Choc full of pumpkin loooooove

I live in a little town, not far from where I grew up - in another little town. I actually attended Elementary school in the school that my kids currently attend. It's funny, because I always swore that once I could get out of here, I would. Interestingly enough, I've ended up back where I started. Granted, I'd move to Seattle at the drop of a hat, if I could, but currently I can't. Fingers crossed, I'll be able to go sooner than later.

Anyway, every year the local fire department sponsors a chili supper so they can raise money for the department, and the EMT's. I was asked if I would be willing to donate baked goods for the bake sale, and of course, I did! Since I wasn't over my pumpkin love yet, I wanted to make something pumpkiny, yet unique. These Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes seemed like the way to go. Not only was I satisfying my pumpkin craving, I was also making something kinda off the wall. I wouldn't have thought these flavors would have melted together as well as they did, until I tasted one. Big thumbs up over here!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

pired by Phemomenon.com

For the cupcakes:

2 c all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 1/4 c dark brown sugar

2/3 c granulated sugar

3/4 c canola oil

3 large egs

1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c sour cream

For Salted Caramel Sauce

3/4 c granulated sugar

2 tsp light corn sugar

1 stick salted butter, cubed

2 Tbsp heavy cream

1/4 tsp sea salt

For the Cream Cheese Buttercream

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsatled butter, softened

6 c confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

For the ganache

4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 c heavy cream

2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans with liners. Combine all your dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until blended, and set aside.

In your mixer bowl, beat together oil and sugars until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and blend for about 2 minutes until smooth. Add pumpkin, vanilla, then sour cream to bowl. Mix for about 1 minute, scraping bowl down as necessary. Turn mixer down to low, and slowly add dry ingredients.

Scoop batter into cupcake pans and bake for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 7 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

For your carmel sauce, place sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Set heat to medium low and melt sugar crystals. You don't want to stir this, directly. If you need to shift the sugar a bit, simply swirl your pan around a few times. After about 5 minutes or so, grab a spatula and stir the contents gently, to make sure everything is melting, and nothing is burning. Once all the sugar is melted, add cream and watch it bubble! Stir the cream, then add the butter pieces and salt. Continue stirring until it thickens. Make sure that as soon as it begins to thicken up, remove from heat! It took me twice to do this right. The first time, I totally burnt my caramel. How did I know? It got REALLY dark REALLY fast, and when it was cool enough for me to taste, it tasted awful. My 2nd go at it was delish. Here are a few pics of my carmel making process (the 2nd time around) Allow this to cool completely before you prepare your frosting with it.

Sugar melting

Butter & Salt Added

Beginning to go Amber

Perfect!!

For your frosting whip together cream cheese and butter. Add your vanilla, and half of your sugar. Continue adding your sugar, until it's a nice consistency (about 5 1/2 c sugar for me!) Increase mixer speed to medium and pour carmel sauce into bowl, along inside of mixer bowl. Once desired amount of sauce is in, increase mixer speed to medium high and mix for another minute or so, until it's nice and smooth. Once frosting is complete, remove from mixer and chill in the fridge. This will make it a lot easier to pipe or spread on cupcakes. Fill piping bag (if using) with frosting and pipe your cakes.

Last, but not least, the ganache! Put all the ganache ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 30 seconds, or until warm to the touch (not HOT....waaaarm!) Remove from micro and whisk together until sugar is completely dissolved. Place in the refrigerator and chill for about 20-25 minutes, until cool. Not COLD....cooooool! Once ganache is cooled, spoon over our frosted cupcakes.

You may want these to set for a few seconds before you dig in, to allow ganache to set up....then again, maybe not. Enjoy!

Livin' la vida Mocha

I think I've mentioned that I'm addicted to Pinterest (look me up! I pin my cupcakes) Anyway, One of the very first cupcakes I pinned was a Peppermint Mocha one. I love Peppermint Mocha's from Starbucks, and I await their arrival every winter. When I saw a cupcake variety, I knew I HAD to try them. Well, over the course of the past few months I've basically been taking ideas from other cupcakers and then putting my spin on them. Christmas time finally arrived, which granted me permission to bake the Peppermint Mocha cupcakes. Instead of adapting someone else's cupcake, I adapted my own! Yeah....I went back to my mochaccino cupcake and I added some peppermint extract, to give is a minty kick. This cake was then topped with a whipped buttercream frosting, flavored with peppemint. The result - a DELISH rendition of one of my favorite coffee beverages. I used a medium blend of coffee in the cupcake, which helped decrease the coffee's intensity, making it more kid friendly. My kids LOVED them, and my daughter has requested this cupcake to be the one that we take into school for her Christmas party. She makes me proud that I'm baking cupcakes. Call me cheesey, but I adore the pride on her face when she talkes about my cupcake creations.

Anyway, bake these - take them to your holiday party. Become everyone's hero.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream

For the cupcake:
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 c dutch processed cocoa (I used Valrhona, purchased at Sur La Table)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c whole milk
1/3 c medium-blend brewed coffee, cooled
2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp peppermint extract
3 oz mini semisweet chocolate chips


For the frosting:
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3 tsp peppermint extract
3 Tbsp water
4 c confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp whipping cream

For the ganache:
2 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c heavy cream
1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar


Prepare your cupcake pans by lining them with cupcake papers. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. In a large measuring cup combine milk and coffee.

In your mixing bowl beat butter at high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 c at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Scrape down your bowl and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Decrease your mixer speed to low and add your eggs, one at a time. Beat in extracts. Scrape down your bowl, then set at low speed. Slowly alternate addition of flour mixture and coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture. Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in chocolate chips. Scoop into prepared cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Cool cupcakes for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

While cupcakes cool, prepare your frosting. Cream butter, shortening, extract, and about 2 Tbsp water together in mixer bowl. Slowly add confectioners' sugar. If needed, add more water, until you are almost to perfect consistency for piping and spreading. Add whipping cream to mixer and increase speed to medium. Beat frosting until light cloudy. Pipe or spread on cupcakes.

For the ganache, place all ingredients in microwave safe glass bowl and heat on medium heat for 30 seconds, until warm. NOT hot...warm. Remove from  micro, then whisk all ingredients together. Once everything is combined and smooth, place in fridge. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes, then remove and drizzle over cupcakes. Garnish with peppermint pieces, or candies, if desired.

The Noggin' Toboggan

I like eggnog. There's something about the milkshaky nutmegy cinnamony beverage that appeals to me during the Christmas holiday. I'm not a milk person, by ANY means, but I am enjoying being able to grab a glass of eggnog at any moment during the day. A month or so, ago I came across a recipe for eggnog french toast, which I just HAD to try (thank you Pinterest!) It was delish. Ever since, the 'nog has been readily available in the fridge.

**So funny - As I type this, my 6 yr old son is requesting a glass of eggnog. Classic!

Anyway, the french toast was delish (kid approved.) Once that was established, I knew that the next experiment would be to incorporate it into a cupcake. I'd seen a few different recipes online for eggnog cupcakes, but many of them started with a cake mix base. Don't get me wrong, I have a couple of these recipes, but not for cupcakes. Since this cupcake thing is my THING I want to be as "from scratch" as possible. This cupcake was YUMMY! The cake itself was borderline muffin consistency (I thought) but yet super moist....then once it was filled, it took the eggnog flavor over the top. I am definitely going to make these again before the holidays are over!

Eggnog Cupcakes

For the cupcake:

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

3 eggs

1 c eggnog

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp rum extract

2 1/4 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

For the filling:

1 3oz box french vanilla pudding

2 c cold milk

2-3 tsp rum extract, to taste

For the frosting:

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

1/2 c butter, softened

2 tsp rum extract

1 1/2 Tbsp eggnog

5 c confectioners' sugar

Nutmeg - for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prep your cupcake pans. Put butter and sugar in mixer bowl, and mix at medium speed until combined, which was about 3 minutes for me. While this is mixing, combine your dry ingredients in a medium bowl, and set aside. (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg) Combine your eggnog and extracts in a large measuring cup, and set aside. 

Once butter and sugar are well combined, add your eggs, one at a time. Scrape down your  mixer bowl, then set to low speed and alternate adding dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry's. Mix until completely incorporated. Remove from mixer, and scoop into cupcake liners. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched.

While cupcakes bake, prepare your pudding, as directed. Add 2-3 tsp rum extract, to taste. Pop into the fridge, while you wait for cupcakes to bake and cool. Once cupcakes are fully cooled, core them, then pipe custard into center.

For your frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in mixer. Mix at medium speed, until incorporated, then add extracts and eggnog. Slowly add confectioners' sugar, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Mix until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes, then sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired.