Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes with Cranberry Orange Frosting

The flavors in these chocolate, orange and cranberry cupcakes are really well balanced. These are a nice alternative to just plain chocolate cupcakes for the holiday season.

I have 2 more cupcakes that I learned in the cooking class but I'll post them later in the month. They are a coconut and a peppermint cupcake and were my favorite. The frosting didn't look it's best though b/c it had gotten too soft by the time I photograph them. I'm planning to make these for my husbands holiday party later this week and hopefully will get a good picture.

Ingredients

Cupcake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 chopped dried cranberries

Frosting
12oz cream cheese, room temp.
6 Tsp. butter, room temp.
3 cups powder sugar
3 Tbsp. jellied cranberry sauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated orange zest
3oz semisweet chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with 18 paper liners.

Cream the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, vanilla and beat until well combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Add the flour gradually, stirring until well combined. Stir in the chopped cranberries. Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter in a bowl until fluffy. Sift the powdered sugar and add to cream cheese. Mix until well combined. Add the cranberry sauce, vanilla and orange zest and beat until light light and fluffy. Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. Use a vegetable peeler, shave the chocolate bar and garnish the cupcakes.