store them separately in the refrigerator. Remove frosting from the refrigerator about 30 minutes early, then frost the cupcakes as desired.

Mexican Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
with Dulce De Leche Frosting

Try my Mexican Quesados appetizer and my Shredded Chicken and Chile Enchiladas for a complete menu!

(If you enjoyed this post, I’d truly appreciate a stumble, Digg, facebook share, whatever you like!:) )

NEW! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter, Foodie in the Craftroom, to receive updates and tips from both and Crafts by! Visit https://amandascookin.com/p/subscribe-to-newsletter.html