The Cupcake Massacre

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

2011-11-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

For my husband's bowling league, I was asked to make Peanut Butter & Jelly cupcakes. I have made these once before, however my husband asked that I don't do the glaze, but instead frost it with frosting. I decided to do a peanut butter and jelly swirl frosting. I was picturing the frosting being brighter and more vibrant, but I think they look great! My husband asks that next time I add more peanut butter to the batter, as he could barely taste it. Instead of adding the jelly to the unbaked batter, I cooked the peanut butter batter by itself. Then I cored the cupcakes and stuffed the hole with jelly, using 1/2-3/4 C strawberry jelly overall. I put the jelly in a pastry bag and squeezed the jelly into the holes. It was a lot less messy that way! Then I topped the cupcakes with the frosting. The original cupcake recipe can be found here. The two different frostings were easy, based off my original frosting recipe. Some of the guys at the bowling alley changed their favorite cupcake from Pumpkin Ginger to this one! I was very surprised!!

This is the cute box!

I met some new people over the weekend at a Halloween party. One of whom, Hilary, was so intrigued by my cupcakes that she said she would stop by the bowling alley on Thursday to try some of my cupcakes and get some business cards. Silly me, at the Halloween party, I didn't have any business cards! I packaged up some cupcakes in a cute box for Hilary and topped it with some business cards. At the party, she had said she knows people who would probably order from me!

Here you can see the jelly filled center.

These are the cored, unfilled cupcakes!

These are the cores from the Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

These are the cored and jelly filled cupcakes!

Black Russian Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

2011-11-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

One of the bowlers from a different team in my husband's league asked if I could make a dozen cupcakes for his birthday. He said he would pay for them, of course. I asked what he would like, and he said to surprise him. He had given me a short list of some of his favorite flavors a week prior, so I set to work and find a recipe that would work with what he likes. I found a Black Russian cupcake recipe here, and changed just a few things. The recipe was rather easy, and depending on how it tastes, may become a fan favorite. Since this recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes, I cut everything in half. When I have an order from customers, I buy a cake box to put them in so that the customer can take the cupcakes home. I decided to get creative and cut four little slits in the top of the box to hold my business card! I think it looks great, and a great way of branding my cupcakes!

* I do not own a coffee pot or coffee grounds, so I use instant coffee for my baking recipes. For the frosting, I do not use 3 tbsp coffee, but instead mixed the Kahlua with 1 1/2-2 tsp instant coffee and disolve as much of the instant coffee as you can. This method will get the coffee flavor without making the frosting too liquid.

Deep Chocolate Cupcakes - Shipped!

2011-11-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of Raspberry Frosting left over, so I decided to try to ship cupcakes to my family back in California. I made a dozen Deep Chocolate Cupcakes without wrappers. When the cupcakes were cooled, I cut them in half horizontally and layered the cupcake halves and frosting in a tall Mason Jar. I looked up shipping costs and UPS, FedEx, and DHL were all way too expensive. I went with USPS for $10.50: 2-3 day Priority Mail. I shipped the cupcakes on Saturday, my mom received them on Monday. The cupcakes needed to be refrigerated once received, just to solidify the frosting again. I sent a total of 6 jars to my mom, and she gave some to my sister and my mother-in-law. Everyone was really excited to get some of my cupcakes since they haven't had them in 4 months. The cupcakes were very moist, but the frosting was rather tart. I assume that the raspberries got sweeter and sweeter the longer they stayed in the frosting. The layers stayed together, no major shifting. I will definitely be doing this again in the future! I might even use smaller Mason Jars for individual cupcakes, since the tall jars hold 2 cupcakes each.

On Sunday, I had an order for a dozen Red Velvet cupcakes. Such a great recipe and a very photogenic cupcake!

Deep Chocolate Cupcake with Raspberry Frosting

2011-10-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was debating what cupcakes to make for my husband's bowling team (properly named Cupcake Massacre) and was talking with some friends about recipes. I wanted to do something new. I haven't done a new recipe in a while, and the fall/winter season is a great time to add spices to cupcakes and work on different frosting flavors. My friend, PaTrice, suggested a cupcake recipe found here and the frosting recipe found here. After looking through my pantry and the recipes, I had to alter the recipes slightly. The cupcakes came out very complex, but rather tasty (or so I was told). I topped them with my own raspberry frosting and Halloween Peeps for the Halloween season.

Homemade Butter!

2011-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

Butter. It's one of those magical foods that's tastes so good you can forgive and forget the few extra calories it adds (okay, many - who's counting anyways?). There's nothing simpler, or more pleasing, than a slice of bread with butter spread across it - and let's not forget that cupcakes would be nowhere without butter!

If you can't tell I'm a fan of butter. A big fan. At my house we joke that bread is a "butter delivery system". So how could one possibly improve upon an already pleasing and versatile food like butter? Make it yourself.

While homemade butter might conjure images of bonnets, churns, and Little House on the Prairie, you have nothing to fear. Homemade butter is easier than you could ever imagine!

Butter is made from cream. Ever over whipped your cream for frosting and it turned grainy? Well you were on your way to making butter! You'll get about a 2:1 ratio when making butter. Meaning, 16oz of cream will make about 8oz of butter. (Also said, a pound of cream will make half a pound of butter.)

Now, it should be noted that butter can be whipped up in your food processor or stand mixer, but since I own neither of those, I made mine via shaking.

Things you'll need:
Elbow grease (or a partner or older child you can pawn the labor off on)
A jar with a secure lid (I used a mason jar)
Heavy cream (quantity up to you!)
A strainer or steady hand
A spatula or butter knife

Pour the cream into the jar and secure the lid tightly. This is where elbow grease comes in. You will need to shake the jar vigorously. For a while. Stick in there. This is a great chance to work out your biceps! (Or teach the value of hard work to the person you talked into shaking for you).

The amount of time you need to shake the jar depends on your strength; anywhere from 10-20 minutes. After a few minutes the jar will start to feel dense and heavy. You will no longer be able to feel the cream move from top to bottom. It will almost feel like shaking a solid object; very brick like. Keep shaking.

The next stage you'll reach is whipped cream. Yes, it is possible to stop here and top some strawberries with this deliciousness, but if you're hoping for butter it's important to (say it with me) keep shaking.

After a few more minutes the whipped cream will start to separate and look sort of grainy. The curds will start to separate from the whey (Little Miss Muffet anyone?) and that grainy looking mass will start becoming more identifiable clumps. At this point you should see liquid in the jar as well. This is buttermilk! I personally kept shaking a bit past this point, just to be sure, but it's not necessary.

Place your strainer in the sink (or if you'd like to save the buttermilk for pancakes or the like, place the strainer over a bowl). Open your jar and and pour the entire contents into the strainer. In my case, my handsome boyfriend, who also made butter with me, didn't feel like getting the strainer out and just carefully tilted the lid in a manner that allowed him to pour out the liquid without dumping the butter curds into the sink.

In either case, once the buttermilk is removed from the jar, rinse the butter curds with a small amount of water and drain the water as well. This is to ensure you've removed all liquid. Then using the spatula or butter knife, scoop the butter curds into a container of your choosing. Use the spatula to smooth and press the curds together to create a nice buttery texture.

Note: you can add salt to your butter, but I prefer to leave my butter unsalted. We did try our butter on a piece of bread with a tiny bit of salt sprinkled on top and it was very tasty too!

Tada! Pat yourself on the back and let out a solid "HECK YES!". You've just made butter. Use on or in any product you like!

Enjoy!
<3 Tanya!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2011-10-18T10:49:00.002-07:00

My husband absolutely adores pumpkin treats. He can't get enough of the Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes. I was recently asked by one of the bowlers at the league if I would make a dozen Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes. I said yes, of course, and we agreed on a price! I do believe I have my first paying client in Minnesota!

While shopping for ingredients, my husband eyed a "pre-made, ready-to-go mix" for Pumpkin Spice Cookies. I told him I would make some for him from scratch, and picked up another can of pumpkin. Unfortunately, pumpkin is the only ingredient I do not use fresh. I did a little searching and found the recipe here. I quickly got to work and came out with a beautiful batch of cookies!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies:

Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 24 large sized cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. Mix butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until completely mixed.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until completely incorporated.
5. Use a tablespoon to drop dough onto wax paper on a stone cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool on a baking rack until completely cool before frosting.

Frosting:
Ingredients
2 C powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1.) Mix all ingredients together.
2.) Drizzle over cookies.
3.) Let frosting dry before moving.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Raspberry Swirl Frosting

2011-10-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

This was a request from a friend of a friend at the bowling alley. I attempted to make my own jam and it turned out horribly. I ended up using the "jam" in the frosting. I wanted to fill the cupcakes with the homemade jam and also use the jam in the frosting. But everything about this recipe just went horribly wrong. I'm not going to even post the exact information for the jam because I can't quite remember what I did. All I know is I heated up sugar until it was a liquid, then put in the raspberries, wich shocked the sugar into cooling to be rock hard. I continued to heat the mixture and eventually tried to reduce it. When the substance cooled it was verrrrrrry sticky. I used a strainer to get rid of the seeds, and using the back of ladle, I squeezed the mixture through the strainer. What I ended up with was a.) a very messy strainer, and b.) very little jam. The jam was a little thicker than normal jam but tasted amazing. I decided I would just make lemon cupcakes and do a raspberry frosting and lemon frosting swirl. This came out rather well.

Hamburger Cupcakes

2011-10-17T15:35:00.002-07:00

Hamburger Cupcakes.... They are not as you'd expect. It is a vanilla cupcake with a chocolate cupcake in the center with some tastefully colore and arranged frostings.

I used my vanilla cupcake recipe that I've been falling back on recently. I added almond extract to make it taste a bit like a sugar cookie. I baked the cupcakes in a muffin tin WITHOUT wrappers and just use cooking spray on the tin to make sure there was no sticking.

I used my chocolate cupcake recipe found here. Such a great flavor and texture for the "meat" of the cupcake! I baked the cupcakes in a 9x13 pan like you would with brownies. For a dozen hamburger cupcakes, I used one batch of cupcakes.

I used store-bought frosting tubes in yellow, red, and green. I was short on time and did not feel like rushing such an art.

Vanilla Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 C plus 2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C milk

sesame seeds

12 decorated toothpicks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. **** SKIP THIS STEP FOR HAMBURGER CUPCAKES
3. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
4. Mix the sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, butter, vegetable oil, and milk in a mixing bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until completely incorporated. A higher speed may be required to make sure there are no clumps. Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
6. Fill the cupcake liners with batter to about 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.

8. Open the oven and gently sprinkle the sesame seeds on the tops of the cupcakes.

9. Bake for another 8-10 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes cool completely.

I used a Pampered Chef Mini Measure-All to cut the chocolate cupcakes into "hamburger patties". It worked rather well! I cut the vanilla cupcakes horizontally in the middle to resemble hamburger buns. On the bottom half of the "bun" I squirted yellow, red, and green frosting around the top of the cut cupcake. I did 1/3 circles around, so the frostings touch end to end. If you cover the top of the cut cupcake with frosting, the cupcake will be extremely sweet. Use your instincts and best judgement. Place the "hamburger patty" on top of the frosting, and top it off with the top half of the "bun". Stick a decorated toothpick in the center to hold it all together and give the illusion of hamburger sliders!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

2011-10-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

This recipe is one of my husband's favorites. I made 3 dozen total, so he took some to work and to bowling. Everyone loved them (as usual)! I even had someone say "I don't usually do pumpkin, but I couldn't resist the smell. It was great!" These would be the exact same cupcakes that my husband did a taste-test against the competition and mine came out on top! The recipe can be found here. Just a couple of pictures for you, along with a great photo of the fall colors! Fall with color-changing leaves is new to me. Growing up in Southern California, I had only ever seen fall leaves on TV or in a picture. I must say, the real deal is soooo much more beautiful in person!

Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes

2011-09-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

For her birthday, a friend of mine asked that I cater her Alice in Wonderland themed party. She showed me a few photos that used fondant, and I told her I couldn't do fondant. She asked for a mixture of flowers and cupcakes that said "Eat me". Simple enough. Until I dropped the first frosted cupcake in the sprinkles! What a disaster. I made it work, and made it look like it was supposed to be that way. I used my Sugar Cookie Cupcake recipe and vanilla frosting. I've attached a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure. :D

I used three different colors for frosting: Red, Yellow, and Green. I used the same colors for sprinkles. I frosted the edges of the cupcakes, then rolled them in frosting.

I used cut marshmallows, laid them in sprinkles, then arranged them on the cupcakes in a flower pattern. I also used a different tip to draw flowers on some cupcakes.

I used a thin writing tip to write Eat Me on cupcakes that were completely covered in sparkles. This picture doesn't do the cupcake justice. The cupcakes really sparkled!

Lemon & Raspberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

2011-09-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

I worked at my church as the high school youth group leader, and I was very close with my youth. A few of them graduated this past summer and are doing great with college and the military. One of the youth's parents asked if I would cater a graduation party for the youth, and I of course said yes. We went back and forth trying to decide on what flavors to do. The youth, David, kept asking what other people like. We told him it's his party, he gets to choose! He said "Nicole could make dirt flavored cupcakes and they would taste amazing!" What a compliment!! David finally decided on half Red Velvet, and the other half I would choose. I chose a lemon cupcake with raspberry frosting. I found the basic recipe here, and used my own recipe for the frosting. I made four dozen Red Velvet and four dozen Lemon Raspberry. I used store-bought raspberry jam because I hadn't started making home-made jams yet.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

2011-09-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Every week my husband bowls with a league. I'm quickly making friends with the team members and I am now taking requests each week. This week I was asked to make Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes. I did a little research and found what I wanted here. I did quite a bit of reworking to make it work for me, but I really like the vanilla cupcake part, and I may use it again. The recipe calls for strawberry jam, but I wanted to make my own, and it worked out alright. The jam didn't solidify quite enough, but that is most likely due to the fact that I don't have a cooking thermometer, so I didn't know if it was up to temperature or not. It worked fine, but I do suggest using a thermometer when making jam.

Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes

2011-09-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, some friends of mine have been asking for cupcakes. They live in Arizona so it was almost impossible to get them some fresh cupcakes. That didn't exactly stop them from asking. As soon as I found out my husband and I were moving, I mapped out a road-trip that would take us through their part of Arizona, then I contacted my friends and said "let's do dinner!" They promptly said "only if you bring cupcakes!" We talked it over and they decided they wanted something with chocolate and caramel. I asked if a turtle cupcake would be good. They said yes (of course). I found the recipe here and did a little reworking to make it work for me. When I first saw the picture of the cupcake, I thought it had two or three different colored frostings swirled into one. Later I found out it wasn't. That didn't stop me from wanting to try it! I researched a little and found out a neat trick to make it work just as I wanted. I used my own chocolate cupcake recipe, it hasn't failed me yet!

This is the filled cupcake.

A Quick Update

2011-09-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post, and I apologize for the lack of updates. Let me give you a quick breakdown of each month since my last post.

May: My husband found out that his department was being shut down in California and a new team would be established in Minnesota and Virginia. He started training his replacements and looking for a new job inside and outside the company. He found a great position (a promotion and a raise), but it was in Minnesota. After careful consideration (and a lot of begging from both of our families) we decided to move to Minnesota and my husband would be able to have a job that he loves with a company that he loves and loves him. I advised my boss that I would be moving (six weeks in advance, mind you) and they laid me off once they found my replacement. While my husband was in another state training his replacements, one of my clients asked that I cater her birthday party which was Alice in Wonderland themed. I cannot and will not use fondant, it tends to look a little fake. But I did decorate them as per my client's request! Post can be found here.

June: Not much going on. A lot of goodbyes, a lot of packing. I started life as a housewife and found I have a passion for staying home and keeping house. One of the moms of a youth from my church asked if I would cater her son's high school graduation party. I was close with the youth, so I said yes. We tossed back and forth ideas for flavors and the graduate chose one flavor and asked me to pick a second. I made 4 dozen Red Velvet and 4 dozen Lemon Raspberry.

July: Moved to Minnesota. We took a week to get from California to Minnesota, stopping in Arizona for dinner with some friends (and Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes for dessert!), and Colorado to stay with my best friend (and co-blogger) Tanya. My husband and I quickly learned our neighborhoods and neighboring towns and started adjusting to a more humid climate. Christopher asked that I make some cupcakes for his work, so I made my mouthwatering Carrot Cupcakes (but no rum in the frosting).

August: Still more getting used to life in Minnesota and apart from both of our families. For my mom's birthday (the big 5-0!), she, my dad, and my niece made a road trip from California to Missouri and Kansas and back, visiting friends along the way. I talked with my mom and some friends in Kansas to figure out if I could go down for the weekend and spend time with my parents and niece and friends I hadn't seen for a while. As it turned out, my husband and I did go! We surprised my mother with cupcakes (Applesauce Chocolate Cupcakes) and a hug and she was so excited to see us! It was great to see my family and friends for the weekend.

September: This month is my husband's birthday month, so we have been celebrating for the last week or so. I bought him Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray and a very nice leather jacket. I made one of his favorite cupcakes: S'mores Cupcakes, and he gobbled them up as I expected him to! My husband joined a bowling league and I've become the baker/mascot for the team, which is properly named The Cupcake Massacre. Every week, I bring a new cupcake recipe (at least, new to them!). This gives me a chance to start blogging again as I do miss it! So far, I've made Banana Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Banana & Pineapple Chocolate (surprisingly, the flavors went well together. I added about 3/4 C of pureed pineapple and used only 2 bananas). Also, my husband tried a cupcake from a local cupcakery (per my request) which was Pumpkin with Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting. I wanted an honest person with a great sense of taste to check out my competition. He said it was good, but not as good as my Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes. He said the cupcakes was "missing something" and the frosting didn't have any cream cheese in it. He said he would take one of my cupcakes over this other cupcake any day!

So, in short: I moved from California to Minnesota and the friendly people of Minnesota can't get enough of my cupcakes! There will be more recipes and pictures soon to come!

Ice Cream Cone Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-05-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

An oldie but a goodie with my new chocolate cupcake recipe and vanilla frosting. Came out great!! I also made some regular cupcakes, but just four. I had some friends over and whipped up this batch of cupcakes especially for them. I know my close friend, Leah, will miss me and the cupcakes when we move. Here's some photos and some reviews!

‎"I'm still in wonder..."

"I'm not sure how to eat it."

"I don't want to eat it, I want to take it home and put it in a glass box and just look at it all day."

Mother's Day Cupcakes

2011-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day this year I made cupcakes for my mom: Vanilla with Banana Frosting.

Cupcakes recipe found here.

Frosting recipe found here.

Pictures!! Happy Mother's Day Mommy!

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-04-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

This recipe is the exact same as the Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes, but instead I used banana instead of strawberry. The cupcakes came out amazing with a lot of compliments!

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

2011-04-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

Since I've found my "indestructible" chocolate cupcake recipe, I've been wanting to play around with it and see what I can do. Strawberries are definitely in season and go well with chocolate, I decided to try a Chocolate Strawberry concoction! I had to add more flour and baking powder to make sure the cake rised correctly. The first batch, I didn't think to add flour and baking powder, so they came out deflated. The second batch, I did add the extra ingredients and it came out marvelously! The cupcake batter needs to be rather thick, not runny. If it's too runny, add some more flour and rising agent.

The frosting on the other hand.... I talked it over with my mom, and she said to use just the juice, not the whole fruit, because the fruit would continue to leak juices, making the frosting fall apart. This is a necessary part of the frosting!! Instead of the milk in the frosting, use the strawberry juice. If you want chocolate frosting, just add 1/4 - 1/2 C of Dutch Cocoa Powder, to taste. The frosting came out amazing!! Please see the note at the bottom of the recipe in regards to the frosting.

Em's Birthday Cupcakes

2011-04-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

My niece turned seven and wanted cupcakes for her birthday party, which was at the local city zoo. I asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. This was easy. I used my vanilla cupcake recipe and my chocolate frosting recipe. And she wanted sprinkles. Easy Peasy. One problem: It was extremely hot that day and the cupcakes would be sitting in the car while we were enjoying our time at the zoo. It was actually an easy fix! We filled the bottom layer of my cupcake carrier with ice and dry ice and left the carrier in the trunk of the car, in the shade. By the time cupcakes were served, the frosting wasn't melted, and the cupcakes were actually a bit cool, which was rather refreshing on the hot day! I won't paste the recipe, but here's a photo! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chipotle Cinnamon Cupcakes

2011-03-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I've been wanting to go out of my comfort zone when baking, to try new recipes, or crazy ideas. This is one of them. I have heard of some people who drink hot chocolate with chili powder. I searched and searched and found a recipe that could have chipotle in the cupcake. I eventually found it here. The recipe calls for boxed cake (a part of me died inside!!) and other ingredients. Since I absolutely DO NOT use boxed cakes, I decided to use my own chocolate cupcake recipe. I've always said that I like to add my own twist to a recipe! I wasn't gutsy enough to try the cupcake, but my husband, brother-in-law, and one of my best friends tried the cupcakes and liked them! I added a cinnamon cream cheese frosting to cool the palate after the spiciness. I've told several people about this recipe, and every single person wants to try one! I'll definitely be making this recipe again.

Lots of Cupcakes!

2011-03-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged about cupcakes in a while because life has been super crazy. Between switching jobs, the holiday season, and other stuff, I wasn't able to keep up. But I'm back! I was making cupcakes while I was away, but always the same recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting or Vanilla Frosting.

I've attached a few pictures for you. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Decor: Christmas Wrappers and Candy Cane piece on top

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
This frosting came out whipped for some reason, tasted light and fluffy!!! =)

Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cupcakes

2011-03-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

For St. Patrick's Day, I was asked to make cupcakes by a friend of mine, and she wanted them themed. Not a problem! My first instinct for St. Patrick's Day was my Guinness & Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Frosting. One thing: the cupcakes were for kids. Hmmm.... What to do. green cupcakes with green frosting! No problem. I googled for almost an hour and kept coming across Green Velvet Cupcakes, but I didn't have nearly enough green food coloring on hand, so I passed. I started to think of what I had on hand that was green. I found a box or two of Pistachio Pudding, and googled a recipe for that. Guess what! I found one!

The recipe was SUPER easy, and while constructing, I double and triple checked this recipe and noticed it has a LOT of liquids. But my husband assured me it would be fine, because of the pudding. (Just as an aside... My husband is always right!) I made a few modifications:

1.) I didn't have "mini chocolate chips", so I put chocolate chips into my food processor and let it run for a while. This chopped my chips into smaller pieces, worked great!

2.) Halfway through the recipe I realized I didn't have any vegetable oil. (Used it all for frying corndogs for my birthday.) So I did some research: it's possible to substitute canola oil for vegetable oil, no conversions necessary! So I did.

Cinnamon Apples

2011-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

A delectable dessert that should have been served with homemade whipped cream, but I didn't have any of the whipped cream ingredients on hand. Alone, the treat is sweet, tasty, and healthy - for the most part.

Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Makes: 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter

1/4 C sugar

2 tbsp* cinnamon

2 fresh apples**

* I think I used a bit more, but you can do it to taste.

** I used Gala apples, any kind will do, especially if they are apples for baking or for sauces.

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat heat the butter, sugar, and cinnamon until the butter is melted.

2. While the butter is melting, core and slice the apples. I did not skin them, as I recently read an article that the apple skin has the best or most nutrients the apple has to offer.

3. Add the apples to the butter and coat the apples generously.

4. Cover the saucepan and let simmer for 8-9 minutes.

5. Serve warm and with homemade whipped cream.

As I stated earlier, I did not make the whipped cream, but I've attached the recipe in case you want to. There are other variations of the recipe below found here.

Original Whipped Cream:
Ingredients:
1 C heavy whipping cream or heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp sugar

Directions:
READ THESE DIRECTIONS BEFORE MIXING
1. In a large mixing bowl whip the cream, vanilla extract, and sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Cover and chill the mixture, bowl, and whisk for at least 30 minutes.

3. Once chilled, continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Homemade Pancakes

2011-01-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know what spawned the idea to make homemade cupcakes, but I wanted to. Pancakes, to me at least, usually come out of a box and you add milk to them. But I believe in doing things from scratch. So I searched for a recipe that did not include buttermilk, since I didn't have any on hand. I found one here, and added a bit to the recipe to add some fun! I added the vanilla extract because everything just sounded so plain.

Information:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 8 regular pancakes or 4 large pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 C milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, vanilla, egg, and butter in a bowl until completely incorporated and major lumps are smoothed out.

2. Preheat a griddle or non-stick skillet on a medium-low heat. (If you don't have non-stick, use a bit of butter to grease the pan.)

3. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the pan. (This is for a small pancake, for a large pancake use 2/3 C.)

4. Cook on medium-low until the edges are baked, and the bottom of the pancake is a golden brown.

5. Flip the pancake and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the new bottom is a golden brown. If you want to make a small slit on the top of the pancake to make sure all the batter is cooked through, that's fine. Nobody likes a wet pancake!

Some Tips:
-- An easy way to tell when the pancake is ready to be flipped: throughout the cooking, little bubbles will appear and pop on the surface of the pancake. When the holes from the bubble stays at the top of the pancake and doesn't get covered by batter, it's usually done.
-- Sometimes it takes too long to make the pancakes, and the final product may get cold. In this case, what I do is heat the oven to the lowest temperature and put a Pyrex dish in the oven and add the pancakes to the dish as they come off the stove. This keeps the pancakes warm but does not cook them anymore.
-- I took a small amount of batter and with 3 drops of green food dye, turned the whole pancake green and used a shamrock cookie butter to make a four-leaf clover! It's the only cookie cutter I have (for now!), but you could theoretically do this with any color and shape: red - heart, yellow - sun, etc. I thought it would be a lot of fun to do with kids... Or adults! :)

Happy New Year Giveaway!

2011-01-12T22:25:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Welcome 2011, this year is gonna be great, right? :) Let's start the year off right, with a new year's resolution. My resolution is to have at least 3 more clients who order cupcakes from me. That's a healthy goal and reasonable, too!

One way to kick start that social networking is to do a giveaway! My sister and I are teaming up and doing a giveaway on her blog. The winner will get to choose from any recipe already done on this blog.

You can check out the blog here
and the giveaway here!

Bubbly Pear Cupcakes

2010-12-25T23:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! My mother asked for cupcakes for our Christmas dinner, but she was specific about what kind of cupcakes to make: Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Frosting. Since it is a duplicate recipe, I wanted to make something new! I decided to make that plus a new recipe that I found here. I wanted to make this recipe for my birthday at work, but was specifically told that I am NOT allowed to make my own cupcakes for work by my co-workers. (I guess they have something planned for me!) I thought the recipe would be perfect since my birthday is the day before New Year's Eve and this recipe has champagne!

Beef Brisket - Guinness & Brown Sugar

2010-12-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

This recipe has been used multiple times within the last month due to the holidays and the demand for this meat! Every time I make this, the meat comes out so tender a knife is not needed and the vegetables still have integrity. This is based on my previous post, Homemade Beef Brisket, with some changes. I thought I would post the new recipe, which I have been using so frequently.

Information:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours, 30 minutes

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 beef brisket - 4-5 lbs

1 medium sweet onion

3/4 whole garlic

6-8 carrots

6-8 red skinned potatoes

12-16 mushrooms

2 cans of Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup

3 bay leaves

4-5 tbsp dried thyme

1 bottle Guinness beer

1 1/2 C brown sugar

5 dashes of Tabasco sauce

8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

4-5 tbsp pepper

4-5 tbsp salt

Directions:

1. Wash all vegetables! Washing the inside of an onion will keep down the strong smell and eye stinging.

2. Chop vegetables. Onions: 3 inch pieces; garlic: peeled, whole - not minced; carrots: 2-3 inch pieces; potatoes: quartered, or smaller if you want; mushrooms: quartered

3. Put the Golden Mushroom soup in a large bowl.

4. Add the bay leaves, thyme, water, Tabasco, Worcestershire, pepper, and salt to the soup and mix until incorporated.

5. Add the vegetables to the soup mix and mix until the vegetables are smothered in the soup.

6. Cut the brisket along the grain of the meat. Cut into 4 or 5 strips.

7. Put half of the vegetable mix into the crock pot.

8. Lay the brisket strips on the vegetables, leaving enough room on the sides and in between the beef to let moisture mingle.

9. Lay the rest of the vegetables on the top of the beef. Make sure every part of the beef is covered in vegetables.

10. Cook on low for 9-10 hours.

11. Serve when the meat is as pink as you like.

********** The changes from the original are not major changes, but they do make the brisket taste differently, a sweeter and richer flavor. These changes are: don't add the water, instead add the Guinness and brown sugar ......... That's it. Remove one ingredient and add another? It sounds so simple, at yet the flavor is more complex and full - robust, almost. I've gotten more compliments on this recipe than some of my better cupcake recipes!!! I love this recipe and will continue to use it until I swap out more ingredients, in which case I will definitely keep you posted as to the new changes.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

2010-12-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Another birthday at work, and as requested, I have made a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. The search for the perfect chocolate cupcake continues. Every time I make a chocolate cupcake, the cupcake comes out bad or doesn't bake all the way. My husband thinks it has something to do with the type of baking chocolate I'm using (standard Albertson's brand). For all I know, he could be correct. I knew I had some Dutch cocoa powder on hand, so I found a Dutch cocoa powder recipe here, and decided to try it. The cupcakes rose just like normal cupcakes, they were a perfect looking cupcake. And then you eat it.... And your tastebuds get up and start DANCING!!! OH MY STARS this cupcake is moist and sweet and absolutely perfect! I have found my "go-to" chocolate cupcake recipe! From here I can add ingredients, flavors, and play with the look and taste of these cupcakes. I'm so excited for this recipe, and I'm really glad it's a simple recipe that uses all the same ingredients and nothing special.

The frosting recipe is my "go-to" recipe. I didn't have any milk on hand, so I used 2/3 half and half. My husband said he could taste the difference, but it was slightly better - a richer, creamier texture. He loved it!

Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-12-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

My husband just loves Eggnog and can't get enough of it come the holidays, so I decided to make a treat just for him (and the youth at my church). I Googled the recipe and found it here. The recipe came out great, though a little gooey in the frosting department, but otherwise great! Some of the youth at church were saying "Wow, this tastes just like Eggnog!" My response was "Then it came out perfect!"

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes - Christmas Style!

2010-12-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

I was asked to make mini cupcakes for a church event and attempted to make vanilla and chocolate. (Again the chocolate did not turn out) but the vanilla came out great! The recipe is a duplicate, I admit, but it just tastes sooooo good, even I gobble these up! I don't normally eat cupcakes because they are too sweet for my taste, I prefer a fruit or a vegetable. Some people think it's weird I don't eat my own cupcakes, but the truth is: I don't eat anyone's cupcakes, store bought or not. It's just not my thing. But I love to bake and smell the goodies I bake!

The cupcake recipe is the same as the Confetti Cupckes. I didn't use the sprinkles, but instead added about an 1/8 of a cup of sugar to compensate, since sprinkles are basically sugar.

The frosting recipe is my go-to Vanilla Frosting. I used a lot of red (more than you'd think) food coloring, and quite a bit of green food coloring on two different batches of frosting. I just cut the frosting in half and colored one side, then the other. The red came out kinda swirly because it didn't sit right with the powdered sugar, but I think it looks cool! Like a poinsettia, perfect for Christmas!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-12-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays! More reasons to bake, and an introduction of spices that tend to be too "powerful" for spring and summer flavors: allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and ground cloves! I just love the aroma of fresh baked holiday goodies! This recipe comes from the need to make a dessert and bring it to a staff Christmas party at church. Since it's a Christmas party, I decided to go with a Christmas flavor: Gingerbread! I Googled, I Yahooed, and I SwagBucked my way through recipe after recipe that would produce the flavor and look for what I wanted. I found it at Epicurious, which is a site I've used a bit for recipes. My husband has only had bits of cupcakes from this recipe but couldn't get enough and cannot WAIT to try the whole cupcake on Friday. A few modifications: the recipe from Epicurious calls for candied ginger, but just as a topping, so I ditch that because it's kind of pricey around here... Also the recipe on Epicurious tends to jump around, so remember: this is the way I did it!! One more thing: read the directions all the way through before attempting. As contrary to almost all of the recipes on this site, the baking soda DOES NOT go into the flour mixture!!

The Disappointment

2010-11-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

Also known as: I can bake any cupcake you want….

Just don’t ask for a plain chocolate cupcake.

This blog’s entire purpose is for me to share my experience baking cupcake recipes. Whether I like the recipe or the outcome – or not. In this situation: OR NOT. And the blog needs to be honest – otherwise nobody will know if something is done wrong or not! This blog is not a search for appreciation. This blog is not a place for me to complain. This blog is a place for me to tell the truth about what happened, and maybe search for some answers if something isn’t quite right with a recipe.

The book I started this blog on was is Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans which starts out with basic recipes that a lot of the recipes in the book are based on: yellow batter cupcakes and a sour cream based chocolate cupcake recipe. The yellow batter is really good, but recently I have been using the Confetti Cupcakes recipe because it just tastes so frickin’ good! I have yet to find the perfect Chocolate Cupcake recipe.

The most recent search for the “perfect frosting” turned out great! I have found that frosting and use it on everything because it’s pretty and tastes amazing!

My new search is for the “perfect chocolate cupcake recipe” and this search will continue until I can find it – there is no stopping. So…. Family, I’m sorry if you get really bad cupcakes for a while. Just know, I will find it, it is out there.

This weekend the youth at my church are doing a fundraiser. I should probably mention that I am the coordinator for the high school group, so I take a lot of pride in my youth, and I work very hard to make them happy. The fundraiser is to sell car decals: (a 4X6?) sticker to put on your car with the denominations name and a chalice. Along with this, the youth decided to make cupcakes and cookies to sell to the church (or anybody who wants them!). We decided we would make chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and a type of Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Vanilla Cupcakes = Confetti Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes = Sour cream based chocolate cupcakes

Cookies = Chicago Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sounds easy? Sure!!!! No.

The confetti cupcakes went great – no problems.

The frostings (chocolate and vanilla) went great – no problems.

The cookies went great – no problems.

The chocolate cupcakes went PHHHFBT!!! – PROBLEMS!!

Something about this recipe frustrates me. The cupcakes do not bake all the way and always ALWAYS ALWAYS!!! deflates. I tried it again thinking it would work if someone else was using the recipe. (Plus, I paid for most of the ingredients, so none of the cupcakes would come out of the youth fund.) I feel awful that 50+ cupcakes had to be thrown away because they may not have been cooked all the way through, or there may have been something wrong with them. I don’t like wasting food. I don’t like watching the youth have a great time baking the cupcakes all for naught. It makes me wonder what on earth is going on with the recipe, where I go wrong, or if I’m using a wrong ingredient somewhere. The search goes on. If anybody could share some insight, that would be fantastic. The recipe is located here if you want to look it over and see what is so horribly wrong with this recipe? It comes from a book that has so many other great recipes, I just can’t believe that this recipe could fall apart.

EDIT!
I forgot the link the recipe, so I did that, but if you would rather just view it here....

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30-35 minutes
Makes: 18 regular cupcakes or
   12 big-top cupcakes or
   12 extra-large cupcakes or
   60 mini-cupcakes

Ingredients:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C water

Directions:
1. Put the chocolate in a double boiler, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, and set it aside to let it cool
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
3. In a large electric mixing bowl, whip the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
4. On a low speed, mix the melted chocolate in the butter mixture.
5. On a medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until the batter is smooth.
6. Add the vanilla, mix about 1 minute.
7. Mix in the sour cream until completely blended, no white streaks.
8. On a low sweep, add half of the flour mixture.
9. Mix in the water.
10. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until completely smooth.

The batter is ready to be baked now, or add fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, etc. To bake, put batter in cupcake liners 2/3 to 3/4 full and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. After 20 minutes, check the cupcakes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean, or with dry crumbs.

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-11-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is a repeated recipe upon request. But I felt like posting photos because I took photos of the cupcakes in these adorable wrappers!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

2010-11-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

As the seasons turn from early fall to full on autumn, pumpkins and spices become the favorite flavors. Another birthday at work, so I asked my co-worker what flavor she would like. Her first answer was "something with pumpkin". I thought to myself, "that's easy enough, especially since I had a recipe I had been waiting to try. After reading the recipe, my only fear was that I didn't know where to find Crystallized Ginger. After talking with my mother, she mentioned an Asain market or a health food store, as ginger is commonly used in Asain foods, or as a tool to help an ailing stomach. I did find the ginger needed for the recipe, after a little searching in the candy aisle of a 99 Ranch Market. The recipe comes from the book Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans.

Confetti Cupcakes

2010-10-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

When asked what kind of cupcakes she wanted for her birthday, a co-worker said "Fun-Fetti Cupcakes", which as most beginner bakers know, is a popular Betty Crocker boxed cake mix. Well, I no longer bake from boxed cakes, everything I make is homemade, so I had to come up with a recipe that looked and tasted like the Betty Crocker cakes that everybody knows and loves. I searched and searched, and finally came to this one. It is a thin batter, but bakes fluffy and tastes like a massive sugar cookie! You'll never guess where I found the frosting recipe!! I was shopping for ingredients to the most recent buttercream recipe I had found from Wilton. While looking at the different powdered sugars the local Albertsons has to offer, I happened across a frosting recipe on the back of a C&H powdered sugar! I snapped a quick photo of the back of the box on my iPhone as the box was 20 or 30 cents higher than the store brand. As we are pinching pennies, we need to buy the least expensive items as possible until I can afford the finest our world has to offer. In the mean time, after using this frosting recipe, I doubt I will stray. This recipe is rich, thick, and not too sweet, not too buttery - absolutely perfect.

I only have the one photo, but I know I will re-use this cupcake recipe again and again, so I will post more photos when I go. I'm keeping this recipe up for anyone who wishes to use it. I no longer use this recipe, but it is a great recipe, so try it!

Cupcakes
Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 C milk
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C unbleached flour
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Whisk the milk, egg whites, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Beat the butter with the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder until the mixture is like a thick sand.
4. On a medium speed, add the milk mixture, and mix until smooth, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
5. Add the rainbow sprinkles and mix until combined.
6. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
7. Fill the cupcake liners to about 1/3 inch from the top.
8. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Applesauce Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-10-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Since its APPLE SEASON!!! (Yay!!) I am doing as many apple-based recipes I can get my hands on. Tomorrow is my manager's birthday, and so I asked her what she wanted. She didn't really have a preference, so I asked if I could make Applesauce Chocolate Cupcakes. She said she'd love it, especially since she knew I recently went apple picking! The recipe was a lot of fun, and I got to make some applesauce! This recipe inclues the previous recipe for applesauce, found here.

Homemade Applesauce

2010-10-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

This recipe creates a slightly chunkier applesauce, but is very tasty warm or cold!

Information:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 3 C

Ingredients:
8 medium apples*
1 1/2 C water
1 1/2 C sugar
(optional) 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
*I used three larger Granny Smith and four smaller Rome Beauties

Directions:
1. Core, peel, slice, and chop the apples. I used a food processor to chop the apples.
2. Place apples and water in a pot and bring to a slow boil.
3. Add the sugar and cinnamon.
4. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
5. Strain any remaining water.

Homemade Baked Apples

2010-10-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

I've never had this before, but I've seen a lot of different recipes for baked apples, so I must assume its an East Coast thing? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! Since I have plenty of apples, I decided to try this recipe out! I haven't tried one yet (the pie is just too good to stop eating), but according to my brother-in-law, he likes the recipe!

Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Makes: 9 small apples or 6 large apples

Ingredients:

9 small apples or 6 large apples*

3/4 C brown sugar

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 C water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Core the apples - do not peel or slice them.

3. Peel a 1 inch thick strip around the middle of the apple.

4. In a small or medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, allspice, and cinnamon.

5. Pack the cored apple with the brown sugar mixture, as hard-packed as you can get it.

6. Place the packed apples into a deep dish baker, and pour a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan to just cover the bottom of the pan.

7. Bake for 30 minutes, basting the apples in juices frequently.

8. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream.

9. Store in a closed container in the fridge and microwave for a midnight treat!

Homemade Apple Pie

2010-10-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Since last week was the trip to Oak Glen, CA, I knew this week would be based around APPLES!!!! I borrowed an awesome book from my mother called The Apple Lovers Cook Book. On my trip, I found the exact same book and bought it to add to my own collection, also so I could give back my mother's cook book. One whiff of this cook book and you can tell it has been sitting in an apple gift shop for a while. This book has more recipes containing apples, apple juice, and apple sauce than I will ever need. But with one or two read-throughs, I found several recipes I will definitely use, and I have already dog-eared some pages. I started out with an American favorite (which is strange because the origins aren't in the US, but instead a Dutch recipe): apple pie. I could have bought a pre-made pie crust from the store, but that's a no-no! Since I'm a beginner with pie crusts, I had my husband help me make the pies. He says "I know how to bake, I just don't like to bake." And yet, he had fun and enjoyed the outcome! The recipe is actually extremely easy, but the pie crust was a pain in the butt. Plus, slicing, peeling, and coring all the apples was a timely process. But, overall? Success, and absolutely amazing!

Pie:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Makes: 1 9" apple pie

Crust:
Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Makes: 2 9" pie crusts

Ingredients:

2 C sifted unbleached flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 C shortening

4-6 tbsp cold water

1/4 C extra flour

Directions:

1. Lay out wax paper and sprinkle with a generous amount of flour.

2. In a small to medium mixing bowl, cut the flour, salt and shortening together using your hands.

3. When the dough is crumbly and pea sized, sprinkle some water on the dough and form into a ball.

4. Cut the dough into two parts.

5. Using your hands, flatten out the smaller ball of dough on wax paper.

6. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into as good of a circle as you can, 1/4 inch thick.

7. However you can maneuver, put the crust into the pie pan. (I flipped the crust over the pan and then slowly peeled the wax paper off the pan.)

8. If you need to fix any cracks in the pie crust, use dry, floured fingers to press the crack together.

9. Once the pie is filled, repeat steps 5 and 6 for the second small ball of dough.

10. Cut the dough into strips and set aside (or leave alone, if you have the space) for later use.

Filling:

Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Makes: Enough for one pie

Ingredients:

6-8 medium sized apples*

1 1/2 C sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp butter

* I used Granny Smith apples for one pie, and Macintosh for another

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Peel, core, and slice all of the apples being used for one pie. (I used a Pampered Chef Peeler/Corer/Slicer.)

3. Mix the slices with the sugar and cinnamon until completely coated.

4. Fill the pie and evenly space out the top of the pie to be as level as possible.

5. Dot the top of the apple filling with butter.

6. Lay the strips of crust across the apple filling.

7. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

8. Serve warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream!

The First Annual U-Pick!

2010-10-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

As it is autumn in Southern California, I am rather excited for all of the flavors fall brings: spices, pumpkin, apples, and squash. In Southern California, there is a well-known town that many go to visit to pick their own apples or enjoy a day surrounded by gorgeous scenery. My sister, niece, close friend and I did both!

In Oak Glen, California, there are many places that offer a U-Pick style: buying a certain size container and pick apples to fill said container. We went to Los Rios Rancho. We went all in and bought a 1/2 bushel (a decent sized box, as shown on my niece's head!) and picked Rome Beauties and Granny Smiths! I purchased a ten pound bag of Macintosh from the store.

After apple picking, we took a tour of the farm in a horse-drawn carriage.

After that we got some lunch at a small, family owned restaurant called Law's. They are well known for their apple pie, with good reason!

After lunch, we hit the seasonal boutique set up for Halloween and fall with a lot of cute decorations!

For some reason, I couldn't get the color right...
It's that color, but muted. It's really rather pretty!

One seller at the boutique was selling antique items, and I found this great train case! I bought it and it currently resides on my makeup station to hold my makeup and hair care products.

All in all, it was an awesome day, and I foresee some apple recipes coming in the near future!

Banana and Blueberry Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-09-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't exactly say this is a duplicate recipe, but it kinda is. I had several overly ripe bananas and wanted to use them in a simple recipe to spice up the cupcakes. I topped it with a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Cream Cheese Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-09-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

For a party for three birthdays, I knew I had to make something sweet and tasty! Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, along with his grandmother's, and this past week was my father-in-law's birthday, so the family got together at a local park for a barbecue and good times. I had received an E-mail from my sister about a recipe and was eager to try it, so I did! The recipe can be found here, and I'll explain what I did differently. If I use this recipe again (which I intend to do!) I would love to try adding flavors - to the batter, frosting, and filling. I am considering the following flavors: coffee, caramel, strawberry, cherry, and orange. For the frosting, I used the Wilton recipe for chocolate butter cream used last week for the Banana Chocolate Cupcakes.

A little bit of the cream cheese filling is peeking out!
(front, right)

Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-09-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hey All! It's Tanya. Today I want to share with you a recipe for Budget Friendly, Flour Free, Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Cookies. Now that's a mouth full! These cookies offer everything in a recipe you could possibly be looking for: they meet special dietary needs (flour-free means gluten-free too, just make sure your peanut butter doesn't contain any gluten either), they have 4 ingredients and only take about ten minutes to prepare so they are easy to make when you're short on time or energy, and they only cost about $0.17 a serving! Cheaper if you used coupons to get any of your ingredients for free or at a discount.

This recipe is from Recipe Lion's Budget Friendly section. If you're looking for great, easy recipes be sure to check out their site.

Yields: 12
Cooking Time: 10 min
Ingredients

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup peanut butter (I used honey peanut butter. It was what I had on hand, and added another dimension of flavor.)
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions(Edited from the Recipe Lion instructions, because I did things slightly different. You can see the original unedited recipe here.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Spoon out in heaping large tablespoonfulls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. This is the direction according to Recipe Lion. I actually rolled the cookie dough into balls in my hand, according to a more traditional peanut butter cookie style. (This is the way my mother has always done it.)
3. Flatten loosely with a fork and sprinkle with sugar.
4. Cook for 10 minutes; Remove to cooling rack after 4 minutes. Recipe Lion suggests waiting only 2 minutes, but I found that these cookies like to fall apart a little easier than normal, so you should let them set up a but longer.

That's it! You're done and are on your way to enjoying delicious cookies. Because these cookies are flour free, they are a little less cake-like, and a little more dense than traditional peanut butter cookies. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much you enjoy these cookies. This recipe is a great way to make cookies for any friends or family who have gluten allergies for much cheaper than the gluten free products sold in stores. Even if you don't have gluten allergies, one less ingredient just makes these cookies that much cheaper and easier to make!

Happy Savings and Tasty Cookies for All! <3

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-09-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up early this morning and had nothing to do, so I decided I wanted to be the Cupcake Fairy and deliver cupcakes to anybody who asked for them! I had hoped for so many requests that I would run out of cupcakes, but apparently a lot of people had plans or was not in need of cupcakes. I delivered to a few friends, one of whom was shopping at a local mall with her mom! I just waltzed right in and handed her a Tupperware of cupcakes! It was rather random, but a lot of fun! Last night, I had been asked to make cupcakes for a friend who is pregnant and craving sweets. I asked what kind, and she didn't have any specific requests, so I decided to mess around with a recipe and add to it. I also wanted to work on a new chocolate frosting recipe, to see which recipe I like best. I didn't want to use a new cupcake recipe, I wanted to tweak an existing recipe. I decided on the Fudge Marble Recipe, but instead of having two recipes, I decided to mix the yellow batter and fudge mix and then add the bananas. For the frosting, I continued my search for the perfect chocolate butter cream, and I think I may have found it here. It uses quite a bit of powdered sugar, but we shall see.

I'm leaving this cupcake recipe available as I do not use it anymore. The cupcake came out great, and it should be baked again!

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Makes: 20 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:
Fudge

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into two (three) pieces

3 tbsp light corn syrup

9 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ tsp vanilla extract

Yellow Batter

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 large egg**

1 large egg yolk**

1 cup sugar

½ cup canola or corn oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 bananas, overly ripe, but not black

½ cup sour cream

**For a double batch, you double everything except the eggs. For a double batch, you do 3 large eggs only. Well, for a triple batch (that would be a single and a double batch put together), it would be 3 large eggs and 1 egg yolk.

Directions:

1. Make the fudge first: in a medium saucepan, heat the cream, butter, and corn syrup on low heat. Small bubbles will form, but do not let the mixture boil.

2. Right before the boiling point, remove the pan from the flame and add the vanilla and chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Whisk the mixture to completely combine the cream base and chocolate.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, beat the egg, yolk, and sugar on medium speed until the mix is thick and cream-colored, roughly two minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.

5. On a low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended.

6. Mix in the chocolate until completely combined.

7. Mix in the bananas. The mixer should tear the bananas to pieces if it's on a medium-high speed.

8. Mix in the flour until completely combined.

9. Continue mixing and add the sour cream until completely blended.

10. Preheat the oven to 350°.

11. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

12. Pour batter into the cupcake liners, about 3/4 full.

13. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

14. Let the cupcakes cool on a cooling rack before frosting.

Frosting:

Information:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 3 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 C shortening **
1/2 C butter, at room temperature **
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa
4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp milk

**For this recipe, I didn't want too much shortening, so I did 1/4 C shortening and 3/4 C butter, which came out a little less dense and more buttery, which is what most people expect. I may do it this way from now on if I have enough butter.

Directions:

1. Beat the shortening and the butter together until creamy.

2. Add the cocoa, powdered sugar, and vanilla and beat on low until the powders are mixed completely.

3. Add the milk and beat on a high speed to smooth the mixture.

4. Using a pastry bag to frost the cupcakes.

Chicago Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

This blog post is dedicated to my wonderful, loving, caring, AMAZING Mother In Law, who for my 21st birthday gave me a hand-made scrapbook cookbook filled with some of her favorite recipes. So far, I've enjoyed many of the recipes made by her, but this one I had yet to taste. Since I was feeling generous, I made this batch for my husband especially, but dedicated it to his mother. The recipe is really easy, and I'm willing to bet you have most of these items in your kitchen already!

Cookies:

Information:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Makes: I dunno, I did different sizes and tried different techniques.... I'd say it would make about 15-20 regular sized cookies

Ingredients:

3 1/2 C flour

3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, room temperature

1/2 C margarine, room temperature**

1 C sugar

1 C brown sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

1 C vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C corn flakes

1 C quick oatmeal

12 oz chocolate chips

** I didn't have margarine, so I just used 1/2 butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a medium bowl mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bow, beat the butter, margarine, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy.

4. Add the egg and mix until completely incorporated.

5. Mix the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a small bowl.

6. Add the flour mixture and oil mixture alternating between the two, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until completely incorporated.

7. With a wooden spoon, fold in the corn flakes, oatmeal, and chocolate chips.

8. Put a generous spoonful of the batter on an un-greased pan about 3 inches apart.

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on size of spoonful).

10. Best served warm with a tall glass of milk!!

Fudge Marble Cupcakes

I re-did a recipe for a co-worker's birthday, just made a small batch. I'm not going to blog about it, but the cupcake recipe can be found here. But I did a new recipe! I've added it to the list of popular frostings, here, called Chocolate Fudge Frosting. I've added pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Mango Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-09-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, that's a long title! And that's shortened!! The real title of this post is

Mango and Peach Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes with Macadamia Nut Marzipan Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

Yep, that's longer!! There's just so much flavor packed into this little cupcake!!

I was asked to make cupcakes by a friend for her mother's surprise birthday luau. As the family had just gotten back from Hawaii a week or so earlier for a mission trip, a Hawaiian themed birthday party was a fantastic idea. But the thought lingered in my mind from the moment I was asked to make the cupcakes (which was before the trip): I need the perfect cupcake recipe; it has to be absolutely amazing and talked about!! So I Googled, and I Googled, and I finally found the perfect recipe here. I read through it, and while it had a lot of ingredients, I didn't like the frosting, so I kept looking, and found a cream cheese frosting recipe here. I chose this recipe over my own (and have added it to the Popular Frostings page) as it called for less powdered sugar, so it wouldn't be super sweet, where the cupcake would be dense and sweet from all of the natural sugars from the fruits. This recipe was rather easy, but the preparation was rather lengthy, but absolutely wonderful.

NOTE: The recipe as I found it does not call for peach, it calls for canned mango, but my local grocery store does not carry canned mango, so I went with peach... Which according to my husband, was a great idea!

Raspberry Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-09-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry! I did not bake this weekend. I was a little pre-occupied with a previous goal, that I finally finished! Nine months ago, I stopped playing World of Warcaft to focus on... well, life... Recently, a friend started playing so I picked it back up again and finally hit level 80 (the highest level at this point). Now that I have accomplished that goal, I can get back to baking!

I couldn't decide which recipe to do, so I asked my lunch-mates/co-workers. This is the recipe that they came up with. I actually took two recipes, and combined them. I found the cupcake recipe here, but the raspberry part called for jelly. I really wanted to use fresh (or frozen) raspberries, not a jelly or can of preserves, so I kept searching and found the raspberry filling here (I didn't use this cake recipe because I refuse to use boxed cake!). I have compiled the recipes for you below. I recently Googled "perfect cupcake frosting" and this website came up with so many comments stating the recipe was great, and easy to make. The website can be found here, and I encourage you to try it because it does look amazing, but let me tell you this: I could NOT get this recipe to fluff up when whipping. I tend to have bad luck when it comes to frostings, so maybe it's just me, but I kept searching for the perfect frosting. I Googled "the perfect buttercream frosting" and found a recipe here. I had never heard of a recipe using shortening instead of butter, but I decided to give it a try. PLEASE NOTE: If you use the recipe directly from the website, you will end up with 7 cups of frosting, so please please please make sure you make your recipe smaller if you need to.

Cherry Yogurt Cupcakes with Cherry Chocolate Frosting

2010-08-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

While deciding what to eat for dessert at my parent's house this weekend, I realized I had not made a cupcake recipe this week. Since I have no idea what ingredients my mother had, I decided to peruse. I found the perfect ingredients to tweak an earlier cupcake recipe: Gâteau au Yaourt avec Glace de Chocolat. Since I'm not using the same ingredients, adding something, and using a completely different frosting, it's considered a different cupcake! Just ask my husband, he agrees this cupcake is different since it has a different taste to it. Instead of plain yogurt, which tasted... plain.... I used vanilla yogurt which added flavor to the cupcake. The first recipe was like eating moist flour: there was no flavor, wonderful aroma, or happiness in the cupcake.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 C vanilla yogurt
1 C sugar
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp spiced rum
2 C unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
25-30 morello cherries

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, vanilla, and rum.
3. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Mix the flour mixture with the yogurt mixture until completely mixed and there are no white streaks left.
4. Cut morello cherries into 1/4s and mix into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into twelve cupcake wrappers, until 1/2 inch from the top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Let the cupcakes cool before topping with frosting, or serve plain.

Frosting:
Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2/3 C granulated sugar
1/3 C flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C milk
1 C butter, softened
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1 tbsp spiced rum
2 tbsp cherry juice from the cherry jar

Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments. Mix the chocolate after every 30 seconds.
2. Let the chocolate cool without hardening.
3. In a small saucepan, whisk sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk over a medium heat.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently.
5. Boil for 1-3 minutes or until it looks like a thin pudding.
6. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture into a small bowl.
7. Cool the mixture completely in a refrigerator.
8. When the chocolate flour mixture is cooled completely, beat the butter until creamy.
9. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture, the rum, and the cherry juice until fluffy.
10. Add in the melted chocolate and beat again until fluffy.

Homemade Beef Brisket

2010-08-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

After watching too much Man V. Food on the Travel Channel, I wanted to make something that he eats. Granted, I am not making a "smoked for 15 hours, then smoke again" brisket, but I'm making do with what I have. The brisket came out so unbelievably juicy, and it falls apart! You will NOT need a knife to eat or serve this meat!

Information:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours, 30 minutes

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 beef brisket - 4-5 lbs

1 medium sweet onion

3/4 whole garlic

6-8 carrots

6-8 red skinned potatoes

12-16 mushrooms

2 cans of Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup

3 bay leaves

4-5 tbsp dried thyme

3/4 C water

5 dashes of Tabasco sauce

8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

4-5 tbsp pepper

4-5 tbsp salt

Directions:

1. Wash all vegetables! Washing the inside of an onion will keep down the strong smell and eye stinging.

2. Chop vegetables. Onions: 3 inch pieces; garlic: peeled, whole - not minced; carrots: 2-3 inch pieces; potatoes: quartered, or smaller if you want; mushrooms: quartered

3. Put the Golden Mushroom soup in a large bowl.

4. Add the bay leaves, thyme, water, Tabasco, Worcestershire, pepper, and salt to the soup and mix until incorporated.

5. Add the vegetables to the soup mix and mix until the vegetables are smothered in the soup.

6. Cut the brisket along the grain of the meat. Cut into 4 or 5 strips.

7. Put half of the vegetable mix into the crock pot.

8. Lay the brisket strips on the vegetables, leaving enough room on the sides and in between the beef to let moisture mingle.

9. Lay the rest of the vegetables on the top of the beef. Make sure every part of the beef is covered in vegetables.

10. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

11. Serve when the meat is as pink as you like.

It sounds like a "meat and potatoes " kinda meal, and it is! This is a very dense meal, but trust me when I say you'll be begging for more!

Cola Cupcakes, Root Beer Cupcakes, and Orange Soda Cupcakes

2010-08-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

While researching frosting recipes, I found a recipe for cola recipe, which led to a cola cupcake recipe. Of course, I had to try it! The recipe also said to interchange other sodas, so I did. I tried regular cola, root beer, and orange soda. Since the recipe is chocolate based, I chose these flavors because the cola and root beer are rich and flavorful, and the orange would be a nice added flavor. I liked making this recipe because it involved marshmallows, and marshmallows are just plain fun! The cupcake recipe is found here and the frosting recipe is found here.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 C coca cola or other cola drink
1/2 C butter
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 C powdered cocoa
22 large marshmallows
1 C all purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 C buttermilk
2 large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the cola (or other drink), butter and vegetable oil until the butter is melted.

3. Whisk in the cocoa until incorporated and boil for 1 minute.

4. Remove from heat and add marshmallows, whisking until completely melted.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, vanilla, buttermilk, and eggs until completely smooth.

6. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and gently combine. The batter will be thin.

7. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

8. Fill the cupcake liners to about 3/4 inch from the top of the liners.

9. Bake for 24 minutes.

10. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Frosting:

Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Makes: 2-3 C of frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter

6 tbsp coca cola or other cola

1/4 C powdered cocoa
3 and 3/4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and cola (or other drink) until the butter is melted.

2. Whisk in the cocoa until incorporated and boil for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar until completely incorporated.

4. Whisk in the vanilla.

5. Strain the frosting into a bowl and let it cool to a consistency for spreading. I put it in the fridge for an hour or so, then microwaved the container for 10 seconds - no more.
6. Use a pastry bag or the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to frost the cupcakes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

2010-08-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

I was in a baking mood yesterday, so instead of playing World of Warcraft, I decided to bake! Did I happen to check that I had all the ingredients? Um... No. I made 2 trips to the grocery store, and my husband made one. Whoops. But the cupcake recipes that I am making today look and sound absolutely amazing! Except for one, which I won't eat at all: this recipe. I do not like peanut butter. No, I'm not allergic to peanuts, and yes, I like peanuts. But tis recipe sounded intriguing, so I decided to hold my nose and try the recipe. I found the recipe here, and made no modifications. I do suggest when assembling the batter to put less on the bottom than you would think.

Applesauce Carrot Cupcakes

2010-08-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

I was asked to make a dozen cupcakes everyday this week for the teachers of a local Vacation Bible School. Unfortunately I was unable to due to work and time constraints, but I did promise to make carrot cupcakes for my friend to do with as she pleases: teachers, parents of the kids attending VBS, or whatever. I really enjoyed making the first carrot cupcakes, but this recipe had to be different! And it was! This recipe was fun and tasty! Nothing I had to do different with this recipe, everything went great! I found the recipe for the cupcakes here, and the frosting is from my own personal collection of frosting recipes, found here.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 C butter, at room temperature
1 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 C applesauce **
3/4 C shredded raw carrots
3 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 1/2 C raisins
** I used original applesauce, instead of unsweetened or cinnamon.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Peel the carrots and chop of the ends.
3. Shred the carrots with a food processor
4. Beat the butter and sugar together.
5. Add the brown sugar.
6. Add the eggs.
7. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
8. Combine the applesauce and carrots and set aside.
9. On a low speed, continue beating the sugar mixture and add the flour mixture and applesauce mixture alternating, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
10. Fold in the walnuts and raisins.
11. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
12. Fill the cupcake liners to about 1/2 inch from the top.
13. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
14. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Frosting:
For the frosting, I used the Original Cream Cheese Frosting recipe and added 6 tbsp of spiced rum.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

2010-08-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Also known as: The Generic-No-Named-City Cream Pie Cupcakes

Just for my brother-in-law, this recipe has a different name, as he is NOT a fan of Boston.

This recipe was rather easy to bake. Assembly? Not so much. But, I always have a solution for you! And this one makes a very pretty delivery. As you can see from the recipe, this cupcake is supposed to be cream-filled, but the cream WOULD NOT thicken. I attempted to fill the cupcakes, but the cupcakes soaked up the cream because it was really thin.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
2/3 C whole milk
1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk on low heat until it's hot, about 150°.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thickened and creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
5. Mix in the vanilla.
6. On a low speed, mix in the flour mixture, until just completely mixed.
7. Mix in the hot milk and mix for about 30 seconds. --- The batter will be thin.
8. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
9. Fill the cupcake liners with batter up to about 1/2 inch from the top.
10. Bake for 16 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
11. Cool before filling and frosting.

Filling:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Makes: 2 C filling

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C whole milk
1/2 C sugar
4 large egg yolks
3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour **
1 tsp vanilla extract

** I ended up using about 12 tbsp flour total to thicken the cream. Do not attempt unless you KNOW for a fact the cream is TOO THIN, because refrigerating the cream will thicken it a bit.

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk on low heat until it's hot, about 150°.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until creamy.

3. Continue whisking and pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture.

4. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan, and continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon only.

5. Reduce the heat to low and cook at a gentle boil.

6. Remove the pan from heat and strain the cream through a streamer.

7. Stir in the vanilla.

8. Transfer the cream to a smaller bowl, put plastic wrap on top of the cream, and poke a few holes in the plastic wrap to let the steam escape.

9. Refrigerate for 2 hours. This will help thicken the cream.

10. Use a pastry bag or the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to fill the cupcakes. --- See the note at the bottom

11. Refrigerate or serve right away and then refrigerate any leftover cupcakes and ingredients.

This recipe tells me to cut out a cone of the cupcake and fill the whole, then replace the cut out cupcake-cone. I didn't do that, I used the decorator to fill the cupcakes, which didn't work so well. So, I put some cream on the plate, unwrapped the cupcake from the liner and placed the cupcake on the cream and served with a fork.

Frosting:

For the frosting, I used this recipe here (use the glaze recipe) which came out fluffier than usual, possible due to the extra chocolate I added (I love chocolate).

Top the cupcakes with glaze after they have been filled with the cream.

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

2010-08-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

This is definitely a recipe to use when your bananas are browning, as they are easier to work with and will create a sweeter flavor and smell richer, but a fresh "hey I bought this banana this morning but I want to bake it today" banana will totally work.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Makes: 12 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 C sugar
2 bananas, broken into 1 inch pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C buttermilk
1 C butterscotch chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and then set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
4. Add the banana pieces until completely mixed, there will still be some small chunks of bananas.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, until completely mixed.
6. Add the vanilla and beat for about 1 minute.
7. On a low speed, mix half the flour mixture, until just incorporated.
8. Add the buttermilk, until completely incorporated.
9. Add the rest of the flour mixture, until just incorporated.
10. Fold the butterscotch chips into the batter.
11. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
12. Fill the cupcake liners with batter until about 1/2 inch from the top.
13. Bake for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
14. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Glaze:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 C glaze

Ingredients:
1/4 C half and half
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 C butter, at room temperature
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Heat the half and half and brown sugar in a medium saucepan until the sugar is melted. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute.
2. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 45 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar until completely smooth (it will look crumbly at first, but will smooth out).
4. Add the vanilla and brown sugar mixture and beat together until completely mixed, about 1 minute.
5. Frost the cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-07-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Tanya yet again! She made red velvet cupcakes the other day, and I have been meaning to try a homemade recipe. I was recently told by a friend that she has made both boxed red velvet and homemade red velvet, and she will choose the box every time. After trying one of these red velvet cupcakes from scratch (which is something I never do!) I think I'm going to have to make homemade red velvet from now on! The recipe was easy, and man these cupcakes taste AMAZING!!!

When I decided I wanted to do this recipe, I didn't know if I had regular cocoa powder, but I knew I had Dutch cocoa powder, so I googled "Red Velvet Cupcakes with Dutch Cocoa" and found the recipe here. I made a 1 1/2 batch of cupcakes and a double batch of frosting (because I never have enough frosting). All of the measurements are for a single batch of cupcakes, which makes 15 cupcakes.

All in all, this recipe was VERY easy and VERY tasty!!

Chocolate Covered Coffee Meltaway Cupcakes

2010-07-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be Chocolate Covered Mint Meltaway Cupcakes, but I forgot the mint at the store. So, I went with coffee instead! I know mint would have been absolutely perfect for this recipe, but I know coffee goes very well with chocolate, too. Especially the way I do it. :)

This recipe was for a co-worker's birthday, which is actually next week. Since I will be gone next week, I will -not be able to bake for everybody, but I wanted to give her a little something for her birthday. I asked her what she wanted and she gave me a look as if to say "Um, duh?" Her answer was chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, which really should have been obvious to me! This recipe is perfect! Let's see: Chocolate? Check. Chocolate? Check. And chocolate? Check! This recipe makes 12 large cupcakes, but I only did a half batch for 6 large cupcakes. For some reason, these cupcakes (AGAIN!!) deflated in the center. I used brand new baking soda and baking powder. But, I have a solution! I flipped the cupcakes over, cut off the edges (that overflowed!!) and worked it that way!

See how the cupcake centers deflated?? I don't know why this keeps happening!!

The following is the recipe.

Cupcakes:
1 batch of Classic Chocolate Cupcakes, found here.
Make the cupcakes as the recipe says. (But, of course, since my friend likes chocolate, I added about 4 or 5 oz of chocolate chips to the batter!)

Filling:
1 batch of fudge sauce, found here.
1 tsp mint extract (I used 2* tsp of instant coffee in the heavy whipping cream.
* 2 tsp for a 1/2 batch of filling)
Make the filling as the recipe says, add the coffee with the cream or the extract with the chocolate. Let the filling cool in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours

Chocolate Cover:
2 batches of fudge sauce, found here.
Make the filling as the recipe says. Make the chocolate covering right before you cover the cupcakes so it's hot and easy to cover the cupcakes.

Decoration:
2 oz white chocolate
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Microwave for 45 seconds, stir. Microwave for an additional 45 seconds and hand-whip until smooth and there are no more clumps.

Assembly:

Cut the cupcakes in half horizontally. Hand-whip the filling so it's fluffy and spreadable. Spread the filling on the bottom half of the cupcake. (I used the top of the cupcake as the bottom of the cupcake.) Place the top of the cupcake on top of the filling. Cover the cupcakes with the chocolate covering, thoroughly. Don't feel like you have to use all of the sauce, but definitely do a couple of layers and make sure everything is covered. I placed the cupcakes on a wire rack and had a piece of parchment paper underneath to let the chocolate drip off, but the bottoms of the cupcake are not covered in chocolate this way. If you want the bottoms covered in chocolate, freeze the covered cupcakes for an hour, flip them over, then cover the bottoms generously. Freeze the cupcakes for another hour before flipping them upright again. I drizzled the white chocolate generously on top. Freeze or refrigerate until serving, then serve with a fork (or a spoon)!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2010-07-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Also known as "Nicole Needed Chocolate and Ended Up with a Mess"

I want to start out by saying, I don't bake everyday and only post the good recipes with good pictures. If I bake something, I am going to blog about the experience, so that I might learn from it, but also so that you don't make the same mistakes I did!

Sometimes I get bored with the same old recipes, so I mix it up a bit. Tonight I did it out of necessity. I decided to take my own advice, and use ingredients I already had. Back up. I didn't just say that.... I used ingredients I already had, yes, but it wasn't actually my idea. The credit goes to Tanya, my co-cupcake-conspirator. She is going to do a few Cupcakes on a Budget (I think... Don't quote me!) and so I was inspired to NOT SHOP for once!

My first attempt at buttercream several weeks ago left me with a lumpy over-sweet mass, and I wanted to give it another shot. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only "attempt" tonight. I had a bad day at work, and I wanted to pig-out on chocolate cupcakes, so I decided to try again at the buttercream for this recipe. I made a 1/2 batch of cupcakes, making 6 large cupcakes. It wasn't until my second try tonight that I noticed what went wrong the first time: water. I forgot to add the water to the recipe! I had wondered if it was the possibly-expired sour cream, or the extra dash of rising agents I added.

For my second attempt at the cupcakes, I left out the possibly-expired sour cream, and opted for whipped cream instead! I whipped up approximately 9-10 ounces of heavy whipping cream and used that (all of it) instead of the sour cream. Yes, for a half batch, the recipe would only call for 1/2 C sour cream, but I didn't want to waste the whipped cream and I wanted to be adventurous. I made sure to add in the water to this recipe, which made the batter a little thin. I folded in the whipped cream, instead of beating or whipping, for fear of over-beating. This made 21 cupcakes.

I used the Classic Chocolate Cupcake Mix, except for sour cream, I used whipped cream (which could be the reason that I ended up with a mess.....)

Frosting:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Makes: about 2 C

Ingredients:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbs Dutch cocoa powder
1 1/2 C butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C heavy whipping cream

This frosting was absolutely lickable! I almost licked the bowl clean!!

Directions:
1. Heat the chocolate in a double boiler, and set aside to cool.
2. Beat the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat in the melted chocolate until smooth and creamy.
4. Add the cream and vanilla and yet again, beat until smooth and creamy.
5. On medium speed, continue to beat for 3 minutes, until the frosting looks smooth and the color has lightened.

The buttercream came out great!! Smooth and chocolatey, I could almost eat it by itself! The second set of cupcakes, however, came out worse than the first. I don't know if it was the whipped cream that ruined these cupcakes, too, or not. These cupcakes came out looking like a crater. I have a feeling my baking powder and baking soda may be out-dated. I will pick some up soon and try this recipe again until I am successful. The pictures are of my horrible failure. Unfortunately, I have no chocolate and am now extremely frustrated!

UPDATE 7/22: I had one cupcake from the first batch of cupcakes, with some frosting on top, and it actually wasn't too bad. The edges were a bit crispy, which my husband really liked, but the rest tasted like a cupcake should. I am still going to buy more baking soda and baking powder and try again sometime. I really don't know what happened to the second batch of cupcakes.

Do-It-Yourself Cupcake Wrappers

2010-07-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's Tanya again, bringing you Do-It-Yourself Cupcake Wrappers! Now, you can't have a cupcake wrapper without a cupcake to put inside it so today we're working with Fudge Marble Swirl Cupcakes with Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting.

First off, as you may or may not know, Nicole has already posted a recipe for Fudge Marble Cupcakes. (And guess what?! That same recipe is in the top 5 hits on Google when searching for Fudge Marble Cupcakes! Hooray!)

After reading through Nicole's version of Fudge Marble Cupcakes I noted she found the recipe a tad frustrating and while she did achieve a marble blend it was almost too blended and didn't offer the visual effect she was hoping for. (Not that any of our taste buds mind.) So, I decided to approach these cupcakes a little differently.

First off, lets start with Nicole's recipe for Classic Yellow Cupcakes. I won't repost it here, in order to save space, but just follow the link and you'll find all the information you need.

I personally swapped the sour cream for milk, because I'm a Budget Baker and we don't really use sour cream for anything else in our family so it wasn't worth buying.

1. Set aside 1 cup of the finished batter and then proceed with filling the tins with the rest of your batter.

2. Mix 1/3 C. of cocoa powder with the 1 cup of set aside batter, until smooth to create your fudge.

3. Then drop a dollop of the "fudge" into center of each filled cupcake tin. Using a butter knife gently swirl the fudge and batter together, taking care not to over mix. (If you over mix there won't be any swirl design or distinctive flavor difference between sections.)

4. Bake according to recipe! Tada! This is an easy way for any budget savvy chef to turn basic cupcakes into fun ones.

In true Budget Baker fashion, I made a last minute substitution to Nicole's wonderful Original Cream Cheese Frosting recipe because I had run out of vanilla extract! In order to replace the vanilla in the recipe I included two Splenda Flavors for Coffee (Hazelnut) packets into frosting. That's literally the only change I made to create Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting.

As for the Do-It-Yourself Cupcake Wrappers, well it's as easy as the rest. This tutorial (if you will) comes straight from Martha Stewart herself!

Parchment Paper Cupcake Wrappers
From the June issue of Martha Stewart Living

1. Cut 5-inch square pieces of parchment paper.

2. Spray a muffin/cupcake tin with vegetable oil cooking spray to hold parchment in place.

3. Place 1 piece of parchment into 1 cup of the tin, pressing along folds to crease. Repeat with other cups and parchment pieces.

4. Scoop batter into cups, and bake.

This is what they look like after baking! These wrappers are easy, affordable, and offer a rustic country charm to any cupcakes you bake. I find it's much easier to cool cupcakes because the tall sides of these homemade wrappers allow you to easily slide them out of the pan and cool on a separate rack or counter.

Happy baking, Cupcake Lovers!
Tanya

Guest Post: Homemade Tacos

2010-07-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings Cupcake Massacre readers!

I'm guest posting on Nicole's blog today to share a wonderful recipe for Homemade Tacos. I learned this technique from a dear friend of mine, Mike. Now I know these aren't cupcakes, but sometimes you just need a great dinner to prep those taste buds for the treats to come.

Information:

Prep Time: 0-10 minutes (depends if you use pre-grated cheese and shredded lettuce, or do it yourself)

Total Time: 45 minutes

Makes: roughly 12-16 tacos, depending on how full you fill them (feeds about 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or ground chuck (I use ground chuck if I can find a good price)

1 packet taco seasoning (brand of your preference)

1 pkg corn tortillas; the small ones, not burrito sized!

Vegetable oil

Grated cheese

Shredded lettuce

Other toppings you prefer: olives, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Directions:

1. Take out a large, high walled skillet/frying pan and brown the ground beef/chuck.
2. When meat is thoroughly browned, drain grease and season taco meat according to packet's instructions. (Usually add packet contents, water and bring to a boil, then let simmer 5 minutes.)
3. Set meat aside in a bowl and keep handy.
4. Wipe out any left over grease and seasoning from pan and fill with oil. Again make sure it only goes up the pan walls about a quarter of an inch. Any more and you'll get what Mike and I fondly refer to as, Grease-acos.
5. Heat oil until you hear popping and see tiny bubbles forming in the oil. It is important the oil is very hot, so that the cooking process is quick. If the tacos sit in the oil for too long, you will also end up with Grease-acos.
6. Once your oil is hot, take a corn tortilla and fill with about 1 TBSP of the pre-made taco meat. Fold the tortilla in half and using tongs slowly lower the taco into the oil, gently laying it on it's side. (At this point some people use toothpicks to hold the top of the taco shut, I find if you use the tongs to hold it in place for a few seconds the oil does the rest.)
7. Fry each taco for about 1-2 minutes on each side. This will take a little eyeballing depending on how hot your stove has been able to get the oil. Continue until all meat is made into tacos. This will take a few batches. Most skillets will only fit about 4 tacos at a time.
8. Between batches lay tacos on top of a few paper towels to absorb any left over oil. Be sure to let the tacos cool for 3 -5 minutes. Any liquid inside the taco will be superheated from frying and could burn your mouth when you bite into it. Don't want that to happen!
9. Top with cheese and lettuce as well as any other favorite toppings and enjoy!

These tacos are a huge hit at our home and I hope they will be in yours as well especially if you compliment them with a desert from The Cupcake Massacre (like this one here that I'm dying to try)! The recipe may seem daunting, but truly it's a simple technique. Best of luck, and feel free to leave comments with questions if you have them!

Happy Cooking!
-Tanya

Tanya is a self-proclaimed cupcake aficionado and a lover of new challenges. When not watching science fiction or playing with her son, she often finds herself pondering questions without real answers. It’s definitely interfered with her getting the recommended amount of beauty sleep. ;) To see more of her writing, check out her blog Cupcakes and Plato at foreverambrose.wordpress.com

Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae Cupcakes

2010-07-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

Also known as "The Cupcakes From Hell"
Also known as "Ice Cream Sandwich Cupcakes"

I did my first poll today, and I think it came out great! I'm really surprised at the responses I got, but Hot Fudge Brownie Cupcakes won barely! I'm going to consider doing this again, it was fun! Tomorrow is another co-worker's birthday and when I asked what she wanted, she said "surprise me!" I can do that, easy! What I can't do: Decide on a recipe. They all sound so amazing and delicious and I wish I could bake them all in one night and eat the ALL the next day! But alas, I don't even try most of my cupcakes, a lot of the ingredients I don't like.

Making the batter was rather interesting. My parents told me that my cupcakes come out a bit dense, and maybe I should use more rising agent (baking soda or baking powder). Well, hmm... This recipe does't have either. So I made a quick call to my mom who helped me out with what could potentially make this cupcake dense: Make sure I don't over beat the batter. She said that by whipping the eggs, sugar, and salt, I am adding air to the mixture. If I add the chocolate and flour and over-beat it, it takes the air out. Since there is no rising agent, these cupcakes should be light and fluffy on their own, as long as the batter is not over-beaten.

Assembling the cupcakes was a completely different matter. See the note below the directions.

Information:
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 C butter
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 3/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 pint ice cream (vanilla, chocolate chip, coffee, strawberry, etc)
Hot Fudge recipe found here.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.

2. Heat the butter and chocolate in a double boiler until completely melted, then set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and salt until completely mixed.

4. Add in the chocolate mixture and vanilla.

5. Slowly add the flour until no white streaks remain. Do not over-mix.

6. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners, and fill the liners to about 1/4 inch from the top.

7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

8. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack. Pull the ice cream out to thaw when putting the cupcakes on the rack.

9. When the cupcakes are completely cool, cut the tops off.

10. When the ice cream is a spreadable texture, spread ice cream on the cupcake and place the top back on it, but do not press the top on.

11. Wrap the cupcake completely in saran wrap.

12. Freeze the cupcakes for 5 or more hours before serving.

13. Serve frozen and unwrapped with hot fudge sauce.

Above is an image of the cupcakes, wrapped in saran wrap in my freezer.

Let me start by saying, there is a 5 minute window where the ice cream is "spreadable." Good luck finding it. I will only ever again make these cupcakes if I am handed one million dollars, or if I figure out an easier way to do the assembly. This is a quote from the cookbook, Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans, "Cupcake sundaes are equally at home in a pool of chocolate sauce on your best china or eaten out of hand and dipped in the sauce for a midnight splurge. Whenever you serve them, they are handy to have ready in the freezer." Maybe it's just me, but the "midnight splurge" made it sound like this would be a quick easy recipe. Um, no. This recipe sounds so delicious, but I do not advise you try this unless you handle stress and frustration and melting ice cream and crumbling cupcakes and sticky saran wrap... The list goes on. IF (and that's a BIG "if") I do this recipe again, I will cut a whole out of the top of the cupcake and put the ice cream in a pastry bag and fill the cupcakes that way. But I doubt I will try again. This recipe calls for hot fudge, but to be completely honest, I was exhausted just from making the cupcakes and filling the cupcakes that I decided against the hot fudge. Instead they will just be Ice Cream Sandwich Cupcakes.

UPDATE 7/16: I made the hot fudge this morning, so they are true Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae Cupcakes. They won't be eaten until 2:30-ish, so I'll let you know later how they came out of the saran wrap. The fudge recipe can be found here.

S'mores Tarts

2010-07-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

"These are my favorite! Even better than Fudge Marble Cupcakes!" That would be my husband. Of course he is biased, but he is honest about my baking. This cupcake smells just like a graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow campfire treat, without the campfire. I made a triple batch for my mother-in-law's birthday celebration, while a little time consuming, the recipe is really easy.

Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 6 large cupcakes or
12 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 C graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 C melted butter
1 C milk chocolate candy
6 marshmallows
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Crush the graham crackers to crumbs. I used the Pampered Chef Food Chopper.
3. Melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl.
4. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until completely mixed. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
5. Add in the chocolate, and mix for 2 minutes.
6. Line the cupcake trays, and spray the liners with non-stick spray.
7. Fill the liners half full, firmly packing the mix into the liners.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 10 minutes.
9. Place a marshmallow in the center of each cupcake.
10. Bake for an additional ten minutes.
11. Remove the cupcakes and let them cool in the cupcake trays for 20 minutes before moving them to a colling rack.
12. After 20 minutes, when the cupcakes are cool, the marshmallow will have deflated. Sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar. I used the Pampered Chef Flour/Sugar Shaker.

Enjoy warm or cool. However you prefer, the marshmallow will still be gooey!!

Cinnamon & Cappuccino Cupcakes

2010-07-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

I've done this recipe a couple of times, and every time I do it differently. I found this recipe in the Instruction Manual of my KitchenAid stand mixer. It's been talked about from coast to coast by my husband's grandmother who cannot stop talking about it! This time, I decided to forgo the coffee whipped cream, and make a whipped ganache topping. I have never made ganache before, so I'm hoping it came out tasty! I made a triple batch for a co-worker's birthday, and came out with 41 cupcakes.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 13 cupcakes (a baker's dozen!)

Ingredients:
1/2 C butter, softened
1 1/3 C sugar
3 eggs
3/4 C milk
1 tbsp & 2 tsp instant espresso or coffee
2 tbsp Pampered Chef Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle
1 3/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter and slowly add the sugar until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Continue mixing on a slower speed, and add one egg at a time, 15 seconds apart.
4. Mix the milk and espresso or coffee and cinnamon sprinkle until completely mixed, and set aside.
5. In a different large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt.
6. Mix the flour mixture with the sugar and egg mixture along with the milk mixture, switching between the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
7. Spoon the batter into cupcake wrappers up to an inch from the top.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Frosting:

I used leftover (frozen) glaze, found here, heated it in a double boiler until smooth, added two to three tablespoons of instant coffee and Saigon cinnamon (instead of the sprinkle). Because I don't know how much glaze I had, I really can't say the ratio, but to taste. Always start out with less than you think and taste it. It's always easier to add more than to take it out. I cooled the hot glaze and then whipped the cooled glaze into a whipped ganache. After double checking the recipe for the glaze, it includes butter... So we are going to hope the whipped ganache holds.

Depressing

2010-07-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't baked in over a week and it is rather depressing. Times are hard, and money is tight, so I was unable to bake this weekend. This week is a co-worker's birthday, so I will be making some cupcakes tonight and will update the blog with pictures and the recipe. Since it is a recipe that I did *before* I started my blog, it is one I am familiar with, and is not a duplicate since the blog has started. My husband will be happy with this cupcake as it is one of his favorites, although there is a slight twist....

Don't worry, there won't be a super-long wait! Can you wait until tonight?

Gâteau au Yaourt avec Glace de Chocolat

2010-06-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

I found the cake recipe at Chocolate and Zuchinni and it sounded delicious! I knew I had to try it immediately! So I did! The recipe doesn't call for frosting, but the cupcakes just looked so plain, I had to do something!! I decided I was going to make homemade fresh strawberry butter-cream frosting. Let me tell you, there have been some weiiiiiiiiird things going on in my kitchen... Things aren't mixing the way they should. So, instead I made the Chocolate Glaze, except that I didn't exactly have all of the ingredients (hee hee), so I improvised.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 C plain yogurt
1 C sugar
1/3 C vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp light rum (I used Coconut rum)
2 C unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, vanilla, and rum.
3. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Mix the flour mixture with the yogurt mixture until completely mixed and there are no white streaks left.
4. Pour the batter into twelve cupcake wrappers, until 1/2 inch from the top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let the cupcakes cool before topping with frosting, or serve plain.

Glaze:
Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 2 cups of glaze

Ingredients:
1 C heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp light corn syrup *
9 oz semi sweet chocolate chips **
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* I didn't have corn syrup, so I Googled a substitute and came up with honey
**I used about 2 1/2 C of chocolate, 4 oz being unsweetened because of the added sweetness from the honey

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the cream and butter, and corn syrup (or honey) until the cream is hot and the butter has melted. There should be tiny bubbles, and the temperature should read about 175°F. DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds.
3. Add the vanilla and whisk the mixture until smooth and creamy, and all of the chocolate has melted.

Let me start out by saying this cupcake is rather plain. Next time I might use a Vanilla Yogurt, or glaze the top with a lot of sugar so it will brown. I may add fruits to it next time, as that will enhance the flavor. It is a dense but airy cake, and it is VERY plain. But you know what, it was an experiment, as all are my recipes and attempts at recipes.

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes

2010-06-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

A treat for my dad for Father's Day! I had my parents over for Father's Day and made lasagna (I wish it was home-made, but I was exhausted after the days activities), garlic bread, and cupcakes. This recipe was rather easy, and my dad enjoyed licking the batter out of the bowl when I was done (something that was not allowed by my sister and me when we were kids). The recipe comes from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans.

Information:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 24 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
20 Oreo-like cookies, cut into 1/2- to 1/4-inch peices
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
Classic Chocolate Cupcake Mix

Classic Chocolate Cupcake Mix:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Chop the Oreo-like cookies. I used a Pampered Chef Food Chopper, once on two cookies, rotated and once more.

3. Put the chocolate in a double boiler, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, and set it aside to let it cool

4. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

5. In a large electric mixing bowl, whip the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.

6. On a low speed, mix the melted chocolate in the butter mixture.

7. On a medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until the batter is smooth.

8. Add the vanilla, mix about 1 minute.

9. Mix in the sour cream until completely blended, no white streaks.

10. On a low sweep, add half of the flour mixture.

11. Mix in the water.

12. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until completely smooth.

13. Put the cupcake wrappers in a cupcake tin.

14. Put enough chopped cookies to cover the bottom of the cupcake liner, in a single layer.

15. Put about 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips on top of the chopped cookies, about 8-10 chips.

16. Put 1/4 cup of batter in each liner, to about 1/3 inch from the top.

17. Cover the tops of the cupcakes with more chopped cookies and chocolate chips and pat them into the batter so they stick a little.

18. Bake for 22 minutes.

19. Let the cupcakes cool before serving.

The recipe called for drizzled chocolate on the top, but I didn't think it needed it because of the chocolate chips on the top of the cupcake.

The cupcakes came out looking great, and smelling even better! I finally gave in and tasted one of my creations, and ohemgee it was amazing!! I couldn't eat a whole one because I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so my dad finished mine, after his.

Homemade French Fries

2010-06-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Again, not cupcakes, but homemade! These came out tasty, and a VERY VERY BIG THANK YOU to my husband for cleaning up the kitchen after the adventure we had with the French fries.

Information:
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: However much you want (I used 12 potatoes)

Ingredients:
12 potatoes
1 gallon vegetable oil or peanut oil (I used vegetable oil)

Directions:
1. Preheat the vegetable oil (or peanut oil) in a large pot (or stock pot).
2. Peel the potatoes (if you want), and cut the potatoes.
3. Drop the potatoes into the oil, and set sit for about 3-5 minutes, or until the texture you prefer (crunchy, soft, tender, etc)
4. Pull the potatoes out of the oil and place on a plate with a paper towel.
5. Salt as you like while the potatoes are still a bit wet from the oil.

I used the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer to peel the skin, make curly fries, and make regular fries (from the core, cut into thin strips) and then decided to leave the skins on the curly fries for the second batch. I also took a potato or two and just made big slices, like big round steak fries.

For an this experience, I learned a lot, but I definitely want to make some more, they came out delicious!!

Homemade Corndogs!

2010-06-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

So it may not be baking, but it is homemade, and I like homemade! They came out amazing, tasty, and the leftover batter turned into a nice big hushpuppy!!

Information:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 14-16 corndogs

Ingredients:
1 C yellow cornmeal
1 C unbleached flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 C honey
4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 C milk
1 quart vegetable oil for frying (** I used one gallon and a large stockpot)
1/4 C cornstarch or flour
14-16 all-beef hot dogs
16 wooden skewers

Directions:
1. Preheat the vegetable oil in a large pot (or stock pot).
2. Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, honey, baking powder, egg, and milk with an electric mixer. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.
3. Dry off the hot dogs, and lightly cover in cornstarch or flour.
4. Skewer the hot dogs.
5. Dip the hot dogs in the batter until absolutely covered in batter.
6. Drop the freshly dipped hot dog into the hot oil for roughly 2-3 minutes until the outside is nice and golden brown.
7. Pull the corndog out of the oil and let it dry on some paper towels.
8. I poured the leftover batter straight into the hot oil to make the hushpuppies. Attempt it all in one shot, because it will come out looking more like funnel cake than a hushpuppy.

This is a homemade hushpuppy. If you make them, and one comes out this big, cook it longer than you would think. The inside of mine was still uncooked, and I would have preferred a crunchier outside.

Vanilla Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2010-06-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

This recipe is easy, and very fun to make! Follow the recipe and directions from here for the batter and three recipes from here and here for the frosting, then let your friends or family top the cupcakes as they please!

I filled ice cream cones about 2/3 full, instead of cupcake liners and baked the cupcakes for 26 minutes. Then I whipped up the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting from here, and added some chocolate (which tasted like hot chocolate) to 1/4 of the batch, coffee to another 1/4 of the batch, and chocolate and coffee (for a mocha flavor), to another 1/4 of the batch and had four different flavorings to mix and match with! The flavorings came from here.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

2010-06-06T21:20:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying, this recipe was a lot different than I expected. I really didn't like the name of the original recipe, so I've changed the name as I've changed the recipe to my liking. The original recipe was called Lemon Coconut Snowballs, and I chose not to use coconut, but instead blueberries. I was originally going to do the Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes, but that calls for boxed cake, and I've decided to stick to homemade recipes.

Cupcakes:
Information:
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 12 cupcakes (I tripled the recipe for 36 cupcakes)

The single batch is first, the triple batch is in parenthesis.
Ingredients:
1 1/3 C (4 C) Cake Flour
1 tsp (1 tbsp) Baking Powder
1/8 tsp (3/8 tsp) salt
6 tbsp (18 tbsp) whole milk
1 tsp (1 tbsp) vanilla extract
1/4 tsp (3/4 tsp) almond extract
6 tbsp (18 tbsp) butter
1 C (3 C) sugar
6 (18) egg whites
1/4 tsp (3/4 tsp) cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter or line with paper cups 1 12-count muffin tin.

2. In a large bowl briefly whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a small bowl, mix the milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

4. Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.

5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the batter, followed by 1/2 the milk mixture, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the last 1/2 of the flour mixture, followed by the last 1/3 of the flour mixture until it is evenly mixed and there are no streaks of flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl to incorporate any clumps of the flour mixture. Set aside this mixture.

6. In another large bowl, using clean beaters (or a whisk), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed for 1 minute, then medium-high until soft peaks form.

7. On a low speed, add the batter mixture to the egg mixture

8. Fill each cupcake liner to 1/4 inch from the top..

9. Bake at 350°F on the middle rack for 23 minutes, so that a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Lemon Filling:
Information:
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 1 cup (I tripled the recipe to make 3 cups)

The single batch is first, the triple batch is in parenthesis.
Ingredients:
1/4 C (3/4 C) butter
1/3 C (1 C) fresh lemon juice
2 (6) eggs
2 (6) egg whites
1 C (3 C) sugar
2 tbsp (6 tbsp) cornstarch
1/4 C (3/4 C) water
1 tsp (1 tbsp) fresh lemon zest

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the lemon juice to the butter. Do not let the mixture boil.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary. Then add the dissolved cornstarch.

4. Continue mixing the egg mixture and add the lemon and butter mixture.

5. Heat the entire mixture over medium heat and continuously stir until the mixture is very thick (about 6 minutes). Do not let the mixture boil.

6. Remove the lemon mixture from heat and mix in the lemon zest.

7. Move the mixture to a freezer safe bowl and press plastic wrap onto the surface of the filling and poke holes in it with a toothpick to let the steam out.

8. Freeze (or refrigerate) the mixture to let it cool and thicken.

**This recipe was tripled and made too much filling, so I filled the cupcakes and then topped the cupcakes with some filling and then frosting.

Frosting:
Information:
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Makes: WAY TOO MUCH FROSTING!! (And I tripled it!)

The single batch is first, the triple batch is in parenthesis.
Ingredients:

1 1/4 C (3 3/4 C) sugar
1/3 C (1 C) water
3 (9) egg whites
1/4 tsp (3/4 tsp) cream of tartar
1 tsp (1 tbsp) vanilla extract
1/4 tsp (3/4 tsp) almond extract

Directions:
1. Mix the sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar in a double boiler with a handheld electric mixer on high speed.
2. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract and almond extract.
4. Beat for 2 more minutes to further thicken the frosting.

**I didn’t have a handheld electric mixer, and you really need one. My frosting did not come out stiff like a meringue, but worked nonetheless.
**Tripling this recipe made WAY too much frosting. A double batch would have been good.

Putting the cupcakes together:

Using the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator I piped the frosting in the center of the cupcakes, then topped the cupcakes with the lemon filling. I then topped the lemon topped cupcakes with the meringue. I zested some lemon peel with the Pampered Chef Zester/Scorer which created little curly q's that I topped the cupcakes with them and frozen blueberries. I suggest using fresh blueberries as there isn't a lot of juice coming out of the blueberry. Fresh blueberries were not available so I opted for frozen.

Guinness and Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-05-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sure, I made some cupcakes last night… So what?! Cupcakes are awesome! I took 5 cupcakes from the Carrot Cupcake batch to our apartment complex to say ‘thank you’ for all they do! I want to take some to my mother-in-law and my grandmother-in-law, and I might just do that! I met up with my sister, niece, and a friend at the local swap-meet for some shopping, then they came over for some Wii games and baking. We made the Guinness and Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheese Frosting, from here. A friend of mine gave me the link, and I’ve made two of the recipes from here and so far, so good! I topped my cupcakes with Pampered Chef Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle, which added a bit of flare and a good taste and texture. If you would like to BUY some of the cinnamon sprinkles, you can buy them here! It’s definitely a recipe I’ll use again, but I learned a little something about frosting: ALWAYS MAKE MORE! I need to double or do a 1 ½ batch of frosting.

Cupcakes

Information:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 20-24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 C unbleached all purpose flour
½ C Dutch processed cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 C granulated sugar
½ C light or dark brown sugar
½ C unsalted softened butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg
½ C sour cream
12 oz Guinness beer

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter or line with paper cups 2 12 count muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl briefly whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Mix the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add one egg and beat until evenly mixed and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary. Add the second egg and vanilla extract and beat again until light and fluffy.
5. Add the sour cream and beat in, then with the mixer running, slowly pour in the Guinness.
6. Slowly add the flour mixture into the batter until it is evenly mixed and there are no streaks of flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl to incorporate any clumps of the flour mixture.
7. Fill each cupcake liner to ½ to ¾ full.
8. Bake at 350°F on the middle rack for 20 – 25 minutes, so that a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
9. ****Make sure to rotate the pans halfway through baking. Set on a rack to cool to room temperature before frosting.

Frosting

Information:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Makes: Not really enough (I should have done a 1 ½ batch)

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
2 C confectioner’s sugar
6 Tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream

Directions:
1. Mix the cream cheese, butter, and confectioner’s sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly drizzle in the Bailey’s until completely incorporated into the frosting.

Carrot Cupcakes with Rum Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-05-29T00:45:00.000-07:00

It isn't a baking experience in my kitchen without something going absurdly wrong... Tonight: I made the mistake of putting carrot peels and burnt coconut down the garbage disposal. That was a "fun" 45 minutes of cleaning. Ick!! Overall, I think the recipe went well. I found the recipe here, which is the same blog as the Guinness & Chocolate Cupcake with Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Frosting is from (that recipe has not been made yet).

Cupcakes

Information:

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

¾ pound carrots, peeled and finely grated
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
4 large eggs

½ C brown sugar
¾ C granulated sugar

½ C unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ C canola oil
2 C unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp allspice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Mix the carrots and pineapple in a large bowl and set aside; Mix dry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl and set aside.

3. Mix eggs and both sugars.

4. Melt the butter (on stove top or in microwave for 2 minutes at 30-second intervals).

5. Drizzle the butter and oil into the egg/sugar mixture.

6. Slowly mix in the flour mixture with the egg/sugar mixture.

7. Slowly add the carrot/pineapple mixture with the batter.

8. Pour (or spoon) batter into 24 cupcake papers to ½ or ¾ full.

9. Bake for 27 minutes.

10. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

I made a double batch of frosting so I could be generous on the cupcakes

Frosting

Information:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Makes: a lot

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz unsalted butter
5 C powdered sugar, sifted
6 tbsp dark rum (use 3-4 tbsp for “a hint of rum” taste)

Directions:

1. Let the cream cheese come to room temperature.

2. Whip the cream cheese with 2 cups of the sugar.

3. Melt the butter on the stove. When bubbles start to form, pour the hot butter into a small, ice-cold bowl sitting in another bowl with ice under the smaller bowl.

4. Drizzle the cooler butter into the cheese/sugar mixture and blend.

5. Mix in the remaining sugar.

6. Mix in the rum.

7. Whip the mixture until it’s light and fluffy.

Topping

Information:

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 5-10 minutes

Makes: 1 lb of toasted coconut (way more than needed, but the rest can be frozen for a later use)

Ingredients:

1 lb package of sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Lay out coconut on a metal pan.

3. Cook coconut for 5-10 minutes, stirring the coconut, until the edges are brown.

Frost the cupcakes and top with coconut to your liking.

I think I’ll deliver these cupcakes to the management of our apartment complex to thank them for everything they do. Also, I want to take some to my husband’s grandma because we haven’t seen her in a while, and I absolutely love her! She’s a wonderful woman, and I know she will appreciate homemade carrot cake cupcakes!

New Cupcake Recipe

2010-05-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently made cupcakes that his entire family was talking about. They made me curious. I requested the recipe, and he said he found it at a blog here. My goal was to work all the recipes I already have and then start on new ones, but I really can't pass this one up. Especially since my husband's love of beer and the fact that we have most of the ingredients in our fridge already!

Saturday, I'm going shopping for accessories to wear to my best friend's wedding, and then I'm having two friends over to bake these cupcakes. One friend knows about the recipe, the other doesn't. It should be a fun time, and I'll let you know how the cupcakes come out!

I will not copying and pasting the recipe from this blog. I will be rewriting the directions as to how the recipe was done in my own kitchen. I can't wait!

Next week, I will be attending a "Girls Night Out" for my best friend's bachelorette party, and it's all cupcake and wine-tasting based! I'll make sure to take a ton of pictures and maybe even collect some recipes!

Fudge Marble Cupcakes

2010-05-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

A recipe for 12 regular cupcakes. Sounds simple right? I'm sure it is, I wouldn't know. I tripled the recipe for 36 cupcakes and somehow only ended up with 32. This is just the start of my problems with this recipe. My mixer can handle a triple batch of cupcakes, no sweat. The question is: Can the baker? Next time, I think I'll stick to a cake for the Birthday Club. Oy. As delicious as these cupcakes sound, I hope they come out alright. As of right now, the cupcakes are done cooling, and I am deciding what to do for the topping. (You'll see why later on.) This recipe comes from the book "Cupcakes!" by Elinor Klivans, which can be bought here. So, here's the recipe:

The single batch is first, the triple batch is in parenthesis.

Cupcakes

Information:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Makes: 12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 ¼ (3 ¾) cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ (1 ½) tsp baking powder

¼ (¾) tsp baking soda

¼ (¾) tsp salt

1 (3) large egg**

1 (1) large egg yolk**

1 (3) cup sugar

½ (1 ½) cup canola or corn oil

1 (3) tsp vanilla extract

½ (1 ½) cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the egg, yolk, and sugar on medium speed until the mix is thick and cream-colored, roughly two minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary. On a low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Continue mixing and add the sour cream until completely blended. Mix in the flour mixture until the batter is smooth.

4. Spoon out ¾ (2 ¼) cup batter and set it aside.

5. Measure ½ (1 ½) cup fudge glaze and gently add it to the batter without mixing the two.

6. Using a spoon, fill each cupcake liner with about 3 tbs of the batter and fudge, without mixing the batter.

7. Using the left-over plain batter, put about 1 tbs of batter on the top of each battered cup, to about ½ inch below the top of the liner.

8. Bake the cupcakes for about 23 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted in the cupcake and come out clean.

9. Let the cupcakes cool and then frost.

(† - See note below)

The single batch is first, the 1 ½ batch is in parenthesis.

Fudge Glaze

Information:

Prep Time: less than 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Makes: two cups glaze **

**The recipe calls for 1 cup of fudge glaze, and since I have made a triple batch of cupcakes, I need 3 cups of fudge glaze, hence the 1 ½ batch of fudge.

Ingredients:

1 (1 ½) cup heavy cream

2 (3) tbs unsalted butter, cut into two (three) pieces

3 (4 ½) tbs light corn syrup

9 (13 ½) oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ (¾) tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, butter, and corn syrup on low heat. Small bubbles will form, but do not let the mixture boil.
2. Right before the boiling point, remove the pan from the flame and add the vanilla and chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Whisk the mixture to completely combine the cream base and chocolate.

(† - Note below ;-) ) This is where the recipe gets tricky… The glaze is not thick enough to frost the cupcakes with, so I am at an impasse. I do not know what to do. Should I just glaze them, or should I whip up some whipped cream and mix in the chocolate glaze and have chocolate whipped frosting? I wasn’t sure what to do, so I Googled “rich and creamy frosting” and what came up? “Butter cream frosting”. So I made a batch of butter cream frosting and heated up the now cool glaze (I had stuck it in the fridge to harden it a bit) and added it to the frosting. This heated up the frosting, so I put in the fridge to cool down, then I used my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to decorate the cupcakes, then put them in the fridge. I found the recipe for the butter cream frosting here.

Butter Cream Frosting:

Information:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Makes: 2 ½ cups

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 egg yolk, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbs milk (I used non-fat)

Directions:
1. Mix the butter and salt until the butter is creamy.
2. Alternating, add the sugar, vanilla, eggs, and milk. (I did: 1C sugar, vanilla, 1C sugar, eggs, 1 C sugar, milk, 1C sugar)
3. Whip until light and airy.

Spectacular Spectacular!

2010-05-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

No words in the vernacular/Can describe this great event/You'll be dumb with wonderment/Returns are fixed at 10%/You must agree that's excellent

The cupcake/brownie/ice cream cone amazement is wonderful! Or so I've heard. I have yet to taste one, as I am not a fan of the cone. I am glad that they were a job well-tasty, and my husband will be taking the five left to work to share with his co-workers.

Tomorrow, after a very long day that includes church and Disneyland, I will be making a double batch of Fudge Marble Cupcakes for the Birthday Club at my work! That will be four recipes in just as many days!!

In other news, my best friend (who lives four states away, boooooo) has decided I am the definition of frustrating, and has taken it upon herself to make her own cupcakes to satisfy her sweet tooth, and those of her husband and son. She took the time to decorate a cupcake or three in my honor, and snapped a quick photo. Her pages can be found here, here, here, and here.

Chocolate-Covered Brownie Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2010-05-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

My husband had some friends over for the soccer game between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, and in anticipation of them eating the rest of my cupcakes (which they didn't, I'm really surprised!) I made more cupcakes. I decided on the Chocolate-Covered Brownie Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes from the book "Cupcakes!" by Elinor Klivans, which can be bought here.

Because cupcakes usually consist of the same basic ingredients and directions, I've shorthanded this recipe, but if you have any questions, feel free to comment and ask. Also, I've tweaked the recipe to how I did it (time wise). The cupcake batter recipe, can be found here, also.

Cupcakes
Information:
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Makes: 12 ice cream cone cupcakes

Ingredients:
12 flat-bottomed ice cream cones
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 oz unsweetened chocolate (baking chocolate works)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup (4 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2. Place butter and unsweetened chocolate into double boiler and melt until creamy and completely melted. Set aside, but keep warm.

3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, mix eggs and sugar on medium speed until the mix is thick and cream-colored, roughly 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary. On low speed, first add the vanilla until completely combined, then the chocolate mix until completely combined. Continue mixing on low and mix in the flour mixture until completely smooth, then mix in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.

5. Fill each ice cream cone to just below the top of the cone. Make sure the batter is even at the top of the ice cream cone; try to fill in any holes. Place one flat bottomed ice cream cones into each cupcake spot in the cupcake tin.

6. Bake for about 28 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. (If you hit a chocolate chip, try another spot). --- This is where my instructions differ... I put it in for 28 minutes, and the tops looked good, but the toothpick came out with batter. So I kept baking for 3 minute intervals for another 15 minutes and there was STILL batter on the toothpick, but my husband took them out of the oven anyways.... We'll have to see how the cupcakes come out, if they are dry or anything.

7. Let the cupcakes cool for 20 minutes in the cupcake tin.

Topping
Information:

Prep time: 1 minute

Total time: 5-10 minutes

Makes: more than enough topping

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (8 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbs canola or vegetable oil

My own added ingredients:
1 tbs canola oil
1 tbs and 1 tsp of non-fat milk

Directions:

1. Using a double boiler, melt all ingredients together. --- This is where my instructions differ. My double boiler is barely big enough to hold all the chocolate, but could not heat it to the right temperature with that much chocolate in it, (** See note below) so I used a regular pot on the stove with extremely low heat.

2. Once the cupcakes are cool enough, dip the top in the chocolate, letting the excess chocolate drip off. Put the cupcake back into the pan to let the chocolate firm up.

3. Let the topping firm for about 10 minutes before adding sprinkles or another topping. --- This is where my instructions differ. After 10 minutes, I knew the chocolate would be too firm to accept the sprinkles, so I added my sprinkles right after dipping it in chocolate.

4. Let the cupcakes with the topping cool for 2 hours. If you want/need to speed up that time, you can carefully stick the cupcakes in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to let the chocolate firm.

** My double boiler is pictured above. It looks like a toy (red) and I'm sure it was meant for a teenager to make some chocolate candies, but this double boiler is amazing!!! It works wonders for my chocolate dipped Oreo's and my chocolate covered pretzels. I will need to upgrade to a bigger double boiler for some future recipes, but for now, my little red chocolate melter works just fine for me!! :)

Making these cupcakes was rather fun! I hope they taste as good as they look! My husband's mom stopped by to pick two of these and two Hummingbird Swirl cupcakes. She's been wanting for SO long to have some of my home made goodies, and she is finally able to try two of them!

Hummingbird Swirls

2010-05-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I had my parents over for dinner, dessert, and games. I had a request to do Hummingbird Swirls. The recipe comes from the book "Cupcakes!" by Elinor Klivans, and can be found here. The recipe calls for two recipes: Easy-Mix Yellow Cupcake Batter and Cream Cheese Frosting. According to the cookbook, "Hummingbird Cake is a banana, pecan, and a pineapple cake that has a cream cheese frosting."

I made a few mistakes (but learned from them) while working this recipe, and I won't let it happen again.

#1: I let the batter sit for a while (I still had dinner in the oven, and had to wait to put the cupcakes in). This caused the cupcakes to not rise as much in the oven, so the cupcake was very dense.

#2: I let the frosting sit out instead of cool in the fridge. After the cupcakes were baked, and while we were playing cards, I let the frosting sit out. This made the frosting very liquid-y and didn't hold its shape on the top of the cupcake. If I had refrigerated it, the frosting would have firmed up a bit and I could have made the frosting into pretty designs.

Cupcakes

Information:

Prep Time: 25 min

Total Time: 1 hour 25 min

Makes: 12 big-top cupcakes (if done correctly :-/) or 48 (says 4 mini-cupcake pans) mini-cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 C sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C sour cream
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C mashed banana (1 banana)
1/2 C canned crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained
1/2 C (2 oz) pecans, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Fill the cupcake liners with 1/3 cup of batter, to about 1/4 of an inch from the top of the liner. If making mini-cupcakes, fill with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter, to just below the top of the liner.

5. Bake the cupcakes until the tops are golden and when a toothpick is inserted comes out clean (about 25 minutes for regular cupcakes and 16 minutes for mini-cupcakes).

6. Cool the cupcakes on a rack and frost as you please!

Frosting

Information:

Prep Time: 5 min

Total Time: 10 min

Makes: 3 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer on low, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth, roughly one minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl if necessary.

2. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, about one minute. Beat for an additional minute to lighten the frosting.

Overall, it was a great success! I have several left over and my sister and niece enjoyed a couple today, and my husband’s friends are here to watch soccer and I'm sure they will eat some. I might run to the store and get some more ingredients and make some more for tonight, as we are going to a friend's house for dinner and I am providing dessert, or I might make a different kind. I would like to try again so that I can pop the batter directly into the oven and see if they rise better. Monday is a co-worker's birthday and as head of the "Birthday Club" I collect money to support the cakes for everyone's birthdays. I will be making Fudge Marble Cupcakes.

(my personal photos taken by Roger Worden)

Things to come

2010-05-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend is full of times when I might want or need to make more cupcakes, so I may just bake all weekend and get some of the recipes done early! Tonight my parents are coming over for dinner and I need to prepare dessert. I have had a verbal request for Hummingbird Swirls, so I think I shall do that tonight. I need to make dessert for dinner tomorrow, and I might do a half batch of something, but I need some ideas. Feel free to comment on what you think I should make.

In the meantime, please enjoy this pretty picture brought to you by my best friend... Tanya Fodor!!

Marshmallow Cupcakes

2010-05-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

For a while, I've been wanting to try the Marshmallow Cupcakes, since they have an interesting design to them. The perfect occasion came around, a "Catch Up Birthday Party." Eight friends got together to celebrate everyone's birthday with two rounds of laser tag at Laser Quest, pizza, dessert, and a gift exchange. I was asked to make dessert, and of course I said "heck yes!" The final question was: What to make for this particular group of friends? This isn't a typical group of friends. This is the group that I had lunch with in high school almost every day, and then a few extra people who are "worthy" of joining the group. That sounds really bad, but "worthy" actually means "Can you geek it up enough?" This extends to new friends, siblings, and significant others. The party consisted of 9-10 people, and the group can get up to 10 more people than that at times. I knew I had to make something that could be consumed by 9 people or by 20 people. My answer? CUPCAKES! Which cupcake was the hard choice, since I have quite a list to choose from. I really wanted to do a homemade recipe with a homemade topping, but I was strained on time because of such a busy week that I resorted to a Betty Crocker box of cake and can of frosting. Betty Crocker makes some darn good boxed cakes, but there's just a major sense of accomplishment when you watch someone eat and enjoy something you made from scratch. Below is the recipe and some of my own pictures, but the recipe can be found here: Marshmallow Cupcakes

Information:

Prep Time: 25 min

Total Time: 1 hour 25 min

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

2 containers (1 lb each) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy creamy white frosting

24 to 30 large marshmallows

Betty Crocker® colored sugar or candy sprinkles

White or colored birthday candles

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes, using water, oil and egg whites. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
2. Frost cupcakes with frosting.
3. Cut marshmallow with dampened kitchen scissors into slices; sprinkle with colored sugar. Arrange on cupcakes in flower shape. Place candle in middle of each flower.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude directions on cake mix box for cupcakes.

Ideas are forming.....

2010-05-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes, to me, are the perfect dessert or snack. They are the right size that you could potentially fill up on just one, but are small enough that nobody even thinks twice about someone taking a second cupcake!

When I was a child, I didn't like sweets all that much, and I still prefer a ripe fruit to a sweet cookie. When I was asked if I wanted a cupcake, I would say "I don't like them." But turn around, take the frosting off the cupcake and ask if I want a 'muffin,' I would gladly say "Yes, please!" I have since learned that frosting (in moderation) can actually improve a sometimes boring cupcake. I'm still not big on sweets, but I take great satisfaction in watching other people enjoy the sweets I bake. I love decorating, but have never taken a decorating class; I like to think of myself as a creative and artistic person. I like to tweak the decorating just a little and make the dessert my own.

When I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" and Julie said that she never finished any projects, my husband nudged me and smiled. I'm the same way, I start something and never finish it -- Just ask my sister! ;) I'm not trying to copy anyone's idea or start an uproar, I just like her goal. Where Julie used a Julia Child cookbook, I am going to be baking cupcakes (to start) and maybe some other desserts. I will state which book I am using for each recipe, and give the author their credit. I guess I just wanted to do something and stick to it. So once a week (or more) I will sit down and make a batch, or a half-batch, of cupcakes, blog about the cupcakes and the experience, and snap photos! So far, to start I have about 55-60 cupcake recipes, so this will take more than a year if I do one batch a week. We shall see how it goes.

On the right is a list of the cupcakes I want to start with. It's listed alphabetically because I'm not sure which order they should go in. I will be choosing one recipe a week, and working from there. I will make a note next to the recipe, once I have completed it. If you want me to do a certain recipe for next week, just post a comment. If I get a ton of requests, I will bake the one with the most requests.

UPDATE 5/21: I have added a new list of cupcakes I have baked. I will remove the cupcake from the To Do list and add it to the Done list.

UPDATE 7/18: The To Do list has moved to the top of the page, along with the Done list. Both of these lists have links to where you can buy the cookbook, or the website you can find the recipe on. If you are looking for the recipes I have blogged about, with comments and photos, click on the Nicole's Recipes link at the top. The same goes for the recipes Tanya has blogged about, click Tanya's Recipes.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, give suggestions, and what-not; I'm always looking for those who share my love of baking and cupcakes!