Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter chicks cupcakes

Hello, Monday.

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours was really wonderful. Did you do any baking? My poor kitchen... it took a beating.

But check out the cutie cupcakes it was able to churn out.

Start with whatever cake recipe you'd like. I went with the WASC recipe I've been using so much lately because it seems to be such a hit. That recipe, halved, made three dozen cupcakes. Bake for about 18-20 minutes.

Then assemble your cast of characters. Here's what you need:
Cupcakes
Chocolate chips
Lemon curd
A paring knife
Yellow sanding sugar
About 2.5 cups of buttercream - Most of it will be dyed yellow, but reserve a couple spoonfuls white, and maybe 1/4 cup each of the yellow and orange. Put the 1/4 cup yellow and orange in frosting bags. I used a #1 tip for the orange and... I can't remember for the yellow. Sorry :) Something a little bigger, but it doesn't matter what style. I just put the white in a plastic baggie and barely snipped off the corner to leave a little hole.

Using a small paring knife, bore out a quarter-sized hole in the middle of each cupcake. I only did half the cupcakes (one of my YW girls can't have citrus) and that little jar of lemon curd perfectly fit 1.5 dozen cupcakes. Buy two jars if you want it in all of them (which you might, because it's DELICIOUS). And what do you do with all those little nuggets you've pulled out? Eat them, of course. Let's not be wasteful.

Next, fill in the holes with lemon curd! I found it was easiest to put the lemon curd in a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. I tried to spoon the first two and it was just a mess - it left lemon curd on the tops of the cupcakes and I was afraid that would make it harder to ice later.

Smooth yellow icing onto the cupcakes with a knife. Pour the sanding sugar into a shallow bowl. Tip each cupcake upside down into the sugar and twirl it gently to cover the whole top.

Now the fun part! Put two regular-size chocolate chips for eyes. Using the orange icing bag, draw in an upside down triangle for the beak and gently squeeze on the little claws. Using the yellow icing, draw on the wings - I used a motion like I was drawing a sideways heart. Then dot on tiny white spots on the chocolate chips for the eyes. I topped mine off with more sugar on the wings.


Happy Easter!


Oh.... and if you've ever wondered what my kitchen looks like after I'm done baking.....


Oy.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Happy National Cupcake Day!

Today is national cupcake day. I asked my boss if I could have the day off, seeing as it may as well be a religious holiday for me. She laughed. A lot. I was only halfway joking ;)

In celebration of the day, I made these gingerbread cupcakes that I found on The Rockstar Diaries.
I'm not thrilled with them. They're good, just not my favorite. It's not a taste thing - it's a texture thing. They're very dense, which is just not how I like my cupcakes. If that's your thing, this might be your new favorite recipe. Steph and I had a debate yesterday, partially sparked by this cupcake, about the difference between cupcakes and muffins. It's not just about the icing - an un-iced cupcake is clearly not a muffin. Google tells us the difference is in the ratio of fats, sugars and eggs. Google also said "If you threw a cupcake against the wall, you would hear something of a 'poof!' If you threw a muffin, you would hear a 'thud!'"... but I think it was joking. These little gingerbread guys are clearly in the grey area between cupcake and muffin. But I digress. Here's the recipe.

What you need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 T. ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash cloves
1 1/2 T. molasses

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until just fully mixed (don't overbeat). Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes.
The original recipe calls for a buttermilk buttercream. But I decided to go a different direction and make up my own Eggnog buttercream. I didn't have a recipe, so I just kinda threw stuff in. Some of these measurements may be approximate - add or subtract as you wish.

What you need:
1 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3 T. eggnog
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Cream butter until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Continue beating as you gradually add in powdered sugar. Mix in eggnog (you may need more or less, depending on how stiff you want the frosting). Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon and cloves and beat until combined.

Happy Cupcake Day, the happiest day of the year!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

Monday was roommate Blair's birthday, but he hasn't been home since Sunday (let's not talk about how the kid literally sleeps at his office most nights....). So he finally came home last night and that means birthday treats! He has a major sweet tooth, but wouldn't even point me in the direction of a flavor that he likes, so this is what he got.

I found these Dr. Pepper cupcakes from BS in the Kitchen via Pinterest. I was reluctant to make them because the "recipe" is hardly a recipe. Ingredients, but no amounts. And weird ingredients at that. You can check hers for her original comments, but below is what I ended up doing. I'm estimating on amounts since I was just throwing stuff in there.

The results is super sweet (almost too much - could use less sugar), but delicious. The cake is extremely light and fluffy, which I love. The icing has a little bit of the bite on the end. And it really does taste and smell like Dr. Pepper. If you're a DP fan, you'll love these.
What you need for the cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker milk chocolate)
3 eggs
1 cup Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup melted, unsalted butter

Now here are the fancy directions: Beat 'em all together. Yup, that's it. Beat until well combined. Scoop into cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. It makes 24 cupcakes.

What you need for the icing:
1-1.5 lbs powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 T. Dr. Pepper
2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp maraschino cherry juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp finely ground pepper (I used white pepper)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup Dr. Pepper reduction (boil 1 cup Dr. Pepper with 1/2 cup sugar and then reduce heat and simmer 30 min)

Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth. Then add in the DP, vanilla, and cherry juice because those amounts are pretty accurate. Then you throw in the lemon juice, pepper, ginger and nutmeg and adjust until it tastes right to you. The original recipe calls for licorice and apple flavoring, too, neither of which I had on hand. Happy guessing to you.
Ice and stick the cherries on top. Cuz they're cute.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Dark chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Look at that. That's my new favorite frosting. The cake itself was just meh, but with the frosting - wow! This recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker, and it's genius. Check it out.
Some notes:
I doubled this recipe and it made about 30 cupcakes.
I doubled the frosting recipe and had way too much (if that's possible!). Though I didn't pipe the frosting, so it might have been the right amount for piping. I saved the rest in a mason jars and I'm thinking it would be heaven on some whoopie pies next weekend.


My cupcakes are covered with chocolate ganache frosting (for the spider webs) and crushed oreos and milano cookies for the graveyard. You definitely don't need the cookies on top (that almost made them too much) but it made for cute cupcakes for a party.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Pumpkin pound cupcakes

It's time! I love when pumpkin season starts. So even though it's still 100 degrees, I'm trying to kick start fall by baking with pumpkin.

Enter these pumpkin cupcakes. I found the recipe from Sweet and Savory and I love that it took absolutely no time or effort. My favorite kind.

What you need:
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Stick of unsalted Butter, at room temperature

Add all ingredients into a stand mixer. Turn it on (I used speed 2) and leave it for 20 minutes. I watched part of an episode of Damages. It's a good show. Spoon it into cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.


For the icing:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 Shortening
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 Tbs. milk

Cream together the butter and shortening. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix 'til combined. Add in powdered sugar gradually and milk and beat to desired consistency. When the cupcakes are cool, ice and scarf.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Chocolate Malt Cupcake

This is my new favorite cupcake recipe. Hands down.

And notice the lack of pictures?

I apologize for that. But seriously, I'm lucky I got this one. That's how fast they went. I made them when I substitute taught a Sunday school class a couple weeks ago. I made enough for the class to each have one and then I'd have enough left over to take to my Beehives.

Nope. I'm pretty sure I saw one of those sunday school kids eating four. There were only five left (of almost two dozen) by the time I made it to Young Women's.

Fortunately for the roomies (and me), I'd saved one for each of us at home. They were promptly gone as well.

So good. So, so good. Moist. Chocolate-y. And the frosting some how manages to evoke ice cream. Without the cold. Heaven!

The recipe comes from That Winsome Girl. Bless her.

Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour (AP is good)
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1½ cups malted milk powder (found in the baking aisle)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

With my stand mixer at medium speed, I beat together the flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat just until combined.

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

For the icing:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
½ cup malted milk powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 cups confectioner sugar

In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter and shorting until light and fluffy. Slowly add in malted milk powder and cocoa powder. Mix for about a minute. Slowly add the powdered sugar until the frosting becomes thick and stiff.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes


Take a moment to take that in. Chocolate chip cookie dough cake. Hollow out the middle and stuff with raw cookie dough. Top with brown sugar frosting and chocolate chips. Um, yes please.

I wanted to break in my beautiful new stand mixer with something special and this recipe from Bake at 350 fit the bill nicely. 

I made the cookie dough filling fist so that it could chill in the fridge while I made the cake.

Ingredients
4 T. unsalted butter at room temperature
6 T. brown sugar, packed (I used dark - I like it better!)
1 cup plus 2 T. flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips


Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approx. 2 minutes. Add flour, condensed milk and vanilla and beat 'til smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

For the Cupcakes: 

Ingredients
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used dark), packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking power
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.



Using the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approx. 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. 

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Speed should be low.

Add Vanilla.

Fold in chocolate chips. 

Distribute to cupcake tray and bake for 18-20 or until lightly browned and springy. Allow to cool thoroughly before icing.

For the Icing:
3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar (dark), packed
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. milk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mini chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar using the paddle attachment until fluffy. Turn speed to low and gradually beat in powdered sugar. Increase the speed and beat until smooth. Add salt, milk and vanilla and blend. After frosting, top cupcakes with chocolate chips.

I have to say, these were a huge hit. I left them on the counter while two of the roomies were at a late night meeting and woke up to texts saying how good they were. But be warned!! They are extremely rich. I was never even able to finish one, the boys couldn't finish more than one, and someone my office-mate managed to eat two, but went into a food coma. They're a huge indulgence, but very yummy.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Snickers cupcakes

Last week the Beehives and I made a deal - read your scriptures and say your prayers every day, and I'll bring cupcakes. They did (good job, girls!), so here's what they got!

Some notes - you can use whatever candy you want, but make sure it's frozen!! I didn't see that part until it was too late. They were fine, but a little too melty. Definitely would have been better frozen. I wasn't a fan of the frosting, but maybe that's because I skipped the caramel part (I couldn't find it at our grocery store). The cake part was pretty darn good though - I think the pudding and the sour cream helped keep it a very moist cake. The recipe says it makes 24, but it could make more easily. Many of mine overfilled the liners and I could have done more, smaller ones.

Recipe from My Baking Addiction.
Ingredients
1 package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
24-30 frozen Mini Snickers

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and water.

Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans. Gently push a frozen Snickers Miniature bar into the center of the batter and smooth the surface to cover the candy bar completely. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you lightly touch it. Cool cupcakes on wire racks.

For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup caramel topping; plus more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter and shortening. Add vanilla, salt and caramel syrup and combine well. Add the powdered sugar slowly, beating thoroughly between each addition.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

And so it begins

It is October. Pumpkin baking has begun in full force.

To kick off the season, I tried this Ina Garten recipe for pumpkin spice cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting.


What's not to like?
Pumpkin? gooood.
Maple? goooood.
Cream Cheese? gooood.

The pumpkin flavor is delish and the maple flavor is just a hint. All together it's tasty, flavorful and oh-so-delicious.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
Makes 10 cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Maple Frosting (recipe follows)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Maple Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Gimme S'more

As an We're-sorry-we've-left-you-with-subs-so-much-lately gift for our Sunday school class, we brought S'mores Cupcakes.

Oh my gosh. So good. We'll be making this again.

Recipe:
(Martha Stewart recipe found here)

Ingredients
 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
 1 teaspoon salt
 2 large eggs
 1 cup whole milk
 1/2 cup vegetable oil
 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 1 cup boiling water
 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.

*Note: She used a seven minute marshmallow frosting. This recipe was a bit time intensive, so I wimped out on the homemade frosting and went with canned whipped Vanilla, topped with toasted marshmallows.


  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.




  • Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.




  • In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.




  • Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.




  • Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.




  • Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.






  • 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar




  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour




  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)




  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder




  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda




  • 1 teaspoon salt




  • 2 large eggs




  • 1 cup whole milk




  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil




  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract




  • 1 cup boiling water




  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)




  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted




  • 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped






  • 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar




  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour




  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)




  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder




  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda




  • 1 teaspoon salt




  • 2 large eggs




  • 1 cup whole milk




  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil




  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract




  • 1 cup boiling water




  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)




  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted




  • 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped



  • Sunday, August 22, 2010

    Tuesday baking day

    This was my Tuesday.

    (mint chocolate chip with mint chocolate icing)
    (snickerdoodle with vanilla icing)
    (Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting)

    Turned out we didn't need 14 dozen cupcakes, but they were fun to make and oh-so-tasty. 

     

    Wednesday, August 11, 2010

    Another baking frenzy

    I'm finally figuring out the quirks and errors of my new (very old) oven. It turns out that it burns 50-75 degrees hotter than what it's set at, so I need to put it at 300 if I want it to bake at 350. And cut about 10 percent off the recommended time. And only use the bottom rack. And rotate whatever it is halfway through cooking. Ok. I got this.

    (Hans, are you reading this? I want a new oven).

    Molly and Tom's wedding is next week and I have been testing out cupcake recipes. Most I haven't shared with you because I didn't love them. This weekend I tried three that were ALL delicious, so here ya go.

    Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting
    Snickerdoodle with Vanilla Frosting

    Devil's Food with Chocolate frosting

    Magnolia Bakery Red Velvet
    (original here)
    Ingredients
    •     3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
    •     3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
    •     2 1/4 cups sugar
    •     3 large eggs, at room temperature
    •     6 tablespoons red food coloring
    •     3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
    •     1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    •     1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    •     1 1/2 cups buttermilk
    •     1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
    •     1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
     Frosting: 
    • 1 lb (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour three muffin tins. Place cupcake papers in the tins.

    To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

    In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

    In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.

    In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

    Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake each tray for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

    Frosting: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using. When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting liberally on the cupcakes. 

    Makes 36 cupcakes.


    Devil's Food Cupcakes

    (A Martha Stewart recipe)

    Ingredients
    • 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
    • 3/4 cup hot water
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
    • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
    • 2 1/4 cups sugar
    • 4 large eggs, room temperature
    • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
     
    Directions

       1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
       2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
       3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.


    Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
    (Another Martha Stewart recipe)


    Ingredients
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
    1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
    4 large eggs, room temperature
    2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    1 1/4 cups milk

    Directions

       1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
       2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
       3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.


     

    Monday, May 17, 2010

    A baking fool

    Aside from massively cleaning this weekend, I also did a ridiculous amount of baking.



    That would be about three dozen pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, two loaves of banana nut bread, and about three dozen vegan chocolate orange ginger cupcakes.

    Don't worry - aside from one of the loaves and a couple left over cookies, none of this is actually for Hans and I. We're not THAT bad.



    The bread and cookies are for Elder Banda who is celebrating the big 2-6 next week. They're two of his favs so I sent off a big box of them to him.

    The cupcakes were to celebrate Jenn and Jared's engagement. We had dinner at his parent's house yesterday and that was our little contribution. The recipe is *supposed* to be vegan, but we cheated a little. We didn't use soy milk or vegan margarine.



    The recipe was surprisingly easy, and would have been quick if we had a zester..... trying to "zest" an orange peel with a grater = not so good.

    The frosting was the best part, also very easy to make. Hans likes that the best and is just eating the leftovers straight from the bowl.

    Maybe I'll let my oven have a little rest this week. If it's lucky.

    Vegan chocolate orange ginger cupcake recipe here.
    Banana nut bread recipe from this cookbook.
    Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies is my mom's recipe :)

    Thursday, April 29, 2010

    Oreos + cupcakes + cream cheese

    A couple months ago, I got an amazing cupcake book that I haven't had much time to experiment with. That's what days off work are for, right? Monday, Hans and I tried a recipe for oreo cupcakes. It was pretty easy and should have been quick, but alas my hand mixer died. Turns out really stiff pizza dough will literally kill even the best hand mixers (RIP, my dear friend).

    We then used the recipe for cream cheese frosting because that's always sure to bring a smile to Hans' face. Also very easy. Pretty much butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Again, a hand mixer would have been nice... (hint, hint Hans...)



    They turned out pretty great! We'll definitely make this recipe a lot. They were kind of dense, I think because we weren't able to beat the ingredients the way we should have. But they're very tasty and feel decadent. There's still six or seven left if you want to come try one....