Carrot Cupcakes + DIY Carrot Toppers

March 26, 2013 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

It’s the week before Easter and I wanted to make something super special for my daughter to take to school to share with her teachers. I’ve never made carrot cake before… honestly, I’ve never really eaten it either because usually when it’s served somewhere, it has nuts… and I’m allergic. Boo. So this carrot cupcakes have no nuts but LOTS of flavor!

I searched and searched and searched the internet for a recipe. There are LOTS of carrot cake and cupcake recipes. A LOT. Some had pineapple, some apple sauce, some coconut or raisins. WHICH DO I CHOOSE?!?!

Finally, I settled on this recipe from the Food Network – 24 Karrot Gold Cupcakes. There wasn’t one negative review on the recipe, so that had to be a plus. But – of course I couldn’t help but doctor it up a little bit and put my own spin on things.

They turned out SO YUM! Why haven’t I made carrot cake before!?!?

I also decided after seeing this tutorial by No Biggie for DIY carrot cupcake toppers that I wanted to make my own version of them to top these cupcakes! I mean how much more perfect are carrot cupcakes topped with carrots? At the bottom of this post you’ll find my adaptation of this No Biggie’s tutorial!

Happy Easter!

Enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

Carrot Cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
2 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, strained (I also wrang it out in a paper towel to get as much juice out as I could)
1/4 cup milk
2 cups grated carrots (2-3 large carrots)

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

6oz cream cheese, room temperature
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
the seeds from 1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
3 cups powered sugar

Decorating Supplies

Disposable piping bag
large round piping tip
orange, green and yellow sprinkles
PEEPS bunnies
DIY Carrot Toppers
Sugar flowers

Instructions

Carrot Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
In another large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the oil and mix together.
Add the sugars and whisk until smooth and there are no more sugar clumps.
Add the vanilla, pineapple, carrots and milk and whisk until combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold until completely combined. Do not overmix.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Add the vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream and beat until incorporated - about 2 minutes.
Mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until smooth. Beat on high for 2 minutes.
Using a large round tip fitted on a disposable piping bag, squeeze a large round dollop of frosting on to the top of each cupcake.
Top cupcakes with sugar flowers, PEEPS bunnies and DIY carrots.

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DIY Carrot Cupcake Toppers by JavaCupcake.com

For all the ins and outs to make these carrot cupcake toppers, visit No Biggie’s blog for the full tutorial! I didn’t have all the supplies and tools she had to make them exactly the same, so I used what was in my house and I still think they turned out great!

Supplies

Orange & green card stock
Lollipop sticks
Glue stick
Scissors

Instructions

Cut strips of orange card stock the long length of your paper. I cut mine about 1/3″, but you can cut whatever size works best for you. If you use a paper that isn’t color on both sides, make sure that any lines you draw to help you cut your paper are not visible on the white side. (I learned this the hard way once I started assembling them and had to trim the edges so you couldn’t see my lines.)
Cut 3×2″ rectangles of green card stock. Cut fringe up one side of the paper, making sure to leave about 1/4″ uncut. (See pictures in the No Biggie tutorial for a better description.)
Spread the glue stick on the uncut length of the green card stock. Wrap that tightly around the end of the lollipop stick and hold for 30 seconds for the glue to adhere. Fray out the fringe.
Wrap the orange paper around the center of the lollipop stick and hold for 30 seconds. Let go of the paper, it will be curled up like ribbon. Glue the outer edge of the curled paper to the top of the stick at the base of the wrapped green fringe. Glue the bottom inner edge about half way down the stick. You may want to move the paper up/down or adjust it to how it looks best before gluing the bottom to the stick. Hold the paper in place to let the glue adhere.

Wondering where I got some of these cupcake supplies?

Orange zigzag liners – Sweets & Treats Boutique
Sugar flowers – Lucks Food Decorating Company
Orange marshmallow bunnies – PEEPS & Co.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

December 31, 2012 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

I’ve never made a cheesecake before. And, if I’m being honest here… I don’t really even like cheesecake. I know. I’m a CRAZY person for not liking cheesecake… but I just can’t get paste the cream cheese/sour flavor. Yuck!

For our New Years Eve party with the neighbors, I wanted to make something special… but one of my neighbors doesn’t like cake (I call him CRAZY for not liking cake!) but he loves Reese’s! So… how about a cheesecake! And to make it even better, I’ll make it a peanut butter chocolate cheesecake! YESSSSS!!

Since I’ve never made one before, I needed to find a recipe. Surprisingly enough, there weren’t many peanut butter chocolate cheesecake recipes to choose from on the web that looked 1)simple and 2)super delicious. I finally decided to start with a recipe from Bake or Break and change it up a little to add a some JavaCupcake flair!

The original recipe called for peanuts in the cheesecake, but I decided I wanted a traditionally smooth cheesecake, no chunks… so I left those out. It also called for a peanut butter crust, but since I wanted to add more chocolate to the cake, I used Peanut Butter Oreos in the crust instead of the Nutter Butters the recipe called for. And finally, for a little added flair on top, instead of a little swirl of chocolate and peanut butter on top, I created a super thick layer of deliciousness that is peanut butter and chocolate! YUM!

Overall, this was a rich, creamy super full of flavor cheesecake where I just savored every bite! I loved the crust and the layer of peanut butter and chocolate on top was perfect!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 24 hours

Yield: 1 10in cheesecake

Ingredients

Cookie Crust

20 Peanut Butter Oreos
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
parchment paper

Cheesecake Filling

32oz cream cheese (4 8oz packages), room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp corn starch
8oz (1/2 cup) sour cream
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cream peanut butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Swirl Topping

6oz white chocolate
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions

Cookie Crust

Spray 10in springform pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. (I didn't do the parchment paper part, but wish I would have!)
Place Oreo cookies and peanuts into a food processor. Process mixture until the texture is of a course meal.
Add the melted butter and process until combined.
Press mixture into bottom of the prepared pan.

Cheesecake Filling

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, corn starch and sour cream. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is combined.
Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.
Mix in the vanilla and peanut butter. Again, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth.
Pour on top of cookie crust and spread evenly.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 200 F degrees and cook for 2 hours.
Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan.
Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in the oven for 2 more hours.
Cover and refrigerate over night.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl

In a double boiler, melt the peanut butter and white chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
In another double boiler, melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
Take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator and remove the ring of the springform pan.
If you can, remove the cheesecake from the pan and place on the plate you're serving on. There is where the parchment paper comes in handy. I didn't use parchment, so I just left the cheesecake on the pan and put that on my serving platter.
Spread an even layer of the peanut butter mixture over the top of the cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides.
Drizzle the melted chocolate back and forth over the peanut butter. Using a toothpick, drawl circles/swirls to bring the peanut butter and chocolate mixture together in a swirly pattern. Don't overswirl! Simple is better!
Chill several hours.

To serve:

Place a long, thin knife in a tall cup of hot water. Wipe off the water.
Cut into the cake and through the crust. Pull the knife straight out from the bottom of the cake, do not pull it up and out of the cake.
Clean off the knife and dip it in the hot water again.
Wipe off the excess water and repeat the cutting process again.
You can cut each slice ahead of time and place it back on the platter if you're serving the cheesecake at a party or cut each slice and serve on a plate one at a time.

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How Not to Make Pumpkin Spice Pudding Cupcakes

November 18, 2012 by Betsy Eves 9 Comments

This weekend, amongst the madness of just-paid Army wives and Thanksgiving shoppers at the Commissary, I spotted a box of Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Pudding! *SQEEEEEEEEL* I immediately tossed it into my basket and continued on my shopping.

Today… my husband is hungover. A bottle of Johnny Walker and half a bottle of Glenlivet between him and his buddy Jody… well, they’re both not happy soldiers today. Which means… I’m alone to bake whatever my little heart desires!

First, it was my second double batch of Holiday Chex Mix of the season… now it’s cupcakes… and after the cupcakes are done… the roast, taters and carrots go in the oven! Are you jealous yet? hehe It’s a fabulous day to be in my kitchen!

So… the cupcakes. I’ve said over and over how I’m not a “box mix” kinda baker. But I find myself lately having a box “on hand” in my kitchen and well… whip up a batch of one-bowl cupcakes using it! Eeeek. Now that I have a box of pudding mix… I thought maybe the two might go together! I thought a nice maple cream cheese frosting would go well with them too! YUM!

WRONG. Total disaster. The batter started out okay…. had promise. They baked, puffed up perfectly. See… don’t they look pretty?

WRONG… they sunk.

I thought… well maybe, I can salvage them with frosting. NOPE. Wrong again. I tasted the cupcakes and they were DISGUSTING! They tasted like pudding… but nothing like cake! No flavor and just GROSS! ACK!

Into the trash can they went.

I’ve learned my lesson. NO MORE BOXED CAKE MIX!

And as for the pudding… I’ll stick to eating it out of the bowl and not in my cupcakes.

Here’s a picture of the ingredients I used…. so that you won’t make the same mistakes I did.

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
1 box pumpkin spice pudding
2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla (not pictured)
spices

SO… what did I do wrong? Any suggestions? How do you make your pudding cupcakes?

Filed Under: boxed cake mix, cake batter, cream cheese, disasters, pudding, pumpkin

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes topped with Acorns

November 4, 2012 by Betsy Eves 5 Comments

You know what I realized this weekend? I haven’t posted a basic pumpkin cupcake recipe on my blog yet! How can that be, right? I’ve posted a bazillion other pumpkin recipes, including two other pumpkin cupcakes (but those were fancy), but not one that was just deliciously full of flavor and easy!

So this weekend, my daughter’s Girl Scout troop is having a bake sale and I decided to take this opportunity to whip up a batch of Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting topped with handmade candy acorns!

The recipes for these cupcakes come from Annie’s Eats… but I’ve made it even simpler omitting the mixer and just using bowls and a whisk!

I’ve seen similar acorns topping cupcakes that used mini Nilla Wafers as the “lid” to the acorn, but since I didn’t have access to the the mini’s Nilla’s here… my husband spotted the mini Nutter Butter bites and I think they worked even better with these acorns! The bites have a textured top which was more realistic and a peanut butter center which made attaching it to the Kiss even easier! No frosting “glue” required!

Not only are these cupcakes super simple to make and the acorns super fun and cute… this entire cupcake is so delicious! I will be bringing these to a Bake Sale today to support my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop! I hope they sell out!

Enjoy!

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes topped with Acorns

Ingredients

Cupcakes

2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1lb powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Acorns

Hershey Kiss chocolate candies
Nutter Butter Bites mini cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Cupcakes

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until smooth.
One at a time, crack the eggs into the mixture and whisk until incorporated.
In three parts, add the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. After all the flour has been added, give the batter a good 10 whisks. DO NOT OVER MIX though!
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Leave cupcakes in pan at least 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together.
Add the sifted flour 1 cup at a time and beat until smooth.
Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high for 1 minute.

Acorns

Unwrap the Hershey Kiss candies.
Twist apart a Nutter Butter Bite. Using the side of the cookie that still has peanut butter on it, press it onto of the Kiss with the textured side up.
Press a mini chocolate chip onto the center of the Nutter Butter Bite for the stem. The warmth from your fingers should just barely warm the chocolate enough for it to stick on the cookie.
Arrange 2 acorns on top of each cupcake to garnish.

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Filed Under: cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, frosting and icing, pumpkin, pumpkin cupcakes, recipes, savory cupcakes, seasonal and holiday cupcakes

Crown Royal Cupcakes

October 17, 2012 by Betsy Eves 12 Comments

I am in love with my chocolate cake recipe. It is so versatile. I mean seriously. I’ve made this chocolate cake so may different ways now… It’s gone mocha/coffee, dark chocolate, Guinness, cream, and now Crown Royal Reserve. I love the fact that just replacing this one ingredient, substituting just this one aspect of the cake can change the flavor so drastically. It’s amazing!

The cupcakes I made today are full of Crown Royal Reserve flavor. The aroma of the batter was extremely intense and tasted so incredibly delicious. The whiskey flavor was strong, but not over powering. It was perfection.

Inside these cupcakes is a spiced chocolate cream I had left over from the pumpkin spice cupcakes I made last week. I just whipped it up until it was smooth, added a tablespoon of Crown Royal to it and it was silky, smooth and perfect to fill these cupcakes with.

Topping these cupcakes is a cream cheese frosting with nothing but Crown Royal Reserve as the flavoring garnished with a dollop of the same chocolate cream as in the middle of the cake.

My neighbor got to sample one of the “rejects” as I call them and she said it was delish! (I usually don’t even eat a whole cupcake when I make them for clients. lol I’ve made these types of cupcakes so many times that I know what it all tastes like already! I’d be 325lbs again if I ate a cupcake everytime I made them haha)

Enjoy!

Crown Royal Reserve Cupcakes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Crown Royal infused dark chocolate cake filled with spiced dark chocolate cream topped with Crown Royal frosting. Perfect for the CR lover in your life!

Ingredients

Crown Royal Cupcakes

3/4 cup Crown Royal
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Dark Chocolate Cream for the filling

Recipe can be found here!
NOTE: You'll only need about half of what the recipe makes, so save the rest for later or only make half
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Crown Royal Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp Crown Royal (more if you want a thinner frosting)

Instructions

Crown Royal Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners.
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Once melted, add the Crown Royal and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Bring just to a boil then remove from the heat to cool slightly.
While cooling, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and milk in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Slowly pour 2-3 Tbsp of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the rest in and whisk until combined.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the wet mix. Whisk until smooth.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Cream

Using about half of the frosting from the this recipe, add 1 Tbsp of heavy cream.
Using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, whip frosting until light and fluffy.
Core each cupcake and fill with the chocolate cream.

Crown Royal Frosting

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Add the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth. If it becomes too thick to mix, add the Crown Royal to loosen up.
Mix in the salt and beat on high for 3-4 minutes.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with a dollop of the dark chocolate cream to garnish.

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Filed Under: alcohol, alcohol cupcakes, alcohol frosting, chocolate cupcakes, cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, dark chocolate, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, recipes

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

February 20, 2012 by Betsy Eves 12 Comments

Tomorrow, I’ll be ON THE RADIO!!!! AFN Bavaria here in Germany is hosting me for a 2 hour segment to talk cupcakes and baking! And, well… since it’s Mardi Gras tomorrow, I thought it’d be a perfect reason to make some party cupcakes!

Since I needed to color the batter, I needed a basic white base to start with. So, I whipped up a simple vanilla buttermilk cupcake. But… you know me, nothing I do is ever basic. These cupcakes have my favorite Madagascar vanilla beans, buttermilk and some added sour cream for flavor. There is nothing basic about the flavor of these bad boys!

I topped them with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and them embellished them with some fun sprinkles and mini cupcakes made with pb cups. Topsy Turvy Cupcakes!

These cupcakes will be READY TO PARTY tomorrow morning! I hope the radio station is ready for the sugar rush!

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

These cupcakes are ready to PARTY for Mardi Gras!

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
the seeds of 2 Madagascar vanilla beans
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups Buttermilk
¼ cup sour cream
3 cups cake flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Green, Purple and Yellow food coloring gel (I used Wilton brand)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pans with white liners.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes.
While that is creaming, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the buttermilk, vanilla beans, vanilla extract and sour cream. Whisk until combined. It will look lumpy, which is okay.
Add the wet mixture to the butter/sugar and mix on medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl and make sure everything is incorporated. NOTE: It will look curdled. DO NOT FRET! It will smooth out once you add the flour.
Add all the flour at once and mix on low to medium speed until smooth. Don't over mix!!
Separate batter evenly into three bowls.
Add food coloring and mix until uniform in color.
Using a tablespoon, scoop one color into the liner against one edge. Quickly, scoop the second color next to/overlapping the first color. Finally, add the third color. NOTE: By the time you get to scooping the third color, you should still be able to see a 1/3 of the bottom of the liner.
Add another smaller scoop of each color until the liners are 1/2-2/3 full. NOTE: Do not fill these more than 2/3 full. They puff up nicely and you don't want overflow!
Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate pan after 12 minutes.
Cool in pans for 7-8 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.

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Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes

Is there anything better than cinnamon and cream cheese together?

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
green, purple and yellow sprinkles
Rolo candies
Mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
1/4lb at a time, add the powdered sugar. After the first addition, add the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Beat until smooth.
After the next additions of powdered sugar, add whipping cream and beat on high until smooth. After the last addition of sugar, add enough cream until you get your desired consistency.
Add the pinch of salt and beat on high for 5 minutes.

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How to assemble Mardi Gras cupcakes

Ingredients

Baked & cooled Mardi Gras cupcakes
Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting
green, purple and yellow sprinkles and rainbow jimmies
Mini Reese's peanut butter cups
piping bag with star tip
purple food coloring gel

Instructions

Reserve 1/2 cup of frosting and tint with purple food coloring gel. Put it in a piping bag with a small star tip. Set aside.
Using the white frosting and a large star tip, pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake. Embellish with sprinkles and jimmies.
Put a swirl of the purple frosting on top of the Reese's pb cups and embellish with sprinkles and jimmies. (You want it to look like a mini cupcake.)
Place a pb cup on top of each cupcake, off center.

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Filed Under: buttermilk, candy cupcakes, cinnamon buttercream or frosting, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, cupcake toppers, decorating ideas, featured, frosting and icing, holiday, Madagascar vanilla beans, Mardi Gras, novelty cupcakes, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes, tips & tricks, vanilla, vanilla cupcakes

Happy Valentine’s Day! Red Velvet Love Cupcakes

February 14, 2012 by Betsy Eves 1 Comment

I had a little bit of extra Red Velvet batter when I made an order for mini’s recently, so I decided to dress up a full size cupcakes for Valentine’s Day.

First, I used my favorite red and white liners from Sutton Gourmet Paper that owner Kellie sent me. Seriously, these make any red and white cupcake so much more beautiful. They hold their color so well… I just love them!

Second, I filled those awesome liners with my recipe for Red Velvet cake… which, I think I’ve pretty much perfected.

Third, I topped them with a simple cream cheese and vanilla bean frosting.

Finally, I added the cutest red heart sprinkles… making these the perfect Valentine treat!

Here’s to wishing all of my fantastic readers a very

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Please know how much I love each and every one of you and truly am thankful for your love and support over the years!

Cream Cheese & Vanilla Bean Frosting

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Enough to frost 12+ cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2oz cream cheese, room temperature
the seeds from one Madagascar vanilla bean
1 tsp vanilla extract
1lb powdered sugar
1/4 cup Madagascar vanilla bean cream (recipe for this cream can be found here)
pinch of salt

Instructions

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Mix in the vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Mix in the powered sugar and salt.
Add enough of the cream until you get the consistency you desire and mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Beat on high for 4-5 minutes.
Pipe swirls on you the cupcake and top with red hearts.

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Filed Under: cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, frosting and icing, holiday, Madagascar vanilla beans, recipes, red velvet, valentine's day, velvet cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

February 5, 2012 by Betsy Eves 4 Comments

At my baby shower yesterday, not only did I make the cupcakes… but I also brought two of my favorite dips. Since I only took a picture of one of them… that’s the recipe you get! HA!

Imagine… peanut butter, cream cheese, and sugar… with pb and chocolate chips… rolling around in your mouth. Seriously… my daughter, she took spoonfulls of this ball, didn’t even need crackers!

The only downside to this ball is that it really needs to sit overnight in the freezer to set up perfectly… so you have to make it a day ahead. No biggie though, one less thing for you to do the day you party down with this ball!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

approx 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
approx 3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Nilla Wafers and Cinnamon Graham Crackers

Wax paper

Cream together the cream cheese and peanut butter.
Add the sugars and vanilla and mix until smooth. NOTE: If it seems a little sticky still, add a bit more powdered sugar until it firms up.
Place mixture onto a large sheet of wax paper and form into a ball. Fold the sides of the wax paper to cover the ball and place in freezer for 90 minutes to set it’s shape.
After the 90 minutes, mix the pb and choc chips together on a plate. Remove the ball from the freezer and press the chips into the side of the ball until it’s covered.
Place the ball on plate you will be serving it on, cover and freeze 4-5 hours (AT LEAST) or over night.
Remove from 20-30 minutes before you want your guests to enjoy it. Serve with Nilla Wafers, Cinnamon Graham Crackers or whatever other kind of cookie, cracker you want! YUM!

Filed Under: appetizers, cream cheese, peanut butter, recipes

ChocolateLove Bloghop: Red Velvet Cheesecake Chocolate Brownies

February 4, 2012 by Betsy Eves 26 Comments

Does anyone notice a theme lately? Pink! Red! Love! YES! It’s definitely that time of year where all I want to bake and create are love themed and colored goodies!

Today… it’s Red Velvet, Cream Cheese & Chocolate Brownies. Now, you may have noticed that I don’t make many red velvet things… I’m not really a huge fan. I don’t always have red food dye on hand and I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese. Call it pregnancy hormones and cravings… but for the first time in my life, I’ve been wanting to use cream cheese in every dessert I make.

The recipe is pretty simple… there are a few steps, but it really didn’t take much time at all to put together!

I made these especially for the #ChocolateLove BlogHop that I’m apart of! So make sure you visit the BlogHop Co-Hosts listed at the bottom of this post and add your favorite CHOCOLATE recipe to the list!

ENJOY!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 12-16 brownies

Brownie Batter:
9 tbsp unsalted butter
7oz 70% dark chocolate

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp red food coloring gel/dye

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake Batter:
12oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line 9×13 glass pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray (or grease/flour pan – I prefer parchment paper, makes the brownies easier to pull out at the end).
In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together. Stir often. Set aside to cool slightly when melted.
While that’s melting, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
In an even smaller bowl, with a fork, stir together the cocoa powder and food coloring until it becomes a paste and set aside.
While the chocolate/butter is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
SLOWLY pour in the slightly cooled chocolate. Start with a little bit at a time, you don’t want to add it all too much, too hot and cook the eggs.
Add the cocoa powder/food coloring. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat until your batter turns a dark red color. If you want, you can add more red coloring at this time. Make sure the food color is very well incorporated before you move on.
Slowly add the flour and mix until smooth. Don’t beat too much… just enough until all the clumps are out and the batter is smooth.
Remove 1/2 cup of batter and set aside.
In a clean bowl for the stand mixer, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla on high speed until whipped and smooth.
Spread brownie batter in the bottom of the pan, making sure to get it into the edges and corners.
Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture. Using an offset spatula, gently spread to cover the brownie mixture.
Drizzle remaining brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese. Using your offset spatula, swirl the three layers together. NOTE: Don’t swirl too much! You want a lot of the white cream cheese to show through!
Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pan, and cover with foil. Bake another 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs, not wet batter.
Allow to cool completely in pan before removing to cut into squares.

Recipe adapted from An American Cupcake in London

ChocolateLove BlogHop CoHosted by:

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl * ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @astigvegan * Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl * Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29 * Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins * Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha * BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker * Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth * CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog * Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess * Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue * Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22 * Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf * Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies * Elephant Eats ~ Amy * Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes * Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19 * Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake * Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica * Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking * Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk * No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley * Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose * Preheat the Oven ~ Jason ~ @officialchefjae * Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar * Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla * Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem * Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition * Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood * Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable * Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil * That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick * The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal * The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict * The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd * The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian * Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack * Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma * You Made That? ~ Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

Filed Under: bars, blog hop, brownies, cheesecake, chocolate, cream cheese, dark chocolate, desserts, featured, recipes, red velvet

Sweetheart Sugar Cookie Bars

January 28, 2012 by Betsy Eves 4 Comments

I’m stocked with bags and bags and bags of chocolate. Kisses, chips, m&m’s, bars, chunks, filled and fruity, seasonal… you name it, I have it right now.

My favorite though… the bag of pink, white and red M&M’s. Simple yet so darn cute when used just right!

Today, there is 3 inches of new snow on the ground and it’s a perfect day to stay inside and whip up something sweet with these Valentine themed M&M’s for my daughter and her friends. They’re spending the afternoon sledding and playing in the snow… so they’re definitely going to need a little energy from these cookie bars!

Normally, when I make sugar cookies, I use a dough that needs to be chilled and rolled… but I thought I’d try something a little different this time. A sugar cookie that is cut, like a bar or with a cookie cutter, already frosted and decorated… and I use the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Recipe. This recipe is just as easy, if not simpler and it gets pressed into a jelly roll pan!

The frosting, it’s my new favorite. A bit of cream cheese and a lot of Madagascar vanilla! YUM!

Sweetheart Sugar Cookie Bars
Makes 18+ bars

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
the seeds of 1 Madagascar vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 drop of Americaolor “Red Red” food gel

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line 13x18x1 in jelly roll pan (really big, deep cookie sheet!) with parchment paper and spray paper and sides of pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of an electric mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, almond and vanilla. You want to beat this mixture on high for 4-5 minutes to get it very light and fluffy!
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
With the mixer on low, add the flour in three parts. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until incorporated thoroughly.
Press the dough into the pan. NOTE: I used a piece of wax paper to help spread out the dough into the edges and corners.
Bake in the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.
Cool completely on a wire rack, in the pan, before frosting.

Madagascar Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
3-5 tbsp Madagascar Vanilla Cream

Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the cream until you get your desired consistency. I like a thinner, smoother frosting for cookies so I add more cream than less.
Beat on high for 5-6 minutes.

To Assemble Cookies:

Cutting board
Offset spatula
Large knife
Cookie bar
Frosting
M&M candies
Heart shaped cookie cutter

Use a knife to loosen cookie from the pan. Gently slide the cookie out of the pan and onto the counter or a large cutting board.
Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting evenly over the cookie.
Sprinkle whole M&M’s evenly over the cookie bar. Chop more M&M’s into small pieces, even crushed a bit, and sprinkle evenly over the cookie bar.
Cut into squares and serve with a big glass of milk!
You could also cut a few using a heart shaped cookie cutter too if you wanted to be really creative!

Filed Under: bars, bars, candy filled cookies, cookies, cream cheese, frosted cookies, recipes, sugar cookies, valentine's day, vanilla

Thin Mint Cupcakes

January 25, 2012 by Betsy Eves 26 Comments

It’s totally that time of year… GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME!

I can’t resist. I bought 10 boxes. Yes. You read that correctly. 10 boxes.

2 to eat (with in the first 24 hours).

8 to bake with.

Yeah… you read that correctly. 8 boxes to bake with.

Last year I made Samoa Cupcakes and Tagalong Brownies. This year… I started with Thin Mint Cupcakes. These cupcakes are a super decadent chocolate cake filled with a whipped chocolate ganache topped with a mint buttercream. Serious amounts of NOM NOM NOM.

PS…. This is my new favorite chocolate cake recipe. I know it’s got beer in it… but I’m totally using it for every chocolate cake I make from now on!!

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

1 bottle of Guinness Stout Beer
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Add the vanilla beer, whisk together and heat until it just begins to simmer. Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder and heat until it just begins to bubble up. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
In the meantime, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream. Slowly pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. NOTE: DO THIS SLOW! You don’t want to cook the eggs, so start pouring a very small amount of the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture… DO NOT DUMP IT IN ALL AT ONCE.
In three parts, add the flour mixture to the chocolate/egg mixture. Whisk until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure everything is incorporated.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter.
Bake 18-20 minutes, rotating pan after 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 3-4 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium glass bowl.
In a small sauce pan, heat the heavy cream and corn syrup just until it bubbles.
Pour heavy cream over chocolate and stir until smooth. If the chocolate doesn’t melt all the way, place the bowl over a double boiler and continue to stir until smooth.
Mix in the butter and extract.
Allow ganache to cool to room temperature.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the cooled ganache until fluffy. Don’t over mix or it will get grainy.

Vanilla Bean Peppermint Buttercream

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 cup Madagascar Vanilla Bean Cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
pinch of salt
Wilton Green Food Gel

Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Add half the powdered sugar and mix on high until incorporated and smooth.
Beat in half the vanilla bean cream until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure all the sugar is combined.
Add the remaining sugar and the peppermint extract.
Mix in the food gel until it’s the color you desire.
Add remaining vanilla bean cream until you get the consistency you want. Mix on high 3-4 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

To Assemble Cupcakes:

Thin Mint Cookies
Peppermint Buttercream
Chocolate Shavings
Piping bag & large round tip
Apple corer

Core each cupcake using the apple corer.
Fill each cupcake with whipped ganache. (I filled a disposable piping bag, cut off the top and filled each one with that.)
Using a large round tip and a piping bag, pipe a round swirl of buttercream on to each cupcake.
Top with a Thin Mint cookie and chocolate shavings.
EAT! ENJOY!

And this is what you do when you have left over peppermint buttercream. NOM NOM NOM

Filed Under: buttercream, buttercream, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, cookie cupcakes, cookie cupcakes, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, ganache, ganache, girl scout cookie cupcakes, Madagascar vanilla beans, mint cupcakes, peppermint, peppermint and mint, recipes, top posts sidebar, whipped cream, whipping cream

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

October 19, 2011 by Betsy Eves 1 Comment

I’m so excited! Not only was our Commissary finally stocked with pumpkin puree but to share my new favorite pumpkin recipe! I just baked it this afternoon and its so delicious thank you Ina Garten for making this pumkinlicious creation that I found off of Pinterest.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Makes 12 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

4. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Maple Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor (I used Mc Cormick)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I just used a wooden spoon and mixed it well), cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

ENJOY!

Filed Under: brown sugar, cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, holiday, maple extract, maple frosting, posts by danielle, pumpkin, pumpkin cupcakes, recipes, seasonal and holiday cupcakes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 10, 2011 by Betsy Eves 16 Comments

Jenn and I planned to make caramel apple cupcakes without even chatting about it first! I guess those Fall flavors are just in the air and we’re ready to get baking!! Apples, cinnamon, nutmeg… OH MY!

You may remember the Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes I made before! I brought them to my first Cupcake Camp and they were a HUGE success! My very first recipe I came up with on my own from scratch! I knew I didn’t want to make these caramel apple cupcakes exactly the same, but some elements of it I knew were too good to pass up.

I started these Caramel Apple Cupcakes with the same pan cooked chopped apples that I used with my Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes. Sugar, apples, lemon, and spices cooked on low heat to create a ooey gooey apple filling. Seriously, I could eat it by the spoonful.

Apple Mixture
Makes about 2 cups apple mixture

3 Granny Smith apples, diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp hot water + 1 tbsp corn starch

Over medium high heat, mix together all the ingredients in a frying pan on the stove.
Bring to a boil then reduce to low and cook for about 10 minutes. Stirring frequently.
Set aside to cool completely.

Apple Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup apple mixture
1 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Cream together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment.
Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Mix in the vanilla.
Add the apple mixture and mix on low until just combined.
If mixture is too thick, add a tbsp of heavy cream to smooth out.

Caramel Buttercream
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1lb powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp caramel syrup

Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
Mix in the vanilla.
Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
Add the cream to loosen.
Mix in the caramel syrup and mix until smooth.
Beat on high for 30 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again.
EAT!

Apple Cupcakes
Makes 18 full size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup apple mixture

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, juice and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk/sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add the flour to the wet mixture and mix together just until combined.
Fold in the apple mixture.
Fill regular size liners about 2/3 full. Fill mini liners 1/2 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate pan after 12 minutes of baking.
Cool in pans for about 7 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Assembly

After cool, cut a cone out of the center of each regular size cupcake. Trim off the bottom of the cone.
Core out the center of each mini cupcake using an apple corer.
Fill each cupcake with the cream cheese apple mixture. Replace to tops of the regular size cupcakes only. (I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the regular size cupcakes and a piping bag to fill the mini’s)
Top with caramel buttercream and then rim with your favorite topping. (Nuts, candy, sprinkles, caramel sauce)
Insert popsicle stick or lollipop stick into center of cupcake.

Filed Under: apple, caramel, caramel cupcakes, caramel frosting, cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, fruit, fruity cupcakes, mini, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes, spiced

Banana & Blueberry Cupcakes (Vegan & Gluten Free)

August 5, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 3 Comments

Hello friends! I’m sorry for my super extended break, but July has been all kinds of crazy busy and I really haven’t had much time for blogging. I’m super behind, but hopefully I’ll get caught up soon!

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

July 1, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 3 Comments

I hope that you all aren’t tired of banana cupcakes yet… They’re just so easy to make and I have to meet a banana/frosting combo that I don’t like!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

June 21, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 2 Comments

Hey JavaCupcakers! Happy Snickerdoodle Week! I’m here with the thing we do best … cupcakes!

Red, White and Blue Velvet Cupcakes

June 14, 2011 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

My husband recently graduated from the NCO Academy here in Germany. For us, that’s a big deal. It was his first big school since Basic Training that included a formal graduation ceremony. So… this totally meant I had to throw a party to celebrate! I decided to host a big BBQ and provide a hot dog bar and desserts. Dessert in my world = CUPCAKES! [Read more...]

Filed Under: almond extract, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, recipes, velvet, velvet cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

June 11, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 16 Comments

Happy weekend, javacupcakers! Today I am going to share with you the coconut cupcakes that I made for 2 of my favorite people at work. They wanted coconut, so I made coconut. Here we go…

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

June 3, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 6 Comments

Hands down. Easiest cupcakes that I have ever made. EVER! And bonus points for being delicious & pretty

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

May 28, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 6 Comments

These were a birthday request for a friend at work. I’m not going to lie, if I had my pick of dessert, key lime pie probably isn’t even in my top 5… but, apparently folks love them some key lime pie!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

May 22, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 2 Comments

The weather this week was nothing short of amazing… Sunshine and sunshine and more sunshine I wanted to bake something that was super fresh & light… Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!

Birthday Trio

May 18, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 1 Comment

Hey folks sorry things have been a little quiet around here from me lately… life has kind of been super busy lately. Good busy, but still super busy. I haven’t had much time to write posts, but have no fear I have been baking!

Nutella Bliss Cupcakes

May 17, 2011 by Betsy Eves 2 Comments

I’ve never had Nutella before, seriously, not a lie. But I’ve been told it’s fabulous. I’m pretty sure I’ve stayed away from it because I’ve been allergic to nuts my entire life. [Read more...]

Filed Under: chocolate, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, Nutella, nutella cupcakes, peanut butter, recipes, top posts sidebar

Oreo Cupcakes

May 2, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 16 Comments

Everyone loves an Oreo! Or at least, I think everyone does. If you don’t, I’m not sure that we can be friends!? Lol, they’re fun & tasty and milk’s best friend, right??

Limoncello Cupcakes

May 1, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 4 Comments

Are you ready for summer? Because I’m soooooo ready for summer it’s crazy. These were perfect to hold me over through since we still have rain and clouds here ;( boo. They’re nice and fresh, tart and sweet all at the same time. Yummm!

Banana Whoopie Pies (with PB & Bacon!)

April 30, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 3 Comments

So, clearly I’m still on a huge banana and PB kick. I had a few bananas left over from cupcakes the other day and I’ve been saving this banana whoopie pie recipe for a while now… so here we are with more bananas, more peanut butter frosting and well, bacon. Of course.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter & Honey Frosting

April 28, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 7 Comments

Where do I start?! These are like breakfast in a cupcake! Anything that has bananas and cream cheese qualifies as breakfast to me

Orange Zest & Poppy Seed Cupcakes

April 20, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 3 Comments

I’ve been dreaming of Betsy’s Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes for the last few days…it might be the sunshine, it might be Spring Fever… not really sure, but they sound amazing. They’re definitely still on my list of need-to-make-ASAP! But, I wanted to make something quick and easy, with ingredients that I already had in the kitchen… enter Orange Zest & Poppy Seed Cupcakes with an Orange Zest Cream Cheese Frosting!

I used the Lemon Poppy Seed muffin recipe that I posted a few weeks ago but with oranges instead (duh, lol) and I added frosting. Cause well, isn’t it a cupcake if it has frosting? I think that’s the rule. Either way, they only took about 10 minutes to whip up and the cream cheese frosting is just the staple recipe that I use all the time with a little bit of fresh squeezed OJ and some zest. They’re fresh, they’re pretty (and you all know how I feel about pretty already!) and they’re fun.

Poppy seeds always seem to make everything a little bit more fun. FYI, you can find a little jar of poppy seeds in the seasoning/spice section of your grocery store. When spices are on sale you can get it for a pretty good deal. I like to have them on hand because they’re a nice addition to salads and coleslaw as well.

Orange Zest & Poppy Seed Cupcakes (adapted from Simply Recipes):

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder (make sure your baking powder is no older than 6 months)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp poppy seeds

10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp orange zest (*If you don’t have oranges, you can also use orange juice-with or without pulp)
*I used the zest of 1 medium orange for this recipe

Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, and salt and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy (about 2 minutes with an electric mixer). Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the orange zest (*I use my parmesan grater as a zester).
Beat in one third of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in a third more of the dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat.
Line 24 cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Evenly distribute the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Test with a long toothpick (*I use a thin bamboo skewer) to make sure the center of the cupcakes are done. Set cupcakes on wire rack to cool. After 5 minutes, remove cupcakes from pan.
Whip up your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe (for these, I used about 3 cups of confectioners sugar). Add 2-3 teaspoons of orange zest and the juice from 1 orange (you can use the orange that you zested already for the recipe) to your frosting. The frosting is super pretty when you can see the orange peel zest.

When I made the Lemon Poppy Seed muffins, I used my extra large muffin tins, so I only had about 7-8 huge muffins. With these, I wanted regular sized cupcakes so I used my ice cream scooper and filled it about 3/4 way with batter (so that my cupcake liners were 2/3 full with batter) and I had a full 2 dozen. They turned out super cute

To pipe the frosting, use a large round tip. Start in the middle of the cupcake and squeeze until you have a large dollop in on your cupcake, then swirl just a bit to get a little curly tip. The cupcake liners are from Bake it Pretty, of course, lol. How awesome would these be with orange creamsicle cupcakes?! Those are on the need-to-make agenda as well!

Are you baking anything exciting this weekend? We’re having a big Hawaiian feast, so the Aloha Cupcakes are on our menu PS. don’t forget to let me know if you’re going to be at the opening of Burning Cupcakes on May 7th in Tacoma on 6th Ave! Hopefully I’ll get to meet a few of you there!

Hazel, meet Javacupcakers. Javacupcakers, meet the puppy love, Hazel

I figured no one can resist a cute pic of the pup she was pretty interested in the cupcakes tonight! She tried super hard to get a taste with no success, but she was cute nonetheless (I had to google that, bc I wasn’t sure if it’s a real word. Turns out it is. lol)

Smile! Happy Wednesday!

Filed Under: cream cheese, cupcake recipes, fruit, fruity cupcakes, perfect for spring, poppy seed, posts by jenn, recipes

Raspberry Almond Cupcakes & Dark Chocolate Buttercream

April 13, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 2 Comments

It’s been kind of a long week over here on my side of the world….and I don’t feel like Friday will be here soon enough *le*sigh* My solution? Bake, of course! I’ve had these cupcakes saved for a long long long time and never got around to making them. I’m glad that I finally took some time to whip them up, because they totally made me feel better!

What the French Toast?!

April 8, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 5 Comments

Breakfast cupcakes are pretty much the best thing ever in my house right now. Blueberry pancake cupcakes? Big hit! French toast & bacon cupcakes?! BIGGER HIT!! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cinnamon, cream cheese, cupcake recipes, featured, french toast, posts by jenn, recipes

Mini Brownie Cupcakes

April 2, 2011 by Jenn Magofna 9 Comments

Happy weekend! These little brownie bites are super tasty. I’ve made this brownie cupcake recipe a few times for a baby shower and as a present… they’re also my little brother’s favorite cupcake! The last time I made them I decided to drizzle them with caramel, add some almond slivers and mini chocolate chips and they were amazing.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: brownies, caramel, cream cheese, mini, posts by jenn, recipes

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

February 25, 2011 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

I seriously don’t why I never posted this recipe back in December when I made it. I was going through some old posts and found that I had started several but never finished them… including these. [Read more...]

Filed Under: cheesecake, chocolate, cream cheese, pumpkin, recipes

Very Berry Cheesecake Muffins

February 19, 2011 by Betsy Eves Leave a Comment

I’ve got this deck of cupcake cards… each card has a different recipe. I don’t know why I’ve never used it before, but the other day I was flipping through it and saw a recipe for a cheesecake cupcake that I used as the inspiration for this muffin! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cream cheese, featured, fruit, muffins, recipes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

November 12, 2010 by Betsy Eves 5 Comments

What’s all the fuss about? Whoopie what? Huh? Seriously, the first time I heard about Whoopie Pies, I had to google it. Today, when I posted on Facebook I was making them, my friends and family texted me asking “WTF” they were. [Read more...]

Filed Under: cinnamon, cream cheese, featured, misc. baked goods, pumpkin, recipes, seasonal

Guest Blogger: Jennifer shares her Halloween cupcakes

November 8, 2010 by Betsy Eves Leave a Comment

One of my oldest friends, Jennifer, made cupcakes for her Halloween party this year! I asked her to take lots of pictures and to put togehter a recipe for my readers! Thanks Jennie! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cinnamon, cream cheese, guest blogger, pumpkin, seasonal, spiced

Black Velvet Cupcakes + Pumpkin Tutorial

October 25, 2010 by Betsy Eves 9 Comments

It’s Halloween… so yeah, I’m making Black Velvet cupcakes. Are they any different from red velvet, white velvet or green velvet… not really, but they sure are spookier!! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cream cheese, holiday, seasonal, tips & tricks, top posts sidebar, velvet

Red Velvet Cupcakes

October 11, 2010 by Betsy Eves 18 Comments

Red Velvet… I have been scared to attempt you. So scared. Your flavor, texture and color are so unique… when you’re done wrong… everyone knows. But, I can proudly say that as of today, Red Velvet… I HAVE MASTERED YOU and YOU SCARE ME NO MORE! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cream cheese, featured, recipes, red velvet, top posts sidebar, velvet

Guest Blogger Katrina shares her Perfect Carrot Cake Cupcakes

September 23, 2010 by Betsy Eves 1 Comment

JavaCupcake Note: This is a guest blog post from my friend and fellow Army Wife, Katrina! She posted these cupcakes on her Facebook and I asked if she’d write a blog post for my readers! Thank you, Katrina! These look amazing! [Read more...]

Filed Under: carrot, cream cheese, guest blogger, recipes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 9, 2010 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

It’s back to school time in our house and I wanted to do something special for Emily’s teacher as a way to kick off the school year! I have been craving the scents of Fall so I knew an apple cupcake would be in order! [Read more...]

Filed Under: caramel, cream cheese, featured, filled cupcakes, fruit, recipes

Hippity Hop – It’s the Easter Bunny (cake!)

April 3, 2010 by Betsy Eves 3 Comments

This Easter I volunteered to make dessert for the family get together and I KNEW I had to make something GREAT!! So, I started with this Easter Bunny cake! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cake, cream cheese, holiday, perfect for spring, recipes

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Wondering where I got some of these cupcake supplies?

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

JavaCupcake Note: This is a guest blog post from my friend and fellow Army Wife, Katrina! She posted these cupcakes on her Facebook and I asked if she’d write a blog post for my readers! Thank you, Katrina! These look amazing! [Read more...]

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