Betty Crocker Cookoff

Cupcake War!!!

Since we were expecting some special guests for a summer visit we decided to make cupcakes for two of our very discerning culinary guests.  Connie will cook a batch of Betty Crocker cupcakes and Bruce....well, Bruce decided that it would be appropriate to challenge Betty by cooking a batch of Duncan Hines-inspired cupcakes!

That seemed a bit wimpy (in Connie's mind) since she was cooking everything from scratch.  Bruce held fast to his contention that we had enough to do getting ready for our company's visit that he wanted the cooking part of the week to be easy.  Of course, after seeing his recipe it was a bit more complex than at first expected.

So, up first, Betty's Cocoa Fudge Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting:

Betty Crocker's Cocoa Fudge Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
   2/3 cup cocoa
   1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
      1 teaspoon salt
      1 teaspoon vanilla
      2 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 30 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups.  Beat all ingredients on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds.  Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 3 minutes.  Pour batter into cups, filling 1/2 full.  Bake 20 minutes.  30 cupcakes

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
   3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
   3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
   2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix margarine and chocolate; stir in powdered sugar.  Stir in sour cream and vanilla; beat until smooth and of spreading consistency.  Frosts 30 cupcakes.

Duncan Hines' Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep: 20 mins
Cooking:  25 mins Cooling: 10 mins
Yields:  30 cupcakes (2 1/2 dozen)

"These Triple-Chocolate Cupcakes make a delicious and easy treat for birthday parties and are a chocolate lover's dream! Chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding and chocolate morsels combine for a dangerously delicious treat. Do you dare to put chocolate frosting on, too?  Of course!!!" 

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4 oz.) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 container (16 oz.) Duncan Hines prepared chocolate frosting
Assorted candy sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease or paper-line 30 muffin cups.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil and water in large mixer bowl; beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in morsels. Pour into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost; decorate with candy sprinkles.

After the recipes were decided upon, the only other big question was if Duncan Hines was a real person or was he a corporate image like Betty???  We discovered that Mr. Hines was indeed a real person!  See below for more about him:

                                                    The Very Real Mr. Duncan Hines

Duncan Hines (March 26, 1880 – March 15, 1959) was an American pioneer of restaurant ratings for travelers. He is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name.

Hines was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Working as a traveling salesman for a Chicago printer, by age 55 in 1935, Hines had eaten a lot of good and bad meals on the road all across the US. At this time in the United States, there was no interstate highway system and only a few chain restaurants, except for those in large, populated areas. Therefore, travelers depended on getting a good meal at a local restaurant.

Hines and his wife, Florence, began assembling a list for friends of several hundred good restaurants around the country. The list became so popular that he began selling a paperback book, Adventures in Good Eating (1935), which highlighted restaurants and their featured dishes that Hines had personally enjoyed in locations across America.^[1

So....which of these icons will win the cupcake war????