Love Cupcake

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!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my hubby's birthday back in November and I just never got to posting. I asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted? After much debate he said anything lemon. And I have been wanting to try and make these lemon meringue cupcakes for awhile too, so it pleased both of us. Awesome. 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tbsps)

2 tbsps fresh lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Lemon Curd recipe

Marshmallow Frosting recipe

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is well incorporated. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three batches, altenating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice. Beat until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly in lined cups. Bake until golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. About 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Curd

2 whole eggs plus 8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

2 tbsps unslated butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

 

1. Combine the whole eggs and yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

2. Cook, whisking continuously until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.

3. Strain through a fine sieve into another bowl and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and firm. At least two hours or up to 2 days.

 Marshmallow Frosting

To assemble the cupcakes:

Once cupcakes have cooled, with a spoon, spoon some lemon curd on top of the cupcake. The more the better, in my opinion. You'll have more of a lemon flavour. Pipe the marshmallow frosting (I used a 1M Wiloton tip) on top of the lemon curd. Brown the frosting with a kitchen torch. And enjoy!

I have to admit I was a little intimated about making lemon curd. It just sounds scary and hard to make and it actually was not difficult at all. You end up with so much lemon curd after spooning on top of the cupcakes that you could probably make a lemon meringue pie as well. I will have to try that one day too.

Here's a photo of the birthday boy!!

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!

Happy New Year!!

Thankyou to everyone for coming and visiting this little cupcake blog. I am so proud of it and just you wait for 2011, I have so many ideas!!

Cheers,

Valerie

A Christmas Wish List

Cupcake inspired of course. A couple of things that have caught my eye recently. Lots of Christmas gift ideas, all from one of my fave places to shop, Etsy. Enjoy!

I would love to hang one of these on my tree.

                                                (from kiwiandkiki)

This would be fun for the little nieces and nephews.

                                    (from HappyBabeeand Beyond)

 

This one is good for a friend. Good for your purse.

                                    (from DaisyChains)

 

Another one for baby...

                                (from babycakesanddecor)

I think I might have to get these for myself, they're too cute!!

                            (from MadisonCraftStudio)

These are cute to print for your holiday cupcakes.

                                        (from lovetheday)

Another one for a little girl, how fun!

                (from ilovefancyschmancy)

And these look like so much to fun color with.

                            (from LilDoodlers)

 

I hope I got some of you Christmas Gift List crossed off. Happy Shopping!!

Check me out....

This totally made my day, heck even my week!! I was on the Typepad blog for their Fall features...made me smile.

Yes, those are my cupcakes.

Thankyou to everyone who comes, visits and reads. And I love the comments too. Gives me a push to make this blog all that it can be. So, thankyou :)

 

 

Happy Halloween!!

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would share my spooky Halloween cupcakes that I made to share with some family and friends. Well there not really that scray and spooky. They're cute with spiders. Can spiders be cute? Kind of. These ones are. Okay enough with the rambling, here's the recipes and photos.

 

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

(from Martha Stewart's Website)

Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons safflower oil (I didn't have any safflower oil so, I used canola oil and it was fine)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth. About 3 minutes.

2. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

(from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book)

5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 teablespoons sugar

1 pound unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled*

 

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

2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy and completely cool, about 10 minutes.

3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after eaxch addition. Once all the butter has been added, add the melted and cooled chocolate and the vanilla.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating on low speed until all the air bubbles are gone, about two minutes. Use immiedately or buttercream can be store in air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to a month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 5 minutes.

*To melt chocolate, chop chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl set over a pain of simmering water. Heat until chocolate is almost melted, then stir with a flexible spatula until completely melted. Remove bowl from pan and let cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

These cupcakes were super easy to make and I love how the whole batter is made in one bowl, hence the name I guess. I piped the buttercream with a Wilton 1M tip and sprinkled on some white non pareils ( I had to use the fancy french word, but they are really white sprinkles) and topped them with plastic orange and black spider rings. Delicious and kind of scary.

Enjoy!! And I hope you have a Happy Hallowen!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

All cupcake related of course. Here are a couple of things that have caught my eye lately!!

I have these, they were given to me by a friend and they're super cute!! Makes looking for my keys a little more special.

(You can buy them here)

 

I am hoping to buy one of these posters and hang them in my kitchen. And in pink too.

                    (from Keep Calm Shop)

 

I love this girl's art. And I have this print too. Super cute.

  (from peace, love, cupcakes)

This one's perfect for holding makeup, pencils or even as a wallet.

(from Madame Cupcake)

Now I could be a little biased about this one, 'cause I am a co-owner of this shop but this one has always been one of my faves.

(from two crafty chicks online)

I hope you enjoyed. It's never too early to start some Christmas shopping.

Sharing another thing I love...

For those who know me well know that another hobby of mine is scrapbooking. I love being crafty and creative and like baking; scrapbooking allows me to be creative in a different way. I love playing with paper and glue. I have a huge collection of scrapbooking supplies. Just ask my hubby he sleeps beside a plastic drawer storage tower filled with stamps. Although in my defense I am trying to use what I have and not buy anything else and, I am doing not too bad so far.

I thought I would share some of my scrapbook pages dedicated to cupcakes and I do have a couple.

 This one has some cupcakes in it...

This one is about my love for baking...more cupcakes in this one too!!

And one more, my cutie pie niece playing with her cupcake toys. Apparently I may have some competition later on...

I hope I made your mouth water a little bit!! Thanks for stopping by!!