Sunday, June 26, 2011

Rise and Shine Cupcakes

Who said cupcakes were only for dessert? Not me. :) Yesterday I baked some brown sugar cupcakes. As I was working on the frosting it decided it didn't want to work with me. So I was left with two dozen cupcakes without frosting.

I searched the Internet and stumbled upon a glaze on MarthaStewart.com. Then I decided to adapt it and see how it turned out. After sampling the product it reminded me of something I would eat for breakfast. It falls into the same category with a cinnamon roll, coffee cake, or monkey bread! The only thing that was missing was a cup of coffee!! When you are ready to eat, remove the wrapper and warm the cupcake in the microwave for a few seconds or until the glaze starts to melt down.


Brown Sugar Cupcake:
  • 3 cups of cake flour 
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 6oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup of milk (I used reduced fat)
  • 4 extra large eggs (large will work as well)
  • 2 tsp of pure vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl combine cake flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugars. Mix on low speed to combine. Add in butter and sour cream. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add mix into the flour mixture. Fill cupcake liners. Bake for 18 minutes. Yields about 24 cupcakes.

Glaze:
  • 4oz (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 2-3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar (more to taste)

Melt stick of butter into a sauce pan at medium heat. Once golden brown pour melted butter into a bowl. Add sugars, vanilla, and milk. Mix together. For a thinner glaze add another tablespoon of milk. Spoon onto cupcakes. Refrigerate cupcakes to make the glaze firm. 


Happy Baking,
AJ


Recipes adapted from Martha Stewart  and The Frosted Cake n' Cookie blog

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Peace Corps Cupcakes

A long time friend was in need of cupcakes for an important family celebration, and she asked me to help out! Her daughter was returning home from her volunteer work with the Peace Corps. After college at Texas A&M, Courtney got her first assignment, working with an Indo-Fijian (Hindu) community in Fiji. She stayed for quite some time and is now returning home.

In honor of the special event, I whipped up a few dozen cupcakes - Peace Corps style. :)

Cookies and cream, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, vanilla with buttercream frosting
The liners that I used...since you couldn't see them in the other photo
When I was preparing this design Courtney's Mom, Nancy, sent me a link to her blog so I could check out some of her adventures in Fiji. I read a few stories about all of the things she was working to teach the people in the community. Tasks ranged from opening email accounts to brushing your teeth! It looked like an amazing experience, and I think it takes an equally amazing person to carry it out!

Welcome back Courtney. Enjoy your cupcakes!

Happy Baking,
AJ

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Snickerdoodle Saturday

I have been on a baking hiatus, and in need of a cupcake or 10. To satisfy the craving I decided to try out a new flavor, Snickerdoodle. Everyone always loves the cookies so I figured the cupcakes would also be a hit. I adapted a Martha Stewart recipe to make these cinnamon sugary treats.


They turned out just as I had expected. The top of the cupcake is even a little crunchy, just like a cookie! These should hold me over for a week or so. :) Up next is another new recipe...Pecan Praline. Stay tuned to see how they turn out.

Happy Baking,
AJ

Friday, April 15, 2011

When oreos meet cupcakes...

I get a cupcake newsletter from Taste of Home each month. Last month I laid eyes upon a yummy cupcake called the Chocolate Cookie Cupcake. Due to cookie politics they don't tell you those are OREOS! My all time favorite cookie.

I was planning on making them for game night with friends, but my husband got sick. I mentioned that I wouldn't make cupcakes if we weren't going and he replied, "No go ahead, and if there are any left over I will take them with me next week." I guess cupcakes are like chicken noodle soup to him. :)

I followed the recipe as listed on the link above except for the frosting. Instead of store bought vanilla frosting I made my standard buttercream and added more vanilla to it. They turned out pretty yummy and they do go well with a tall glass of milk.


Happy Baking,
AJ

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Hippity...Hoppity...Easter is on its way!

Easter is just around the corner! Have you figured out your Easter desserts? I have been playing around with cupcake ideas for my Easter gathering and I thought I would share them with you.

This year I decided on 2 types of cupcakes: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a vanilla cupcake decorated like an Easter basket. I let my husband taste the carrot cake and he LOVED it. This is a good sign considering he never eats carrots. I might have found a way to feed him his vegetables... :)

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a handmade chocolate carrot topper

Easter basket cupcakes: vanilla cake with buttercream frosting, a handmade chocolate handle, and robin eggs
If you are interesting in purchasing these cupcakes, well not this batch - a fresh one, for your Easter gathering let me know. They are $24 per dozen (you can mix designs). I will be accepting orders until April 18th. You can order by sending me an email, commenting on this post, or chatting via Facebook.

Happy Baking,
AJ

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

St. Patrick's Day: Red Velvet goes GREEN!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I decided to whip up some green cupcakes. It just so happens that my neighbor's birthday is on the same day. SCORE, St. Patrick's birthday cupcakes! To make them festive I whipped up a standard red velvet cake mix and added green food coloring. To top them off I frosted them with homemade cream cheese frosting and a hand piped chocolate shamrock covered in sprinkles.





Happy St. Patrick's Day & Happy Birthday Kristine.

Happy Baking,
AJ

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My good friend Jessica threw her big sister a baby shower this weekend. She and I had been thinking about what kind of cupcakes she wanted at the shower long before she had a date, time, or theme! :) We are party planners that way. LOL We decided that we wanted to do a cupcake bar. We were waiting to figure out colors and flavors until she picked the theme. Once the invitations arrived the ideas sparked from there.

We decided to do four dozen cupcakes in a variety of flavors. Vanilla, Strawberry, Strawberry Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Vanilla, Red Velvet. Since monkeys were a big part of the theme and decorations, I decided to do monkey faces on a dozen of them. Here is the variety before I took them to the shower:


I was really looking forward to setting them up at the shower. Jessica purchased a stand to decorate, and I knew it was going to be so cute. In addition to the cupcakes, I persuaded Jessica to make monkey treats. I made them for my daughter's 2nd birthday and they were a big hit.

Check out the cupcakes on display and Jessica's baby monkey treats.

Her sister Kelly had a great shower. She got a lot of wonderful gifts that I am sure she will get a lot of use out of.

Come on baby Jake. Your Mom and Dad have all the necessary supplies, and your Aunt Jessica can't wait to meet you.

Happy Baking,
Adrian