Honey Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a stand mixer, whisk together milk, oil, egg, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract until combined. In large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and continue mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into liners, about 1/4 cup in each liner until 2/3 full. Bake 18 minutes or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely to room temperature.

Honey Buttercream Frosting

To make buttercream, in a stand mixer with whisk attached whip butter and shortening until smooth. Slowly add the icing sugar one cup at a time. Add vanilla, milk and honey as you go to thin it out. Add as much icing sugar as needed until you reach the desired consistency around 3-4 cups. It should be soft and not too stiff. To pipe onto the cupcakes, use a round tip and fill icing bag. Alternatively, you can use an offset spatula to ice the tops of the cupcakes.

*Optional: you can add shaved chocolate to the top like I did. Using a good quality chocolate, break off a chunk about the size of your palm, or smaller. Microwave it about 10-15 seconds to soften the outsides. Using a regular carrot peeler, peel the top layer of chocolate to create curls. Place onto paper towel or dish until ready to use. Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with the shavings.

Cupcakes can be stored in container for 1-2 days.