I’m addicted to the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice… frapp, coffee, latte, mocha… whatever, I don’t care.  Just shoot it directly into my belly.  The closest Starbucks to me is over an hour away (I know… how do I survive?!) and I don’t even know if the German ones will have pumpkin spice!! So, I made my own Pumpkin Spice syrup!!

Seriously.  It took 10 minutes and was THE EASIEST thing I’ve ever made.  And… it’s a FRACTION of the cost of pumpkin spice creamer in the grocery store.  I got the inspiration from Cook Like a Champion… changed things up a bit and used what I had on hand.  Seriously, go make some. It’s so worth it.

This morning… I made my first cup of coffee with it.  I poured a good tablespoon of syrup in the bottom of my cup, let the coffee brew in and then topped it with vanilla creamer.  Oohhhh yeah… it’s pumpkin spice heaven.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Makes about 18-20oz of syrup. (I got two bottles)

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 HEAPING tbsp pumpkin puree (canned stuff is perfect!)

Directions:

1. In a small pot, dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook for about 7 minutes on medium-high heat.  You don’t want to boil the mixture, just simmer it so all the flavors come together, stirring frequently.
3. Strain mixture using cheesecloth or a tea towel. (I didn’t have a cheesecloth or tea towel, so I just strained mine in a wire/mesh strainer.  If you want a finer syrup, make sure to use a cheesecloth or tea towel)
4. Pour into small bottles and store in the refrigerator.

I started with my absolute favorite banana cupcake recipe, added 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (I decided I like the mini chocolate chips better for just about everything-but it may just be because I’m on a mini cupcake kick lately-regular chocolate chips will work just fine) and a packet of Starbucks Via to the batter. They turned out great!

They weren’t too sweet.  They had a nice little crunch from the mini chocolate chips and the espresso flavor was there, but in a very subtle way.  I decided to go the cream cheese frosting route, but, 1. these would be amazing without frosting (if that suites your fancy) and 2. they would also probably be pretty phenomenal with a coffee buttercream.  As I’ve said before, anything in my house with cream cheese & bananas=breakfast, so these worked for every meal of the day

They’re not an exact copy of the Starbucks coffee cake, but, they’re close enough… they have frosting… and they’re free.  (SN: obviously not all the way free because I had to pay for the ingredients, but you’re smart people-you know what I mean.)

Hope you’re all having a fabulous week!

Ps. Just an FYI-the featured image is 3 mini cupcakes, the picture in the post is a regular sized cupcake.  All of the cupcake liners are from Bake it Pretty.

Banana, Espresso & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 regular size, Starbucks Via Mocha flavor packet (instant coffe or freshly brewed espresso will also work)

xo-Jenn

But who are we kidding though… just coffee? Seriously, I had to spice things up a bit!! A little Irish Creme, a little caramel, a little brown sugar and cinnamon and BAM… you’ve got these super delicious Caramel Creme Latte cupcakes!

These cupcakes are moist, dense and full of flavor. I wanted to make sure they had a stronger coffee flavor, so I added both brewed coffee and espresso powder. I think that combo, plus the few extras I threw in, really did the trick.

Caramel Crème Latte cupcakes
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen regular size cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp espresso powder
¼ tsp cinnamon

1 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled to warm
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Irish crème liquor (I used Bailey’s)

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
6 large egg yolks

1. Brew the coffee and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, espresso powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the coffee, milk and Irish crème.
5. With an electric mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together.  One at a time, add the eggs and mix after each.
6. Add a third of the flour mixture and beat on slow just until incorporated.
7. Add half the coffee/milk and mix until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat with remaining flour and coffee/milk. NOTE: Make sure to only mix until the flour and liquid are combined, do not over mix!
8. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
9. Bake for 18 minutes.  Rotate pan after 12 minutes.
10. Let cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Espresso Buttercream

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp espresso powder, divided
2 tbsp hot water
¼- ½ cup milk or cream

1. Gently heat ½ cup of milk in a small pan.  Dissolve 1 tbsp espresso powder in milk.  Set aside to cool.
2. Dissolve 1 tbsp espresso powder in 2 tbsp hot water.  Set aside to cool.
3. With an electric or hand mixer, cream the butter.
4. One cup at a time, add the sugar.  Mix until smooth, scraping the sides after each addition.
5. Add the water/espresso powder, mix.
6. Continue adding the powdered sugar, alternate with a tablespoon of the milk.  Only add enough milk until you get yours desired consistency.  You may not need all of the milk.
7. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes.

To Assemble:

1. Pipe frosting on each cupcake.
2. Prepare your favorite caramel sauce and drizzle on top of each cupcake.
3. Top with a espresso bean of your choice!

I decided that I also wanted to make some mini cupcakes out of this recipe.  So, here they are… I call them Espresso Shots!

Their creme brulee and tiramisu made bussing tables all summer worth it, sorta lol… If you haven’t spent a few summers of your life bussing tables, then you have not lived! I’ve had this recipe saved fooooorrreeever in my “to bake” folder… Now that I’ve made it, I’m a little sad that I waited this long.  This bundt cake has all of the traditional flavor profiles of tiramisu but it’s in a fun, bundt cake form… you can definitely taste the espresso and the kahlua in the cake… and the cake has a nice texture.  Sort of like a pound cake but not too heavy, all in all, it’s pretty amazing.

Tiramisu Bundt Cake (Recipe Source: Baking Bites)

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup Starbucks Viva (Italian Roast)
• 1/4 cup Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 325F and grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking power and salt.
3. In a standing bowl mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla extract.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk in 2 additions beginning and ending with the flour, and mix until incorporated.
5. Remove 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Remove another cup of batter into a second small bowl. Add the Starbucks Viva packet to one of the small bowls and whisk until combined. Add Kahlua to the second small bowl and whisk until combined.
6. Pour half of the plain batter into the bundt pan and spread into an even layer. Pour the Kahlua batter into an even layer on top of the plain batter. Pour the espresso batter on top of the Kahlua batter. Spread the remaining plain batter into the bundt pan.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let cake cool in pan for 15-20 minutes then transfer to cool completely before frosting.

Kahlua Mascarpone Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 4-oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons milk, as needed
• 1 pint of strawberries

1. Combine butter and mascarpone cheese in a standing bowl mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low add the Kahlua to the mix until combined.
3. Add the confectioners sugar to the standing bowl mixture and add the milk as needed.
4. Half 1/2 of the strawberries for the outside of the cake.  Quarter the other 1/2 of the strawberries for the inside of the bundt cake.  Keep a few whole strawberries for the top of the cake.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of the glaze to the quartered strawberries and then toss them in the middle of the bundt cake.
6. Add the glaze to the cake in a thin, even layer and then garnish with the whole strawberries and a slight sprinkling of confectioners sugar.

Happy Memorial Day, cupcakers.  I want to take a moment to remember those who have fallen in service and say thank you to those who are currently serving… much love & many blessings…

xo-Jenn

Until last week.  Damn those happy hour frappuccinos and the sun being out!  It totally broke my will power… mmmmm frappuccinos! So tasty!  Yes please to caramel and coffee and javachip.  Mmmmmm javachip.  I think it’s my fav.  Who doesn’t love the coffee flavor with those tiny little chocolate chunks, topped off with whipped cream and then drizzled with chocolate sauce?  Well, I guess if you don’t like it I’m not sure if we can be friends.  That coffee stuff is serious business around here

So… I was feeling pretty inspired after having a few too many frappuccinos last week.  These cupcakes were pretty phenomenal, if I do say so myself.  The only thing I will do differently next time, is drizzle a little bit of chocolate ganache over the buttercream, to really get that frappuccino effect.

I don’t really have a go-to chocolate cake recipe (I know, I know… I should!) BUT I do have a go-to brownie recipe.  You all have seen it before… This is the same recipe that I used for the Mini Brownie Cupcakes a while back… it’s my fav.  It’s just might be the most requested cupcake in my house… and that’s really saying something since I bake, a lot.  I modified the brownie recipe a bit, just by adding a small Starbucks Via packet to the batter to give it a slight espresso flavor and instead of using regular chocolate chips, I used mini chocolate chips in the batter & for the topping… hope you like!

Javachip Brownie Cupcakes (Recipe Adapted from: For the Love of Food)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/4  cups Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tbs Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 cups Flour
• 1 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
• 1 small Starbucks Via Ready Brew packet (Italian Roast/Extra Bold)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Line 16 cupcake tins with paper liners.
3. In a medium sized bowl melt butter for 30-45 seconds in the microwave.  Add the sugar and melt the mixture for another 1-2 minutes, just until it’s hot.
4. In a standing bowl mixer crack the eggs, add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract and mix until combined.  Add Starbucks Via packet and mix until combined.
5. Add the butter & sugar mixture to the standing bowl mixer.
6. Add flour to the mixture and then combine.  Mixture will be thick, but combine until smooth.  Add the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
7. Fill liners with batter, 1 full ice-cream scoop.
8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
9. Let cupcakes cool for a few minutes.   Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Mocha Buttercream

• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large Starbucks VIA Ready Brew packet (Mocha flavor)
• 5 tbsp. heavy cream (or more to get the consistency you desire)

To make the frosting add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed 1 minute until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla and instant coffee.  Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Garnish with a few mini chocolate chips … enjoy!

Happy Wednesday, Javacupcakers!

xo-Jenn

I loved everything about these cupcakes, the flavor, their pretty, little good looks, the light whipped cream frosting and of course, the Starbucks Caramel drizzled all over everything.  The cupcakes had a great coffee based flavor and to enhance the caramel flavor, I added some caramel to the batter after it was spooned into the cupcake tins.

These would make a great gift for the Starbucks coffee lover in your life.  I brought them to a family bbq and they were a huge hit with everyone!  I’m always a happy girl when everyone else is happy with my cupcakes  I hope you enjoy!

Caramel Macchiato Cupcakes (Recipe Adapted From: My Buttery Fingers)

• 2 1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled to warm
• 1/4  cup milk
• 12 tbsp  unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 rounded tsp instant espresso (I used 1 packet of Starbucks Via Caramel Coffee)
• Starbucks Caramel

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 12 cupcake tins with liners.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Combine milk and brewed coffee in a small bowl.
4. In a standing bowl mixer cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time until incorporated.
5. Reduce speed to low and add 1/2 flour mixture and then 1/2 of the milk mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the remaining flour and milk to the batter and mix until incorporated.
6. Add Starbucks Via Caramel coffee packet and mix lightly, just until the coffee is incorporated.
7. Spoon in batter and drizzle each cupcake with a little bit of caramel.
8. Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The original recipe calls for Kahlua and cacao nibs, I didn’t have either of those things on hand, so I just didn’t use them.  They still turned out delicious, but didn’t have such a coffee color to them, if that’s what you’re looking for, then I would suggest getting the cacao nibs… maybe it will help.

Whipped Cream Frosting

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Starbucks Caramel

1. In a standing bowl mixer whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form.
2. Add confectioners sugar to taste (not too sweet)
3. Mix in vanilla extract.
4. Pipe Frosting onto each cupcake
5. Drizzle with lots and lots of Starbucks Caramel

This frosting is sooooooooooo good and the perfect pairing for these Starbucks inspired cupcakes.  I wouldn’t be a good Pacific NW girl if I wasn’t a Starbucks & coffee fan Hopefully you like these as much as we did!

Ps: Michaels had a ton of cupcake liners in their $1 bins at the front of the store the last time I was there.  It’s a little hard to tell in these pictures but these liners have hot air balloons on them! Soooo cute!  I picked up 8 packets that are super fun and each packet has 75 liners and they were only $1.50… my kinda deal!

xoxo-Jenn

Wrong.  Or sort of wrong, I should say.  I found a ton of recipes for sticky toffee pudding and toffee cake, but they all used cake mixes.  I’m not gonna hate on cake mixes but I really wanted to make them from scratch and I didn’t have a cake mix around, so that really wasn’t going to work anyways.  Long story short, I found a recipe that looked like the base of what I wanted to have, added a cup or so of heath bits, baked them and kept my *fingers*crossed* that they would turn out okay… and they did! YAY!

Instead of using the caramel buttercream that was included in the Snickers Cupcakes recipe that I found, I decided that I really wanted a coffee frosting to play off of the toffee flavor.  I used a Starbucks Via packet that I had on hand.  The flavors really did come together nicely… this cake is super moist, I love the bits of toffee in the cake mix, the frosting is sweet but has a nice kick from the coffee and overall I’m a happy girl.

love. love. love.

Chocolate Toffee & Coffee Cupcakes

Adapted from: Annie’s Eats

Cupcakes:

• ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ½ cup hot water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ¾ tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. coarse salt
• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1½ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1¾ tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup heath bar/toffee bits

Coffee Buttercream Frosting:

• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 package of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew (Italian Roast/Extra Bold)
• 5 tbsp. heavy cream (or more to get the consistency you desire)

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and the sugar over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted.  Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed, 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined. Add heath bits until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed 1 minute until smooth.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla and instant coffee.  Add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Sprinkle cupcakes with a few heath bits.

Yield: 20 cupcakes

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I do plan on making those Snickers cupcakes eventually, because they look pretty amazing… if you’re feeling adventurous maybe you can make both

xoxo-Jenn

These gingerbread cupcakes were inspired by the Gingerbread Latte I had the other day at Starbucks.  Coffee, espresso and a hint of chocolate make this cupcake so YUMMY!  At first, I wanted to top it with a true whipped cream frosting, but I decided against that because I knew I needed these cupcakes for tomorrow and well… whipped cream won’t last that long.  So I made a cinnamon buttercream but used whipping cream as the thinning agent.

The gingerbread men are also homemade, but I’ll be featuring them in another post coming soon!  Enjoy these little beauties!

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup hot milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line cupcake tins with your favorite liners.
2. Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
3. One at a time, add the eggs making sure to completely incorporate after each addition. Beat on high for 2 minutes after last egg.
4. Add the molasses and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the molasses is really mixed in well.
5. In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt).
6. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
7. By hand, stir in the hot milk mixture.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the liners no more than 3/4 full.
9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Rotate the pan 180 degrees, reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and cook an additional 7-9 minutes or until a toothpic comes out clean.
10. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 heavy whipping cream

1. Cream the butter until smooth.
2. In thirds, add the sifted powdered sugar.  Add the whipping cream after each addition.  Mix on high for 30 seconds after each addition.
3. Add the vanilla and cinnamon.
4. Add any extra whipping cream or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency you want for your frosting.
5. Beat on high for 4 minutes.

I knew I definitely wanted to use my moist chocolate cupcake recipe but doctor it with some spices and coffee to bring out all the flavors… and what I came up with is: Spiced Mocha cupcake topped with a Spiced buttercream!  Oh yum! You can see in the picture below how dark the cupcake is.  The key to the color is the dark chocolate cocoa and the dark, strong, bold coffee I used!

Because I had made these for my cupcake demo… I decorated a bunch of them in Halloween, harvest themes… check out all the pictures at the bottom of this post!

JavaCupcake’s “Spiced Mocha Cupcakes topped with Spiced Buttercream“

Makes approx. 28 cupcakes

Cupcakes

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature

1 cup very hot strong/bold coffee

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp all spice

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line pans with foil or paper liners.
• Mix oil, sugars, cream and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each.
• Beat on medium for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl.
• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Sift them again.  Make sure all the flour and cocoa are thoroughly combined and all clumps are gone and the mixture is very fine.
• Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in three parts, scraping the sides of the bowl and thoroughly mixing after each.
• Beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
• Add the hot coffee and mix until just blended.  DO NOT BE ALARMED, mixture will be thin. Scrape sides & bottom of the bowl.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
• Bake 15 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees, and bake an additional 5-7 minutes.
• Do not over bake! Cupcakes will be done when there are air bubbles in the center and it springs back to the touch.
• Leave in the pan 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs (1 bag) powdered sugar
¼ – ½ cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp all spice

• In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.
• One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar.  Between each cup, add a splash of milk.   Mix until smooth & scrape down the sides after each addition
• Before the last cup of sugar, add the vanilla.  Mix until smooth.
• With the last cup of sugar, add the all spice.  Mix until smooth.
• Add any remaining milk until you get the texture and consistency you want. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Mix on high for 4-5 minutes.

Inside this shop you’ll find an urban style coffee shop with art on the walls… and yes, the art does have cupcakes on it too!! There were people on their laptops, sipping their coffee and munching on their cupcakes.

We picked out two cupcakes, Purple Carrot and Mint Buttercream.

The Purple Carrot was made with ingredients from their local farmers market including ginger and cinnamon.   Let me tell you… I’m not a fan of carrot cake…. but this cupcake was HEAVEN!  The spices were a perfect pairing with the purple carrots!  It’s a MUST TRY if you’re in Renton!

The Mint Buttercream…. it was good.  Wasn’t as exciting as the carrot though.  Maybe it was the end of the day, but I found the chocolate cupcake a bit dry and the buttercream a bit ordinary.  Nothing really stood out as being, OH MY GOSH AMAZING.

We chose not to try others because they were mainly vanilla or a chocolate base with a flavored buttercream on top.  And, since I wasn’t too impressed with the mint buttercream cupcake, I didn’t want to chance the rest.

Here are a few others in their case.

All in all though… I think if you’re in Renton and have a sweet tooth for cupcakes, this shop will fulfill that craving!

For more info about Common Ground, you can find them on Twitter and Facebook too!

To see the article, go here.

Ingredients:

2 packets starbucks via columbia {i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, if you’re supposed to cook with wine you’d drink, shouldn’t that be the same for coffee? }
3/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine the starbucks via with the coffee liqueur and stir until disolved, set aside. in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture is warm to the touch, about 2-3 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg white/sugar mixture on high speed until sift peaks have formed, about 6 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment and with the mixture on medium to low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time. beating well after each addition. continue beating until smooth and fluffy. {the frosting might appear to separate but keep beating until smooth.} with the mixer on low speed, add the coffee and liqueur mixture until smooth. {again the frosting might appear to separate, especially at this addition, but keep beating until smooth.} beat on the lowest speed to remove any air bubbles, about 2 minutes.

Uploaded on September 28, 2009 by
Jamie at Starbucks from jamie of all trades

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white, at room temp
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup+1tsp STRONG brewed coffee (Starbucks Pike Place roast was used for this cupcake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan for 12 cupcakes.

Use mixer to combine sugar and butter until fluffy (3-5 minutes).

While that is mixing, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the egg and egg white slowly to the sugar and egg and beat well.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then add the milk. Add 1/3 more flour mixture and then add the coffee.

Mix in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined (don’t overbeat your cupcakes or they will be disgusting).

Using an ice cream scoop, fill 12 cupcake papers with equal amounts of batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Vanilla Filling
1/2 package instant vanilla pudding
A little less than 1/2 cup milk
A little less than 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish creme

Mix all ingredients with electric mixture until it has the consistency of thick pudding.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 tbsp whipping cream

Beat the butter until it’s smooth and creamy.

Slowly add the powdered sugar until it’s smooth.

Add the milk and cocoa.

Scrape down sides of bowl.

Beat on high 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Cupcake Assembly
Cool cupcakes completely.

Cut out a little cone shape in the tops of each cupcake.
Drop in a dollop of Bailey’s filling and squish the top back on the cupcake. If it squirts out the sides a little, no worries.
Pipe the frosting on top, making sure to cover the seams and the filling.
Add espresso bean on top.
Cupcake and Filling recipe adapted from: Frosted Creations
Frosting recipe happens to be the same as Frosted Creations, but is also one I use.

Check out the Starbucks website for a FREE SAMPLE!