Pumpkin Cupcakes

The weather was a little cooler last week and I got in the mood for Fall. It's my favorite season and pumpkin is one of those flavors that brings it home. The pumpkin cake was a recipe from one of my favorite books - Hello Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. It's a modified cake mix recipe so you start with a box of yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines) and add to it: 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 3/4 c. of butermilk (instead of the water called for on the box), 1/3 c. of oil (instead of the amount called for on the box), and 4 large eggs (one more than the 3 called for on the box). The directions and baking times are the same as on the box. I made some cream cheese icing and topped each of the cupcakes with a candy corn pumpkin. They were delicious!

Happy Autumn!

Beach Cupcakes

I made a few cupcakes for a beach-themed wedding shower this weekend. There were 12 "beach umbrella" cupcakes with vanilla oreo sand and gum paste starfish, 5 "shark attack" with blue buttercream waves and gum paste fins, 5 "beach balls" decorated with a combination of fondant and buttercream, and 2 specially made "bride and groom" cupcakes for the happy couple.

Iron Cupcake Challenge_Herbs

This month's iron cupcake challenge was to use a fresh herb/herbs in a cupcake. I have an immense weakness for anything minty (especially paired with chocolate) so it was obvious right away what I should do. I thought of lots of different ideas using mint but ultimately decided on a cupcake version of my favorite coffee drink - the peppermint mocha. The cupcake is mocha flavored, filled with dark chocolate/mint ganache and topped with fresh mint whipped cream. I played around with the decorative toppings - using fresh mint leaves, red sugar sprinkles (like they put on top at starbucks), and chocolate chips.

The mocha cupcake recipe came from Julie Hasson's book "125 Best Cupcake Recipes". The coffee flavor of the cake was just strong enough to be prominent without getting bitter or overwhelming and the cake was moist and dense.

The chocolate ganache filling recipe is from my go-to cupcake blog: cupcake bakeshop by chockylit. It was sweet and minty - although I think it could have been a little mintier.

And the fresh mint whipped cream I just kind of made up but it turned out pretty tasty. I made alot so that I would have extra to eat with all the fresh blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries I have in the fridge. Here's the approximate recipe:

Fresh Mint Whipped Cream

1/2 c. fresh mint leaves (chopped)
1/4 c. + 1 TBSP sugar
4 TBSP water
2 c. whipping cream

In small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together water, sugar, and mint leaves. Heat until they begin to boil, stirring periodically. Cover and remove from heat and let sit for about 1 hour. Strain the syrup into a glass bowl and let cool. Add whipping cream and beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.

yummy.gooey.coffee.minty.goodness

Voting begins Tuesday July 28, so if you get a chance stop by Nobody Puts Cupcake in A Corner and vote. And if you'd like to get in on the challenge visit Iron Cupcake's cuphub.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335273
  
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
  
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com.

4th of July Cupcakes

I whipped these up with a 4th of July Wilton kit and some red, white, and blue sprinkles. I just used a box mix for the cake and made a batch of buttercream so they were super-easy and super-cute.

Iron Cupcake Challenge_Savory

I'm going to apologize in advance - this is going to be a long blog post...
As many of you know, I have decided to do the monthly "iron cupcake" challenges. This is my very first entry into the competition and I'm REALLY excited about it.

For those of you that don't know anything about "iron cupcake," here is a brief summary:
each month a theme or special ingredient is chosen (this month the theme is "savory cupcakes"), then each iron cupcake baker comes up with original ideas for a cupcake recipe based on the chosen theme, after the recipe is perfected, the baker blogs about the experience and outcome, the recipe is then submitted to the "iron cupcake" competition via email and flickr by the 24th of each month, voting begins approximately 1 week after that, and a winner is chosen about 1 week after that. Each month there are awesome prizes. In May, we are competing to win:

May ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• something sweet and dangly from CHERRYCREEKCHARMS at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6686445.
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
  
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

AND corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com.

Now, moving on to my savory cupcake entry: The Twice-Baked Potato "Cupcake".





These turned out better than I could have ever hoped. I wanted to do something savory that's individual elements translated well to cupcake form. Everything about the twice baked potato was perfect for what I wanted. The skin even makes a perfect edible cupcake liner. The hubby and I had these as a side dish with dinner tonight and they were delicious! I just have to share the recipe with you:

"Twice Baked Potato Cupcakes"
(makes 4 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
2 medium sized Russet potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup homemade buttermilk Ranch dressing
1/4 cup milk
4 slices cooked bacon
4 Tbsp chives or green onions
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Wrap potatoes in aluminum foil and bake in 400 degree oven for appoximately 1 hour (until soft). Let cool until you can handle fairly easily. Slice potatoes in half. Take a small slice off the bottom of each half so that the halves sit flat in a muffin tin. Scoop out the potato, leaving about a 1/8" layer of potato and skin for the "cupcake liner." In a bowl, mash the scooped-out potato and add all other ingredients except for 1/8 cup of sour cream, 1 Tbsp of the chives, and 2 slices of bacon. Combine the potato mixture thoroughly and pipe back into the liners (I used a large "star" tip). Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the 400 degree oven until the tops are slightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes. Pipe the remaining sour cream "icing" on each cupcake, sprinkle with remaining chives, and add 1/2 slice of bacon to the top. Enjoy!

I have to say that this whole experience has been a real joy. I loved the creative aspects of iron cupcake and the opportunity to do something different. So, if you get a chance - vote for my cupcake entry starting May 30 here: Nobody Puts Cupcake in a Corner.

If any of you are interested in joining the challenge, you can get more info at Iron Cupcake's cuphub.

Bridal Shower Cupcakes

My friend, Allison, asked me to help her with some mini cupcakes that she agreed to do for her stepsister's bridal shower. I tried a new vanilla cake recipe, which went really well, and we iced them with my basic buttercream. We colored the icing to match the colors of the shower and piped the icing on with a few different star tips. I added a sugar pearl to the top of the icing and it was a very cute extra level of detail. Overall, the cupcakes were simple - light and tasty - and very cute!

Raspberry/Vanilla Cupcakes.

I made these cupcakes to try out new raspberry filling and raspberry buttercream recipes for mother's day. I just used a french vanilla cake mix and infused it overnight with a vanilla sugar syrup. The cake was very moist and really delicious. Next, I took out cones from the top of the cupcake and added the raspberry filling. I made the buttercream by adding 3 tablespoons of seedless raspberry jelly to my basic buttercream recipe. Overall, everything was a huge success. The raspberry filling and icing was easy and really "fancied up" a basic vanilla cupcake.

Easter Cupcakes

For Easter, I decided to make carrot and coconut cupcakes for my family and friends. The carrot cupcakes were made with a delicious Alton Brown recipe from my new baking book: I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking. The cream cheese icing on these was particularly amazing.

The coconut cupcakes were made with a combination of 2 family recipes. I used my grandmother's recipe for 7-minute frosting and freshly grated coconut. For those of you that have never done the whole 'breaking into a coconut' thing...it isn't for the faint-hearted. It is a much more difficult and time-consuming process than the Food Network chefs would lead us to believe. But, I have to say, as someone who doesn't particularly care for the taste of coconut, these were quite good. So I have to think that the fresh coconut made all the difference.

So after all the baking and icing was finished, I packed my cupcakes up in my new carrier. This is by far the best purchase I have made in a while. It holds 36 cupcakes and each one has it's own shallow ring to hold the cupcake in place but also allow you to easily take it out (without getting icing all over your fingers). You can find it here at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I bought the clear one, but it also comes in pink, green, yellow, and blue.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Last weekend Heath decided to have a few friends over. Since I didn't have a lot of time, I made something fast and simple - cupcakes! I just used Duncan Hines dark chocolate cake mix, but I made the buttercream and added mini chocolate chips. They were delicious!

Cupcake Sundaes

These were Heath's birthday cupcakes. I found the recipe on one of my favorite cupcake blogs, Cupcake Bakeshop by Chocylit. They were DELICIOUS! The melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake was exactly how it sounds - very rich and dense - more like a brownie than cake. The whipped cream complimented the cake nicely because it was so light and subtle. And the cherry on top, well that's just adorable!

Get Well Soon Cupcakes

I made these to cheer up my friend, Shandale, who's been in the hospital for the past 2 weeks. Half of the cupcakes were chocolate chip and half were vanilla, all covered in chocolate buttercream and decorated with buttercream flowers and polka dots in bright pink, orange and green. She LOVED them!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

These were really simple to make and turned out really pretty. I made chocolate buttercream for these and it was AMAZING!