Snoot Cupcakes

Makes 12

These cupcakes with their piggy noses are an easy entertaining dessert, and they make an adorable addition to a barbecue buffet.

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (we use White Lily)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• ½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pink gel food coloring
• Buttercream Icing (page 307)
• 24 chocolate chips, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350°, with a rack in the center. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, with the mixer on low speed, scraping the bowl between additions. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes more; the mixture should be fluffy.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix on low speed after each addition, just until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold one-third of the egg whites at a time into the batter. Fill each cupcake liner about one-third full. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the cupcake tin to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix drops of food coloring into the buttercream until the desired shade of pink is achieved. Spoon the buttercream into a pastry bag with a plain tip or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Pipe icing onto each cupcake. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, smooth the icing around the edges and across the top. Place 2 chocolate chips in the center of each cupcake.