Love Cupcake

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Yum! Pumpkin is delicious, I love it. I made these cupcakes for Thanksgiving dinner earlier this month and decided to add some little fondant pumpkins on top of the cupcakes. They turned out super cute and really easy to make too.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

(adapted from

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp espresso powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp salt

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing until just incorporated.

2. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown and when inserted with a toothpick, comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating with icing.

For the icing I used my favorite buttercream recipe, again piped with a star tip 1M. And my little fondant pumpkins are made with orange and green fondant. I used a mini pumpkin cookie cutter and a mini heart cookie cutter for the leaves. Some of my pumpkins were brushed with shimmer dust in silver, just to give it a little shine. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

These cupcakes turned out so cute and delicious. And they look like real ice crem cones. They were so fun and easy to make. I made them for my nieces 2nd birthday and if I do say so myself everyone loved them!!

I used the Confetti Cupcakes recipe to bake inside the cones. I went out and bought two aluminum roaster pans at the dollar store and traced and cut out twelve circles on each pan. I punched out a circle, just used some cardstock scraps, using my 1 1/2 inch circle punch and used that as a template to trace the circles but, you could use something you have around the house, like a cup as a template. Then I took my husbands heavy duty x-acto knife to cut the circles. They're not perfect which is fine, they're just going to hold the cones.

Prepare the batter according to the recipe and pour into the cones to bake. You don't want to fill the cones all the way with batter you still need room for them to bake. Now when I was baking my cupcake cones they took a little longer to bake then the recipe so, keep an eye on them. Allow them to cool and make the frosting. I used my favorite buttercream recipe, you may want to double the recipe to have enough. I piped the frosting using a star tip 1M, to make the swirls of ice cream and an ice cream scoop to make the scoops. Then just added some rainbow and chocolate sprinkles.

I am lucky that my hubby made me a stand for all the cupcakes, kind of like I'm selling ice cream cones, eh? I covered the wood with some of my pretty scrapbook paper and colored duct tape. Looks cute and it was easy to carry to the party!!

All the flavours...

And I have to share one of the birthday girl!! Enjoy!!

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Chocolate. Devil's Food Chocolate. Absolutely divine. So delicious. I made these for my sister's birthday. This recipe had been on my list of cupcakes to try and they were a complete success. Include some chocolate buttercream for the frosting and you are in heaven.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

 

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 cup hot water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-low speed and beat until mixture is cooled, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of bowl, if needed. Add vanilla, then the cocoa mixture and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divid batter evenly into lined cups and bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and remove cupcakes from tins and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

 

I used my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe to frost these cupcakes.

The birthday girl, my sister.

Enjoy!!

Confetti Cupcakes

Okay so, these cupcakes are just fun!! They're made with fun fetti and when I saw them online I knew I had to make them. Now not only are they fun but, they are also delicious!!

Confetti Cupcakes

(adapted from Gimme Some Oven)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12 muffin cup pan with paper liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together until combined and set aside. In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites to the bowl and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until they are incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until incorportaed. Fold in the sprinkles.

3. Fill each baking cup 2/3 full and bake for about 20 minutes or until a tootpick inserted comes cout clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

 

I used my favorite buttercream recipe and through in some raspberry extract instead of vanilla. Topped with more sprnkles and these cupcakes are ready to be devoured!

Churros

Making churros has been something that I have been wanting to try and make for a long time.They always intimidated me a little bit, they looked hard to make but are actually really easy. They remind me of being in Disneyland when I was little. They are so deliciously sweet, and it''s hard to not just eat one. I have been PVR Giada De Laurentis show Giada at Home. I love her show and watching all the delicious food she makes, I am always hungry at the end of each episode. She made Churros on one of the episodes and made it look so easy that I just had to try.

Churros

(adapted from Giada at Home)

Ingredients:

1 cup water

6 tbsps unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tbsps sugar

2 tsps cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

 

1. In a small saucepan heat up the water and add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Allow to boil.

2. Once the water mixture has come to a boil add 1 cup of flour. Turn off the stove and stir gently. The flour will absorb the liquid. Turn the stove on low and, cook for 2 minutes. The mixture will come together, turn off the heat. Add to a stand mixer and turn on. Add one egg at a time. Continue mixing until the dough has cooled down, you can check by feeling the bottom of the bowl with your hands.

3. While the dough is cooling down in the mixer, prepare your sugar mixture. Place the following ingredients in a shallow bowl and sitr together.

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsps ground cinnamon

4. Place canola oil in a large pot and clip a thermometer to the side of pot and allow to reach 350F.

5. Place dough in a pastry bag with a large star tip (Wilton 1M). The dough will thick and smooth in texture. With one hand pipe the dough into the oil and cut off at desired length with your other hand using scissors. The churros should take about 3 minutes to fry. Once the churros have fried, place immediately in the sugar mixture and spoon the mixture over top the churros. Transfer to a paper toweled plate to allow the extra oil to absorb.

Enjoy and, try not to eat all of them in one sitting!!

Summer Iced Tea

There is nothing to me that says Summer like homemade iced tea.It's so delicious and refreshing on a hot Summer day. Quenches your thirst. And it's easy to make and you can experiment with different kind of teas. It also reminds me a bit of my childhood. This recipe is from my Mama, she's awesome.

Summer Iced Tea

4 or 5 orange pekoe teabags (depends on how strong you like your tea)

4 cups of boiling water

3 cups water

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 lemon

 

1. Boil water. Place 5 teabags in a container that can hold hot liquids. I put my boiling water and teabags in a Pyrex jug. Pour boiling water over teabags and allow to steep and cool.

2. Once the tea has cooled, pour into your desired pitcher and add 4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

 

You can add more or less sugar as you please. I like it a little bit sweet. Don't be afraid to try with different teas. I have made iced tea with rooibos tea and green tea. Both very delicious and refreshing as well. Happy Summer!!

Oatmeal, Cranberry and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These cookies should actually just be called "chunky" cookies. They have so many delicious chunks of chocolate in there that you kind of forget about the oatmeal and cranberries. But I thought I should include some of the other ingredients in the name of the cookie rather than just chocolate. But they're good. And kind of healthy. These are from watching another episode of Giada at Home, I have a growing collection on my PVR that I have to watch and write down recipes still. These are good, they'll disappear so quickly you'll have to make another batch.

 

Oatmeal, Cranberry and Chocolate Chunks Cookies

(adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)

1 cup flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup dried cranberries

4 oz of bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped ( a bar or chocolate chips can be used)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients; flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla to creamed mixture and mix together.

4. Add the dry ingredients in batches to the wet ingredients. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add the oats and mix together. Add the dried cranberries and mix. Add the chopped bittersweet chocolate to the mixture and mix.

5. Using an ice cream scoop to spoon the cookies onto the baking sheet. Use the back of the spoon to press down the tops of the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes, and until the bottoms are golden brown. Allow to cool. Bakes about 2 dozen cookies.

I ran out of cranberries so, I mixed in some raisins as well and they tasted delicious. As well as I had no bittersweet chocolate, only semisweet and again delicious. Enjoy!!

Won't you be my buttercream?

Buttercream is my favorite frosting for cupcakes and I believe every baker should have a good go to buttercream recipe. My favorite recipe for buttercream comes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. I have used this recipe multiple times and in my opinion is the easiest and adaptable recipe ever. I love it. Oh, and it's delicious too.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book)

5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar

pinch of salt

1 pound unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 tsps pure vanilla extract

 

Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and the has dissolved. The mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiif and not dry peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool. You can test by touching the bottom of the bowl. Takes about 10 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a tim, mixing well after each adition. Once all the butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all the air bubbles are gone, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of bowl if needed and beat until frosting is completely smooth.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, if not store in an airtigh container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze up to one month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with a paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 5 minutes.

And now for the variations...

-You can add color to your buttercream by adding gel-paste food color, dip a toothpick inside the gel-paste jar and dab into the buttercream. You can add as little or as much color as you would like but trust me when I say a little goes a long way.

-Chocolate buttercream is delicious, adds so much flavour to your buttercream. Yum!! to make, melt 4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate and allow to cool. Add into buttercream after adding the butter, along with the vanilla extract.

-Raspberry buttercream this one is so good too. Especially if you love raspberries, you can also do it with strawberries. Beat in 6 ounces (about one container) of raspberries after all the butter has been added and beat until the buttercream is not streaky.

 

(My sister and I making some buttercream for some Christmas cupcakes, 2009)

The best part about this recipe is that it gives you the chance to flavour it no matter how you want. You can experiment with different fruits as well so, give it try!!

Stout Cupcakes

These cupcakes are amazing. I know I probably say that about every cupcake recipe I post but, with these I totally mean it. There is absolutely no unique taste than these cupcakes. Moist, soft, rich and with the addition of the Guiness beer, ahhh!! Like I said nothing like it. You will have to try baking them and tell me what you think. And with St. Paddy's day coming up next week these will be perfect!!

Stout Cupcakes

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book)

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups unsulfured molasses

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

2 large whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) stout beer, poured and settled ( I used Guiness)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs, yolk, zest and stout until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, beating until it is all combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Fill each one about 3/4 full. Bake, for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Take cupcakes out of pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

 Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add sugar about half a cup at a time. Add vanilla and mix until smooth and combined.

I piped the frosting with my ususal Wilton 1M tip. Super easy, delicious and they go down easy. Enjoy!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I think these cupcakes are one of my fave. They are so delicious, and I just LOVE the color. Especially as your mixing it in th mixer, the color comes out almost pink. I made these for Valentine's Day to give away to family and friends and I know they were devoured.

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

2 1/2 cups cake flour(not self rising), sifted

2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together cake four, cocoa, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorportaed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

3. Reducing speed to low, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions buttermilk and whisking well after each. In a small bowl stir together the baking soda and vinegar, it will foam and add mixture to the batter. Mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, and bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

(the lovely re/pink batter)

 Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add sugar about half a cup at a time. Add vanilla and mix until smooth and combined.

 

I used a Wilton tip 1M and just piped the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcake. The combination of the Red Velvet cupcake and cream cheese go very well together. Delicious. Enjoy!