Marble Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

This was such a fun baking project my daughter and I whipped up in the kitchen recently. They come out so pretty with the swirled batters and we had fun decorating the tops with the creamy milk chocolate frosting.

If you can't decide between chocolate and vanilla, definitely give this one a try! It will definitely curb your cravings for something sweet. We baked these up to take over for a front porch drop off to my dad and stepmom last month to share the sugar aka love.

Marble Cupcakes from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream*
3/4 cup + 1 TBS milk, divided
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners, and 2 more wells in a second pan (14 total cupcakes).
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. Add the melted butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and blend to combine. With the mixer on low to medium, add in the egg, sour cream, 3/4 cup of the milk, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth.
4. Transfer 3/4 cup of the mix to another small bowl. To that bowl, add the remaining milk and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder and blend. Batter will be thick.
5. Place about 1 TBS of vanilla batter to each of the prepped cupcake liners. Divide the chocolate batter over the top of that vanilla batter, and then top off each cupcake by dividing up remaining vanilla batter (cupcake liners should be about 3/4 of the way full).
6. Gently swirl the cupcake batter with a toothpick.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan about 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool.
8. When cooled, you can frost as desired.

Milk Chocolate Frosting from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 TBS heavy cream or half-and-half
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy (just a minute or so). Add in the sugar and cocoa powder and turn speed to low to allow powder to begin to incorporate into the butter, slowly stream in vanilla and the cream, just until desired consistency is achieved. When most of the dry ingredients have been blended in, turn the speed up and allow to whip for just a minute until smooth and creamy.
2. If frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt and blend again.
3. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes as desired (I used a tip and piping bag, you can just frost with a butter knife if desired.