Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes!

With it being the time of year it is, there is one flavor I naturally gravitate towards--mint. Whether it be in a Ho-Ho Mocha from Caribou or Candy Cane Jo-Jo's from Trader Joes--I love it all! So of course, I had to try my hand at peppermint cupcakes. Oh yah, and of course they had to be chocolate too...So after some searching for the perfect recipe, I found this one. I made some modifications as I went, and used SMBC with peppermint extract as the frosting.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup cooled, strong coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners. In a large bowl stir the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Make a well and pour in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and oil. Mix until smooth. Fill liners about 2/3 full. Bake until top springs back, about 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely.

Candy Cane White Chocolate Ganache

14 oz white chocolate (not almond bark--make sure there is cocoa butter in the ingredient list.)2/3 cup heavy cream
8 candy canes, crushed

*Make sure the candy canes are really crushed, or they won't be able to fit through your decorator tip when filling the cupcakes.

Place white chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat heavy cream until simmering, then pour over white chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Allow to cool, then add the crushed candy canes.

Peppermint Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Follow the instructions here.

Once cupcakes are completely cool and filling is completely cool, use a medium sized round tip and fill the cupcakes with the ganache. Frost with Peppermint SMBC and decorate as you wish--I used red and white crystal sprinkles and crushed candy canes. Enjoy, and take a bite!

Love: cupcakes and weddings

chocolate raspberry, vanilla, and pumpkin cupcakes

Alright, so I'm a little behind (like about a month) and I can't believe I completely forgot to post about a wedding I was honored to be a part of! It was my friends Samantha and Shane's wedding, and it was absolutely beautiful! It was a fall themed wedding, so a fall-flavored cupcake was a must! We finally decided on vanilla cupcakes, chocolate raspberry cupcakes, and pumpkin cupcakes with maple buttercream. Also, I made an 8inch red velvet cake as their cutting cake. Soooo after 5 batches of vanilla cupcakes, 5 batches of chocolate cupcakes, 1 batch of raspberry filling, 4 batches of pumpkin cupcakes, 15-ish (I lost count...) batches of swiss meringue buttercream, one red velvet cake, a few many hours, plus all the bridesmaid duties I successfully made and frosted over 350 cupcakes! Luckily, I had a pretty great assistant for some of the filling and frosting! Thanks Tracy :) I secretly think she just didn't want to help decorate the reception...haha...oh well, I'll take it!

The beautiful bride and me!

my wonderful assistant (and the maid of honor) Tracy and me

I'm sharing the pumpkin cupcake recipe, which would be a great treat during these crisp fall days, or as a nice change in pace for a Thanksgiving dessert. It is moist like a pumpkin cupcake should be, with a little extra spice, and finished perfectly with the smooth, creamy, and sweet maple buttercream. It was a bit of a challenge to make these cupcakes, as I realized a month before the wedding that there was a national pumpkin shortage. Hmmm...luckily I have a pretty awesome grandma, who scoured her town to find me some....and bought me about twice as many cans as asked for...so needless to say, I'm stocked for awhile! But no worries, I've heard that the shelves are once again stocked with pumpkin!

vanilla cupcakes decorated with sunflowers

red velvet cutting cake

cake table

Pumpkin Cupcakes (adapted from this recipe by David Leite)
Make 2 dozen


4 oz (1 stick) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I use fresh ground)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup pumpkin


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line pans with cupcake liners.
Beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and black pepper. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixer. Add the vanilla to the buttermilk and alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Add the pumpkin and mix until just incorporated. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full, they will not rise very much. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.


Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
3 sticks plus 2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (quality is key!)


See this post for instructions, adding the maple syrup instead of the vanilla.


Once cupcakes are cooled, frost with the buttercream and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.


Enjoy, and take a bite!

Snickerdoodle....Cupcakes!

Nothing is better than a warm, spicy snickerdoodle cookies....except maybe that in Cupcake form! I had to make treats for a winner of a fun contest at work and make treats for a sorority alumnae function. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart's website and tweaked it a little. I think adding the almond extract made the flavor a little more nutty. And, it was just the right amount of cinnamon to add a little something, and everybody seemed to love them!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

makes 24(ish) cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your muffin tins by using liners or spraying with cooking spray.

Sift first five ingredients together in a medium bowl. In your mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, one at a time scraping down the bowl often. Add the extracts and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and milk alternately, beating well after each addition.

Fill liners 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

After cooled, frost with desired frosting. I used SMBC with a hint of cinnamon added in.

Enjoy, and take a bite!

These cupcakes are the only pictures I got of this recipe--decorated for my sorority's alumnae function with our symbols--a kite and a pansy!

GOLDEN Birthday Cupcakes!!

A little over a month ago, I celebrated my golden birthday! I really wanted to make golden cupcakes (yes, I do make my own cake for my birthday :)), but hadn't found anything that would have golden frosting (and was something that I thought looked good). One of my gifts from my sister, was the cookbook Cupcake Heaven and while flipping through it I found a recipe for peanut butter and jelly cupcakes...and the frosting looked golden...PERFECT! And that they were :)

Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jelly Partycakes

makes 12 (I think it made about 15 for me)

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour (called for self-rising, but I used all purpose plus the baking powder and salt)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp raspberry (or strawberry ) jelly (I used raspberry preserves)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in pans. Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and fold in.

Spoon teaspoons of batter into the liners, flatten slightly and make an indent. Drop about 1/2 tsp of jelly into each indent. Top with the remaining batter. Bake 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan about five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter frosting

I didn't want to use the frosting the recipe called for, so I just used a basic butter/powdered sugar frosting recipe and added peanut butter.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I prefer JIF)

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp milk (more or less depending on consistency)

Beat butter and peanut butter. Add powdered sugar. Once completely mixed in, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until frosting is spreadable. Beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.

Spread frosting on cupcakes. Enjoy, and take a bite!

a little blogging hiatus...but definitely not a baking one!

It's been a little over a month since my last post...I guess I could blame the BEAUTIFUL Minnesota weather we've been having. I have not stopped baking (when could I ever...) but with the nice weather I have spent more time outside, have been a lot busier at work and have seemed to have something going on every night for a while...apparently I'm reverting to my college days a little quicker than I expected! But, I have made quite a few delicious things for some parties, barbeques and family events that I'll be sharing very soon! I'm travelling for work this week, so I actually have some down time at night and hopefully can get some good recipes shared :)



Way back at the beginning of May I co-planned a bachelorette party for my awesome friend Jenn, who actually got married last Saturday...so needless to say it was another eventful weekend! Anyway, I of course went a wee bit overboard on the treats I brought--cupcakes and cookies and bars and muffins. Uff-da. I guess I just have all these ideas of what I want to bring and can't narrow it down! The cupcakes were cream filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. The cupcakes were moist and had a great chocolate flavor with a suprise of sweet marshmallow-y cream in the middle. The frosting definitely is another winner! I can't seem to make anything else...and just keep finding ways to modify it to fit what I want to make. Definitely great for a girl's night...all we really need is chocolate...and cream :)

Marshmallow Cream Filling

(modified from this recipe)

2 tsp hot water

1/4 tsp salt

1 (7 oz) container marshmallow cream

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

(I used butter instead of shortening even though it wasn't as bright of white and a little more vanilla)

Dissolve the salt in the water in a medium sized bowl. Add the marshmallow cream, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed with a hand mixer until combined. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Use the swiss meringue buttercream recipe found here, and add 4 oz melted unsweetened chocolate that has cooled a little to the frosting at the end.

Assembly: While cupcakes are baking, prepare the filling and frosting. After the cupcakes have cooled, place the filling in a pastry bag with a wide circle tip. Poke it into eac cupcake and squeeze until filled. Swirl the buttercream on top, enjoy and take a bite :)

ps...will update later with some pictures...

Wedding Bliss!

the cake stands on each table

Brooke and I with some cupcakes :)

So it's been a while since my last post, but I have a good reason! I was preparing for, making, and decorating cupcakes for a wedding I did the weekend before last (April 9)....then I guess I was just in recovery mode last week ;) The cupcake baking went really smoothly....the filling not so much...but the decorating went better than I expected! Everything ended up turning out fine! Even the two hour drive only caused a few cupcake fatalities :) I was so blessed to be making these cupcakes for my sister's (and my) friend Brooke. She was a beautiful bride and it brings me joy that I could help make her special day complete!

the "cake table"

The cupcakes I made were:

White chocolate raspberry with swiss meringue buttercream (top)

Chocolate mocha with mocha filling and frosting (bottom right)

Red Velvet with buttercream and chocolate ganache (bottom left)

my apartment cupcake operation :)

I'm going to share my swiss meringue buttercream recipe on my blog. I was definitely scared to make this because I had tried it once before and failed, but after reading in depth about it I realized what I thought was failure was actually supposed to happen :) So, take my word for it...it's not as hard as it looks.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

will frost 24 cupcakes or a double layer round cake

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1-1 1/2 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a metal bowl (I use my metal bowl that goes with my Kitchen-Aid mixer) and place over a double boiler.

Continue whisking and heat until the sugar is dissolved and not grainy....I feel it between my fingers. Place bowl on the mixer (or transfer to your mixing bowl) and use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites and sugar until white and approximately double in volume.

The mixture should stay in place when you remove the whisk from the bowl (but not to stiff peaks). Switch to the paddle attachment. Cut the sticks of butter into pieces, and add it about a stick at a time and keep beating! It is ESSENTIAL that the butter is at room temperature. If it isn't, it will not incorporate correctly! When you're adding the butter is the time that it might look a little soupy and gross.

DON'T THROW IT OUT, JUST KEEP BEATING!! It might also look a little "bubbly" but it will eventually come together and be smooth, buttery, velvety, etc...all those good things!

Mine took only 3-4 minutes to come together, but on some websites I was researching it on, I read it could take up to 10 minutes! Just be patient, and you'll be rewarded :)

Enjoy, and take a bite!

Cupcakes!

cupcakes.

They may be one of the most wonderful things in the world! Little cupcake shops with literally gazillions of flavors are a huge trend right now...and I know many people are hoping this isn't just a trend.

Personally, I love making cupcakes because they are so easy to experiment with. I can try new ideas and flavor combinations without having to go through the whole process of making a layer cake. They are also great to have at a party or get-together as they're pretty easy to eat and not that messy. So naturally, a cupcake recipe is the first recipe I will share. It is my "latest and greatest". I have made these cupcakes for a friends birthday, as Valentine's Day party at work, as "valentine's" for my friends when I visited in Ames, and I will be making them for a wedding in April. Sometimes I make the batter from scratch; other times I use a cake mix, especially if I'm short on time.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Batter using Cake Mix:

1 white cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and buttermilk until completely mixed. Gently stir in white chocolate chips. Fill liners about 2/3 full (using an ice cream scoop works well for me!) Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown

Homemade Batter:

White Chocolate Chip Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, adapted from Sky High

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low for 30 seconds. Add butter and buttermilk. Whisk eggs and vanilla together and then add in 2-3 additions to batter. Gently stir in white chocolate chips. Fill each cup approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely, you can also make these in advance and freeze them until ready to fill and frost.

Raspberry Filling:

This makes about 4 cups. You won't need that much to fill all the cupcakes (will probably need about half). BUT, this is yummy over ice cream, mixed with fruit, and some other desserts (hopefully one of which I will post about soon), so it's okay to make the full batch :)

16 oz frozen raspberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Raspberry liquor (optional)

Place frozen raspberries in a bowl and allow to thaw. Mash until no big pieces are left. In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, water, and cornstarch. Add raspberries. Heat to boiling over medium high heat, stirring as necessary. Boil and stir for an additional 1-2 minutes. Turn heat to low and add lemon juice and raspberry liquor. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer if you don't want seeds in your sauce. Allow to cool until ready to use.

This process kind of gets messy...but is fun! Once filling is cooled, place in pastry bag with a tip (I use a wilton number 10 or 12 tip...just a round one with a medium sized opening). Stick the tip into a cupcake and squeeze filling in as you lift it out. Continue until all the cupcakes are filled. If some filling gets on top of cupcake, take off with a spoon.

Frost with buttercream (recipe follows).

Buttercream:

this is my buttercream recipe, feel free to use your favorite...

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

**sometimes I will add raspberry liquor instead of the vanilla

4 Tbsp. milk

Cream butter and slowly add powdered sugar. Add flavoring. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

enjoy, and take a bite!