American Flag (Dark Chocolate) Cupcakes

 A few weeks ago a teacher at school asked me to make some cupcakes for her son who was deploying to Afghanistan. Since he's a soldier, she asked me to do some American Flag cupcakes.

I had recently stumbled across a new recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes and decided to try it (my old chocolate recipe just wasn't cutting it anymore). Trust me when I say these cupcakes are YUMMY! They are super moist and really, really good. One word of caution though...only fill the batter halfway because these suckers rise quickly!

I then filled the cupcakes with homemade Hostess Marshmallow Creme. After all, what good is a cupcake without a yummy filling.

Chocolate Cupcakes (original post)

• 1 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder 
• 1/2 cup regular Cocoa Powder
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners
3. In your stand mixer sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder together. Add in the sugar and salt.
4. With your mixer on low speed add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla, water, vegetable oil and buttermilk.
5. Mix on medium for 2 minutes until combined.
6. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until set.
7. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

**I can get about 45 cupcakes from this because I only fill the batter halfway. Also, you can do 1 1/2 cups of the dark Cocoa Powder if you prefer them to be extra dark.**

Marshmallow Filling 

• 1 cup of marshmallow fluff
•  4 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping creme (or whole milk)

1. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Beat in confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until smooth.
3. Beat in the marshmallow creme.

Red Velvet Oreo Cupcakes

This post is soooo overdue! I actually made these and wrote this post at Christmas. I just never got around to putting the pictures with it. Hey, better late than never I guess.

Last week (which was actually over two months ago), I was looking for a tasty new cupcake recipe when I stumbled upon a great idea on Pinterest. It was a red velvet cupcake on top of an Oreo. Um, yes please! Anything that combines a cupcake with an Oreo has to be good.
After deciding on the cupcake, then I had to choose the frosting. Usually I will do a cream cheese frosting with red velvet cupcakes, but I was taking these to school for my fellow teachers and sometimes cream cheese frosting can get kind of runny.
I eventually chose to go with a recipe that I disastrously tried a few months ago. I found it online and it was horrible. However, the day before making the cupcakes, I saw it again on an episode of The Pioneer Woman and realized why it had been so awful before. I'll explain later in the post what I had done wrong and how to make it right.

Cupcakes (original recipe)

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons of red food coloring
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar
1 package of Double Stuffed Oreos

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
4. Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Place one Double Stuffed Oreo on the bottom of each cupcake liner.
6. Place a small scoop of batter on top of the Oreo. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.
7. Cool completely before frosting.

Best Frosting Ever

Ok, so here's the deal with the frosting. I found it online a few months ago and the headline was "Best Frosting Ever." I was a bit skeptical at first because of the ingredients (flour and regular sugar) but who am I to argue with the best frosting ever. So I gave it a shot and it was awful. Because it uses regular sugar, it was very grainy and not good at all.
Then, as I said earlier, I saw The Pioneer Woman do this frosting on one of her episodes and she gave some tips as to what makes it so good. LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of whipping!
The problem the first time I made it was I didn't whip it enough. This time around I did, and it was AWESOME!!

(click here for picture instructions)
5 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the flour and milk. Continue whisking until it gets very thick.
2. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
3. In a stand alone mixer, mix together butter and sugar. Set the mixer on high and then walk away. Seriously...do your laundry or wash some dishes or something but walk away and let it mix on high for a good 5 minutes.
4. When the flour and milk mixture has completely cooled, add the vanilla.
5. Add the flour and milk mixture to the butter and sugar. Once again, set the mixer on high and walk away. Just when you think it's mixed enough, mix it some more.
6. Once it looks like whipped cream (and is not grainy at all) you will have the perfect frosting!

Maple French Toast and Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

Yum, yum, and YUM!!!  For Kevin's family Thanksgiving, I was asked to bring cupcakes. As always, I was happy to oblige! I made two different kinds...maple french toast and caramel apple pie. For the maple french toast, I filled them with a Nutella and cream cheese filling. However, Kevin can't eat Nutella so I set aside 4 cupcakes without the filling for him. I must say, they ones without filling were WAY better. However, I'll include the filling recipe for those that may want to try it. The filling was good but it took away from the maple french toast flavor. I may try it again one day in a chocolate cupcake.

Maple French Toast Cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. Stir in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream.
5. Add the cinnamon and syrup. Beat together well.
6. Bake for 14-20 minutes.

Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2/3 cup nutella
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
2. Add the nutella and vanilla. Beat well.
3. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
4. Scoop out the center of the cupcake and add the filling.

Maple Buttercream Frosting

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the vanilla, salt, and syrup.
3. Add in the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time.
4. Beat until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat to cool.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Beat together eggs and sugar. Add flour mixture until incorporated.
5. Add in the milk mixture and vanilla. Beat until blended.
6. Bake 14-20 minutes. Cool completely. 

Apple Pie Filling

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 large Honey Crisp apples
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, sugars, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender and release their juices (about 10 minutes).
2. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water.
3. Add cornstarch mixture to apples and continue cooking until mixture thickens.
4. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package store-bought caramels (about 9 oz.)
• 1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz cream cheese, cold
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Melt the caramels in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. As they begin melting, add the heavy whipping cream. Continue stirring until all the caramels melt. Set aside to cool.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and cooled caramel. (Make sure caramel is completely cooled. Otherwise the frosting will be runny.)
4. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat until desired consistency is reached. 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

These cupcakes are AMAZING and the frosting is DIVINE!!  I made them for my 30 birthday party and they were a huge hit. I had to get the remaining cupcakes out of my house before I ate them all.

In addition to the ingredients below, you will need several Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I bought two packs of the snack size which include about 14 cups per package.

I dropped the PB cup in the bottom of the cupcake liner and then placed the batter on top.
Normally, this recipe makes 24 cupcakes but with the PB cup taking up half of the liner, it should make 40-45 cupcakes.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1¾ cups cake flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¾ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line 2 standard muffin tin pans with paper liners, set aside.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together until well combined, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Reduce to low-medium speed and add the eggs one-at-a-time, and beat until well combined after each addition, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat on low-medium speed until combined, scraping sides of bottom of bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, and mixing until just incorporated after each.
7. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake about 15-20 minutes depending on how your oven bakes.
9. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for a few minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tins and return to wire racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting 

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Add in the confectioners sugar.
3. Once the sugar is thoroughly mixed in, slowly add in the cream and vanilla.

Tiramisu-ish Cupcakes

I found this amazing recipe for Tiramisu cupcakes and I was dying to make them. But, I had a really hard time finding all the necessary ingredients. So, I took what I had and made my own simpler version of Tiramisu cupcakes. They are really more of a yellow cake with a Tiramisu marscapone frosting, but nevertheless I think they are really tasty.

Cupcakes (Makes about 18)

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons of coffee ( I actually just used some of my morning coffee that I had already made but you can substitute espresso for more of a coffee taste).

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream.
4. Add in the coffee.
6. Bake for 14-17 minutes.
7. Let them cool.
8. Add the frosting.
9. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

Frosting

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 8 oz. Tiramisu Marscapone cheese

1. Put whipping cream in a mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
2. Mix confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and cheese together in a separate bowl.
3. Add your sugar mixture into your bowl with the whipping cream. You can either fold the sugar mixture in or beat it with the mixture to get a fluffier frosting.

Ladybug Cake and Cupcakes

Cake 

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures along the way to show how I made Blakely's ladybug cake and cupcakes. So I took a few pictures of the tools I used and I'll try to be as descriptive as possible for those of you who may try this in the future.

For her cake, I used a sports ball pan that I bought at Michael's. I put chocolate cake batter in both sides. Be very careful not to fill it too much. At first, I put the batter about 3/4 of the way up the pan. But when it started rising, it began spilling over the sides so I took quite a bit of batter out.
After it finished baking, I let it cool for just a few minutes and then took the cake out of the pan so it wouldn't stick. It fell apart just a little but once it was covered in icing, it turned out alright. I wasn't quite sure what to do about the head of the ladybug and I didn't need both sides of the cake. So I took a small portion of one side of the ball cake and cut it into a half circle for the head. Then I used icing to stick it to the other half of the cake.
To frost the cake, I used a Wilton 2D star tip and began piping red and black icing all over. I placed the cake on a 10" round cardboard and then covered it with aluminum foil. To do the grass, I used the Wilton grass tip (#233) and just went to town with it. It was the first time I ever used that tip and it was really easy and really fun.

Decorations

For the cupcake and cake decorations, I used premade gum paste from Michael's and dyed it using icing colors. I have used fondant in the past and found the gum paste to be much easier to use. For one, it is a LOT cheaper to buy white gum paste and then dye it the colors I needed rather than buying pre-colored fondant. Also, I found that the gum paste was easier to dye and handle than fondant.

When dying the gum paste, I used latex gloves from K-Mart so my hands wouldn't get gross. After the gum paste was the correct colors, I used fondant cutters to get the shapes. For the flowers, I used a flower fondant cutter that came in 3 different sizes.
For the butterflies, I cut them and then gently folded the wings in so it would look like they were flying. Then, I set them on folded paper and let them dry. After a few hours, they became hard and the wings permanently stood up. To get the small dots on the butterflies, I used blue glitter gel and just dotted them.

For the small ladybugs, I rolled red and black gum paste into small balls and then stuck them together using a little black decorative gel. I then used the black gel to add the dots and stripe down the back.

My colors for decorations and frostings.

Gum paste will keep for a really long time so I made the decorations a week in advance. To keep the decorations fresh, put them in a sealed container and set them on the counter. To dry the decorations, leave them uncovered on the counter.  
Don't ever refrigerate or freeze gum paste!!

Cupcakes

I wanted several flavor options for the cupcakes so I used my strawberry cream cupcakes for the pink ones and my dark chocolate recipe for the green grass cupcakes. Both of those frostings were buttercream with pink and green dye. However, I tried a new recipe for the blue cupcakes.
My husband LOVES lemon cupcakes so I used my strawberry cupcake recipe but instead of adding strawberries, I added lemon zest from two fresh lemons and freshly squeezed lemon juice from one of the lemons. I made my buttercream frosting but added lemon juice from half a lemon and zest from a whole lemon. It tasted so fresh and light! They were absolutely delicious and I will definitely be trying them again.

I hope this was easy to understand. Happy baking!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Cupcakes and Pie

I found this great recipe on allrecipes.com. I changed it just a bit to fit my pie pan instead of a 9x13 pan. But everything else is the same. The pie was so delicious that I turned it into a cupcake. Yum Yum!!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll one can of crescent dough and use a rolling pin to flatten it out so it fits into the pie pan.
4. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture onto the dough.
5. Unroll the second can of dough and shape it using the rolling pin. 
6. Place the dough on top of the cream cheese mixture.
7. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Spread the mixture over the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting it.

 Sopapilla Cheesecake Cupcakes

Servings: Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Cheesecake Filling

• 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine cream cheese sugar and vanilla until well mixed.
2. Place in a small baking dish and back at 350° for 20 minutes.

Frosting

•  1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 10 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

1. Combine sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine confectioner's sugar and butter in a mixer until crumbly.
3. Slowly add heavy whipping cream, extract, and salt until it is creamy.
4. Mix in the sugar mixture.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

I saw this idea on Pinterest and just knew I had to do it. I made a vanilla cupcake and added cinnamon. Then made a whipped cream cheese frosting and added crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Yum!!
Enjoy!!!

Cupcakes (Makes about 18)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• **1 3/4 cups cake flour (see note)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

**Cake flour: I didn't have cake flour so I made my own. For every cup of all-purpose flour you use, take out 2 Tbs. and add 2 Tbs. of cornstarch. Transferring from one bowl to the next, sift the flour and cornstarch about 4 times until it is really fine.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla.
3. Using a spatula or fork, mix together well to break up any clumps created from the vanilla.
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the sugar and vanilla mixture and mix until well combined.
6. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed.
7. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
8. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
9. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined. 
10. Add in cinnamon.
11. Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.
12. Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. 

Frosting

•  1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• **1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
•  **2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• **1 1/2 cups crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

**The recipe I originally saw called for a lot less vanilla and sugar. It didn't taste all that great so I just kept adding vanilla and sugar until it tasted right. I'm not totally sure these are the right amounts but it's my best guess based on how much I think I added. I didn't measure out the cereal but I'm pretty sure it's around 1 1/2 cups. Really, it's all a matter of taste so you may prefer more or less of each of these ingredients.

1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. 
3. Mix in crushed cereal.

Baby Boy Cupcakes

A co-worker asked me last week to make cupcakes for a baby shower she was hosting. I was so excited because this was the first time I was making cupcakes for an event for someone other than myself.

I found the cutest little cookie cutter from Hobby Lobby and used brown fondant for the decorations. I thought they turned out really cute!!

Girl Scout Thin Mint Cupcakes

One word...Bombdiggity! That's what one of my students said when I made these cupcakes for his class this week. I'm going to agree. They're pretty good....pretty, darn good!

I used my normal dark chocolate cupcake recipe but added 10 crushed Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies to the batter. I frosted the cupcakes with mint cream cheese frosting and then crushed 8 more cookies and put them on top. Recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Mint Creme Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 1 box confectioner's sugar (3 1/2 cups)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 tsp. peppermint extract
• green food coloring (optional)

1. Beat together cream cheese and butter with paddle attachment until well blended.
2. Add vanilla and peppermint extracts.
3. Add confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until you like the sweetness.

Strawberry Cream Cupcakes

I wanted to make strawberry cupcakes for Lexie Kate's birthday and came across several recipes online. I combined them and then made some changes to make them fit exactly what I was looking for. These cupcakes are divine and although I'm usually not a strawberry fan, they might be one of my favorite cupcakes so far.


Cupcakes (Makes about 18)

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup frozen strawberries

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream.
4. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor.
5. Fold the strawberry mixture into the batter.
6. Bake for 14-20 minutes. (My oven cooks quickly so I do 14 minutes but adjust time according to your oven.)
7. Scoop the middle out of the cupcakes with a small spoon (I use a melon baller) and put in a small amount of strawberry mousse.
8. Pipe on the frosting with a piping bag and a 2M tip from Wilton.
9. Enjoy!!


Strawberry Mousse Filling

• 3-4 cups of frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine strawberries and sugar; cover and process until smooth.
2. Add in pudding mix.
3. Put mixture into a bowl and fold in Cool Whip.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 2-3 cups of confectioners sugar (I prefer my frosting not too sweet so I use 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• Pinch of salt

Directions
1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add vanilla and whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Add salt.  

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and Cookie Dough Cupcakes!

I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcakes on Pinterest the other day and just had to try it. I also wanted to experiment a little so I created a chocolate cupcake with whipped chocolate ganache filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum yum yum!!
Luckily I have 100 kids at school who love cupcakes so I can make a bunch and not worry about them lingering around my house.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling
I've posted the recipe for the chocolate cupcakes before but here it is again.
Makes 24 standard-size cupcakes

• 1¾ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¾ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line 2 standard muffin tin pans with paper liners, set aside.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together until well combined, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Reduce to low-medium speed and add the eggs one-at-a-time, and beat until well combined after each addition, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat on low-medium speed until combined, scraping sides of bottom of bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, and mixing until just incorporated after each.
7. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
9. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for a few minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tins and return to wire racks to cool completely.

**Dig a little out of the middle of the cupcakes and fill them with the whipped chocolate ganache.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

• 2 2/3 cups of milk chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla

1. Heat the whipping cream on the stove.
2. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
3. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until the chocolate is melted. Then add the salt and vanilla.
 Mix well.
4. Let it chill for at least 1 hour then mix with a beater until it makes a nice mousse.

Vanilla Buttercream

• 3 cups of confectioner's sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 4-5 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Beat the sugar and butter until it is crumbly.
2. Add heavy cream, salt, and vanilla until mixture is smooth.




Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (original blogger)

Cupcakes
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
**1/4-1/2 cup of milk

Frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar,
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cupcakes

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour. **I added milk because the filling was too sticky. The milk did a great job of making it creamier.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

Frosting

Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Enjoy!!

Cupcakes Galore

Tis the season for sweets, sweets, and more sweets! I've been baking like crazy lately and want to post all the great recipes I have found. First up.... cupcakes!! I'll post more wonderful recipes later.

Since last week was the last week of school before Christmas break, we had a little holiday party at school. I got this wild idea to make cupcakes for all my students....all 105 of them! However, I miscounted and accidentally made 140 cupcakes. Oh well, it was certainly fun trying new recipes and the kids loved the cupcakes. In fact, their exact words were "Man Mrs. Stidham, these cupcakes are off the chain!" I love my kids!!
I made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes filled with marshmallow peppermint cream and topped with cream cheese frosting. YUM!

Vanilla Cupcakes (Sprinkles recipe)

Servings: Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. 

Marshmallow Peppermint Cream Filling

• 1½ cups marshmallow cream
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon (start with a ¼ teaspoon first, taste, if you want a stronger mint taste add the extra) organic peppermint extract

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed beat together the marshmallow fluff and butter until smooth.
2. Add the peppermint extract and beat until combined.
3. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until slightly firm, 20-25 minutes, before using.
4. Scoop out the center of the cupcakes and use a piping bag to fill them with the cream.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes 

(gracessweetlife.com)

Makes 24 standard-size cupcakes

• 1¾ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¾ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line 2 standard muffin tin pans with paper liners, set aside.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together until well combined, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Reduce to low-medium speed and add the eggs one-at-a-time, and beat until well combined after each addition, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat on low-medium speed until combined, scraping sides of bottom of bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, and mixing until just incorporated after each.
7. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
9. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for a few minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tins and return to wire racks to cool completely.