Cupcake-a-day!

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Cupcake-a-day!

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Contributor: bratcat bratcat
Quote:
Originally posted by surreptitious
It's amazing the things that a good set of tips can do. I've actually come to the realization that in six days, I have three alcohol-themed cupcakes, two of which actually contain alcohol! Good thing that Eden already assures that ... more
It's funny since i dont event drink or like the taste of most alcohol, but im a sucker for champagne flavored things. Theres actually a cupcake bakery, that specializes in "speciality" cupcakes (for weddings and such), close to me and they have champagne cupcakes and they're to die for!
05/09/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 7 : Banana Split Cupcakes
Adapted from here, inspired by bratcat



Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 ripe banana, mashed (not overripe!)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate syrup
Maraschino cherries
Sprinkles
Additional chopped nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the butter and granulated sugar. Beat with a handheld mixer until combined.
4. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixture together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and walnuts, being careful not to overmix.
5. Fill each cupcake liner three-quarters of the way full. Bake in the oven until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and let cool before frosting.

Frosting & Assembly
(vegan alternative)

1. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer if you have one!), cream together the banana, butter, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you have a creamy and spreadable frosting.
2. Frost and garnish as desired with your preferred banana split toppings! Some suggestions are chocolate syrup, sprinkles or additional chopped nuts and a maraschino cherry to finish. For an additional chocolatey layer, you can spread chocolate syrup over the cupcake before frosting.

Makes roughly 12.
05/10/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 8 : Nutella Cupcakes
courtesy of sunkissedJess



Ingredients

1/3 cup soft butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp chocolate extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk

8 oz soft cream cheese
1 1/3 cups Nutella
2 cups powder sugar
~ 1 tbsp heavy cream

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350*F. Line 17 cupcake cups with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl cream the butter, Nutella and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and chocolate extract and stir until combined.
3. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add alternately with the milk to the creamed butter mixture.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcakes cups and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and completely on a wire rack.
6. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.

Nutella frosting

1. In a mixing bowl cream the Nutella and cream cheese.
2. Slowly add the powder sugar, 1/2 cup at a time mixing well after each addition. When all the sugar is added increase the speed to medium to high and mix for 1 minutes.
3. Add enough heavy cream to make it smooth and easy to pipe.
4. Immediately frost the cupcakes.
5. Store the cupcakes in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a couple of days.
05/11/2013
Contributor: SydneyScreams SydneyScreams
I've been looking for a chocolate rose cupcake. Any recommendations?
05/11/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Quote:
Originally posted by SydneyScreams
I've been looking for a chocolate rose cupcake. Any recommendations?
I can definitely take a look for you and see what I come up with! I don't have any personal experience with chocolate rose cupcakes, but I'm pretty good at tracking things down and reading through their reviews. I'll get to hunting over the next couple of days. =)
05/11/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Today's cupcakes are inspired by Gary's mention of his baking plans for this weekend! The recipe comes courtesy of Jessie's Kitchen Chronicles and looks absolutely divine.

Day 9 : Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting



Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp red and 1 teaspoon blue food coloring (roughly - you can choose your own shade, if you prefer a lighter color)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp dried lavender buds
2/3 cup cold milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey, plus a little extra for drizzle

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Stir in the vanilla and food coloring.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Chop the dried lavender buds into fine, small pieces. Stir into the flour mixture.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the milk.
5. Scoop batter evenly into lined muffin tins. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and honey.
7. To create the flower seen in the photo, see Day 5 for instructions. Otherwise, you can ice as you please using a Ziploc bag with a corner cut out or simply a knife.
8. Lightly drizzle a little honey on top of the frosting just before serving.

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes.
05/12/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 10 : White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes



Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

8 ounces frozen raspberries
1 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup cream cheese
3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp soymilk
6 ounces white chocolate, melted

12 fresh raspberries
Additional white chocolate for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix.
3. Slowly mix together melted chocolate and oil.
4. Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth.
5. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full - err on the under-filled side here). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
6. To make filling, combine frozen raspberries with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until raspberries begin to break down.
7. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing as much through as possible.
8. Return strained mixture to heat once again. Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixture, and bring to a simmer. If mixture still seems thin, add more cornstarch as necessary. It will thicken more upon cooling. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
9. Cut out small cones from tops of cupcakes (holes should be approximately 1/2" across and 1/2" deep), saving removed cake. Trim the tip off the cones. Fill holes with raspberry filling, and replace cake on top.

Frosting

1. Beat butter or margarine and cream cheese until fluffy.
2. Slowly add confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until creamy.
3. Melt white chocolate as before, and mix in vanilla seeds, if using. Add to frosting and mix well.
4. Add extract (if using) and soy milk, and beat until fluffy (add more sugar and/or soymilk if you need it, until you get the right texture).
5. Generously pipe or spread onto filled cupcakes.
6. Garnish with fresh raspberries and/or some melted or chopped white chocolate.
05/13/2013
Contributor: bratcat bratcat
Oh goodness, im drooling over the two latest recipes! I think once my lavender plant gets a little bigger, i'll have to try that one out.
05/13/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 11 : Maple Bacon Cupcakes



Ingredients

4 1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 tbsp bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)
1 egg
5 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/4 cups self rising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
4 strips bacon

4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 cup of powdered sugar

6 strips bacon
Maple syrup
Brown sugar
Black pepper (optional)
turbinado sugar (optional, but recommended)
coarse grain sea salt (optional, but recommended)

Directions

1. Cook some bacon in a fry pan. Reserve the drippings and place in the fridge to solidify. Mince a packed 1/4 a cup of the bacon. The chef should eat whatever is left to assure that the bacon is tasty.
2. Preheat oven to 350* F and line a cupcake tray with paper liners.
3. Beat the butter and solidified bacon fat ’till light and creamy. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and beat well until combined.
4. Add the egg and beat until incorporated.
5. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder together.
6. Add some of the flour and mix, then some of the milk, then continue to alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in the bacon. Taste and add more maple syrup, flour, or milk if needed for desired taste. Keep in mind the maple frosting is very sweet, and to add in very small increments for alterations as maple syrup in large amounts can break a cake batter.
7. Scoop into cupcake papers and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes if your oven does not bake evenly.

Frosting

1. Beat the syrup and butter until combined.
2. Add the sugar, a bit at a time, and whip at high speeds until desired consistency is met.
3. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes - this frosting is very sweet, so a little goes a long way.

Garnish
*note: you may want to open some windows and/or turn off your smoke detector the first time you try this. It can get a little smoky.

1. Lay raw bacon onto a cookie sheet well covered in tinfoil. You can do about a pack per tray if you want the extra candied bacon (don't be afraid to have the pieces overlap a bit), but you only need about 6 pieces for this recipe.
2. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper (a little or a lot - this is to taste) and a generous layer of brown sugar.
3. Drizzle on maple syrup - use less than you think you will need, especially if you're going light on the pepper!
4. Cook at 350* F for about thirty minutes, rotating tray at ten minute intervals. Flip after twenty minutes if you feel that the bacon is not cooking through. WATCH your bacon very closely in the last ten minutes! It can burn very quickly.
5. Remove bacon from the tray and transfer to a nonstick surface to harden. Here, you don't want the bacon to overlap, or it will stick together.
6. Once the bacon has cooled, cut each piece in half and use for garnish.
7. Sprinkle on sea salt and turbinado sugar for decoration and a lot of added flavor.

Makes roughly 12 cupcakes. Recipe adapted from Bacon Today.
05/14/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 12 : Chocolate Rose Cupcakes
Cupcake recipe adapted from Good to Know, Frosting from Cath's Cookery Creations

Ingredients

200g all-purpose flour (roughly 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1–2 tbsp rose water, or to taste
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips (this recipe is written for white chocolate. If using dark or semi-sweet chocolate, add an extra tbsp of rose water so that the chocolate does not overpower the rose. With milk chocolate, you should be fine with the milder taste.)

1/3 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp rose water (add more or less according to your taste)
Electric Pink food colouring

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together for 3–5 minutes until light and fluffy. 4. Beat in the egg and the rose water, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
5. Fold in one third of the flour mixture and beat well. Add half of the buttermilk and beat well. Fold in another third of the flour mixture and beat well. Add the remaining buttermilk and finally the last third of the flour mixture, beating well between each addition.
6. Add the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips. Taste the mixture and add more rose water if required.
7. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases until they are full. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the sponge bounces back to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Frosting

1. Heat the egg whites and sugar in a double broiler or over a pot of simmering water in a heat proof bowl until they reach 65°C on an instant read thermometer.
2. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high until you have stiff glossy peaks and the mixture has cooled, adding the food colouring towards the end of whisking.
3. Slowly add the butter, one piece at a time, while mixing at a medium speed (don't worry when the mixture curdles as this is normal).
4. Mix the vanilla and rosewater in and switch to the paddle attachment and stir on low speed for 5 minutes to remove the air bubbles and make a silky smooth texture.
5. Frost cupcakes as desired (see tutorial in previous posts if you want to learn an easy way to make the cupcakes look like actual roses).

Yields approximately 12 cupcakes.
05/15/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
Day 13 : Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

3 cups self-rising flour (if you do not have self-raising flour, use 1 tsp baking powder for every cup of all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup whole milk, divided
2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided

2 cups chilled heavy cream
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Additional lemon peel for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375* F. Line 30 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.
2. Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
4. Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over-mix.
5. Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.
6. To make the icing, beat the cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer set on low until the cream begins to thicken.
7. Add the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice, a little at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to high, and beat until the icing forms soft peaks, about 5 minutes.
8. Spread on the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with lemon twists or as desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes. Yields approximately 30.
05/16/2013
Contributor: snowminx snowminx
Oh wow those all look so good, I love chocolate and lemon ^-^
Thanks for sharing. Red velvet is my absolute favorite cake/cupcake but I've never made anything from scratch.
05/18/2013
Contributor: sunkissedJess sunkissedJess
I have to try the banana split cupcakes. They look delicious!
05/19/2013
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
I kind of love this!
05/19/2013
Contributor: SydneyScreams SydneyScreams
Quote:
Originally posted by surreptitious
Day 11 : Maple Bacon Cupcakes



Ingredients

4 1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 tbsp bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)
1 egg
5 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/4 cups self rising ... more
oh. my. goodness.

these are next on my baking spree!!
05/22/2013
Contributor: SydneyScreams SydneyScreams
Quote:
Originally posted by surreptitious
Day 12 : Chocolate Rose CupcakesCupcake recipe adapted from Good to Know, Frosting from Cath's Cookery CreationsIngredients200g all-purpose flour (roughly 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp)1 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room ... more
thank you!! my fav local cupcake shop makes something similar and oh my gosh!!!!!
05/22/2013
Contributor: misskat misskat
I just found this thread and I am in heaven! I love baking and especially cupcakes.
06/02/2013
Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
(Review Program Mentor)
I completely forgot about this thread after an unexpected weekend away, and for some reason I wasn't getting alerts on it! I'm still going to make it to 30 days, I guess that they just aren't going to be consecutive.

To ease myself back into cupcaking, I'm going to start with a super flexible recipe (and one of my absolute favorites). These delicious treats are a real crowd pleaser and require very little actual baking skill, just a bit of patience and creativity. Without further ado, I present

Day 14 : Rainbow Cupcakes



Ingredients

White cake batter (you can use your favorite recipe, one that I've included in the thread or simply make it from a box! You can quite literally use any sort of cupcake batter as long as it is light enough to dye)
Food coloring (paste works best for bright pigments, however liquid drops will do just fine)

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (salt will suffice if you do not have cream of tartar. This causes the egg whites to emulsify and creates a fluffier icing)
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkles to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven as instructed based on your chosen cake recipe. Line muffin pan(s) with cupcake liners. For best results, purchase
2. Prepare your cake batter. Slightly undermix in the final step. Divide batter into multiple bowls - I generally prefer to do six so that I can use all of the colors of the rainbow, but you can do these with any number of colors.
3. Add a small amount of food coloring to each of the bowls and mix until thoroughly colored. Add more until desired pigment is reached - the cupcakes will brighten up upon baking. Work as quickly as you can, because the less time the batter sits, the better.
4. Spoon desired amount of each color into cupcake holders, layering the colors. There is a lot of room for creativity here, and as long as you don't mix, you should wind up with a gorgeous cupcake no matter what colors or technique you choose. Do not fill the cups more than 2/3 full. You will likely not be able to fit more than three or four colors into a single cupcake, and don't push your luck! Overfilling these can really cause a mess because the batter sits out for a little bit longer than average. You could try different color combinations for each cupcake, spooning the batter using different techniques or simply start with only three colors.

Icing

1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes.
3. If desired, you can divide up this frosting into separate bags and add color here as well! This recipe is fantastic for coloring.
4. Frost cupcakes and garnish with sprinkles, candy, chocolate bits - you name it, it will work.
06/02/2013
Contributor: sunkissedJess sunkissedJess
That rainbow cupcake is so pretty and colorful. I really want to attempt a rainbow cupcake.
06/05/2013
Contributor: Ayogirl230 Ayogirl230
Quote:
Originally posted by surreptitious
I've been doing a lot of baking of late, and I thought that I'd share the love! I've got a few favorites and I'm going to be exploring new ground over the course of the next little while, so I've decided to post a cupcake recipe a ... more
this is too awesome. thanks for sharing!
06/19/2013