Cupcake Party

So some exciting changes have been happening over the last month.  Namely, we bought a house!...and moved into it.  The space is so much bigger than the duplex we were renting and I can't wait to put my decorating expertise (ha!) into it.  One of my favorite things about the new house is that the kitchen has a double oven.  A DOUBLE. OVEN!  I die.

So we had a small group of people over our first week in (talk about motivation to get unpacked) and I baked cupcakes for the occasion.  More specifically, my friend Amy and I each made a batch of cupcakes (she made vanilla) then consolidated all of our old buttercream - but not old in a bad way, old in the sense that we made buttercreams for other cakes and cupcakes and froze the leftovers, because there are always leftovers - and frosted our hearts out.

I made chocolate cupcakes (recipe shared below) from Cupcake Project.  They were awesome.  The recipe was tested by 50 bakers as Stef from the Cupcake Project churned out recipe after recipe in search of the ultimate chocolate cupcake.  The winning recipe has a batter that tastes like pudding and results in a dense, rich chocolate cake. The recipe allows for variations among chocolate, depending on your preference or what you have in your pantry.  I used Schogetten Dark Chocolate bars and Bakers Corner Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (the same chocolates I use in my favorite brownies; both from Aldi's).  I also added a heaping teaspoon of Medaglia D'Oro instant espresso powder to my dry ingredients.  I can't decide which chocolate cupcake I like better, this one that I usually pair with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, or the new Cupcake Project one.  I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison ;)

These are the awesome frostings we used to top our cupcakes:
Chocolate cream cheese frosting
Cinnamon buttercream
Toasted Marshmallow Buttercream
Caramel Apple Buttercream
Espresso Buttercream
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream that I added chopped Reese Cups to

My favorite combination was the chocolate cupake with the chocolate frosting.  An amazing classic.

The Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

yields 18 cupcakes

Ingredients
2 ounces of your favorite chocolate (nothing with add ins like nuts, not white chocolate, not candy melts)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 heaping teaspoon instant espresso or instant coffee granules (*optional)
1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water (not boiling)
1/3 cup sour cream

Directions

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.  In a microwave safe bowl, microwave 2 ounces of chocolate until melted (30 seconds at 50% power, stir, and repeat until smooth).  Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate over a double boiler.  Set aside to cool (but not harden).

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and instant espresso.  Set aside.

3.  In a glass measuring cup, combine vegetable oil and water.  Set aside.

4.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  It will look like wet sand.  Mix in melted and cooled chocolate.  Add eggs one at a time, followed by egg yolks one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.  Add vanilla extract and mix.

5.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the stand mixer.  Mix until flour seems mostly incorporated, with only maybe a few streaks of flour showing.  Add the oil/water mixture.  Mix to combine.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture, mix until incorporated.  Add sour cream, mix.  Add remaining flour, mix until well incorporated.

6.  Line 18 cupcake wells with paper liner.  Fill each 2/3 of the way full with batter (this was just over 2 heaping tablespoons per cupcake).  Bake for 16 minutes, and check for done-ness but inserting a toothpick into a cupcake and checking if it comes out with a few moist crumbs.  If it seems too wet, bake for another 2 minutes and check.  Repeat until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

7.  Immediately transfer to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.


Chocolate Cupcake recipe from the Cupcake Project.

Toasted Marshmallow Buttercream

Difficulty: easy
Time consuming: no.

I tend to have a ton of extra chocolate cupcakes in my freezer at all times. This happens when a recipe says it will yield 2 dozen cupcakes but actually yields closer to 3. And then I don't neeeed the extra cupcakes but can't waste them either. So into the freezer they go. And out they come for a handy snack or dessert when friends come over.

I recently topped some chocolate cupcakes with toasted marshmallow butter that was incredible. It's reminiscent of nights around the campfire, complete with little bits of toasted marshmallows!!

Toasted Marshmallow Butter Cream

Depending on how generously you top your cupcakes, this should yield enough frosting to cover 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients
4 ounces (in weight) of marshmallows (about 16 large mallows)
1 cup of marshmallow fluff
1 cup powdered sugar (doesn't need to be sifted)
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place marshmallows (not fluff) on sheet and toast under the broiler. This will happen quickly so pay attention. A little brown toastiness is okay. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer on high until creamed. Decrease the mixer speed, add powdered sugar and beat, increasing speed until the mixture becomes fluffy.

3. Add toasted marshmallows, fluff, and vanilla extract, and beat until the frosting becomes light and airy.

4. Top on your cupcakes and enjoy. Or eat it straight out of your piping bag or bowl, I won't judge you.

**Note: if your toasted mallows are too warm when you add them to your butter/powdered sugar mixture it will be almost impossible to whip up a proper buttercream. Don't worry! Just set the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to help firm up the butter, take out, and whip as planned.

From Baking Me

Watermelon Cupcakes with Watermelon Cream Cheese Buttercream

 Difficulty: easy
Time consuming: about an hour start to finish for the cakes and 30ish minutes to make the frosting and top the cupcakes

Sweet Your Heart Out is officially 1 year old. I can't believe I've been posting recipes for a whole year. Although I didn't post as much as I wanted to, a lot has happened in the past year: another school year has passed, we went to Florida and planned our next vacation, we bought a new car, I started weight training at this awesome new gym (I can dead lift my body weight!), I replaced the bicycle I got in 2nd grade, I assisted coaching cheerleading, I coached a Girls on the Run team for my school, and  now we're in the process of buying a house!

So the best way to celebrate a year of sweet recipes and as a perfect way to kick off summer, I made watermelon cupcakes with watermelon icing. I brought 2 1/2 dozen of these to a party on Memorial Day weekend and they were gobbled up. The pink cake is moist and speckled with black jimmies to look just like watermelon seeds. The icing has cream cheese in it which I think helps temper the overall sweetness of the cupcake and keeps from having an overwhlming watermelon flavor. The watermelon flavor of these cupcakes reminded many of starbursts, jolly ranchers, or bubblegum.

I bought the black jimmies, large black nonpareils, chunky white icing sugar, and watermelon oil from Cincinnati Cake and Candy located in Reading , Ohio. For the cupcake liners, although I bought bright green liners, they turned brownish with the pink batter inside (flashback to basic art skills - complimentary colors make brown). To remedy that problem, I printed this cupcake liner template, traced it onto green scrapbook paper, and wrapped it around my cupcakes.

These cupcakes tasted phenomenal! But if you wanted to vary up the flavors a bit, I would try the watermelon cake with a vanilla basil buttercream, these watermelon cupcakes with white chocolate and lime, or just make a plain vanilla cake and tint it pink and use your favorite buttercream recipe - you could even add chocolate chips to the batter instead of jimmies to look like seeds since the chocolate would be paired with vanilla (yum) instead of watermelon (watermelon and chocolate, nothankyou).

Watermelon Cupcakes
Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

Watermelon cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 dram (1 teaspoon) watermelon flavoring oil (like Lorann) - link to ccc
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 – 16 ounce container (2 cups) sour cream
Food coloring (optional) (I used Wilton rose colored gel food coloring)
3-4 tablespoons black jimmies (optional)

Directions
Watermelon cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line to muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, mix well between each additions.  Add watermelon flavoring and mix to incorporate.

3.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.  Then add 1/2 the sour cream, beat until just mixed.  Then the second 1/3 of flour.  Then the last 1/2 of sour cream.  And finally add the last 1/3 of the flour mixture.  You should have mixed until combined between each addition.

4.  Add food coloring as desired.

5.  Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Watermelon Frosting
makes enough to lightly (not huge swirls) frost 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 dram (about 1 teaspoon)  teaspoon watermelon flavoring (like LorAnn's)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
*food coloring (optional)

1.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together.

2.  Add sugar (1/2 cup at a time so it doesn't *poof* all over the kitchen) and mix until blended.

3.  Add food coloring (if using) and watermelon extract, beat on high until light and fluffy.

*If you want a thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar.  If you want a thinner frosting, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

To make the cupcakes really look like watermelon, I rolled the edge of the frosting in white icing sugar (the big crystals) and dotted the top with large, black nonpareils.

Watermelon Cake recipe from Bakingom
Frosting from Group Recipes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Difficult: no
Time consuming: yes - there are 4 different components that are completely homemade, but you can make it less time consuming by using some store bought items.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!!  The teachers in my district are some of the most hardworking people and definitely deserve some appreciation.  I thought I'd contribute to the day by making some caramel apple cupcakes - it's my take on "apples for the teacher."

The cake is a cinnamon cupcake adapted from Annie's Eats.  It has a delicate, light texture and is seasoned with just enough spice to make the apples in the filling shine.  The cakes are cored and filled with homemade cooked apples and vanilla bean caramel sauce.  Either of these components could be purchased already made from the store, but just make sure that the apples are diced finely enough to stuff into the little cake.  The cupcakes are then topped with a caramel swiss meringue buttercream.  One bite into these explode into caramel apple deliciousness that make you roll your eyes and savor the moment.

The cupcakes have a lot of components to them, and I wanted to make them homemade.  In part because I like to do things 100% homemade, but also I really wanted to go above and beyond to make these treats special for the teachers.  That made this a two day project.  On day one, I made the caramel sauce, the apple filling, and the cupcakes.  On day two, I made the frosting and put the whole sha-bang together.

Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce
makes about 2 cups (but you only need about 1/2 - 1 cup)
from Not Without Salt

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean 
1 cup sweetened, condensed milk

Directions
1.  Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan.  Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water (use a pastry brush).  Heat over medium-high and bring to a boil.  DO NOT STIR.  Let the mixture cook and boil.  When it starts to even slightly turn brown, pop in your candy thermometer and continue to heat until it reaches 300 degrees.

2.  Remove from heat, let the bubbles slow, and whisk in heavy cream.  Scrape the caviar from the vanilla bean and add to the caramel.  Then add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk.  Return to heat, and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees.

3.  Let mixture cool to room temperature before using in cupcakes.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Apple Filling
makes about 2 cups
from the Craving Chronicles

Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds baking apples (I used 2 large honeycrisp because I like their texture best), finely diced (~1/4" cubes)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
1.  Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add apples, lemon juice, white and brown sugars, and cinnamon.  Mix over medium-low heat, until the apples become soft and release their juices.

3.  When you see a good amount of juice in the pan, add the slurry, mix and continue to cook over low heat until thickened.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.  Store extra in an airtight container in the fridge.

Cinnamon Cupcakes
 makes 24-26 cupcakes
adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

2. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3.  Beat eggs and sugar using a paddle in the stand mixer until thick ribbons form (about 5 minutes).  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix to combine.  Add 1/2 the milk mixture, mix.  Then 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the rest of the milk and the vanilla, mix.  Then finish by adding the last 1/3 of flour mixture, and stir until just combined.

4.  Place just over 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake liner (filling about 2/3 of the way full).  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  The tops will still look sticky but a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel (Apple*) Swiss Meringue Buttercream
yields enough to generously top 26 cupcakes and still have over a cup leftover
adapted from Flour Child

Ingredients
6 large egg whites (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
1/2 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel sauce (above), cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(*if you have leftover apple filling, you can puree it until smooth - I added about 3/8 cup pureed apples)

Directions
 
1.  Create a double boiler by placing a saucepan with about 2 inches of water over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, sugar and salt. Place bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture reads 160°F on an instant read or candy thermometer. (Note: the sugar will be dissolved and mixture will start to resemble loose marshmallow fluff.)

3.  Remove the bowl from the heat and attach it to the stand mixer.  Beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the bowl feels neutral (not too warm) to the touch - about 10 minutes.  Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment.

4.  Slowly add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next tablespoon.  Once all the butter is added, slowly add the caramel (which should not be warmer than room temperature - if it's too warm, it will melt the butter).  If you are adding pureed apples, do that now and mix until well blended and the mixture resembles frosting.

(Note: my buttercream was very loose and soupy, so I popped the bowl into the fridge for 20 minutes, then returned to the mixer and beat on a low speed.  I stared at it for awhile and it was still loose, and while I was googling how to fix it, I turned around and it completely came together beautifully.  Lesson of the story: just keep mixing and it will come together eventually.  If after 5 minutes it doesn't come together, return to fridge for 10 minutes, then mix.  Repeat as needed).

To make the cupcakes:

1.  Core the cupcakes with a cupcake plunger or a paring knife.  Save cupcake holes if you want to make lids.

2.  In a small bowl, mix a quarter cup or so of caramel sauce with about 3/4 of the apples.

3.  Fill each cupcake with a heaping teaspoon of caramel apples. Trim cupcake holes to lids and close each cupcake.

4.  Frost cupcakes (I used a Wilton 2D) and drizzle with caramel sauce.


See more of the same at The Craving Chronicles where adapted the recipe from.

Banana Split Cupcakes

Difficult: No
Time consuming: this was a 2 day cupcake for me, but no individual part took too long

Whenever given the option at an ice cream shop, I almost always opt for something predominantly chocolate.  Or covered in fudge.  Or blended with chocolate milk and more chocolate fudge.  I rarely ever go for a fruity flavor.  Unless is Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip, but that's about the only exception.

But when I saw these Banana Split Cupcakes on Annie's Eats, I knew I had to make them (and then donate them to the Lent fish fry as a courtesy to my waistline).  The banana cake is so moist and is the perfect vehicle for the strawberry and pineapple filling.  Topped with a whipped cream frosting, ganache, sprinkles, and a cherry, and that's as close to an ice cream banana split as you're gonna get.

The recipe yielded 33 cupcakes for me, but I only wanted to bring 24 cupcakes to church, since my husband really like the cake and wanted to take it plain as "muffins" to work for breakfast.

The Recipe:

yields 33 cupcakes

Ingredients

Banana cupcake
2½ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon. salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk on hand, use: 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a glass measuring cup, then filled to the 1 cup line with milk, +2 tablespoons milk)
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (for me, this was from 3½ bananas)

 Strawberry Pineapple Filling
10 ounces of diced, hulled strawberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw first)
1½ tablespoons powdered sugar
8 ounces canned, crushed pineapple (fresh would be better if you have it, but canned is fine)

Whipped Cream Frosting
12 ounces heavy cream
1½ teaspoons gelatin, + 6 teaspoons cold water
3/8 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache Topping**
 6 ounces chocolate (I used milk chocolate chips, but bittersweet chips or chopped bar chocolate is fine too)
2 ounces heavy cream
1 teaspoon corn syrup

*Note: the ganache I used had equal parts cream to chocolate (6 ounces cream, 6 ounces chocolate), but I found that it never really "set up" - even after cooling to room temperature, then an hour in the freezer, which made a kind of runny mess on my cupcakes.  So the ingredients above reflect ganache for a "hard glaze."  Also, the ganache I had made way too much, so hopefully I've adjusted the ingredients enough so that you can top the cupcakes (if not, let me know in the comments and I can try to fix it)

Garnish
marashino cherries
rainbow jimmies

Directions

Make the cupcakes
1.   Line cupake pan with liners, set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between every egg or 2.  Mix in the mashed bananas.

3.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the stand mixer, and mix until just incorporated.  Then add half of the buttermilk.  Mix.  Then another 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the rest of the buttermilk, mix.  Finally, add the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

4.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full, pop into the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 20 minutes.  The cupcakes should spring back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted should come out with only a few moist crumbs.  Let cool a few minute in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling
5. Macerate the chopped strawberries with the powdered sugar for at least a half hour.  Strain berries from liquid.  Strain pineapple from juices.  Set both aside.

Make the frosting
6.  Combine the gelatin and water in a small, microwave safe bowl.  Set aside for 3 minutes...

7.  In the meantime, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream and powedered sugar to soft peaks (do not over beat, you will end up with butter!)

8.  Back to the gelatin - microwave for 30 seconds so that it's completely liquidy and all the gelatin dissolved.  Let cool (but don't let it become solid).  With the mixer running on low, add the liquid gelatin to the cream, increase mixer speed, and beat until stiff peaks form.  Mix in vanilla.

Make the ganache
9.  Put the chocolate in a small bowl, set aside.

10.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it simmers, then pour over chocolate.  Let sit for a few minutes, then whisk to combine.  Add corn syrup, whisk to combine, and let sit so that it's cool but not too thick.

Assemble the cupcakes
9. Core out the middle of the cupcakes (using a cupcake plunge or the cone method), save the cake scraps.  Fill the cupcakes with scant a teaspoon of each strawberry and pineapple, then top with a portion of the cake from the core.


10.  Pipe the whipped topping on the cake (I used a large Wilton round tip).  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Top with a spoonful of ganache.  Before the ganache sets, sprinkle with jimmies and garnish with a marashino cherry.




Cupcake recipe adapted from Annie's Eats
Ganache info from The Kitchn

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Difficult: Not terribly
Time Consuming: It has 3 components, which I made over 2 days, but nothing was individually too timely.

I don't know what exactly has me in a citrus-y, fruity dessert kick, but I can't say I'm complaining.  A few weeks ago, it was lemon raspberry sugar cookies.  This week it's these lemon meringue cupcakes.  This particular batch of cupcakes found their way to our church's fish fry and from what I hear, were gobbled up pretty quickly.

The base of this dessert is a sweet and citrusy lemon cupcake.  The batter came together beautifully and very effortlessly in my stand mixer.  The aroma from the lemon was intoxicating and it took every ounce of strength not to lick the bowl.

I filled the cupcakes with lemon curd I made the day before.  It's from the book Baking: Illustrated by the folks at America's Test Kitchen, so you know it has to be good.  And aside from tempering the eggs, which would be easier with a third arm, the tangy and sweet filling came together easily and quickly.  Although I have seen recipes for 10 minute microwave lemon curd, so if anyone has tried those, I'd love to hear how they turned out.

The cupcakes are topped with a 7 minute frosting.  I don't know why it's called that, because mine definitely took more than 7 minutes to prepare.  I was able to prep my cupcakes for assembly and do some dishes while it was whipping away in the mixer.  But nonetheless, the meringue-like frosting is the perfect sweet and creamy compliment to all the bright lemony flavors bursting from the cupcake.  And if you've got a kitchen torch, it torches great, giving it that finished look of a meringue pie.  This can probably be accomplished in broiler, but you'd have to watch it like a hawk so it doesn't burn.

 

The recipe for the frosting made way too much for me, but that probably has more to do with how I frosted the cupcakes than the recipe itself.  I added a few tablespoons of cocoa powder (about 2 tablespoons to just under half the frosting) and a handful (or two, or three) of chocolate chips and mixed until combined.  Then I baked at 350 degrees for 18 minutes, and let cool in the oven for 1 hour and ended up with meringue cookies.  They aren't the exact same, but it was better than wasting all that sugar.  For a better meringue cookie recipe, check out Bakerella.

The Recipe

yields 26 cupcakes

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons of lemon zest (from about 3-4 small lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of buttermilk (or measure 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a 1 cup glass measuring cup, then top to the 1 cup line with milk, mix, and let sit for 5 minutes)

Filling
2 cups of prepared lemon curd (1 recipe's worth)

Frosting
 1 1/2 cups white sugar, + 2 tablespoons white sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 large egg whites (eggs separate better from yolks when cool, but whip better for meringue at room temperature)


Directions

Make the Cake
1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with paper liners, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition.  Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

3.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the stand mixer and mix.  Then add the lemon juice add 1/2 the buttermilk, mix.  Then add the second 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the second 1/2 of the buttermilk, mix.  End by mixing in the final 1/3 of flour mixture until just combined.

4.  Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each around 2/3 of the way full.  Be careful not to over fill.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the tops of the cake spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs (or completely clean).  Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Frosting
5.  Make sure you have a working, accurate candy thermometer.  Test this out by boiling water and checking the temperature.  Water boils at 212 degrees, so take note of your temperature and make adjustments in the coming steps as necessary (e.g., if it boils at 202 degrees, then subtract 10 from the temperature)

6.  Combine water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  With the heat around medium, cook until the sugar reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer.

7.  While the sugar is cooking, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer.  With the mixer running on low, slowly add the 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Mix to combine.

8.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low.  When the cooked sugar reaches 230 degrees (aka softball stage), slowly (and carefully!) pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl.  When all of the syrup has been added, increase the mixer speed to high and whisk.  Whisk until you have stiff (but not dry) peaks, and the frosting is cool (check by touching the bottom of the mixing bowl).  [Mine cooled, but was never "cool," it got to "just slightly warm" when I got tired of it mixing].

Assemble the Cupcakes
9.  Core the cupcakes.  Set aside the tops if you want to plop them back in after you fill.  Add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon curd to the cupcakes (and top with cupcake cores if you want).

10.  Pipe the meringue frosting on the cupcakes.  I used a large Wilton star tip.  Torch the top of the cupcakes with a butane kitchen torch.

Eat and enjoy!!

Mostly from Martha Stewart.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Difficult: Not really
Time consuming: A bit, there are 3 components to these tasty treats

Let's get one thing straight: cookie dough is amazing.  I could eat it straight from the bowl; all day, every day.  But then my pants wouldn't fit, and that'd be bad.  Also the whole don't-eat-raw-eggs thing.  For real, don't eat raw eggs.  I used to reside in the camp of "I never get sick from eating batter/dough/etc," until I got sick (not from this recipe).  It's totally not worth it so don't eat raw eggs.

Luckily for you, and for me, these cookie dough cupcakes are completely safe to eat and taste exactly like cookie dough.

I slightly adjusted the cake recipe to include browned butter which brings out a slight nuttiness.  You don't have to brown the butter, but I really liked the nuance of flavor it added.  However, after I browned the butter (and maybe turned my back from it for only a second), I noticed some browned bits and I didn't want them speckling the cupcake, so I strained it through a coffee filter.  I also adjusted the bake time and temperature - starting the oven at 350 degrees and then reducing it to 325 as soon as the cupcakes went in.  Then I baked them for 20 minutes.

Like most cupcakes I make, this was a two day process. I made the cupcakes and cookie dough first. On the second day I made the frosting, assembled the cupcakes, and garnished so they were pretty.

These cupcakes went with my husband to the church fish fry where he volunteers on Friday's during Lent.  I work out with my trainer on Friday afternoons but am happy to spend my afternoons/evenings on Thursdays whipping up tasty treats for the bake sale there.

Ha ha ha :)

The recipe

Yields 24 standard sized cupcakes and 10 mini cupcakes.

Ingredients
cupcakes
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semi- or bittersweet) - optional - I might leave these out next time I make them since they sank to the bottom of the cake anyways.

Cookie dough filling
4 tablespoons (half of a stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk (half of a can)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish (optional, but pretty)
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions

cupcakes
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 standard size muffin cups with liners and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

2.  Optional: brown 1 stick of butter in a saucepan - put butter in saucepan set to medium, stir frequently until the butter takes on a dark browned color.  If you accidentally end up with some browned bits,  strain through a coffee filter.  Set into the fridge to cool a little while you continue to work.

3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter (2 sticks unless you've chosen not to brown a stick, then it's all 3) with the brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs 1 at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.

4.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix until combined.  Then add half of the milk, mix.  Then add the second 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the second half of the milk, mix.  Then the remaining 1/3 flour mixture, mix.  At this point, all the milk and flour should be mixed in.  If using chocolate chips, fold them in now.

5.  Fill cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full.  After I filled 24, I still had enough batter for 10 mini cupcakes.  Put cupcake in the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back slightly when pressed.  Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Make the cookie dough filling
6.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine brown sugar and butter.  Add flour, milk, and vanilla, and mix until well combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.

Make the frosting
7.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until mixed.  Add salt and powdered sugar and mix on low.  Add flour (1/2-2/3 cup, this really makes it taste like cookie dough - I was hesitant to include this but it was awesome).  Then milk and vanilla.  Whip on high speed for a few minutes until the mixture becomes fluffier.

Assemble
8.  Cut a hole into the cupcakes using a cupcake plunger or the cone method.  Set holes/tops aside.

9.  Roll cookie dough into 24 equal sized balls.  Split the dough in half, then split each half in half.  Split each piece into 6 equal parts and roll into balls.  Ta-da, you know have 24 even sized dough balls.  Put one dough ball into each cupcake.  Cut the bottom of the cone/cupcake hole off, and place the top back into the cupcake.  Check out Baking Bites for a better description on how to do this, complete with pictures.

10.  Put the frosting in a piping bag fit with whatever tip you'd like to use.  Top the cupcakes, then garnish with mini chocolate chips and a mini chocolate chip cookie.


Basically, there are two camps for cookie dough filled cupcakes.  The first is what I've done: make a cake, core and fill with dough, then frost.  The second has you make the cookie dough a day ahead of time and freeze cookie dough balls overnight, then add the frozen dough balls to the cupcake batter and bake until the cakes are done.  The problem with this is that you run the risk of baking the cookie dough in the cupcake.  Also it requires more time since you have do make the dough ahead of time.  If anyone has had success with the latter method, let me know how you did it and how it worked out for you! :)

Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake with Dreamy Peanut Butter Frosting

Difficulty: Easy
Time Consuming: The cake doesn't take very long to whip up, then I baked four 6-cupcake trays at once for 24 minutes.

I don't know why, but I don't have a great go-to chocolate cupcake recipe.  I have a great chocolate cake recipe, but converting the cooking time to cupcakes wasn't something I felt like doing.  I stumbled across Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe and it seemed legit.  And I'm not gonna snub my nose at any recipe that dirties less dishes than required for actually eating it.

I was so happy when I took these out of the oven and saw they all puffed up beautifully.  Well, except one, and I can't even begin to explain that.

Waiting for them to cool was killer, but I dove in as soon as it was safe for my mouth.  I've recently been trying to curl my hair with a styling wand and have more burns on my left hand than I can count.  I did not need to add a burned tongue or palate to that list.  But I digress.  These cupcakes were dense in a perfect way.  I know dense usually means bad, but I wouldn't describe these as "light and cakey", but rather "rich, moist, dense, heaven-in-my-mouth." I had to show some serious will power and only go half-sies on one cupcake with my husband.  And all this emotion before we even get to the frosting.

If you love peanut butter, then this is the butter cream for you, baby.  It has a distinct peanut butter flavor that becomes so silky and smooth against the foundation of cream cheese and butter.  And on top of these chocolate cupcakes......oh man.  The chocolate-peanut butter combination hits you and everything around you falls away while you savor the party in your mouth.  When you fall back to reality, I hope you have the strength to save a cupcake or two, you know, for your kids, husband, best friend, neighbor.  I know I definitely went back for more ;)

I altered the ingredients in the cupcakes ever so slightly by adding instant espresso powder, since coffee just deepens and enhances chocolate flavor.  You could also use equal amounts brewed coffee.  I also changed the baking time and temperature based on a picture I saw on Pinterest about baking cupcakes....I know, a legit and credible source, but what can I say, it worked for me.

The Recipe
yields 18 or so cupcakes (Martha says you can get 18-24, I got 19)

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cupcake
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup warm water; or 3/4 cup brewed coffee; or 3/4 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk; or 2 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar mixed with scant 3/4 cup milk (let sit for a few minutes so that the mixture curdles - this is a cheater buttermilk that I use all the time)
3 tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable or safflower)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. 

Peanut Butter Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese (I prefer Neufchatel), room temperature
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup all creamy peanut butter
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream (optional)

Directions
Chocolate Cupcake

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners, set aside.

2.  In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, sift/whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3.  Add eggs, water/coffee/espresso, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.  Mix with a hand mixer low-medium low or stand mixer (Kitchen Aid speed 2-4) for about 3 minutes, until the batter is well mixed.  You made need to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during mixing.

4.  Divide the batter evenly into the baking cups, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.  Put pans in the oven, decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 23-25 minutes.  The cupcakes are done when the tops spring back when touched.  If you need to rotate your pans during baking, I would not do so until16-18 minutes - if you rotate too early, you may end up with caved in cupcakes.

5.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1.  In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until white and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese, vanilla, and salt, beating until well incorporated.

2.  With the mixer on low speed, add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat until well incorporated.  Repeat with the remaining 3 cups of powdered sugar.  If the mixtures appears to be too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and mixing until you reach the desired consistency.  After all the sugar has been add, beat on high for 2 minutes.

3.  Add the peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated.  Spread on top of cupcakes.

And if by all odds you have extra frosting, it's great sandwiched between chocolate icebox cookies.


Cupcake from Life in a Peanut Shell

The recipe from Martha herself.

Snickers Cupcakes

Difficulty level: easy
time consuming: eh, kinda.

I made these Snickers cupcakes as a Bid 'n' Buy item for my church festival.  I was really excited when they sold for more than the estimated value.  Did you know that "gourmet" cupcakes sell for around $3 a cupcake?!? Crazy, right!

These cupcakes are a chocolate cake, filled with milk chocolate mousse, topped with chocolate buttercream and chopped up Snickers candies.  They are deeeee-licious.  Although this isn't my favorite chocolate cake recipe, it does produce a nice, light, moist cake.  But in the future I'll probably stick to the Bakerella one I love.

 Recipe: Snickers Cupcakes
yields 24 cupcakes or so

Ingredients:

Cake

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 small box Jello Chocolate Fudge instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Mousse Filling
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
4-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
3-5 tablespoons milk
2 bags mini Snickers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners.

2.  Make the cupcakes:  In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, milk, sour cream, and vanilla.  Beat, starting out slow until all the ingredients look "wet," then increase speed until well combined.

3.  Place batter into cupcake tin about half to 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating your pans if your oven heats unevenly halfway through baking.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Remove from tin and let cool. (**Note: if you decide to bake mini cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes)

4.  While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the mousse filling.  Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl (30 seconds at 50% power, stir, repeat until smooth).  Set aside to cool (but not re-harden).

5.  Place whipping cream in the (cleaned) bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attached, and  whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks for and it looks like whipped cream.  Don't overwhip at this point, or else you will start on the path of making homemade butter.

6.  Spoon the cooled, melted chocolate over the whipped cream and fold to combine.  Place mixture into a piping bag.

7.  Once the cupcakes have cooled, fill the cupcakes.  Using a paring knife, apple corer, or cupcake plunger, remove the middles of your cupcakes.  Fill the cupcakes with mousse.  (Or be like the original recipe and just shove your piping bag tip into the cupcake and squeeze!)

8.  Set filled cupcakes aside and prepare the frosting.  In the bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream butter until it's smooth, about 5 minutes on speed 6.

9.  While that's going, sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a separate bowl.  Slowly add this to the creamed butter.  Increase speed to high (speed 8) and continue to whip until it has increased in volume and is nice and light.  Add vanilla, and beat for another minute.

10.  At this time, check out the consistency of the frosting.  If you like it, pipe it on your cupcakes.  If it's too thick, add some milk, a tablespoon or two at a time, continue to whip, and add more until you reach the consistency you like.

10.  Place icing into a piping bag and top the cupcakes!  Chop up the snickers into small, bite sized pieces and top the cupcakes with the candy.  Enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Kevin & Amanda.

Cassata Cupcakes

   
Difficulty level: Medium
Time consuming: Yeah.

 Have you ever heard of a cassata cake?  Most people think of the typical, Italian styled cake, which is usually a dense cake (like pound cake) layered with strawberries and ricotta cheese.  If you have had a Cleveland-style cassata cake, you are lucky.  In Cleveland, the cassata cake is a heavenly combination of white cake, macerated strawberries, custard, and whipped cream, usually in a layered form.

The first time I made this recipe, I had been craving cassata cake for awhile.  I wanted to share this with the Special Ed team at school but couldn't find any cassata cupcake recipes out there, so I had to forge my own way.  The positive feedback about the finished product was overwhelming - they were a huge hit!

I started by searching for a yellow cake with real strawberry pieces in it.  There are a lot of strawberry cakes out there, but not so much for a cake with strawberries.  I found this recipe from Annie's Eats and it was exactly what I had hoped for.

This was a two day baking project for me.  On the first day, I baked the cupcake and prepared the custard.  Doing these ahead of time are smart because the cupcakes can cool completely and the pastry cream can set overnight.  The second day I made the frosting and assembled the cupcakes.

The first time I made this, I made some substitutions from Annie's original recipe since I did not have cake flour or buttermilk on hand.  I also did not go with her frosting since I was working from my own inspirations.  This is the cake I made when I learned that using a 12-cup muffin pan does not cook the middle two cupcakes in my oven.  The cakes baked okay and the strawberries stayed suspended in the batter, but the tops definitely went concave on me (a problem I fixed the second time I made these, which is the recipe I'm sharing below)

After they cooled, I scooped out the middles using a paring knife.  I have since then bought an apple corer and use that to core the middles of my cupcakes, it's way easier, and also cheaper than a cupcake plunger.

I adapted my grandma's custard recipe (which I think was from Betty Crocker...) and let that set overnight.  The next day I filled the cupcakes* (I would not recommend doing this more than a day before serving, but day of is better if you've got the time - you don't want them getting soggy!) and frosted them.

My plan was to pipe whip cream on top instead of frosting, but what I learned the hard way is that whip cream melts if it's at room temperature for more than 5 minutes.  After a quick call to my mom and some googling, I found a stabilized whip cream frosting recipe that I tinkered with and piped beautifully with no signs of melting.

Garnished with a sliced strawberry and some red jimmies and they were fantastic.  The special ed team gobbled them up.  I will definitely make these again.

*I had a decent amount of extra custard so I whipped up some puff pastry (just the basic recipe that comes with the Wilton cookie gun/press) and ganache and made eclairs.  The special ed team also got to enjoy these treats as well.  And I couldn't let a meeting go by without bringing something with chocolate, right?

Yield: about 18-20 regular sized cupcakes or 60-70 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

Custard (halve this recipe if you do not want extra custard)
 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 t salt
3 T cornstarch or 6 T of flour
12 oz evaporated milk (preferably not low or fat free)
4 oz of milk (whatever's in the fridge - skim, 2%...) (If you halve the recipe, just use 8 oz evaporated milk and omit this milk)
4 egg yolks
2 t vanilla
5 T room temperature butter, cubed

Cake

2 ½ cups cake flour or 2 cups and 2T all purpose flour (I recommend cake flour if you've got it as it yields a finer textured crumb)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, mix and let sit for 5 minutes 1/4 c milk and 1/4T lemon juice or white vinegar - the mixture will look curdled)
1 1/2  oz veggie/canola/etc oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries (I diced mine into approx 1/4" cubes, and set on a paper towel to blot out some of the moisture before I added to my batter; - you can use frozen berries, but it's super important to blot them)

Frosting (*depending on how generous you are with frosting, you can halve this recipe)
2 eight ounce tubs whipped topping (like cool whip)
1 eight ounce package cream cheese
3-5 T powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract

Directions

1.  Prepare custard:  In a small sauce pan, mix/whisk together sugar, salt, cornstarch.  Stir in milks.

2. In a small bowl, mix egg yolks together.  Set aside.

3. Cook milk mixture over medium low heat, stirring until it boils.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

4. Temper the eggs with a small amount of milk mixture.  Once eggs are tempered, add to saucepan and bring to a boil, let boil approx 1 minute.

5.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.

6.  Cover surface with saran wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate.

7.  Prepare the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Set aside.

8.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until just combined. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Add half the flour mixture, stir until incorporated, then add the remaining flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped strawberries.

9. Fill cupcake wells 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter.

• Bake regular sized cupcakes for 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Baking can take up to 30 minutes, depending on your oven.
• Bake mini cupcakes for 13-14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• **Darker pans will bake faster, so keep an eye on your cupcakes.

10. Cool completely on a wire rack. (This is a good time to make the frosting - recipe below!)

11.  Prepare frosting: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, then add whipped topping.  Mix until contents seem well mixed.

12.  Add powdered sugar (sifted) until frosting becomes stiff.  This may take several minutes.  Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.

13.  Back to the cupcakes: Using a paring knife, apple corer, or cupcake plunger, create the hole to fill your cupcake - do not go all the way down to the paper liner.  Place prepared custard into a piping bag and fill the cupcakes.

14. Prepare frosting.  Fill a piping bag or gallon sized ziplock bag (either cut off the corner or fit with a large piping tip) with frosting.  Pipe on top of cupcakes.

15.  Garnish with a slice of strawberry and a light sprinkling of red jimmies.

These are a lot of work but they are 100% worth the effort.

**Because these cupcakes turn out soooo moist, some may separate from the paper liners.  If you prefer not to serve less than pretty cupcakes (like me), you can crumble the ugly cakes and mix with extra frosting and make pretty strawberry shortcake cake pops.  Yum!!

Cake recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.