Category Archives: Cupcakes

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

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This recipe isn’t a new one for me. I’ve made it as my sister’s birthday cake here and here. This time, though, there needed to be a cupcake version. One of my favorite co-workers recently celebrated a birthday and I needed a more portable version to take out.  She, like my sister, is also a serious lemon lover and I knew these would be perfect for her. Indeed, she loved them.

I’ve discovered the key to a tasty lemon dessert is, not at all surprisingly, the use of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. There is no substitute. Bottled lemon juice just doesn’t deliver the same bold punch.

If you’re looking to turn your favorite cake batter into cupcakes, it usually works. You just need to adjust the baking time to 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

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And to pack an even bigger lemon explosion, I filled the cupcakes with homemade lemon curd…

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Cut out a cone in the top of the cupcakes with a paring knife

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Place a spoonful of lemon curd in the hollowed out portion of the cupcake

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Top with the reserved cone-shaped piece of cake and frost as desired

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Chelsea’s Bridal Shower

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(photo courtesy of Joanne)

Last weekend I helped throw a bridal shower for one of my very dearest friends, Chelsea. Chelsea and I met while in grad school and became very close on our carpools to and from class. She is one of the hardest working, most beautiful people I know and I am so honored to be part of her upcoming wedding in Maui this July.

Because the wedding will be in Hawaii and because Chelsea adores brunch, her sister (Lela) and I came up with a Hawaiian brunch theme. We threw the shower at the clubhouse where Chelsea lives and we had about 20 guests attend on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon.

The menu included:

  • Mini Crab and Asiago quiche
  • Mini Asparagus and Gruyere quiche
  • Bacon
  • Herbed Breakfast Potatoes
  • Assorted breads from Great Harvest
  • Tropical Fruit Salad
  • Mini Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
  • Hawaiian Sunrise Granola
  • Passion Fruit Cream Puffs
  • Pineapple Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
  • The Chelsea Cocktail (sparkling wine, Chambord, pineapple juice, mango passion fruit juice)
  • Coffee, tea, and juice

Favors: Macadamia Nut Shortbread, Pineapple Strawberry Jame

The spread (photo courtesy of Joanne)

I made menu cards to go with cardstock and Martha Stewart stickers (photo courtesy of Joanne).

Linda’s beautiful fruit salad (photo courtesy of Joanne).

I borrowed mini parfait glasses from my friend, Jess, for the yogurt. I love the look of individual servings with these cute cups (photo courtesy of Joanne).

Aunt Khaki gave me the idea of using freeze-dried passion fruit powder to add a Hawaiian punch to the cream puffs . This was probably my favorite menu item (photo courtesy of Joanne).

Robert helped me make a homemade cupcake tower (idea from Annie’s Eats). The orange royal icing flowers were from my friend Jess’s previous cake endeavor and made a great cupcake garnish (photo courtesy of Joanne).

The gorgeous bride-to-be and her namesake cocktail. Seriously, she is supermodel beautiful.

Favors include macadamia nut shortbread and homemade pineapple-strawberry jam (photos courtesy of Joanne).

Joanne made this pretty floral centerpiece- it looked just like a real cake!

Game leader and sister extraordinaire, Lela.

(photo courtesy of Joanne)

Colin (son of Chelsea’s coworker) is the cutest, most well-mannered three year old I have ever met. What a charmer! How could you say no to that face?

Congratulations, Chelsea! We love you. You will be a stunning Hawaiian bride (photo courtesy of Joanne).

Yellow Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

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Baking makes me so happy. I sometimes daydream of what it would be like if I could throw caution to the wind, travel the world, learn how to bake from the most talented bakers on the planet, and turn baking into a career. But then I drift back to reality and make peace with the fact that I am where I am supposed to be.

Hobbies are hobbies because they are a mental vacation from the everyday stress of life. I heard a segment on NPR a few months ago about people who turned their favorite pastimes into a career. Unfortunately, the theme of the story seemed to be that when a hobby turns into work, it…well… becomes work. The enjoyment of it often lessens. I would be so sad if I could not longer take comfort in the fact that, even after the most draining days, my battle-tested Kitchen Aid is always waiting for me on our kitchen counter, with no consequences or strings attached.

When I bake, things don’t always turn out as I’d hoped or imagined. But the satisfaction from creating something from scratch with my own hands is worth every second of time I spend. I bake for myself, I bake to show my love for family and friends, and I bake because it’s just plain fun. And that’s what a hobby should always be about. :)

Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3-3.5 cups powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons brewed coffee

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Line two standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about five minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add in the vanilla. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure proper mixing.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, alternately add in the flour and milk. Mix just until combined.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake tins evenly (I prefer to use a 2 inch ice cream scoop).

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the frosting:

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla and mix well.

Gradually add in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar until combined. The mixture will be dry. Add in the milk and coffee. Mix well until smooth and shiny.

Pipe the frosting on cooled cupcakes (I used a 1M Wilton tip).

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for 2 weeks.

Source: Cupcakes- Martha Stewart, Frosting- Lolly’s Sweet & Savory Treats

Happy New Year! Champagne Cupcakes with Chambord Champagne Buttercream

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Happy 2012, everyone! To celebrate the new year, I popped open a bottle of Champagne (technically it was sparkling wine since it wasn’t from Champagne, France- but who’s keeping track?!) and made these cupcakes with a Chambord champagne buttercream icing. I first heard of champagne cupcakes last year when I saw them on The Curvy Carrot. There were so pretty. I knew these beauties were something I wanted to try to recreate, so I filed the recipe into my folder of cupcakes to try.

Fast forward 12 short months and I thought a New Year’s Eve party would be the perfect opportunity. The cake portion was light and fluffy with just a slight hint of champagne while the icing was delicate with a delicious note of my new favorite liqueur, Chambord. I also loved how the Chambord added a light pink tint to the buttercream that gave it a very feminine look. To add extra pizazz and sparkle to the cupcakes, I garnished them with spun sugar. This was my first attempt at making this glass-like decoration and I turns out to be both a fun and frustrating process (but mostly fun). There are so many fun possibilities for decorating with spun sugar and I am looking forward to trying this method again soon. I included pictures of how it’s done below.

In the end, I really loved how these cupcakes turned out. They’re perfect for a New Year’s celebration, but they would also be a really nice addition to a menu for a bridal shower or a girl’s baby shower.

Happy new year, everyone! May 2012 be the best year yet!

Champagne Cupcakes with Chambord Champagne Buttercream

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

  • 2 3/4 cups plus 5 tablespoons cake flour (or 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour)
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup Champagne (I used a dry champagne)
  • 6 egg whites, at room temperature

For the Frosting:

  • 3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons champagne, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons Chambord

For the Spun Sugar:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup water

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into butter mixture alternately with champagne.  In another large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

For the frosting:

Whip the butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Slowly add in the Chambord and Champagne and mix until combined. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

For the spun sugar:

Secure two wooden spoons so that the handles are sticking out over a counter or over the counter top (as I did with my stackable cooling racks). Line the floor or countertop with parchment paper or newspaper to avoid making a mess.

Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. Bring the sugar, corn syrup, and water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan, stirring occasionally. When the mixture begins to boil, attach a candy thermometer and stop stirring the mixture. Allow the syrup to reach 300 degrees, or hard crack stage. Immediately remove from the heat and place the pot in the ice water, keeping the thermometer in the pan. BE CAREFUL- the mixture will bubble/steam! Allow the mixture to cool to 250 degrees. Remove from the ice bath.

Dip a fork or spoon in the mixture and, holding it about one foot above, carefully drizzle the mixture back and forth over the two spoon handles.

Allow to cool. Break into pieces and decorate as desired.

Spider Web Cupcakes

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend dressed up in your most creative costumes. To celebrate one of the best holidays of the year, I made these cupcakes for our neighbors. I saw the idea for spider webs on Pinterest and I thought it would be even creepier to add little chocolate spiders  nesting in the webs.

You can use whatever cupcake and frosting combination you prefer, but I went with pumpkin cupcakes and vanilla buttercream. The cupcakes are very easy to decorate and the effect is great!

Bring on the trick-or-treaters!

Spider Web Cupcakes

  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • Green food coloring
  • Colored frosted cupcakes
  • Black gel food coloring
  • Toothpicks

To make the spiders, melt chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each 30 seconds until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag with a small round tip. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and pipe out the spiders. Let them harden in the fridge. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate chips using the same method as the chocolate chips. Add a few drops of food coloring and mix well until combined.  Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip. Remove the spiders from the fridge and pipe on eyes with the green mixture. Allow to harden.

To make the spider webs, use the black gel food coloring to pipe a large dot in the center of the cupcake and then circles around the dot.

Starting in the center of the cupcake, use a toothpick and carefully drag it outward. Repeat several times until you achieve your desired web.

Top with a chocolate spider and enjoy!

Source: Ambrosia

Buckeye Cupcakes

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updated picture 9/8/12

Continuing with the buckeye theme this week, I made these buckeye cupcakes for my childhood friend, Angie’s, birthday. Angie’s birthday is tomorrow and I was back in my hometown this past week for a day, so I was able to deliver these to her in person. It was great to catch up. Angie and I have been friends since the first grade. She is the person who taught me how to jump rope and whom I played Barbie, dress up, basketball, and volleyball with. She, Jamie, and I were the best of friends in high school and it’s so nice to know that even if we don’t get to see each other that often, we are always able to pick right back up where we left off.

If there is one thing I know about Ang, it is that she loves peanut butter and chocolate. Back in the day when we were burning hundreds of calories a day playing sports, we would frequently pay a visit to our local Dairy Queen. Angie would always order the Reese Cup blizzard with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla. With that in mind, I knew buckeye cupcakes would be right up her alley. These treats are made with a dark chocolate cake, a salty peanut butter filling, a chocolate ganache icing, and garnished with a mini buckeye. If that’s not rich enough for you, I don’t know what to tell you.

updated picture 9/8/12

Happy birthday, Ang! I love you dearly :)

Angie and me on her wedding day

Buckeye Cupcakes

Printable Version

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes

  • 1 3/4 cups flour, plus more for pans
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

For the Ganache

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

For the Filling

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Sif the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Don’t over mix! The batter will be very runny.

With a measuring cup, fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, mix the powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.  Place in a piping bag or squeeze bottle. Press the tip in cupcake and squeeze in a quarter-sized dollop.

For the ganache, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and allow the ganache to thicken slightly.

Spoon the ganache onto the cupcakes and gently spread it out evenly. Garnish with a buckeye. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Source: Cake- slightly adapted from Ina Garten, ganache and filling- Food and Wine

Mini Twinkie Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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I saw a box of Twinkies in the grocery store a few weeks ago and I couldn’t remember the last time I had tried one (I think I may have been 8 years old).  Then an idea popped in my head to make my own Twinkies. After I got home that evening, I did a little research online and it turned out there are several homemade variations. I decided to make my own version and added a little spin by adding chocolate buttercream to the sweet treat.  The end result was quite tasty and they got the seal of approval from my official taste-tester, Robert, and the therapists at the clinic seemed to really like them as well. My only complaint is that the chocolate buttercream  overshadowed the fluffy filling, but that could easily be fixed by not icing these bad boys; perhaps dusting the cupcakes lightly with powdered sugar instead. Either way, I don’t think you can go wrong!

Mini Twinkie Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Printer-friendly version

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • ¾ cup Marshmallow Fluff
  • 1 ½ tbsp. plus 1 tsp. heavy cream

For the Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup unsweeted cocoa powder (my favorite is Ghiradelli)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp brewed coffee
  • 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

1. Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners.

2. In a bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

3. Add the butter, sour cream, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat until the the mixture is just combined (don’t over mix). Scrape down the sides with a spatula and hand mix to ensure the ingredients are fully incorporated.

4. Divide the batter evenly into the tins- I used about a 2/3 full scoop from my 2 oz ice cream scooper.

5. Bake until the cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick comes out clean, about 12-14 minutes.  Allow the cupcakes to cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire baking rack to cool completely

For the Filling:

1. Place the butter and marshmallow creme in a bowl with a standing mixer. Mix with a whisk attachment on medium-high until light and fluffy.

2. Slow the mixer down to low speed and add the cream. Mix until incorporated

3. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.

4. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag with a medium-sized round tip or a squeeze bottle.

5. Press the tip into the cooled cupcakes and squeeze a small amount of the filling into the cake.

For the Buttercream:

1. Place the butter in a bowl with a standing mixer. Whip on high speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes).

2. Slow the mixer down and add the cream, vanilla, and coffee. Mix well.

3. Add in the salt and mix. Gradually add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, about 1/2 cup at a time and mix until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.

4. Transfer the icing to a pastry bag fitted with your icing tip of choice and decorate the cupcakes as desired.

5. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

Source: Cupcakes- Baking Illustrated; Filling- Annie’s Eats, Food and Wine; Frosting- Lolly’s Sweet Treats

Harry Potter Special: Butterbeer Cupcakes

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**Warning: Harry Potter Nerd Alert**

Angie, one of my best friends from high school, introduced me to “the boy who lived” almost 10 years ago and I’m so glad she did. I don’t think there will ever be a series more captivating and loved as Harry Potter.

The time has finally come for the end of the Harry Potter movies. Tonight at midnight, Part II of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will be released. So, in honor of this absolutely mesmerizing story, I made Butterbeer cupcakes. For those of you not familiar, Butterbeer is a specialty drink  loved by those in the wizarding world, where it is most commonly served at The Leaky Cauldron. From what I understand, Butterbeer is a flavorful mix of butterscotch and cream soda and a touch of alcohol. These cupcakes are made with butterscotch and cream soda, but no booze. I found this recipe on The Curvy Carrot a little while ago and I decided to bring the cupcakes to book club this week, where all of the girls are HP fans (okay- I realize I sound like a serious nerd).

The cake itself is a pretty basic batter with butter extract and cream soda added in. What makes these cupcakes more like Butterbeer is the butterscotch ganache filling and the butterscotch buttercream icing.  I added little butterscotch “lightning bolts” as an extra decoration, but they collapsed when they were exposed to the heat outside :( .

Overall, the cupcakes are very rich, so if you don’t like butterscotch, these cupcakes aren’t for you. Otherwise, I hope these sweet treats fill you with Harry Potter pride!

All is well.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

Servings: about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup cream soda, room temperature

For the buttercream frosting:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup butterscotch ganache (see below)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon butter flavoring
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 3.5-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on your desired consistency)
  • 1-2 Tbsp milk or heavy cream, or as needed

For the butterscotch ganache:

  • 1 11-ounce bag of butterscotch chips (I use Nestle)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare a cupcake pan with the liners of your choosing.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the granulated and dark brown sugars to the butter and continue to mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

6. Add the vanilla and butter flavorings until combined .

7. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

8. Add about one-third of your buttermilk, followed by one-third of the cream soda, and then one-third of the flour mixture.

9. Alternate adding the remaining buttermilk, cream soda, and flour in thirds until well-combined.

10. Evenly distribute the cupcake batter among your prepared baking pan and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.  Cool the cupcakes on a cooling rack completely.

11. Pour the butterscotch ganache in an empty squeeze bottle.

12. Press the tip of the bottle into the center of the cupcakes and inject each cupcake with a small amount (about 1 tsp) butterscotch ganache.

For the butterscotch ganache:

1. In a heat-proof bowl. microwave the butterscotch chips in 30 second intervals until melted.

2. Whisk in the heavy cream, stirring until smooth.  Let cool.

For the butterscotch frosting:

1. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light, about 2 minutes.

2.  Add the cooled butterscotch ganache to the butter, mixing well.

3.  Add the vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt to the frosting and mix well to combine.

4. Decrease the mixer speed to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

5. Add the milk/cream or additional powdered sugar as necessary.

6.  Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes as desired, drizzle with the butterscotch ganache.

Recipe from: The Curvy Carrot, Amy Bites