Chef Luke & Kathleen make Chocolate cupcakes

I'm not one who enjoys baking. I have no patience for all the measuring. I like to cook FAST.

Kathleen however, is so patient with Luke and has been working behind the scenes in our test kitchen with Chef Luke to come up with a new recipe each week.

Luke, like most kids, has an obsession with chocolate. and candy. and treats. Obviously. Who doesn't like all of the above? But Luke also loves shrimp dumplings, mussels, honey garlic chicken wings and bbq ribs. And when put to the test...he will always eat 8 shrimp dumplings (sometimes 10) over 1 chocolate cupcake.

Anyhow, he's always always always asking for chocolate cupcakes so this week...Kathleen caved and threw him a bone. But of course...we took it a step further and made these cupcakes relevant to the upcoming holiday...Halloween.

I have however advised my Chefs that go forward we will alternate between sweet and savory. Which Kathleen my friend secretly...is so we can learn some new, vegan recipes and you can actually ENJOY.

Without Further Ado...this week Chef Luke & Kathleen baked mini chocolate cupcakes with a homemade buttercream frosting. Here is Kathleen's EASY frosting recipe...

When cooking or baking with kids, it's easier to take shortcuts. These guys used a box of cake mix to make the cupcakes and focused on a homemade frosting.

You know that Luke is our official egg cracker right? I've never seen a 4 year old (or anyone for that matter) crack eggs so perfectly without breaking the yokes or dropping in the shells...

Maybe one shell fell in....no one's perfect right?

Luke loves to take charge when he cooks. This usually results in some type of huge mess. It's OK! Cooking is messy. Be prepared for a clean up afterwards.

With Halloween coming up, Luke suggested Halloween themed cupcakes with green, ghouley frosting. He also took a trip with Kathleen to Michaels and found all types of edible decorations plus fun cupcake decorations to top their cupcakes with.

Voila! Luke had a blast decorating these delicious chocolate cupcakes and this morning we brought the leftovers to school for all Gavin and Luke's teachers.

Check back next week because our Little Miss Halloween Party in a Box is going to be live and for sale and you're not going to want to miss out!

Photos by Abby Copleston.