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!

Champagne Blackberry Cupcakes

I have had this recipe saved since last years, new year's and I have been waiting for new year's again so, I could make them. And was it ever worth the wait. Kind of. Very delicious!! I was even thinking about these cupcakes this past summer because I made sure to save and freeze some blackberries from my garden.

Champagne and Blackberry Cupcakes

(adapted from High Heels and Aprons)

2 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup champagne

Soaked blackberries

2 cups blackberries

1 1/2 cups champagne

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 lemon

 

1. Place blackberries into a bowl, add 1 tbsp sugar and squeeze 1/2 a lemon over mixture. Pour 1 1/2 cups champagne in the bowl and let soak while preparing batter.

2. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.

3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer cream butter and sugar until well mixed and airy. Add eggs one at a time making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Slowly add in flour mixture. Stir in vanilla and champagne.

4. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full. Insert one blackberry into each cupcake. Cover with enough batter to cover the berry. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.

Champagne Frosting

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup champagne

Cream butter until smooth. Slowly add sifted powdered sugar. Mixture will bery thick, keep adding champagne to get the consistency you want. Frost cupcakes and top with a blackberry. Sprinkle with white non pareils.

These cupcakes are absolutely amazing. Oh My Gosh!! The champagne adds to the taste of the cupcake, also the batter is moist and light and tastes absolutely divine. These cupcakes may be one of my fave, right along side the Chai Cupcakes. Delicious. Even my Dad commented on these cupcakes, and he always tells me all the cupcakes I make; they're always good, so that's huge!! I also saw you can replace the blackberries with pear, which I think will be as delicious as well. Anything with champagne is always deliocious in my opinion.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cupcakes

I have been wanting to make these cupcakes all summer. Lemon cupcakes are delicious!! They're my hubby's fave. Anytime we visit a cupcake shop if they have them he'll have one.  I ended up making these for my father-in-law's birthday. And just like his son, he enjoyed them too.

Lemon Cupcakes

(from Style At Home website) 

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter and it looks creamy, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. if the eggs are cold, the mixture may look slightly curdled, which is fine. On low speed and in 3 additions (3 flour, 2 milk), add the flour and milk; alternating, but beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

3. Fill each paper liner and bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, grated lemon peel, and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, about 1 minute, then beat on medium speed for about 1 minute to lighten the frosting further.

2. Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M tip to make the swirls, it's also one of my fave tips.

Super delicious cupcakes and so easy to make. The only thing I would change is maybe add more lemon flavor, make it more lemony. Either way it's delicious!!