Strawberry cheesecake forever......

I love cheesecake, but I'm always nervous about baking it. I've prepared a few cheesecakes, and almost all of them turned out great. Every once in a while I have a flop. For some reason their process just intimidates me! That's crazy, right? Why would a type of food be intimidating? Well...it just IS. You know what else is intimidating? Pie crust. Yup....I have a billion of those "no fail" pie crust recipes in my kitchen, but I'm afraid of them. My husband loves pie, but I am scared of the crust, so I don't make it...then he gets no pie. That makes him sad. What else scares me? FRYING. Yeah....hot oil scares the heebie jeebies out of me. Well, it's not that I'm afraid of the oil (unless it splatters and burns me) it's the actual frying part. I mean, if the oil is too hot, the outside burns, the inside is raw....if the oil is to cool, then the stuff doesn't cook right. I'm just not comfortable enough with myself to successfully fry something.

Okay....getting back to the point I initially started on....cheesecake. It's good, and intimidating....so how about we make a cupcake version instead? There are a few different cupcake-cheesecake recipes I'd like to try, but this one was the first. It wasn't tough..and really, the cheesecake part of it is the frosting, so actually, it was easy.

PLUS to take this baby over the top, I filled it with some strawberry-rhubarb jam. Mmmm....delish!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cheesecake Cupcakes
Inspired by Doughmesstic

For the cupcake:
3 c cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c sugar
5 eggs
1 1/4 c buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:
1 c unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, softened

4 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp water, if needed

For filling:

Strawberry-Rhubarb jam (I found this at my local farmers market, but if you can't find this, I'm sure that just Strawberry jam will work, too)

For the garnish:
Strawberries, halved

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake pans with liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Scrape your vanilla bean into your mixer, and cream seeds and butter together, for about 4 minutes, until light and creamy. Scrape down your bowl, and mix for another 2 minutes, or so. Slowly add sugar to butter, about 1/4 c at a time, scraping bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time to mixer bowl, making sure that they incorporate well. Once eggs are mixed in, add vanilla and beat for another minute, until everything looks incorporated. Set mixer to low, and begin alternately adding dry's and buttermilk into mixer bowl....starting and ending with the drys. Once mixed in, switch off mixer and mix with a spatula, to ensure all is blended in.

Grab your scooper, and scoop batter into your cupcake pans, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool in the pans for about 7 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling.

While they cool, make your frosting!

Combine butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in mixer, and beat with paddle attachment, until smooth, which for me was about 2 minutes. Making sure mixer is on low, add powdered sugar, about 1/4 c at a time. If frosting is too stiff, add a few drops of water.

To assemble these beauties, I cored them out, and filled them with the jam. If you don't have a corer, you can use one of the filling frosting tips, and squeeze some filling in center of each cupcake. If you are squeezing it in, squeeze until cupcake looks like it's cracking and going to explode. If coring, then just fill the hole. Once your cupcakes are filled, pipe your cheesecake frosting to cover hole, and garnish with a strawberry.

A Chocolate Sombrero

Shame on me....for real. I am sitting at my computer for the first time in about 2 and a half weeks. With the Holiday, and other random things happening, it's been difficult to dedicate 30 minutes to typing. Isn't that sad? 30 minutes doesn't sound like much time, until you realize how many other things you do all day, every day.

Anyhoo....I'm back and was COMPLETELY shocked to see that my page views increased by like 2000 views in the past couple weeks. That is freaking amazing!! I'm not one to pat myself on the back, but geez louise! Who would have thought that there were people out there actually looking at this blog? Thanks to you!!

**Funny enough, as soon as I typed the above couple of paragraphs my 1 yr old woke up from his nap.  So much for having 30 minutes at the computer! An hour later...I'm back, hoping to get a few lines in before the older kids get home from school. Eeeek!*

I had some family members visit during Labor Day weekend, and they are from Mexico. Since I received rave reviews from my Tres Leches cupcakes, I decided to set aside some time (lots of time) to prepare a batch of these. After I prepared them, I had left over Dulce de Leche frosting that I felt awful about wasting. Instead of breaking my heart and throwing away hours of work, I looked around for some type of cupcake I could make that would go well with it, and found an idea for a Mexican Chocolate cake. It wasn't too difficult, especially since the frosting was already prepared. They were a hit....even more so than I expected.

Have fun...and enjoy!!

Mexican Chocolate cupcakes

For the cupcake:
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c Dutch processed  cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c water

For frosting:
Dulce de Leche frosting recipe
(make sure you set aside some time to make this frosting because it will take you at least 2 1/2 hours to complete)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with cupcake papers.
Cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and cinnamon together, then set aside.. In a large liquid measuring cup, combine milk and water, and set aside.
Set your mixer to low, and add 1/3 of dry ingredients, followed by half of your liquid. Repeat this, ending with dry's. Mix for another 30 seconds, or until batter is thoroughly combined.
Scrape down your bowl, then scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched.

Prepare frosting, as link above indicates. Spread or pipe on cupcakes, then keep in a very cook place and serve immediately, or refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving. Frosting is very soft, so if it is warm outside, it will melt into a puddle if you're not careful.

Love your Peaches, Wanna shake your tree...

Finally - Peaches are available! I've been eye-balling this recipe forever. I love peach bellini, and when I saw a cupcake variation of one of my favorite drinks, I knew I HAD to do it. It was totally worth the wait. These cupcakes are probably in my top 5, they were so good. I'm never one to brag, but oh my goodness....they were tasty.

My biggest obstacle was locating some good champagne for these. I'm not a big wine or champagne drinker, so when I have no guidance on what kind to pick, I'm a bit lost. After staring at the shelves of bottles I decided on Barefoot Bubbly - Moscato Spumante.
I chose this one because I have discovered I really enjoy Moscato. It's nice and sweet, which I dig. Many wines are way to dry for my taste buds, but the Moscato is just right. Perhaps one day I'll learn how to drink wine, but for now, I'll stick with the sweet stuff.
Anyway, as I was saying, I didn't know what to buy, so I bought a bottle of the Barefoot.
It was perfect! This cupcake would be wonderful for a bridal shower, or even a wedding... 2 thumbs up!

Peach Bellini Cupcake
adapted from Sing for your Supper, and You'll get Breakfast

For the Cupcake:

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 egg whites
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 c champagne
1/4 c Peach Schnapps
1 fresh, not quite ripe, peach, peeled & diced

For the Frosting:

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 Tbsp water
1 tsp Peach Schnapps
1/4 c champagne
5 c confectioners' sugar
Wilton Golden Yellow icing color (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a glass measuring cup combine champagne and schnapps. Set this aside, too.
In your mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together for about 1 minute at medium speed. Add vanilla, and beat for 1 more minute. Scrape down your bowl, then begin adding egg whites one at a time, allowing each white to incorporate completely. Once all whites are added, batter will look fluffy, almost like marshmallow fluff. Scrape down your bowl again, then set speed to low. Slowly add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the champagne mixture. Repeat this, then add the last bit of flour mixture. Scrape down your bowl, then mix again at low speed for another 15 seconds, to ensure all is properly combined. Remove bowl from mixer, then stir in your diced peaches. I used a not quite ripe peach because I didn't want it to completely turn to mush in the baking process. The result was perfect peach pieces within the cupcake.

Once batter is ready to go, scoop enough batter to fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. The batter will rise nicely, so no need to over-fill the pans. Bake these for 15-17 minuges, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool cupcakes in pans for about 10 minute, then remove them to a wire rack to continue to cool. You should get about 28 cupcakes out of this batch.

While cupcakes continue to cool, prep your frosting. Cream butter, shortening, vanilla, schnapps, about 1/2 of your water, and a couple Tbsp champagne. (I started out with 1/4 c, but only used about 3 1/2 Tbsp in the end.)
Cream all these together, then slowly begin adding confectioners' sugar. If frosting is too stiff, add additional water or champagne, to taste. If you want, you can add some icing color. I added a bit of Golden Yellow, to give it a slight hint of orange/yellow...but not too much. I also wanted to make them sparkle, so I added a bit of yellow sugar.

Chocookie-Dough Surprise

My husband loves chocolate chip cookies. Seriously....LOVES them. When I make a batch, I can guarantee that 1/2 of them will be gone by the next morning.
I had seen a few different varieties of "chocolate chip cookie dough" cupcakes, but when I came across a variety which featured a chocolate cupcake, I had to give it a whirl. These were a hit....they were a bit messy, but delish!



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake
Inspired by RecipeGirl.com

For Cookie Dough Filling:
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp kosher salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c mini chocolate chips

For Cupcake:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c dutch-processed cocoa
2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c hot water
1 c vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

For Cookie Dough Frosting:
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
2 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 c packed light brown sugar
1 - 2 tsp water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To start out with, you want to prepare your cookie dough filling. In order to ensure that they don't bake into cookies within your cupcake, you'll want to make it, chill it, shape it, then freeze it. Here we go!

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In your mixer, beat butter and sugars together. Once combined, add milk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Remove bowl from mixer, then add flour mixer, and stir to combine. Once flour incorporated, stir in chocolate chips.
Pop this bowl into the fridge, and chill for about 20 minutes, until firm enough to scoop into little balls. Once dough has chilled, use a small scoop, or a teaspoon to make 2 dozen little cookie dough balls. I used a melon baller, which worked perfectly. Lay them on a parchment covered cookie sheet, and pop them in the freezer. Chill these for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly frozen.

While your cookie dough chills, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pan with paper liners. In your mixer bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds to combine. With mixer on low, add oil, water, eggs, and vanilla. Mix just until fully incorporated. Your batter will resemble liquid oreos!

You can prepare these a couple different ways. You can put the frozen dough ball in the cupcake liner first, then pour batter over top, or you can do the opposite. That's what I did. I filled my cupcake pans about 2/3 full, then shoved a frozen dough ball down into the batter. Once they were prepped, I popped them into the oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the outer edges of the cupcake were done, and the center was still soft. This way, I knew that my cookie dough wasn't completely baked into a cookie.

Allow these to cool in their pans for about 7 minutes, then remove to a wire rack, to cool completely. While these cool, prep your frosting.

In your mixer bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together. Add 1 tsp water and vanilla. When all is incorporated, begin slowly adding your confectioners sugar. If frosting is too stiff, add more water, a few drops at a time. I ended up using a little less than 2 tsp water. Once desired consistancy is met, pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes, making sure that you "hide" the cookie dough surprise. Sprinkle cupcakes with extra mini chocolate chips.

The London Calling

I'm addicted to the Olympics this year. I don't think I've ever been this into watching the games. I have probably gotten sucked into most of the events, minus Water Polo. What is that, anyway? A bunch of people beating each other up in a pool, while trying to get a ball in a net? I've tried to watch and understand, but I've given up.

Anyway, in celebration of the games I wanted to do something English-y themed. I cruised around the internet, looking for a fun play on a British inspired treat, but couldn't come up with anything. In the end I decided on this cupcake. It was yummy, and super easy to make! To dress up the cakes a bit, I ordered a cute British themed cupcake set from Sur La Table. Not only did I receive great reviews on the taste, everyone loved the themed decorations, too!

English Toffee Cupcakes
Inspired by Bake Me Something Good

For the cupcake::
2/3 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c brown sugar, lightly packed
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 c toffee bits (I used Heath baking bits)

For the frosting:
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c shortening
2-3 tsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp butter flavoring
4 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prep your cupcake trays with liners.
In your mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together, mixing for about 1-2 minutes. Add each egg, one at a time, making sure to incorporate very well. Add vanilla
In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk and white vinegar. Allow vinegar to sit for 1 minutes. Once minute passes, milk will start looking a bit curdled.
Turn your mixer to low, and begin alternately adding flour mixture and milk mixture to mixer bowl, starting and ending with flour. Once everything is combined, turn off mixer and remove bowl. Stir in toffee bits.
Grab your trusty scoop and fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched.
Allow cupcakes to cool for about 5 minutes in pans, then remove to wire racks.

While cupcakes cool, prepare your frosting.
Cream shortening and butter together, then add about 1 tsp water, and flavorings. (You can adjust flavors to your liking, this is just what I like to do) Once everything is combined, begin adding confectioners' sugar, about 1 cup at a time. If consistency is too thick, add more water.
Pipe or spread on cupcakes, then sprinkle with toffee bits, if desired.

I Like to "Lance"... Uh, Break it down...

On Aug 7th, 2011, at 7:11pm, my 3rd child was born. Who would have thought that my heart could fill with even more love for my family? AJ has brought so much joy to our already happy family, that when his birthday approached, I knew we had to do something special. First birthday's have become kind of a phenomenon. My sister went CRAZY with her daughter's first birthday, and it was incredible. It took her months to hand make all sorts of party favors and decorations - I was in awe, and a bit worried. I mean...how was I going to top that?!? Well, I quickly decided that I couldn't, so I'd keep it low-key. Besides, I have 3 kids, a husband, 2 cats, a job, and a blog to take care of!

Anyway, one of AJ's favorite things is Yo Gabba Gabba. If you've seen it only once, you probably think it's the most bizarre show ever created. If you've seen it multiple times, you probably love it and know 1/2 of the songs, along with all the character's names! That is where we are. AJ gets sucked into Gabba Land on a daily basis (I know - bad mom who lets her baby watch tv...eeek! Please reference earlier comment about having 3 kits....a husband...pets....you get the picture) Needless to say, we went with a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. I decided early on that his "smash" cake would be the boom box, and that we would serve cupcakes for the other guests. I was hanging out on Etsy and found this lady who sold mini DJ Lance glasses that you could put on cupcakes. I had to have them so we could have DJ Lance cupcakes! Before I knew it, we had DJ Lance cupcakes planned, but no flavor in mind! Panic - "How can we have over the top cupcakes to serve that are chocolate with orange frosting?" We mix the chocolate and orange flavors together and come up with Orange Chocolate Cupcakes...with Orange Buttercream. Yay!!

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream

For the cupcake:
1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water
1/4 c orange juice

For the Frosting:
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
2-3 tsp water
1-2 tsp pure orange extract (depending on intensity you desire)
4 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, which is about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, combining well. Add vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. In a medium measuring cup combine milk, water, and orange juice.
Turning your mixer on low, begin alternately adding flour mixture and liquids to your mixer bowl, beginning and ending with flour.
Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack.
While cupcakes cool, you can work on your frosting.
Combine butter, shortening, 1 tsp water, and 1 tsp extract in mixer bowl. Cream together at medium speed, for about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed and add sugar, about 1 cup at a time, until incorporated. If frosting is too thick, add more water, until desired consistency is met. If you want more orange flavor, add a few more drops of extract.
Pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes, then enjoy!!

Zoo-Key-Nee

Normally I have the cupcake of the week planned out by the time I go to the grocery store on Sunday. This week, that was not the case. By Wednesday morning, I had no clue what I was going to do. During the day I finally decided to put some of the zucchini that my aunt gave me to sweet use.
On Thursday I woke up and hit the kitchen. When my husband called during his lunch break I told him I'd made the cupcake of the week. He asked me what kind and I said "zucchini." He instantly proceeded to ask me "Why?" I said "Why not?" I could tell he was a bit weirded out by the idea, and reluctant to tell me that it sounded like a delicious idea. Boy, did his tune change when he took a bite!!
I think that zucchini's are underestimated. When I mention zucchini bread to people, many of them immediately think that it's going to be gross. When I say that I'm incorporating zucchini in dinner, I see weirded out faces all around. It's time for everyone to realize what a universally delicious ingredient this is! Not only can you  make a yummy breakfast loaf out of it, you can saute it up and serve it with your favorite protein, AND create a delish dessert out of it, too! I hope that this cupcake helped make people think twice about avoiding this yummy veggie.

Spiced Zucchini Cupcake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting:
Inspired by Heather Christo Cooks

For the cupcake:
1 c vegetable oil
2 1/4 c granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 c zucchini, shredded

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 c unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp water
2 tsp cinnamon
4 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and coat insides of cupcake pans with shortening, or a baking spray. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar. Mix for 2 minutes, or until nice and creamy. Add your eggs, one at a time, ensuring that they are properly blended in. Mix for another 2 minutes until it looks like pudding. While this is mixing, combine all of your dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Once the oil mixture is pudding-esque, reduce mixer to low and begin adding flour mixture slowly. Batter will begin to get very thick, but keep going. Once all of the flour has been added and combined in mixture, turn off mixer and remove bowl. Give batter a few stirs to make sure flour is incorporated. Add your zucchini and mix well.

Grab your trusty scoop and scoop batter into prepared baking pans, filling about 2/3 full. Bake these for 17-19 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Leave in pans to cool for only about 5 minutes, then carefully remove them from your pan. I served these right-side up, like a normal cupcake, but my husband thought they would be successfully served upside-down, too....like the picture. I think when I make them again, they will be upside-down. If you are serving in this manner, cool them upside down on the rack.

While these cool, toss your cream cheese and butter in a clean mixing bowl. Using whisk attachment, whip until nice and creamy, then add vanilla and about 1 tsp water. When combined, add cinnamon and  confectioners' sugar. Whip until light and fluffy. Add additional water until desired consistency is reached.

Spread or pipe onto cupcakes, and enjoy!

Lookie at my Cookie and Creme that reign Supreme

My husband and I went grocery shopping last weekend. While cruisin' down the aisles I noticed that the store was doing one of those "Buy 10 items off this list and everything is a few cents cheaper" deals. I'm a sucker for those, especially when the items aren't necessarily things I NEED just things that taste good. Well we had 9 qualifying items and needed just one more. Lucky for us, Oreos were on the list. What better item to finish our grocery trip up with, right?

I'm not exactly sure how we didn't eat them all that night, but we didn't. By the time Sunday rolled around I had no idea what this week's cupcake would be. I was at work, having a nervous breakdown about it when a coworker and I tossed a few ideas around. Cookies & Creme came up and instantly I knew that this was the cupcake. What a GREAT idea! The frosting was smooth and creamy, the cake moist and flavorful....then the surprise Oreo in the bottom took people over the TOP! I thought my coworkers were going to freak out when they found that in the bottom! These were a hit!


Cookies & Creme Cupcake
Inspired by Annie's Eats

For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, the creme filling side
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 c sugar
3 large eggs whites, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c whole milk
1-1/2 c chopped oreos

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream

For the garnish:
Oreo cookie pieces and crumbs



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with paper cups. Separate your Oreos and place the creme side in the bottom of the liner, with creme side up. Some will break, but THAT'S OK! Don't just eat them now....save them, because we'll be using them in a few minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Take your broken Oreo pieces and chop them up, and set aside.
In your mixer bowl, beat butter for about 1 minute, then begin adding sugar, about 1/3 c at a time. Beat at medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape down your bowl, then add egg whites, one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds after each addition. Add vanilla. Decrease your mixer to low and slowly add 1/3 of your flour mixture. Add half of your milk, followed by another 1/3 of flour, then the rest of your milk. Add the last 1/3 of flour and mix until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and take a spatula and give batter one last mix, to ensure everything is properly combined. Dump your cookie pieces on top of batter and fold them in, gently.

Scoop batter ontop of cookie halves, and fill 3/4 full. Bake these for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 7 minutes in pan, then finish cooling on wire rack. While these cool, prep your frosting!

Place cream cheese and butter in mixer and begin to beat at medium speed. Scrape down bowl, add vanilla, then beat at medium speed again, until creamy. Reduce mixer speed to low and start adding confectioners' sugar, about 1/2 c at a time. Increase mixer to medium and beat for 1 minute, then add cream. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip for about 4 minutes to get frosting really light and fluffy. Spread or pipe over cooled cupcakes, then garnish with Oreo pieces and crumbs.

Grab your tall glass of milk and take a bite! Yum!!

Cherry Poppin' Cupcakes

This week was my birthday (Happy birthday to me!) I turned 30…eeek! Actually, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. I don’t feel 30 so I’m not having a mid-life crisis or anything. Anyway, since this was my birthday cupcake, I decided to bake with one of my favorite flavors: Cherry! I love cherry flavored anything, really. Cherry coke, cherry limeade, cherry slushies, cherry pie…I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ve really been looking forward to this cupcake, and it was definitely worth the wait. Last time I made a cherry-ish cupcake I was unhappy with the lack of cherry flavor in the frosting, which made me a little nervous about this one. Surprisingly, this one turned out much better than my last cherry cupcake (Cherry Limeade) I don’t know why, so I guess I’ll have to go back and assess my previous recipe. Perhaps the cherry flavor was boosted by the actual cherry pieces in the cupcake, this time? Either way, they were delish. They were light and flavorful, and I think someone even described them as “dreamy”

That, my friends, is a compliment that I will TAKE!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!!

Cherry Chip Cupcakes

adapted from The Nonpareil Baker

For cupcakes:

2 c + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ c milk

½ c maraschino cherry juice

2 tsp almond extract

½ c unsalted butter

1 ¼ c granulated sugar

10 oz maraschino cherries, finely chopped

4 egg whites

For frosting:

¾ c unsalted butter

3 ½ c confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp salt

2-3 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice

Preheat oven to 340 degrees and prep your cupcake trays with liners.

Put egg whites in mixer bowl and beat at medium speed until foamy (about a minute) then increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form (about 3-4 minutes.) Pour your egg-cloud into a clean bowl, and set aside. Wash out your bowl.

Dump your cherries into a mini chopper, if you have one. If you don’t, I’d suggest using a food processor, rather than manually chopping these into little bits. Give them a few pulses and you’ll chop your cherries into nice itty-bitty pieces. If you have to do it manually, I'm sorry. Set these aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, and baking powder. In large liquid measuring cup, combine your milk, cherry juice, and almond extract. Set aside.

Put your butter in your mixer bowl and beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Scrape the bowl down, then set to medium speed and begin adding your sugar, about ¼ c at a time. Beat for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Decrease mixer to low and slowly alternate adding your flour mixture and your liquid mixture, starting and ending with flour. Mix this only until thoroughly combined. Remove bowl from mixer, and scrape the bowl down.

Sprinkle your 2 Tbsp of flour over cherries, and mix until flour disappears. Stir cherries into batter. Grab your egg white cloud and plop in onto your batter. Your batter will be really thick, so CAREFULLY fold your cloud into the batter. I say carefully because if you over mix, your cloud will deflate, thus leaving your batter looking puny. If you’ve done it correctly, your batter will have grown. Growing is good!

Grab your trusty scooper and scoop batter about 2/3 full into your cups. Bake these for 20 minutes, or until they bounce back when the tops are touched. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5-7 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

While these cool, prep your frosting. Put butter, 2 Tbsp juice, and extract in mixer and beat until smooth. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, about ¼ c at a time. Beat until smooth. Add more juice until frosting reaches your desired consistency, which for me resulted in a total of 3 Tbsp cherry juice.

Pipe or spread on your cupcakes, then garnish with a cherry.

Enjoy!!

Who spilled Chocolate all over my Peanut Butter?

Happy 4th of July....and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING HUSBAND!

How cool is it to have your birthday on a National holiday? Seriously, you can always tell yourself that the entire country is celebrating YOU! I guess, when my husband was a kid he always thought that everyone was shooting off fireworks for him. Surprise surprise, when he was old enough to know better he realized that the 4th of July was Independence Day. Whoops. Until this year he has never EVER missed 4th of July fireworks. Sadly, this year much of our state is under a firework ban due to the crazy dry weather. There are a couple of towns still shooting some off, but they're pretty far away. Besides, it's crazy hot outside and we are not big fans of taking our 11 month old baby outside in the blazing heat unless absolutely necessary. In hopes of cheering him up, and making up for the lack of fireworks, I chose to make him cupcakes (and a cake) that resembled his favorite candy in the world: Reese Cups. Oh yeah! You know this is going to be good when peanut butter and chocolate are involved. I can tell you over & over again that these taste exactly like Reese cups, but until you try them, you won't really grasp the reality of the statement. The frosting for these babies is so rich and creamy you kinda want to just melt after the first bite. To give these an extra kick, I stuck a mini Reese cup inside some of the cupcakes. *sigh* It was like eating a piece of chocolaty heaven. Did we see fireworks outside? Sadly, no. Did our mouths explode from the deliciousness? Oh yeah!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake
Inspired by Good Heavens Baking

For the Cupcake:
2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c dutch processed cocoa (Valrhona for me!)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 c vegetable oil
1 c sour cream
1 1/2 c water
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Mini Reese Cups (optional)

For the Frosting:
10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
5 c confectioners' sugar
2/3 c smooth peanut butter

For the ganache:
4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 c half-and-half

For garnish (optional):
Mini Reese cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake trays with liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until well blended. Attach to mixer, then mix oil and sour cream in, using paddle attachment. Beat in water at low speed, followed by vinegar and vanilla. Lastly, add eggs, one at a time, until they are completely incorporated.

Grab your trusty scoop and fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. If desired, unwrap your Reese cups and push one in each cupcake, right-side up. Pop trays into oven and bake 17-19 minutes, or until tops pop back up when lightly pressed. These are going to be very soft, so let them sit in your cupcake pans for about 10 minutes before tipping them out, onto your cooling racks. If you try to pull them out, you might smoosh them.

While these cool, prep your frosting. Toss your butter and cream cheese into mixer bowl and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down your bowl, then beat for one more minute until it is nice and creamy. Slowly add confectioners' sugar, about 1 c at a time. Beat this for about 3 minutes, until beautifully light and fluffy. Last, add your peanut butter, mixing for another minute. The color will seem very light, and you might not think that it is peanut buttery enough. Trust me, it is. You don't want to go overboard, or these cupcake will be even more intense than they already are. Go ahead and pipe frosting onto cupcakes, once they are COMPLETELY cool.

For the ganache, put your chopped chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup into a double boiler (or a glass bowl, over a saucepan, as I did) Whisk constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in half-and-half. Working quickly, pool ganache over frosting. It should be nice smooth, so it will drip down the side of your frosting, making them look BEAUTIFUL. If desired, garnish these with unwrapped mini Reese Cups.

Grab yourself a tall glass of milk (trust me) and take a bite. You will never regret trying this recipe. I know I won't!

Confessions of a Hazelnut Mocha-holic...

Up until June 27, 2012 I had never had Nutella. Yeah...I KNOW! I had no idea what I was missing. I knew I liked hazelnut, but didn't realize how delish this Nutella stuff would actually be! I came across a frosting recipe that used Nutella in it, so decided that I should put together a cupcake that also incorporated Nutella, to add some hazelnutty-ness. The result was wonderful. My husband confessed that this cupcake was probably his favorite so far....as did many of my tasters.

This recipe is a keeper!!

Hazelnut Mocha Cupcake

For the cupcake: 

2 c all purpose flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c dutch processed cocoa (I used Valrhona)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 8oz. cup coffee (I combined 2 packets Starbucks VIA 'House Blend' with 8oz hot water)

1 c whole milk, room temperature

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/2 c Nutella

1 Tbsp Mexican vanilla

For the frosting:

1 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c Nutella

5 c confectioners sugar

1 Starbucks Via packet, dissolved in 1 1/2 tsp water

1-2 tsp water

For the garnish (optional):

Ferrero Rocher chocolates

Prepare your cup of coffee and set aside to cool. While that sits, place your butter and Nutella in a small saucepan. Set heat to low and melt these together until almost smooth. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.

Preheat your oven and prepare your cupcake pans. 

In a large bowl, combine your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together your milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add cooled coffee.

Make a well in your dry ingredients, and pour your coffee mixture in it. Use a spatula and begin stirring coffee mixture into your dry's. While stirring, add melted butter mixture. Mix together until batter is thin and resembles liquid oreos! 

Using your scoop, carefully fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake these for about 17 minutes, or until they bounce back when you touch the tops. Cool in their pans for 5 minutes, them remove to cooling rack and cool completely.

While those cool, prep your frosting. Put butter and Nutella in mixer and mix at medium speed. Do so for 1 minute, scrape down your bowl, and mix for another 1-2 minutes, until completely smooth. Add your coffee/water combination and mix at medium speed for 30 seconds, then reduce speed and start SLOWLY adding confectioners' sugar to bowl. Mix in completely, adding more water until frosting is your desired consistency. (I added about 1 1/2 tsp plain water)

Spread or pipe onto your cupcakes, then garnish with candies, if desired. Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue, that makes you Merengue

One of my favorite flavors of pie is Lemon Meringue. I always associate it with my late grandfather, Solomon. His birthday was on January 1st, so every year, on his birthday, the family would get together and my aunt would make a couple of lemon meringue pies because it was his favorite, too. I've made a few lemon meringue pies in the past, but don't necessarily LOVE baking them. They are very time consuming, one dirties lots of dishes, and if not timed out perfectly, something will go wrong. With a house full of kids, I can't always dedicate 100% of my attention on something in the kitchen because the next thing I know, someone is fighting or crying over something and I have to go break it up! Anyway, this past weekend my family got together for a Father's Day thing and my aunt brought a lemon meringue pie! Talk about flash back. Since there was only 1 pie and lots of people, I didn't have an entire piece, I just swiped a few bites from my Abuela's plate. Needless to say, it was delicious, and it inspired this week's cupcake. This one's for you, Buelo!!

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
4 eggs yolks
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c milk
1/4 c purchased lemon curd
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
For the garnish/meringue:
4 egg whites
3-4 Tbsp purchased lemon curd
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 c granulated sugar
powdered sugar
Separate eggs. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Prep your cupcake pans with liners. You'll get about 15 out of this recipe. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk and 1/4 c lemon curd. Whisk until almost smooth. (You'll still have a few lumps of curd in there!)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds, then add granulated sugar. Beat for about 1 minute at med-high speed, then reduce to medium and add yolks and vanilla. Beat to combine, then scrape down your bowl. Alternately add your flour mixture and your milk mixtures, starting & finishing with the flour. Beat at low until just combined. Remove from mixer and mix through a couple of times with spatula.
Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tray, filling about 2/3 full. Batter is pretty thick, so use an offset spatula to smooth out tops. Pop into oven and bake 15-17 minutes until just beginning to turn golden, and they spring back when you touch the tops.
While those bake, scoop about 3-4 Tbsp lemon curd into a pastry bag, snip the tip, and set aside. Wash out your mixer bowl REALLY well, then whip egg whites and cream of tartar together at medium speed, until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar, about 1 Tbsp at a time. Whip until stiff peaks form. You can put meringue into a parchment bag, or you can just dollop onto cupcake, your choice!
When cupcakes come out of oven, place them on a cooling rack, then pipe a small pile of curd onto each cupcake. I stuck the tip of the bag into the cupcake to get a little bit inside the cake. Once you do that, either dollop your meringue on top, or pipe it on top of the curd pile. Place the cupcakes back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until meringue begins to brown on top. Remove from oven, an cool on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool for another 35-40 minutes. You can enjoy these now, or pop them into the fridge and chill until serving!

Blue Suede... Cupcake!

We took a vacation the 2nd week of June and got home the morning of Father's Day. Needless to say, I wasn't really in the mood to bake anything that day, as I was completely exhausted! Lucky for me, the kids were understanding and didn't insist that we bake a Father's day treat for dad until Tuesday. When I asked them what they wanted to make, my daughter said we needed to make something blue, since dad is a boy. I suggested this recipe, and she jumped on board instantly. She is a big Red Velvet fan, so anything with the word 'velvet' catches her attention. Plus, I'd never made this recipe before, so I was able to experiment with with something new.

Blue Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

For the cupcakes:
2 c granulated sugar
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp liquid blue food coloring
1 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa (I used Valrhona, available at Sur La Table
2 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 c buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp white vinegar

For the frosting:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp water
2 lbs powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans.
In a medium bowl, combine your flour and salt. Set aside. In your mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add your eggs, one at a time, incorporating very well. IN a small bowl, combine cocoa with food coloring, creating a paste, then add it to your mixer. Scrape down your bowl. With mixer on low speed, slowly begin alternately adding your flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.Remove bowl from mixer and give it a few stirs, to make sure flour is completely mixed in. Combine soda and vinegar in a small bowl to create a foam, then stir into batter.

Using  your trusty scoop, scoop batter into prepared cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

For your icing, combine vanilla, cream cheese, and 2 Tbsp water.  Beat for about 1 minute, then slowly  begin adding powdered sugar. Beat to incorporate, adding water if necessary to reach your desired consistency. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes, then enjoy!

The Kaskake

A while back I baked a cupcake in honor of my friend Mike's birthday. He drove into town for his birthday, and as much as I wanted to go out and have a drink in honor of his birthday, I couldn't. I have 3 kids at home and going out is pretty much unheard of anymore. To make up for the lack of night life, I put together this cupcake, adapted from 1 Fine Cookie. Not only was there beer in the cupcake and frosting, I sprinkled BACON on top. Hello, man's best friend!

( I know I posted a pic of this a few months ago, but I saved it as a cupcake of the week post for a week that I would be on vacation, that way, I wouldn't miss one! )

Without further adieu...




The Kaskake
adapted from 1 Fine Cookie

For the cupcake:

1 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 16oz can/bottle of beer - I used Stella Artois

For the frosting:
1 c unsalted butter
5 c confectioners sugar
4-6 Tbsp of same beer used in cupcake

For the garnish:
Crispy bacon, diced

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prep your cupcake trays with liners.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In your mixer, cream brown sugar and butter together. Add your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once well blended, begin alternating the addition of your drys and your beer, starting and ending with the drys. Mix on low until just combined, then remove from mixer.

Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake 12-15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool these for 10 minutes in the trays, then remove to wire rack. While they cool completely, prepare your frosting.

Beat butter, and 3 Tbsp beer, until creamy. Add powdered sugar to bowl. Beat until smooth, adding more beer, if needed to reach your desired consistency. Once cupcakes are completely cool, spread, or pipe onto your cupcakes. I didn't want to over-do it with the frosting, so I used a tip to pipe thin lines of frosting over cupcakes, making them look like spaghetti. Once they were frosted to my liking, I sprinkled bacon over top.

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Grass-Hoppin'

Going into the week I was unsure what I wanted to make. I knew I wanted something light, due to the ridiculous heat we have had lately. I remembered that my mother-in-law makes a yummy grasshopper cake for summer gatherings, so I thought - Why not??? The result was light and refreshing. Even though the cake is chocolate, the whipped topping balances it out wonderfully so one could easily eat 2 or 3 of these and not feel overwhelmed. Hope you agree!

Grasshopper Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 c milk
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c sugar
3 tbsp creme de menthe
1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp creme de menthe

In a small saucepan, combine milk and chopped chocolate. Cook and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

Prep cupcake trays and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In your mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds, then gradually add sugar, about 1/4 c at a time, until creamy. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Drop mixer speed to low and add eggs, one at a time. Beat in creme de menthe and vanilla. With mixer still on low, alternately add drys and chocolate milk mixture, ending with dry's. Once combined, mix for another 20 seconds, then turn off mixer.

Batter will be thin, so carefully scoop it into your cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 17 minutes, or until cake bounces back when lightly touched. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire racks.

While cupcakes cool, prep your frosting. In a 1-cup  measuring cup, add 1 tsp of gelatin to 2 tbsp cold water. Let stand for 2 minutes, meanwhile, bring about 3 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Place measuring cup into boiling water, and stir until gelatin mixture dissolves completely. Remove from heat.

In your mixer bowl, combine whipping cream, 1/4 c sugar, and creme de menthe and begin to whip with whisk attachment. Slowly drizzle warm gelatin over whipped cream, while beating constantly. Continue to beat until stif peaks form.

Spread or dollop on top of cupcakes. Garnish with a Hershey Kiss, if desired. Enjoy!!