#32: Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes

i made some peppermint chocolate cupcakes for m.lyons birthday yesterday, adopted from my Martha Stewart cupcake book. first step: i started making the mint chocolate leaf (the garnish on top). the leaves were surprisingly very easy to make and almost fail proof! i bought some organic mint leaves from Trader Joe's and then washed and dried some of the smaller leaves. i then melted some semi sweet chocolate and then "painted" one side of the leaf with chocolate using a spoon. i then rested the leaves on a wooden skewer on top of parchment paper, and then let them chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. after the leaves were cool, i peeled the mint leaf off and then the leaf imprint was leftover on the chocolate. kind of like fossils! i then placed the chocolate back into the fridge to prevent them from softening. second step: i then made the cake with cocoa powder and some of the extra melted semi sweet chocolate. i also added peppermint extract into the batter. third step: lastly, i made the buttercream frosting and used peppermint extract as a substitute for the vanilla. to decorate, i piped the peppermint frosting onto the cupcakes, drizzled some melted some more semi sweet chocolate, and then placed a chocolate mint leaf on top. ta da! here is the finished product.