Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

For my husband's birthday last month, Aubrey and I surprised him by visiting him at work with a dozen cupcakes to share with his office.  I wanted to do something different and I was inspired by a new drink that my sister and her husband introduced us to - a cocktail of orange Fanta and whipped vodka.  The cupcakes were a little more acceptable for the office, although I'm sure the vodka would have been appreciated!

The recipe is a combination of a few different sources - I adapted the recipe on I Heart Cuppycakes who adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and Dulcedo.  The cake is really moist and don't skip the orange zest because it adds so much flavor and I love seeing the little bits of zest in the cake.  The marshmallow cream is a great addition to these cupcakes, it really gives it the creamsicle flavor instead of just an orange cupcake. 

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from I Heart Cuppycakes

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 T citrus olive oil

1 cup sugar

2 T vanilla

2 eggs

Zest of 1 orange

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with paper liners.  (This made 16 cupcakes for me.)

Combine butter, olive oil and sugar and mix on medium high speed about three minutes until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs and mix about one more minute until well incorporated.  Stir in orange zest.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Separately combine heavy cream and orange juice.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the cream mixture and repeat, finishing with the flour.  Mix until just incorporated after each addition. 

Scoop batter into prepared liners, filling about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake about twenty minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans about five minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Marshmallow Cream Filling:

7 oz marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cut butter into small pieces and add to fluff in a mixing bowl.  Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.  Cut a small cone shape into the top of each cupcake and spoon marshmallow cream into wells allowing the cream to puddle on top of the cupcake slightly.  (Don't add too much, when you add the buttercream, it will cause the cream to move out toward the edges of the cupcakes.)

Orange Buttercream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/8 - 1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

Zest of 1 orange

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add orange juice, zest, and vanilla and mix until well combined.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until incorporated to reach desired consistency.  Whip on medium high speed about two minutes until smooth and creamy.  Transfer to a piping bag fitted with desired tip and pipe onto cupcakes. 

2010's Top 10

Happy New Year!  2010 was a pretty good year for me, although it sure went by quickly.  The year started and ended with lots of travelling, I think we went home to Iowa a half a dozen times this past year.  I also travelled to Texas a couple of times for my sister's wedding festivities, we went to St. Louis to celebrate our own 1st wedding anniversary, and spent a week at the beach in August with my college roommates.  We ended the year travelling for the holidays and a weekend in Chicago to celebrate my mom's birthday.  My husband started a new job this fall and I kept busy throughout the summer and fall with lots of baking jobs making hundreds of cupcakes and several birthday cakes.  

Of course the big news is that we found out we'll be having our first child in 2011, thank you all for sticking around even though it was tough to keep up with this blog when I could barely think about food for the few months.  These last few months have been busy with preparing the nursery, baby showers, and doctors appointments.  Now we're almost there and our daughter should be here mid-February! 

As we all recover from the sugar coma of the holidays, I'll be sharing some recipes from my baby shower, as well as some freezer meals as I try to stock up before the baby arrives.  For now though, I'll leave you with the most popular recipes from 2010.  Evidently the popularity of cupcakes isn't over yet!

S'mores Cupcakes

Margarita Cupcakes

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

Snickers Cupcakes

Lasagna Roll-ups

Italian Cream Cake

Triple Lemon Cupcakes

Dijon Chicken Club Sandwiches

Mudslide Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

These are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting rolled in orange sugar inspired by Hello Cupcake.

A Fall Favorite: Pumpkin Cupcakes

As I've mentioned before pumpkin desserts are some of my favorites.  I didn't use to think so, I was never a fan of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, I always picked apple.  But in the past couple of years, I have really developed a taste for pumpkin.  I realized that maybe it was just the traditional pumpkin pie I wasn't a big fan of; pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin cheesecake were all delicious.  These pumpkin cupcakes are my new favorite of all of them.  In fact, I think they are my new favorite cupcake overall. 

The cupcake part of these is a light and delicious cake.  The pumpkin really makes a moist cake and the spices are perfect for fall.  Your whole house will smell like fall within minutes of putting these in the oven.  I frosted these with a classic cream cheese frosting which works perfectly with the pumpkin flavors.  Top them with sprinkles, maybe some caramel sauce or those cute little candy pumpkins they sell this time of year and they are a perfect fall dessert. 

I actually found this recipe browsing at Williams-Sonoma in the mall.  They had some seasonal recipe cards in the store and with all the fall scents that pipe through that place, this recipe quickly went on my short list of things to make.  The raisins and walnuts made it seem more muffin like than cupcake like so I left those out but added a little ground ginger to the spices.  Make sure you get pure pumpkin puree for this recipe and not the pumpkin pie filling in the can. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Cupcake:

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners or spray pans with cooking spray. 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.  Whisk or sift to combine and set aside.  In mixing bowl, cream together pumpkin, sugars, and oil.  Mix on medium high speed about one minute until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add flour mixture in three additions, mixing on low speed until just incorporated after each addition. 

Fill cupcakes 3/4 of way full and bake approximately twenty minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Frost as desired.

Frosting:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Combine cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add cream and vanilla and mix in until incorporated.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition until well incorporated, to reach desired consistency to frost cupcakes.  Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes as desired.

Champagne Cupcakes

These champagne cupcakes make a great treat for an adult party - be it an elegant party or a bachelorette party.  You'll want to use a sweet champagne rather than dry, pink champagne would work too.  You can play with the flavors by adding fillings or different icings.  Add orange curd filling or orange-flavored buttercream for mimosa cupcakes, ice with raspberry buttercream and top with a fresh raspberry.  Top champagne cupcakes with a chocolate covered strawberry for a fancy dessert.  You could also make them mini cupcakes for a cocktail party.  The recipe below is for a classic champagne cupcake with a champagne buttercream. 

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream
Recipe adapted from Loves to Eat

Cupcakes:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup champagne
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners (recipe yields about 22 cupcakes). 

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.  In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of champagne combined with vanilla. 

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until they hold stiff peaks.  Fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batter then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.  Transfer batter to cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake approximately twenty minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool about five minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3 T champagne

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium high speed until smooth and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add vanilla extract and about three cups of powdered sugar.  Mix on low speed to combine.  Add in champagne and mix on low to incorporate.  Increase speed to medium and beat about one minute to whip frosting.  If frosting appears to be thin, add additional powdered sugar as necessary to reach desired consistency.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

I've made these devil's food cupcakes several times and they always get great reviews.  They are a great go-to cupcake when you want a rich chocolate cupcake.  They bake up nice and pretty with domed tops and the sour cream adds a bit of extra tang.  If you were curious as to what makes these different from most chocolate cakes, devil's food cake is generally made with melted butter instead of oil, according to Martha Stewart at least.  In my opinion, devil's food cake is also light and airy while many chocolate cakes are more dense. 

These cupcakes are great with a number of different frostings, this past weekend, I made them with raspberry buttercream (the recipe can be found here although I subbed milk for the lemon juice this time), cream cheese frosting and the one pictured here, a chocolate sour cream frosting. 

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup water

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 T plus 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners - this recipe yields approximately 30 cupcakes.  Heat water in the microwave about 90 seconds, stir in cocoa powder, whisking until smooth and set aside to cool.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter and combine in mixing bowl with sugar.  Beat on medium low speed until mixture is cooled, about five minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture and mix well.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, alternate with 1/2 of the sour cream and repeat, beating after each addition until just combined. 

Fill each cupcake liner approximately 3/4 of the way full and bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean.  Let cool in pans about 5-10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 

Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup sour cream

Sift together sugar, cocoa powder and salt.  Beat cream cheese and butter on medium high speed in a mixing bowl for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.  Gradually add in sugar mixture, beating on low speed until combined.  Add melted chocolate and sour cream and mix until combined.  Increase speed to medium high and whip until light and fluffy.  Transfer to a piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired.

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

How can it possibly be the last day of September already??  I feel like fall just started and its already going to be October?  I just turned off the air conditioner this past weekend. 

I've been meaning to get this recipe posted all week and time has just not cooperated.  We laid new flooring in our house this past weekend and instead of helping all too much, I decided to bake for the help.  These cinnamon roll cupcakes are ridiculously good... think cinnamon roll without the need for a fork.  They are still a little messy - even with the wrappers, but in a good way.  While these are perfect as a dessert, they also would make an indulgent treat for a fall brunch - I mean they do contain fruit so that means you can eat it for breakfast right?

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Adapted from Stephani Pollack from Cupcake Project via Paula Deen

Dough:
2 cups milk
1 packet active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups finely chopped apples (I used Golden Delicious apples)

In a small saucepan, heat milk to about 110 degrees.  Add yeast and sugar to bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the milk, stir to dissolve.  Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes.  Beat in eggs and butter.  Stir in the remaining flour half a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Switch to dough hook and knead about five minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Spray a large deep bowl with cooking spray, shape dough into a ball, put it in the bowl, turn once to coat and cover it with a clean towel.  Set in a warm place and allow to rise for about 40 minutes or until doubled in volume.

Meanwhile make the filling by combining the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and apples in a small bowl.  Melt remaining butter in a small dish. 

Dust counter top with flour and roll out dough into a long rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush with about half of the melted butter.  Top with the apple mixture, sprinkle evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch empty on all sides.
Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.  Roll dough into a log beginning on the long side of the rectangle.  Trim off both ends to remove the uneven part that doesn't have any filling.  Slice the log into approximately 24 even pieces.  Place each piece in a cupcake liner, folding the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.  Cover the cupcake tins with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Brush the tops of the cupcakes with remaining melted butter.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons milk

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until combined.  Start with one tablespoon of milk and add more as necessary until you have a glaze that is thick but runs easily off the spoon.  Drizzle over warm cupcakes and serve.  Store in an airtight container and reheat leftover cupcakes in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving.

Fauxstess Cupcakes

One more marshmallow frosting recipe - this time I'm using the frosting as a filling for the cupcakes though.  These are homemade versions of the ever-popular Hostess cupcakes - complete with little swirls scrolling across the tops. 

A couple tips for these - make your ganache in a small container that is at least a few inches deep so you have enough depth to dip your cupcakes even as you get low on ganache.  Also, you'll want to make sure you fill your cupcakes full enough that they rise over the tops of the liner so you aren't hitting the liner before you hit the cupcake when you dip them.  You'll have to work quickly once your ganache is ready as it cools quickly and gets thicker as it cools so its harder to make the tops of the cupcakes smooth.

To fill these cupcakes, I used the cone method.  Once cool, I cut out a small cone-shape in the center of each cupcake with a paring knife and then filled them with a piping bag full of marshmallow filling.  This allows much more filling in the center than if you just try to pipe the filling in. 

Once the ganache is set, you can add any decoration you want, I used a bit of extra marshmallow filling and changed my piping bag to a small round tip (I think I used Wilton #3) to pipe on the traditional swirls. 

Fauxstess Cupcakes

Adapted from Beantown Baker, Heather Drive and Smitten Kitchen

Cake:

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners. Recipe yields about 30 cupcakes. Combine sugar through salt in a large boil. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on low until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes. Stir in boiling water, the batter will be thin. Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner about 3/4 of the way full, approximately 1/4 cup of batter. Bake approximately 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  When cool, use a paring knife to cut a small cone shape out of the center of each cupcake.

Filling:

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a double boiler (I set my stainless steel mixing bowl over a small saucepan) combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar and heat over simmering water. Whisk almost constantly, heating to 160 degrees. Transfer mix to mixing bowl and beat on high speed (with whisk attachment if you are using a stand mixer) until egg whites hold stiff peaks. Add vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into the holes in the top of each cupcake.  Reserve remaining filling for piping swirls or decoration as desired.

Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Heat heavy cream until simmering in a small saucepan (you can also microwave but do it in 30 second intervals and watch it closely). Cut chocolate into chunks and put in a small bowl. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for one minute. Stir until chocolate is melted. Let stand about 5 minutes and then dip each filled cupcake quickly into the chocolate, tap lightly to get rid of the excess and turn over.  Let cool on a wire rack until chocolate is set.  Pipe on swirls or decoration as desired.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

These chocolate marshmallow cupcakes are adapted from the S'mores cupcakes I made a while back - which just so happen to be the most popular recipe I've ever posted.  These don't have the graham cracker base and don't require a kitchen torch or incredible timing with the broiler.  They do however require a lot of egg whites to make the frosting, so I recommend a nice custard style ice cream to go along with them.  With a few less steps involved, these are an easier version.

I love this marshmallow frosting.  It does take a little more time than a traditional American buttercream but its so light and glossy.  I've used it on several things lately - stay tuned for some more recipes coming up shortly.  Drizzle a chocolate ganache over the top to add a little something extra. 

Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

Cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners. Recipe yields about 30 cupcakes. Combine sugar through salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on low until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes. Stir in boiling water, the batter will be thin. Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner about 2/3 of the way full, approximately 1/4 cup of batter. Bake approximately 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Set a clean stainless steel or other heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water to create a double boiler.  (I just use my KitchenAid bowl for my stand mixer to avoid having to transfer.)  Add all ingredients except vanilla and whisk to combine.  Heat, whisking almost constantly, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl frequently until the mixture reaches 160 degrees.  Transfer to mixer/mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment and continue mixing, increasing speed slowly to high speed until the frosting holds stiff peaks.  Add vanilla extract and beat until just incorporated.

Fill a piping bag fitted with desired tip (I used a large closed star tip for these) and pipe as desired onto cooled cupcakes. 

Note: You don't want to make this frosting until you are ready to use it as it will harden so wait until your cupcakes are cooled.

Ganache:
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat heavy cream until simmering in a small saucepan (you can also microwave but do it in 30 second intervals and watch it closely).  Cut chocolate into chunks and put in a small bowl.  Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for one minute.  Stir until chocolate is melted.  Let stand about 5 minutes and transfer to a squeeze bottle.  Drizzle over the top of cupcakes.

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

I remember making pineapple upside down cake a long time ago when I was a kid and thinking it was so cool - back then anything that you baked and then flipped out of the pan was pretty impressive.  It still makes me pretty happy and impressed when I can flip something and everything comes out right without sticking or falling apart.  These little cupcakes are no exception - you layer the butter and brown sugar in the bottom of a well-greased muffin tin.  Add in the pineapple and a maraschino cherry and then top with yellow cake batter.  Bake them up and then its time for the reveal.  Flip the pan over onto a platter or a parchment lined cooling rack and take off the pan.  The cupcakes should be adorable little stacks of goodness, the brown sugar and butter melt into a sticky glaze and caramelize the pineapple. 

These aren't as convenient as traditional cupcakes because if you bake them up in cupcake liners, you don't get the effect of the pineapple and syrup and it just looks like an unfrosted yellow cake.  They don't really dome up like most cupcakes either (which is good when you want to flip them).  To make them portable, I set them upside down on a cupcake liner.  You could also put them in small boxes if you were doing them as a favor.  These are definitely best served the day you bake them or the next day at the latest since there is no frosting to keep the cakes from drying out. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Recipe adapted from Epicurean.com

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
12 pineapple rings
12 maraschino cherries

Cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup pineapple juice, reserved from can
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray or grease with butter.  Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice for the cake batter.  Combine brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.  Evenly divide among each of the muffin wells, about one teaspoon per well.  Cut about 1/3 out of each pineapple ring and arrange rings over the brown sugar mixture.  Add a cherry in the center of each ring. 

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder.  Add butter, pineapple juice and vanilla and beat on low until just combined.  Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes.  Add the egg and beat in until well incorporated.  Evenly divide the batter among the muffin wells, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake approximately 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cupcakes five minutes in the pan and then flip onto a platter or covered rack.  Cool and serve.

Snickers Cupcakes

While walking through the candy aisle at the grocery store the other day, I got an idea to make Snickers cupcakes.  I picked up some mini candy bars as well as caramels and caramel sauce.  I knew I wanted to do a chocolate cupcake base with a caramel filling but wasn't sure if I wanted to use a caramel candy or caramel sauce for the filling.  For frosting, I went with a caramel buttercream and then topped the cupcakes with chopped Snickers pieces for garnish. 

For the cake, I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe - the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe.  I love this recipe because it mixes up extremely fast and always turns out a rich, moist cake.  To experiment with the caramel filling, first I baked the cupcakes and added a caramel candy to the center for the last three minutes of baking time.  I wasn't a fan of these though because although the caramel softens in the oven, it quickly hardens back up and makes a very difficult to eat, hard center to the cupcakes.

On to plan B, the caramel sauce.  I hollowed out a cone shape in the center of the cupcake using a paring knife and filled them with a little caramel sauce.  I much preferred this method for the caramel filling.  You can make your own caramel sauce or just buy the caramel sauce found in the grocery store, like ice cream topping. 

Snickers Cupcakes

Cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.  Recipe yields about 30 cupcakes.  Combine sugar through salt in a large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on low until just incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes.  Stir in boiling water, the batter will be thin.  Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner about 2/3 of the way full, approximately 1/4 cup of batter.  Bake approximately 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

When cool, use a paring knife to cut a small cone shape out of the top of each cupcake.  Add caramel sauce as desired.  You can cut the point off the cone and add it back to the cupcake if desired. 

Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb powdered sugar
8 mini Snickers bar for garnish

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes.  Add caramel sauce, heavy cream and vanilla and mix to incorporate.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated to reach the right consistency.  Increase speed to medium-high and whip about one minute until light and fluffy.  Fill a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes or frost as desired.

Coarsely chop candy bars and sprinkle over the top of cupcakes.

Oreo Cupcakes

These cupcakes are perfect for the Oreo cookie lover. They start out with half an Oreo in the bottom of the liner. Add more chopped cookies to the batter and garnish with yet another Oreo. Topped with a cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes are cookies and cream heaven.


The most time consuming part of these cupcakes is separating the Oreo halves for the bottoms of the cupcakes. Because I'm a little too Type A, I wanted to make sure all the cupcakes had an Oreo half complete with the cream filling. So I ended up splitting about 50% more Oreos than I would have needed. No big deal though, just add the extras, along with the other halves into the food processor to add to the cupcake batter. You can crush the Oreos a few different ways, I throw mine in the food processor and pulse just a few times so I get a nice mix of small and large pieces. You definitely want the cookies on the chunky side so that the pieces show up in the batter and you don't just end up with gray cupcakes. If you don't want to mess with the food processor, you can add the cookies to a large Ziploc and crush with a rolling pin or just chop them up with a knife.


Oreo Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Beantown Baker

Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large egg whites
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
36 Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Separate 24 Oreos, leaving cream filling on one half. Place cream side up in the bottom of each liner. Add the other halves and remaining cookies to food processor and pulse a couple times to create large chunks. Set aside Oreo chunks.

Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add milk and vanilla to a large measuring cup and stir together. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Follow with 1/2 the milk mixture, mix on low and continue alternating additions, ending with flour mixture. Stir in Oreo chunks.

Scoop batter into prepared liners, filling 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 T vanilla extract
2 T heavy cream
1 lb powdered sugar
24 Oreos for garnish

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and beat until incorporated. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and whip for 30 seconds to a minute. Fill a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes as desired.

Garnish with an additional Oreo or Oreo halve.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

These cupcakes have a coconut cupcake base and a pineapple cream cheese frosting. Topped with some shredded coconut and festive "skewer" of pineapple and a maraschino cherry, these just look like a fun summer treat - just as tropical as the ever-popular frozen drink. I spiked them with a little dark rum to make them extra fun.


Make sure when you fill the liners for these cupcakes that you don't fill them too full - I had a bit of a problem with the cupcakes running over the edges because they don't puff up as much as others. If you stick with filling the liners just 2/3 of the way full, you should be fine.

Pina Colada Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Cake:
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 T dark rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
4 egg whites
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy, gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy about 2-3 minutes.

Combine the milk, rum, vanilla and coconut extracts in a large measuring cup. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter, mixing on low until just incorporated. Add 1/2 the milk mixture and mix until incorporated. Continue alternating with the flour and milk, ending with the flour mixture. Add coconut to the batter and stir in. Transfer to a separate bowl and clean mixing bowl if necessary to beat egg whites.

In a clean mixing bowl, use mixer fitter with the whisk attachment to beat egg whites. Start on low speed and increase speed gradually as egg whites thicken, beating until they form stiff peaks. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten batter, once incorporated, add remaining egg whites and fold gently until smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner approximately 2/3 of the way full. Bake about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5-10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
1 T dark rum
1 cup shredded coconut
Pineapple and maraschino cherries for garnish

In a food processor, puree pineapple until smooth. Add cream cheese and butter to mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add rum and mix in until incorpated. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add pineapple, you may not need all of it, start with about 1/2 cup and add more as necessary. The frosting will be a little thinner than a normal buttercream, you can refrigerate to help it set up a little before frosting. I frosted these with a spatula rather than piping the frosting on. Top with shredded coconut and garnish with pineapple and maraschino cherry skewer if desired.

Invitations to Dessert: Cupcake Bar

For a recent event, Nikki from Doodle Dog and I teamed up to create a cupcake bar. For this summer party, we wanted some fun flavors and bright colors. Nikki designed some signs to put on the cupcake bar to identify the flavors and add a playful feel reminiscent of a 1950’s soda shop to the buffet.


What really elevates this cupcake bar to the next level are the special little touches of detail. Sure we could have just set out the cupcakes on plates and called it a day – but putting in the extra effort to add cute little coordinating signs and adding garnishes to the cupcakes makes it all special.

The signs were made on heavy smooth white paper. Carrying the same design theme from sign to sign really helped tie the entire cupcake bar and all of the flavors together perfectly. Nikki crafted the silver stands for next to nothing with some cheap finds and a can of paint from Michael’s. Each stand held one of the circle signs that coordinated with the matching cupcake flavor. All of the cupcakes were displayed nicely on some chargers that we also painted silver to match the rest of the bar.

The Flavors:

Pink Lemonade – a lemon cupcake with a delicious raspberry buttercream topped with a fresh raspberry. (See the recipe below)

Oreo Cookie Cupcake – a cookies and cream cupcake with half an Oreo on the bottom and more chunks of Oreo mixed in to the batter. Topped with classic cream cheese icing and garnished with another Oreo cookie.

Piña Colada – a coconut cupcake topped with a pineapple cream cheese icing and coconut flakes. These were garnished with a pineapple and maraschino cherry pick.

Check back soon for the remaining cupcake recipes and head on over to Nikki’s blog to see what she’s working on next.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Cake from Triple Lemon Cupcakes, Frosting adapted from SouthernLiving, March 2009

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cup muffin tin with liners. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Add sugar and lemon zest to mixing bowl or stand mixer and rub zest into sugar with your fingertips until well distributed and fragrant. Add the butter and cream cheese to the sugar and beat until light and creamy, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating about 1 minute after each egg. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk, once incorporated, add the next 1/3 of the flour mix, followed by remaining buttermilk, and remaining flour, beating each addition until just incorporated. Add lemon juice, beating until just incorporated on low speed.

Transfer batter to muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Cool about 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup fresh raspberries
½ tsp lemon extract
1 pound powdered sugar

Cream butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add in raspberries and lemon extract and beat until most of the chunks are gone. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Increase speed to medium and whip for about thirty seconds. Transfer to a piping bag and decorate as desired. Top with fresh raspberries if desired.

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

I made margarita cupcakes a few months ago and they were very popular but two things about the recipe left me a little bothered. One I don't usually bake from a cake mix, so while the cupcakes are good, I felt like I was cheating. The second problem is that if I'm going to order a margarita, its going to be strawberry or maybe mango. I like my margaritas a little fruity. So I searched for a strawberry margarita recipe and came up with a few choices. I decided on this one from The Picky Apple although I did make several changes. Namely I used a non-alcoholic margarita mix instead of limeade. Don't skip the glaze on the cupcakes, while its a little messy to put on, it really adds an extra kick of flavor and helps keep the cake nice and moist.

If you want to make these cupcakes completely non-alcoholic, replace the tequila in the cake with half lime juice and half margarita mix. For the glaze, use margarita mix in place of the tequila.


Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
Adapted from The Picky Apple

Cake:
3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 T lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
5 T strawberry preserves
1/3 cup tequila
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add margarita mix, lime juice, lime zest, strawberry preserves and tequila and mix on low speed to incorporate. (Mix may appear slightly curdled at this point but don't worry, it will come back together with the flour.) Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the milk, and repeat mixing after each addition until just incorporated, ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners and bake approximately 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool approximately 10 minutes and remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze:
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 T tequila
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Red food coloring

Add powdered sugar to a small bowl, whisk in margarita mix and tequila to make a thick liquid glaze. Add a few drops of red food coloring to desired color. Poke 4-5 holes in each cooled cupcake with a wooden skewer. Spoon glaze over cupcakes, about a tablespoon at a time, giving the glaze a chance to absorb before adding more. You don't want to saturate the cupcakes so you may have some extra glaze left over.

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4-6 cups powdered sugar
3 T margarita mix
2 T strawberry preserves
Red food coloring

Beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add margarita mix and strawberry preserves and beat until well incorporated. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until frosting is desired consistency. Add a few drops red food coloring to tint frosting to desired color. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes as desired. Top with sliced strawberries for garnish if desired.

Mudslide Cupcakes

I was brainstorming ideas for cupcakes for a couple's shower the other day and I thought it would be fun to make some boozy cupcakes. Since the couple is getting married in Las Vegas, the hostess chose to make The Hangover the theme of the shower. I wanted to do a chocolate cupcake and non-chocolate cupcake for some variety. Eventually I decided on chocolate Kahlua mudslide cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream frosting and Strawberry Margarita cupcakes. (Stay tuned, I'll post the recipe for those soon.)

I also wanted to decorate the cupcakes with something "Las Vegas-y" so I made some little cupcake toppers with fondant. I layered circles of black and red fondant and then made little white fondant dice squares - adding the numbers with a black edible marker. I baked the cupcakes in red foil liners and overall, I thought they turned out really cute.

Chocolate Kahlua Mudslide Cupcakes
Adapted from Worth the Whisk

3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup strong coffee, at room temperature
3/4 cup Kahlua

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes) with paper liners. (You may get a couple extras out of this - I did.)

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy with whisk attachment. Slowly add in sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Measure coffee, vanilla and Kahlua and stir together in measuring cup. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Add 1/2 the Kahlua mixture, mix until incorporated and repeat alternating flour and Kahlua, ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in egg whites.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake approximately 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool about 10 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 lbs powdered sugar

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth. Add Bailey's and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, mixing on low speed until frosting is the desired consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. I piped these with a large star tip.