Devil's Food Cupcakes (Christmas style)

Yay! I survived! ;)

I hope everyone reading had a fantabulous holiday, despite any mad rushing around or last-minute baking.

We had a relatively quiet Christmas. My aunt and uncle came over. Food was delicious, loud conversations ensued. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was on all day on AMC. No matter how many times I see it, when the squirrel jumps out, I'm busting up with laughter.

The present-opening part held two good surprises for me. I've spoken in the past of wanting to get one of those vhs-to-dvd recorders, to preserve all the home movies and dance recitals and such; Dave got me one, which was a really, really big surprise. Secondly, between four gift cards, I've got about a hundred dollars worth to Barnes & Noble. :D

It's the end of the year, which means my annual 'end of the year' book. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is my FAVORITE book. I've lost count how many times I've read it over the past ten years. In order to, well, make my own tradition, I decided to read it but once a year. I'm quite confident that I'll finish it before midnight on the 31st; currently on page 363, out of 876. Slightly worried, yes, but I'm still posting this before it's a week old - woohoo! ;)

Anyways, I first made these about a year and a half ago? I wanted something simple and chocolatey. And who doesn't love cupcakes? :)



(Sorry, Mel, the duck didn't fully make this picture. But Stitch did!) ;)

Ingredients:
½ cup boiling water
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour
½ + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened
10 Tbsp. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk boiling water into cocoa until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with cocoa mixture; beginning and ending with the flour. Fill liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Heat the cream until boiling, then pour over chocolate, stirring to melt, adding the corn syrup. Dip each cupcake into ganache upside down to get a good coating on it.

Cooking to Combat Cancer 3 : Mini Pomegranate Chocolate Cupakes

I am very, very happy to see that Chris from Mele Cotte is once again hosting the Cooking to Combat Cancer blog event. The first one was my very first blog event. That and like so many others, cancer hits close to home.

My dad's currently going through round number four of chemo. He started it earlier in the month, and is starting to hit the not so fun stage of the side affects. Extreme tiredness and vertigo seem to be the big ones right now. And trouble hearing, oddly enough. It's harder on me, personally, this time, since during the previous rounds, I was still out in California. But when it gets hard, I always have baking and books to distract me. ;)

We all know how wonderful pomegranates are. Not just taste-wise, but also their benefits towards health. High in antioxidants, vitamin B5 and vitamin C. While most studies have mentioned it's use in heart disease, there are clinical trials going on now for its effects on prostate cancer.

For my dad, I figured this would be an easy way to get him something that's high in antioxidants. We all know chemo greatly weakens the immune system, so any extra help has got to be good, right? And if it's bite-sized and involving chocolate, my dad's likely to be there. :)

The cupcake itself is vegan, and the cream cheese frosting can easily be converted just by using non-dairy cream cheese. So it's a win-win for all, I think. Definitely use the straight up pomegranate juice, not the combination of flavors or anything made from concentrate, as the flavor will be stronger. (POM brand would be excellent; same with Whole Foods' brand.) The cream cheese provides a nice contrast in flavor, plus, hey, there's calcium! ;)

Oh! I used the recipe on this without halfing it at all. I wound up with 24 mini cupcakes and 12 regular sized. So, feel free to half it or third it, whatever, to make the amount you want.



Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup pomegranate juice
½ cup boiling water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ Tbsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together into a mixing bowl, leaving a well in the center.

Combine pomegranate juice and boiling water in a measuring cup, stirring to combine. Add vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla to the cup. Pour into mixing bowl, beating until combined. Batter will be thin. Fill paper liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
1½-2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until combined. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using.

Nutella Cupcakes

Admittedly, I'm generally behind on most things. Except for time. I'm very good at being on time. But movies, sometimes books, current trends? Yeah, forget it. Most movies that everyone and their mother have seen (with the exception of LOTR and all the Harry Potter movies), I probably haven't seen yet. Forest Gump? Saw it for the first time maybe four years ago? Star Wars? Bits and pieces, but have never seen one in its entirety. (Please don't throw anything at me) ;)

This recipe, originally created by Donna Hay, seems to be very popular. Although most posts that I found about it were from four years ago. Again, behind. But it's okay; they were worth the wait. And, in my defense, I didn't read food blogs four years ago.

Since the introduction of Nutella to this household, my parents have become addicted. I'm worried that I might need a 12-step program for them or something. Seriously. Since I'm not usually off of work today, I thought I'd surprise them with these. Dave gets his peanut butter baked goods tomorrow, if all goes as mentally planned.

My only complaint about these was the swirling in of the nutella. That could be due to the fact that I was using a cake tester since there are no toothpicks in this house. But other than that, I'm pleased. Really easy to make, not much to clean up - good deal. :)



Ingredients:
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1-3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
Nutella (about 1/3 cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat butter and sugar until light, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated, then add vanilla. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; add gradually to the butter mixture.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full, then top with about 1½ tsp. of Nutella. Using a toothpick, swirl the Nutella with the batter, creating a marble-y, swirly pattern.

Bake at 325F for 20 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

I decided that this weekend would be the day that I would finally use the new mini muffin pan. My mom got it for me from a co-worker who does Pampered Chef stuff on the side. Good deal. :)

After some fruitless searches, both in book and internet form, I found myself over at Baking Bites, and came across this recipe, and decided to half it. It's another one that comes together super-duper easy, although it does create a very sticky batter. I was a bit concerned, but it worked out well.

I only frosted half of them, and well, within ten minutes, they were all gone. I'm sure between Dave being home tomorrow and my dad, the rest will have "mysteriously disappeared" by the time I get home from work. :)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp. instant coffee powder
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. (325F if it's a darker colored pan) Grease or line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, coffee powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl, making a well in the center.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients. Mix just until combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4s full.

Bake at 350F (/325F) for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
½ tsp. vanilla
½ to 1 Tbsp. milk
1 to 1½ cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and milk, adjusting for consistancy. Add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

Alright, before I start talking about these cupcakes, I have to ask this: Has anyone else heard of Kraft's new Mallow Bites? They're chocolate-covered mini marshmallows. We found them at Target today, and they're quite yummy. Here, I took a picture. :)



(don't mind Stitch; he guards my computer) ;)

I poked around a bit online, but never found anything. *shrug*

Onto the cupcakes! After drinking Inko's Cherry Vanilla White Tea, I asked myself, "I wonder if I could make a cherry vanilla cupcake?" The tea is very smooth and has almost a subtle cherry taste, and I really wish I could find it nearby. Fast-forward to two (or three?) weeks later, and here it is. There are little to no cherry vanilla cupcake recipes on the web. Chockylit had one, but I knew I didn't want a cherry filling. So I went with the basic vanilla cupcake, but used some vanilla sugar I had made, instead of regular sugar. Then went with maraschino cherry juice in the frosting.

Maybe it's because I know it's there, but I taste the vanilla when eating the cupcake. Dave and my dad said no, that the cherry frosting overwhelms, but my mom said she picked up SOME vanilla flavor. Maybe using vanilla bean as well? This one is going to the "needs tweaking" mental file, because I'm not ready to give this up. I want that smooth cherry-vanilla flavor, goshdarnit! ;) But, despite my 'misgivings', Dave ate three and both my parents have plans for the remaining ones.



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup vanilla sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 10-12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually add dry ingredients. Then add milk and vanilla. Fill cupcake liners half- to 2/3's full.

Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack. Frost with cherry frosting.

Cherry Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
¼ to ½ maraschino cherry juice (adjust to taste)
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add milk and cherry juice. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until desired consistancy is reached. Refrigerate for at least an hour in order to firm up.

Strawberry-Filled Lime Cupcakes

So I kinda forgot that I had another package of strawberries in the fridge when I bought two more. They were on sale and I'm a sucker for strawberries, what can I say? I started thinking and somehow the Lime Monster came in my mind and decided upon these cupcakes.

But then the Lime Monster started getting greedy. He didn't want strawberries in HIS cupcakes. He convinced two of the berries to off themselves by rolling off the cutting board and onto the floor of despair. Worry not, dear readers, I fought the good fight and assigned both the Lime Monster and the berries to some joint counseling, where they worked out their differences and now live together, peacefully, in cupcakey bliss. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. :)

I used the margarita cupcake recipe, minus the tequila, since those had more of a lime taste, and used the icing from the original lime cupcakes. They came out good. Dave even ate two, shockingly enough. The lime taste is subtle on the outer rim, but overpowered by the berry in the center. So it's like two cupcake flavors in one. I tried to get a picture of the cupcake split in half, so that the strawberry would be visible by it didn't come out well. The berry made the icing get runny and it just wasn't a pretty picture.



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
¼ cup lime juice
1½ tsp. lime zest
1 cup milk
¼ cup oil
½ tsp. vanilla
12 strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Beat sugar, lime juice, zest, milk, oil, and vanilla until combined. Add in flour mixture, beating until incorporated. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4s full, then place berry in center of each one.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted along the outer edge of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before icing.

Lime Icing:
¼ cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. lime juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix butter, milk, and lime juice until combined. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth.

Hazelnut Cupcakes

(This is going to be a brief post, as Dave's waiting for the computer)

Oh, I had such high hopes for these. After what seemed like forever, I finally got my hands on some hazelnut extract, so of course, I had visions of these cupcakes ever since.

Finally was able to make them today. And despite adding more hazelnut extract, I still can't taste it! They just taste like chocolate cupcakes. Good cupcakes, sure, but not what I had hoped for. Hmph. Back to the drawing board.



Ingredients:
½ cup boiling water
6 Tbsp. cocoa
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. hazelnut extract
1 cup flour
½ tsp. + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
10 Tbsp. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk water into cocoa until smooth. Whisk in milk and extract.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Alternately add flour mix and cocoa mix, starting and ending with the flour. Fill liners halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 tsp. hazelnut extract

Heat cream until boiling, then pour over chocolate, stirring until melted. Add corn syrup and extract, until well mixed.

Margarita Cupcakes

Well, afer the success of the Lime cupcakes on Friday, I thought I'd get myself some tequila and try the Margarita Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Maybe I should preface this by saying that while I love a good margarita, I need flavoring to it. I don't like stuff that's too alcohol-y. Which is good on one hand, but bad on the other, when it sneaks up on you. :)

I love the cupcake part. It's more lime than Friday's, and there are no complaints about that. The icing? Even though I used just under a tablespoon of tequila, it tastes way too strong. Dave disagrees, but whatever. He did the whole college drinking thing when he was 19. LOL But put together, I can deal with the icing taste. It firms up quite nicely, too. Oh, and despite where the recipe's from, they aren't vegan. lol

Maybe somehow I could do a strawberry margarita cupcake. :D



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup lime juice
1½ tsp. lime zest
1 cup milk
¼ cup oil
2 Tbsp. tequila
½ tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat lime juice, zest, milk, oil, tequila, vanilla, and sugar, until well-combined. Add flour mixture, beating until smooth. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Icing:
¼ cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. tequila
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Mix butter, milk, lime juice, and tequila. Add sugar, one cup at a time, until smooth. If icing is too thin, add 1 Tbsp of sugar at a time until desired consistancy is reached.

Lime Cupcakes

I feel like ever since I had the key lime pie a few weeks ago, a monster has been let loose. One that squees over the very thought of something being lime flavored. A monster that dances happily while eating lime icing out of the mixing bowl. And the monster also bought some lime yogurt to try this week, too. Even now, there's a bottle of raspberry lime rickey by my the monster's side. ;)

It's not surprising. Even as a kid, if I liked something, I'd want to eat it all the time. You wouldn't believe how many times I ate Chef Boyardee's mini ravioli or the tortellini. And then I'd get tired of it and never eat it again. It even happened to my chai tea for a while. I didn't drink it for nearly two years, then got back into it, and now get it everytime I go to Starbucks or a restaurant that serves it. Is there an Obsessers Anonymous out there?

Even after last week's disatrous lime bars, when I saw these babies over at Coconut and Lime, I knew I had to make them. After tasting the batter, I was smitten. After the icing? Oh, it was full on love.

The cupcake alone doesn't have the strong lime taste, but when combined with the icing, it's perfect. Dave wants tequila in it. I may be making margarita cupcakes tomorrow. :)



Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
Zest of one lime
2 eggs
2 tsp. lime juice
3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and lime zest until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in juice. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Fill muffin liners two-thirds full.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Lime Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp. butter
Zest of one lime
2 Tbsp. buttermilk
1 Tbsp. lime juice

Combine sugar, butter, and zest. Add buttermilk and lime juice. Mix until well combined. Spread over cooled cupcake.

Cadbury Cupcakes

This month's Master Baker ingredient was a bit more diverse: Easter candy.

For me, my ultimate Easter candy are the Mini Eggs. Simple, but delightful, I stretch that bag out for as long as I possibly can. The Cadbury Cream Egg is number two. As a kid, I wasn't a big fan of it. I think the goo was a bit disturbing for me. But something changed as I got older and soon that goo was a happy-goo. And why does that sentence sound so very wrong? LOL

Anyways! When I found out the ingredient, I knew I wanted to work with either the Cream Egg or Mini-Eggs. Anything else would just be... it just wouldn't be. I proposed both to Dave and my beloved Guinea Pigs this idea: What if I could make a cupcake with an egg in the center? Which led to the main question: How?

I baked a batch of yellow cupcakes last Saturday and put four eggs into the uncooked batter. Wasn't sure how the egg and the goo would respond to the oven. Thankfully, the oven didn't explode. ;) But, upon the undressing of the cupcake, the bottom came off with the liner, revealing a still somewhat egg-shaped piece of chocolate. But it was empty. The goo escaped, giving the bottom of the cupcake an odd orange tint. Back to the drawing board.

Long story short, the image of a chocolate cupcake with the egg inside came to mind. Lacking the eggs for the Devil's Food Cupcakes, I went with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World's chocolate cupcakes, then hollowed out a bit of the center to place the egg in. I went with the mascarpone frosting because, oh, it's like satin on my tongue. :)

So, onto the next important part: the pictures. :)





Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

Whisk together the milk and vinegar, and set aside to let curdle. Add the sugar, applesauce, and vanilla to milk mixture and beat until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat well-mixed. Pour into liners, 3/4s full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes.

Frosting:
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
2-2½ cups sifted powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract

In an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add more sugar, if needed, for desired consistancy.

Assembly:
Using a knife (or spoon), remove a small piece of the center of the cupcake. Insert Cadbury Egg. Cover with frosting.

Cupcakes Spectacular

I'm posting this now in hopes of making the deadline. Arfi, of HomeMadeS, who is hosting the Cupcake Spectacular responded to my email with a positive answer: Yes, I could use a cupcake that I made about two weeks, so long as I posted it in a new post. Good deal!

Seeing as I don't currently know what time it is in New Zealand, I'm posting this hurriedly, just in case. :D

Devil's Food Cupcakes!



Ingredients:
½ cup boiling water
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour
½ + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened
10 Tbsp. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk boiling water into cocoa until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with cocoa mixture; beginning and ending with the flour. Fill liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Heat the cream until boiling, then pour over chocolate, stirring to melt, adding the corn syrup. Dip each cupcake into ganache upside down to get a good coating on it.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

When I somehow came across the Eat to the Beat blog event, one combining my love of baking and my love of music, I hoped that I would have the chance to participate. Timing ended up working with me for a change, instead of against, as it normally does. :)

The 'rules' were pretty simple: Make and blog about a food or drink that somehow relates to a song, an album, a band, etc. On Saturday, I became searching song lyrics, using my favorites as a start-off point. Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler - none of them reference food that much. I thought about musicals, Spamalot coming to mind, but I really didn't want to work with Spam. LOL

I eventually was searching through Dixie Chicks lyrics, and came across their song Sin Wagon. Something clicked in my head. "Hey, people often describe certain desserts as SINFUL, maybe I can go with that..."

The first recipe I tried? Oy. It came out really soupy. This has not been a good week for first recipes. The firsts go horribly, but the second ones? Oh, the second one. I'll talk about that in a second. (No pun intended)

Of course, with Devil's Food cupcakes, there are like fifty million songs referencing the devil. But I went into this with Sin Wagon in my head and eventually on my cd player. :)

The batter was simply divine. I could've eaten it with a spoon. The ganache (my first ganache ever!) was the same. In fact, I did take a spoonful or two, because hey, it'd been a long day at work. ;) But, shockingly, I did not try a fully frosted cupcake until this evening. I let my guinea pigs go first, and they all loved it. Me? Oh my god. They taste professional. They taste like heaven. I want another already. :)



Ingredients:
½ cup boiling water
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour
½ + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened
10 Tbsp. brown sugar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk boiling water into cocoa until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with cocoa mixture; beginning and ending with the flour. Fill liners about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Heat the cream until boiling, then pour over chocolate, stirring to melt, adding the corn syrup. Dip each cupcake into ganache upside down to get a good coating on it.


PS: I just made Dave try one, and he enjoyed as well. We've got a winner! :D

Shirley Temple Cupcakes... kinda

Last weekend, while using up my gift card at Sur La Table (thank you, Sandy!), I came across a bottle of grenadine, and picked it up, thinking I could find a recipe to use it in. Yeah, it's easier sounding than what it really is.

I emailed Stef from the Cupcake Project to see if she had any experience with it or any ideas. She thought of Shirley Temple cupcakes, to which there seems to be no known recipe for! LOL

Today wasn't one of my good baking days. In fact, if I didn't say that I'd make these and promise Amelia that I'd bring some into work on Sunday, I probably would've given up, because it was that wracking on the nerves. I don't want to think about how much butter and flour was wasted today. After much crying, math-ing, yelling, and throwing things, I finally decided on the basic golden cupcake recipe from 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World', adding lemon and lime zest. That came out very good. Naked or with frosting. Good deal.

The frosting. I planned on doing a cream cheese frosting with the grenadine in it. Yeah. I started out slow, just adding a tablespoon of grenadine at a time. That made no difference in taste. I finally just started pouring it straight from the bottle in attempt to get a consistant flavor. But in my... whatever-mood I was in, I failed to add more confectioners' sugar, just figuring that the frosting would firm up while in the fridge. Yeah, it didn't.

But a few were acceptable for photographing this time, at least. :) Would I make them again? The cupcakes, most definitely. I'm not sure on the frosting, without doing some serious changes.



Lemon-Lime Cupcakes:
(adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
½ Tbsp. lemon zest
½ Tbsp. lime zest

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar; set aside to curdle.

Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. Add lemon and lime zests. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Fill muffin cups two-thirds of the way full.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about ten minutes, before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Grendadine Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. grenadine (adjust to taste)
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add milk. Add grenadine. Gradually add in confectioners' sugar. Let sit in fridge for about an hour to firm up before using.

PS: Check out Stef's rendition over at Cupcake Project. Thanks for being such a good sport! :D

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

I wasn't sure what to make this week. Finally I decided on these cupcakes, originally found over on Tartelette, since last week's cupcakes weren't quite up to par. I only did a half-batch, though, just in case, but I'll post the original recipe.

I tried the cupcake naked at first and, boy, was I pleased. Soft, moist, and pumpkin-y. Then came the frosting. I had never had mascarpone before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. A slightly more... demure cream cheese. Doesn't have the same kick as the regular cream cheese, and was much smoother. Put the two together (cupcake and frosting) and you have a winner. :)



Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine pumpkin, vanilla extract and milk in a separate bowl. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Mascarpone Frosting:
16 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
½ cup butter, at room temperature
4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add 4 cups of the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add more sugar, if needed, for desired consistancy.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been so incredibly lazy and/or tired these days. I kept meaning to post this, since I made the cupcakes themselves on Friday. But I either ran out of time, forgot, had a bad headache, or forgot. Perhaps my brain is being eaten by trolls at night, and that can be my excuse? :)

So I found the recipe over at BakeSpace, and the combination was appealing. The batter tasted delicious, so I had high hopes. Sadly, the cakes themselves seem to be a bit on the dry side. And it's not just my tastebuds being off-kilter, others have agreed. So I'm not sure if I'd make that part again.

But the frosting! Oh, the frosting. I'd have a love affair with it, if it were possible. I'm so glad I have extra frosting. There are some brownies that need a frosting, and that will just be perfect. It tastes just like the pumpkin cheesecake. Yum.

Oh, and I only made a half batch, just in case. :)



Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground allspice
1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. light, unsulfured molasses
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the molasses and vanilla. Spoon the batter into the cups about 2/3's full.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pans for about ten minute, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and pumpkin puree until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the spices and vanilla extract,, mixing well. Gradually add the sugar and beat until desired consistency. Refrigerate for 1 hour, Remove from refrigerator 5-10 minutes before using. Spread on the tops of the completely cooled cupcakes.

Pumpkin Curry Cupcakes

Sure, it was 71 degrees outside today. Not exactly autumnal, despite the leaves to shushel through. But I wanted pumpkin, gosh darnit, and nothing else would do. (Well, maybe gingerbread. Or something with 'home'-y spices. But you know what I mean.) I perused my usual recipe outlets with nothing catching my eye.

And then I decided to look over at Bake Space, where I hit the jackpot. Jackpot, as in, "Oh my god, I won MegaBucks!" kind of jackpot, in my opinion.

Even though I've had little to no experience with curry powder (I'm not one for spicy foods usually), just the thought of it flavored with the pumpkin called to my very soul. I searched around a bit more, but nope, it hooked me in with its sweet siren song.

I had my concerns, as I found myself to be a bit sneezy and sniffley while being in its presence. (The curry powder, that is.) I tried the batter, wasn't unhappy. Was very happy with the fact that I had very little batter left over afterwards. (Don't you hate recipes that leave you with a ton?)

The original recipe made 24, but just in case I didn't like it, I halfed it and just did 12. Also made a chocolate ganache from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World book, instead of the one on there. And I gotta say, I'm not impressed with the ganache. I had a very hard time working with it, despite its ease of making. Next time (and, oh, yes, there will be a next time. I don't care if I wind up being the only one who adores these babies.), I think I'll go with more traditional frosting.

Oh, the end result? Even with the not-as-pretty-as-I-imagined frosting? Divine. :)



Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1¼ tsp. curry powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
7½ oz. pureed pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.

Cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add eggs. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Add pumpkin. Fill muffin cups about halfway full.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Pomegranate Chocolate Cupcakes

I was watching Iron Chef the other night, and it was Battle Boar. Which totally doesn't interest me, because that's on the List of Animals I Won't Eat. But one thing that caught my attention was the marinade that either Bobby Flay or the contender used: maple syrup and pomegranate. I instantly turned to Dave and said, "What do you think of pomegranate cupcakes? Is it possible?" He shrugged and switched it back to the baseball game during the commercial. LOL

I started searching, to see if anyone else had the same thought, and had some luck. On the POM Juice website, they had a recipe.

Once mixed, the batter was very... soupy, for lack of a better word. I was half convinced it'd be a failure like the Carrot Cupcakes of last weekend. (Which we shall not speak of again LOL) Thankfully, they turned out very well, and I am Happy. :)

(Oh, and I halved their recipe, just in case it wasn't a winner LOL)

edited to add: I can't believe I forgot to mention the taste! I'm glad that I didn't cut the pomegranate juice down to half a cup. I think it keeps a good balance between the chocolate and the fruit taste. It's very yummy, I'm quite pleased with it. :)



Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup pomegranate juice
½ cup boiling water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ Tbsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in mixing bowl, making a well in the center.

In a large measuring cup, combine pomegranate juice and boiling water. Add oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and stir.

Pour liquids into flour mix, beating to combine. Fill muffin cups half full.

Bake at 350F for 23-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, milk, and sugar, and beat until frosting is of spreading consistency.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I think this is my fourth attempt at a peanut butter cupcake. They've come out either too heavy, too oily, or just plain not good enough. I'm still obsessing over Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and am currently hinting at my mom to buy it for me. ;)

So, these aren't fully vegan, since I didn't have any soy milk left. And the frosting isn't from the book at all, since I was lacking in ingredients. So I took one off of my recipe webpage. Oh, yeah, have I mentioned that? Gypsy Kitchen is my recipe website; not updated nearly enough, but it's there nonetheless. :)

But, yeah. I finally have a pb cupcake recipe that works! Woohoo! Fourth try's the charm, right? ;)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
½ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. ground flaxseed
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Mix soy milk with vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter, oil, sugar, molasses, vanilla, and flaxseed until well combined. Add the soy milk mixture and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full.

Bake at 350F for 23-26 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks.

Cocoa Frosting:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Large pinch salt
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup milk
½ tsp. vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients. Cream butter, milk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mixing until desired spreading consistency is reached.

Sexy Low-Fat Vanilla Cupcakes

I think every blog and its mother has posted a cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. With that, I simply had to get my hands on the book and give it a try. The library finally got in stock yesterday.

I tried this one first because I didn't really have to get any ingredients that I didn't already have. That, and hey, when a cupcake intro says "there's no way in freakin' hell you're putting down those cupcakes", how can a girl possibly resist?

And the taste? Oh my goodness. This is my official vanilla cupcake recipe. Hands down. I used the icing/decorating suggestion that they made, for the most part. I did half raspberries, half plums, but the plum pics didn't work out. They had to be quickly refrigerated so that they wouldn't fall off. Probably should've patted them dry a bit after chopping, hmm? Oh well. I had one and 'twas yummy. :)



Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
½ cup vanilla soy yogurt
2/3 cup vanilla or plain soy milk
¼ cup applesauce
3 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

Skinny Confectioners' Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 4 tsp. of soy milk or 1 Tbsp. flavored syrup (like the Torani brand)
½ cup seedless, smooth spreadable fruit or other preserves
1 cup fresh fruit or berries, washed, patted dry and thinly sliced, if necessary

Directions:
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, soy milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix well. Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full.

Bake at 350F for 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Icing:
Whisk together confectioners' sugar with soy milk or syrup, until desired consistancy is reached. If too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time; if too watery, add in more sugar by the tablespoon.

Assembly:
Spread top of cupcake with a few thin layers of spreadable fruit. Spoon a small circle of icing on top of jam, then decorate with fresh fruit. If desired, drizzle tops of fruit with icing as well.

Strawberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

When I first saw these over at Coconut & Lime, I knew I simply HAD to try them. The first attempt last week... well, we won't talk about those.

But THIS batch! Oh wow. I really wish my camera batteries hadn't died. By the time it's charged, they could very well be gone. My guinea pigs taste-testers at work (Henelyne, Johanna, Greg, Ella) loved them. And ya know what? Dave's even eaten a few. I'm down to three of them left in the fridge, from the original dozen I made on Wednesday night. So I guess that's a good sign. :D

Again, no picture because the camera batteries pooped out. Next time because I WILL be making these again.


Ingredients:
7 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1½ cups flour
12 small to medium strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream butter, zest, and sugar. Add juice and eggs. The mixture may look curdled. Mix in buttermilk. Slowly add flour, beating for an additional 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Fill muffin cups 3/4s full. Insert berry into the center of the cup.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until a tootpick inserted outside of the strawberry comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

I used a basic cream cheese recipe (as much as I hate making my own frosting), but you could easily do buttercream or something lemony. (Oh, yes, I did often find myself going, "Lemony Snickett!" while making these. *shrug* /ends geekiness)

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, beating well. Gradually add sugar. Let sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to thicken.