One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Cooked Frosting

These are my favorite chocolate cupcakes! Not only does the recipe make a ton, but the batter is quickly thrown together in only one bowl. You don't even need a stand mixer if you don't have one. You just mix the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ones and whisk it together. They turn out super moist with a great chocolate flavor!

I've posted about them before, actually, when I frosted them with vanilla buttercream. This time, though, I had to try out this "cooked frosting" everyone has been raving about. I decided to use a recipe recommended by the Pioneer Woman and of course, it did not fail to impress. This frosting has the best texture, somewhere in between buttercream and whipped cream. In fact, it looks so much like whipped cream that I was afraid it would start to break down after a few hours, but it held up for days in the fridge! The thing I like best about it is that it doesn't leave that greasy feeling on your teeth like buttercream does. It's also sweet, but not overly so, like so many frostings can be. I used half a vanilla bean instead of the extract and loved it! It's no wonder the recipe is called, "That's the best frosting I've ever had", and the writer is so right when she says it's perfect on chocolate cake.