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

1. 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).
2. In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together.  Stir often.  Set aside to cool slightly when melted.
3. While that’s melting, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
4. In an even smaller bowl, with a fork, stir together the cocoa powder and food coloring until it becomes a paste and set aside.
5. While the chocolate/butter is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Remove 1/2 cup of batter and set aside.
10. 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.
11. 
    Spread brownie batter in the bottom of the pan, making sure to get it into the edges and corners.
12. 
    Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture.  Using an offset spatula, gently spread to cover the brownie mixture.
13. 
    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!
14. 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.
15. 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

These beans are so fresh, so moist, and so full of great vanilla flavor…  I really can’t wait to use them in EVERYTHING for the next few months.  I just hope that 1/2lb was enough!

First thing I made took me no time at all.  Vanilla Sugar.  Seriously, get some vanilla beans and make some of this yourself.  It takes 2 minutes and your sugar will thank you!!

Vanilla Sugar
airtight container
5lb bag of sugar
2 Madagascar vanilla beans, split length wise

1. Empty the bag of sugar into the airtight container.
2. Add the two vanilla beans to the sugar.  Put the lid on and shake until the beans are covered in sugar.
3. Let the beans hangout over night in the sugar.
4. Take the lid off, smell, taste, enjoy!  You now have vanilla sugar!

NOTE:  You can just keep adding sugar to the container as you go through it as well as any other used vanilla bean husks as you bake.  Just take the old ones out when they’re all dried up.  You can used the dried up beans in milk/cream to make vanilla cream! Nom nom nom.

And then I made Vanilla Cream.  You can use this cream in place of any recipe that calls for milk or heavy cream.  It will add such a rich, delicious vanilla flavor to whatever it is you’re baking.

You could also use it as coffee creamer.  Nom nom nom

Vanilla Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Madagascar vanilla bean

1. Split the vanilla beans open length wise using a sharp knife.  Scrape out the vanilla bean paste from inside the pod.
2. In a small heavy bottomed pot, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla bean pod and paste.
3. Cook on LOW for about 10 minutes, whisking often.
4. Increase heat to medium until the milk just begins to simmer and bubble.  NOTE:  You don’t not want it to reach a full boil or burn.  Just a nice, slow simmer.
5. As soon as the milk begins to bubble up, remove it from the heat and whisk.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature.
7. A film may form on the top of the cream, just whisk it until it’s smooth again.
8. Remove the vanilla bean pod if you’re going to use all the cream immediately.  If you plan to store the cream for later use, leave the bean in the cream until you’re ready to use it.

I’ve been dreaming of doing a special post for New Year’s… but wasn’t sure if I’d make it in time.  Today… well, with nothing really on the agenda today, I decided to spend a few hours in the kitchen and make some cupcakes!

And… what better way to celebrate the New Year than with a big bottle of BUBBLY!  These cupcakes have a very strong champagne flavor but paired with the homemade raspberry filling they sure are a sweet treat!

Of course, these little cupcakes had to be all dressed up to celebrate 2012!  I melted white chocolate and created the cutest toppers for these cupcakes… perfect to ring in the New Year!

Since this will be my final post of 2011… I want to take this time to wish you all a very Happy 2012!  I hope all your dreams and wishes come true in this year year!

Love you all!

Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes
Makes 18-20 cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

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

3/4 cup of your favorite champagne – I used Cook’s Extra Dry for this recipe

pink food gel coloring

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy and smooth… at least 4-5 minutes.
2. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the flour and champagne, alternating, as well as beginning and ending with the flour.   Mix only until combined.
5. At this point you can either add the pink food gel coloring or you can leave them white.  I did half white and half pink.  Mix the food gel only until combined… you don’t want to overwork the batter.
6. Scoop into liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cool, using an apple corer, remove the center of each cupcake and fill with raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling
Makes enough to fill 2+ dozen cupcakes

1 bag of frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
3-4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp corn starch

1. In a large pan on the stove, melt the butter.
2. Add the raspberries, sugar and vanilla and cook for about 5 minutes on med-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
3. Once the sugar melts and the raspberries begin to bubble, in a 1 cup measuring cup, mix together with a fork 4-5 tbsp of the raspberry mixture and the corn starch.  Add this mixture back to the pan with the remaining raspberries and stir until combined.
4. Bring mixture to a bubble/gentle boil then remove from the heat.  Stir every few minutes as it cools.
5. Cool completely before filling cupcakes.
6. To fill cupcakes:  place raspberry mixture into a piping bag and squeeze just enough filling into each cupcake.

Champagne Buttercream
Makes enough to frost 18 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (you could use all butter if you wanted too)
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup Champagne (I used the same as what I put in the cupcakes)

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening.
2. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and mix on high until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/4 cup of champagne and mix on high until smooth.  Add remaining champagne until you get the consistency you desire.
5. Mix frosting on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy and the color brightens.
6. Pipe frosting onto your cupcakes and decorate!

And here they are all dressed up for a client to enjoy!  Happy 2012!

It was a blondie of sorts.  A cookie bar.  Inside it had chocolate and marshmallow… and it got me to thinking, why haven’t I made more blondies before?

Since I had these two beautiful  jars of homemade peanut butter that I had just whipped up… I knew this was a perfect opportunity to make some peanut butter blondies!

The grocery store had a huge sale on it’s holiday bags of chocolate… so I picked up a couple bags of Hershey’s Chocolate Chunks for only $1 each today… so I knew I had to include some chocolate with the peanut butter!

This recipe makes a ton of peanut butter chocolate chunk blondies…. so be prepared to share!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Makes 12 large squares… more if you cut them smaller

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup homemade peanut butter (see my recipe!)

2 eggs
1tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup + 1/4 cup chocolate chunks

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Great a 9×13 metal pan with shortening or butter.
2. In a medium sauce pan, melt together the butter and brown sugar on medium heat… whisking often.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in the peanut butter.  Whisk until all the peanut butter has melted.  Set aside to cool as you prepare the flour.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Whisk the eggs and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture.
6. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pur the butter/sugar mixture in.  Using a spatula, fold the butter/sugar into the flour about 6-7 strokes.
7. Add the milk and fold 4-5 more strokes.   You just want to barely combine the ingredients, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
8. Dump in the chocolate chips and fold until combined.
9. Pour the thick batter into your prepared pan and spread to the edges.  Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks.
10. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top and edges have turned a golden brown.  Allow to cool in the pan before cutting into squares.
11. Drizzle with extra peanut butter, serve with a big glass of milk and enjoy!

This morning, the Cake Duchess posted a recipe for scones that featured these beautiful little berries and I knew I just had to whip up a batch with the rest of my cranberries!

The scones turned out SO GOOD.  Seriously.  Warm, fresh from the oven with a little butter on them.  Almost too good to eat! They are tart, yet sweet… full of beautiful color and flavor with a crispy sugar crust.

I will definitely be making these again!

Clementine Cranberry Scones
makes 6 large scones

Supplies:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 3 Clementine oranges, about 2-3 tsp

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

1 tsp vanilla extract
8-10 tbsp milk, divided

1 tbsp sugar (use turbinado if you have it)

cookie sheet
parchment paper
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, orange zest, and salt
3. Add cubed butter to flour mixture.  Using a fork, press butter into the flour mixture against the side of the bowl.  The goal here is to create a very dry dough where the butter is in small pieces, not chunks… coarse like.
4. Add the cranberries and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
5. In a small measuring cup, mix together 5 tbsp of the milk and the vanilla together.   Add milk to the flour mixture and combine.
6. Add 3-5 more tbsp of milk at a time until the mixture forms a dough and no dry ingredients remain.
7. Move the dough to your cookie sheet and flatten into a round circle about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Cut it into 6 equal triangles with a sharp knife, and space evenly across sheet.
8. Brush the scones with a tablespoon of milk and sprinkle generously with sugar.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tops of scones brown.  Watch carefully you don’t want them to burn!
10. Remove to a wire rack to cool… or you could smear them with butter and eat warm! YUM!

Recipe adapted from: Cake Duchess 

Last weekend my daughter and I attended a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party” where I dressed up, well… more cure than ugly.

(PS… isn’t this photo great! You can’t even tell I’m 7 months pregnant! hehe)

And then this week, I created some of the most festive cupcakes I’ve ever made for Christmas! With the holiday spirit in mind… here is a round up of some of my favorite holiday recipes from my blog! Enjoy!

4 Holiday Cupcakes - Coconut cake w/ Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Grinch Cookies

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms

Holiday Chex Mix

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blossoms

Mandarin Orange & Cranberry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Blossoms

Chocolate Crinkles

Gingerbread Men

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon Cupcakes

Hot Cross Buns

From my family to yours… I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All they way from Germany, I’m totally feeling the holiday season!  I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of fantastic ideas for super special Christmas cupcakes… so many actually that I couldn’t choose just one!

I wanted a very white cupcake to use as a base for these cupcakes, so I went with a coconut cupcake and topped it with a coconut cream cheese frosting.  (NOTE: If I were to make these again, I would probably not use cream cheese in my frosting and stick with a straight buttercream recipe.  Cream cheese frosting tends to get really soft and the trees and snowmen will hold up better with a stiffer frosting.)

Make sure to check out the photo slideshow at the bottom with ALL the pictures of these fabulous cupcakes!

Coconut Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

Supplies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract

3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut milk

1/8 cup hot water
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.  (I tried to use a variety of liners to match the themes of the cupcakes I was making.)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Add the egg whites and extract and mix on high for 4-5 minutes.  The batter will look like it’s turning into whipped cream, really light and fluffy.
4. Whisk together the cake flour, AP flour, salt and baking powder.
5. Add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar and mix on low until just combined,  about 10 seconds.
6. Add all the coconut milk and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.
7. Add the remaining flour and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.  Note: You don’t want to over mix the flour into the batter.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix the last bit of flour by hand.
8. Add the coconut and hot water and fold in by hand until combined.  Remember, do not over mix!
9. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full of batter.
10. Bake 17-19 minutes or until cupcakes begin to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(This makes enough frosting to decorate all the cupcakes I made today… it’s typically enough to normally frost 2-3 dozen cupcakes)

Supplies:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup (or less) coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth.
3. Add the extract and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
5. A few tbsp at a time, add the coconut milk… do not add it all here.
6. Add the remaining 1/3 of the sugar and salt and beat in until combined.
7. Add more coconut milk until you get your desired consistency.  Remember, this is cream cheese frosting and it gets very SOFT so you won’t need a lot of milk.
8. Mix on high for 1 minute or until smooth.

The North Pole

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Coconut flakes
Candy cane stick
Red hot candies
North pole flags (I made these and taped them to a toothpick)
Offset small spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. Using your offset spatula, spread a mound of white frosting on top of your cupcake.
2. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, shaping it into a ball.
3. Place a small dollop of frosting on the tip of a candy cane stick and place a red hot on top.
4. Press candy cane stick 1/3 way into the cupcake.
5. Place North Pole flag next to the candy cane stick.

Christmas Tree

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Shredded coconut
Green frosting
White chocolate & yellow sprinkles
Various sprinkles (to decorate tree)
Wilton 1M piping tip
2 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. For the star on top, I melted white chocolate, put it in a piping bag, and piped the shape of a star onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  I then immediately covered it in yellow sprinkles.  I put the stars in the freezer for 20 minutes to set up before place them on top of the piped tree.  Make a few extra in case they break and for variety. You could also do this to create ornament shapes (dots with colored sprinkles).
2. Using your offset spatula, spread a small amount of white frosting on top of the cupcake, completely covering it.
3. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, making a flat surface.
4. Using the green frosting in a piping bag with the Wilton 1M tip, pipe green frosting in the shape of a tree onto the cupcake.  I used this VIDEO TUTORIAL I found on YouTube to help guide me in this.
5. Use any kind of sprinkles to decorate your tree.  I found that the larger round dots made better ornament shapes.  Really, just use your imagination… the decorating is the fun part!

Snowman

Cupcake
White frosting
Pink/Red Frosting (Or any color you want for the scarf and hat)
White & Dark chocolate
Orange sprinkles
Coupler & 4 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula

Wreath Cupcakes

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Green frosting
Red frosting (or any color you want for the bow)
Sprinkles
Frosting/piping/pastry bag
Leaf tip

Directions:
I used the tutorial Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle put together for the Williams-Sonoma blog.  Instead of re-writing it all, you can find that tutorial HERE to create your own Holiday Wreath cupcakes!

But what?  Oh… duh, COOKIES!  haha  It’s that time of year and I’ve been doing nothing but baking cookies lately.  So, why not mandarin orange cookies?  But hmmm…. what goes with orange in cookies… hmmmmm??? CRANBERRIES!  Oh and WHITE CHOCOLATE!

I took a basic brown sugar cookie cookie dough recipe and transformed it into a super amazing Mandarin Orange & Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie!

Now, I used fresh cranberries and fresh oranges, but I’m sure if all you had was canned or jarred that would be okay too.  I just love the idea of big chunks of fresh fruit in these cookies!

I’ve seen some with a glaze on top, but I didn’t want to hide the chunks of fruit inside of them, so I just topped them dough with sugar before baking.  I think they’re pretty much PERFECT!

Mandarin Orange & Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp orange extract
3 tbsp orange juice
Zest of one Mandarin orange

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup halved fresh Mandarin orange slices (about 4 Mandarin oranges)
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks (I used a mix of both cause that’s what I had on hand)

1/4 cup sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
3. Add the egg, extract, zest and orange juice.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Add the flour to the butter/sugar and mix on low until just combined.
6. Fold in the halved orange slices, chopped cranberries and white chocolate.
7. Drop 1 tbsp of dough onto the cookie sheet, 1-2 inches apart.  Do not place more than 12 on a sheet, the cookies spread and need room!
8. Dust each mound of dough with sugar.
9. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Do not overbake!
10. Remove and let cook on sheet for about 1 minute.  Remove to a wire rack to cool complete.

This time… it’s a cookie bar with a huge surprise in the middle.  Baked in these cookie bars are two kinds of chips and a Reese’s peanut butter cup! Seriously, I wish I had extra for myself, cause they are SO YUM!

Run to your kitchen and whip up a batch of these for your kids…. they’ll thank you for it.

(PS… I didn’t feel like breaking out the big camera to take pictures…. so, you get camera phone pics!)

Double Chip Surprise Cookie Bars
Makes 12 bars

8×8 glass pan
parchment paper
non-stick cooking spray

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
10oz bag + 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
12 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Lightly spray bottom of an 8x8x2 glass pan with cooking spray.  Line bottom of pan with a square piece of parchment paper.  Generously spray top of paper and sides of pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  In two parts, with the mixer on low, add the flour and mix until barely combined.
5. Add the milk and mix until just incorporated.
6. By hand, fold in the chocolate and butterscotch chips.
7. Press half the dough into the pan.  Arrange 12 peanut butter cups evenly onto of this layer, pressing them gently into the dough.
8. Spread evenly the remaining dough on top of the pb cups, making sure to spread into the corners.  Again, press dough gently into bottom layer.
9. Bake in the center of your oven for 40-50 minutes or until baked through.  Do not over bake!
10. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 squares.  Be patient, you want them to set up before you cut them… they will keep their shape better if cooled when cutting.

I asked my BFF baker friend, Carrie Fields of Fields of Cake, what recipe I should use to make such brownie and she led me to the most amazing brownie I have ever tasted. Seriously, this brownie is AH-MAH-ZING!

It’s thick, moist, chewy and so chocolately that you neeeeeeed the whipped cream and peanut butter sauce to balance out the awesomeness of the chocolate.

And let me tell you about this peanut butter sauce. OH MY GAWG. I just want to eat spoonfuls of it. And really, can’t wait to buy some ice cream to top it with. You can use this sauce on ANYTHING. SO GOOD.

So, thanks to Steffen for wanting brownies and thanks to Carrie for the recipes! I changed things up just slightly, but for the most post… the recipes are all Carries!

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from Fields of Cake

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
14 ounces quality dark chocolate (85%), chopped coarsely
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9×13 pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder and set aside.
3. Using a large double boiler, melt together the chopped dark chocolate, cubed butter and instant espresso powder.  Stirring occasional until melted and completely combined.  Turn the heat off, but leave on the burner and keep the bowl on the double boiler.
4. Add the sugars and whisk until combined.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes or until it comes to room temperature.
5. Add three eggs, whisk just until combined.  Add the remaining two eggs and whisk only until combined.
6. Gently stir in the vanilla.  Do not overmix the batter or the brownies will turn out cakey.
7. Fold the flour mixture to the wet mixture just until all the flour has become wet and just combined.  Again, DO NOT OVERMIX.
8. Pour the mixture into your buttered baking dish.  Using a tapered spatula, gently spread the batter into the corners of the pan, smoothing out the top.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.  Rotate pan half way through baking. Do not over bake.
10. Allow to cool in pan completely before cutting and serving.
11. Serve with unsweetened fresh whipped cream and peanut butter sauce drizzled over the top.

Peanut Butter Sauce
Adapted from Fields of Cake

1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
½ cup water
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp salt

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, honey, water and salt with a whisk until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Allow to come to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the sugar turns a dark amber color.  This process can happen quickly, so watch the sugar closely so you don’t burn it.  It will start to smell like caramel when it’s done.
3. Once it turns dark amber in color, remove immediately from the heat and whisk in the butter.
4. Add the cream and whisk to combine.
5. Stir in the peanut butter and whisk until combined.
6. Taste the sauce, if it’s too sweet, add 1 tsp more of salt to cut the sweetness.
7. Allow to come to room temperature to thicken before drizzling over brownies with fresh whipped cream.

1 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the metal bowl and whisk of your electric mixer in the freezer for 20 minutes.
2. After they bowl and whisk are very chilled and cold, attach them to the stand mixer.
3. Pour in the heavy whipping cream and whisk on high for 3-4 minutes.
4. Pour in the vanilla extract.
5. Continue to whisk on high until it becomes thick.  Do not over mix or it will deflate.

Peanut butter blossom cookies are traditionally made with a peanut butter cookie and a Hershey Kiss… but I thought, what about a white chocolate cookie and a Candy Cane Kiss?  PERFECT!

Now, I know that white chocolate liqueur might not be easy to find… so you could make these with vanilla extract and some milk instead of the liqueur.  But, if you can find the white chocolate… use it.  It’s subtle but SO YUMMO.

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms
Makes 2 dozen (and a few extra) cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp white chocolate liqueur
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Green and red sugar crystals
1 bag of Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Cream together, with an electric mixer, the butter and sugar.
4. Add the egg and beat on high for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.  Scrape the sides and beat again for 1 minute.
5. Mix in the white chocolate liqueur.
6. Add the flour and mix on medium speed just until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.  Do not over mix.
7. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the red sugar crystals and place on cookie sheet.
8. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the green sugar crystals and place a cookie sheet.
9. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes.
10. Cool on pan for 1 minute then place an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie.
11. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

WRONG!

Monday rolls around and I’m back in the kitchen baking. This time, one of my favorite combos: Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

I made these soft and chewy peanut buttery chocolate kiss cookies cause ya know, they’re my favorite and I made them HUGE because well, you know… everything is better when it’s HUGE!

Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen JUMBO cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter, extra crunchy
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 10oz bags HERSHEY’S mini chocolate Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the butter and peanut butter.
3. Add the sugars and beat on high until combined.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix on high for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
5. Beat in the corn syrup, water and vanilla extract.
6. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
7. Add the flour mixture in two parts to the cookie dough, mixing only until just combined.
8. Fold in the mini kisses.
9. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop 8 mounds of cookie dough onto your pan.
10. Bake for 9-10 minutes.  DO NOT OVER BAKE!  You want them to begin to turn golden on top but still be soft in the middle.
11. Remove to a wire rack immediately to cool.

Are you wondering how my errors screwed up my cupcakes?  Well, to begin with they sunk in the middle.  They also overflowed the edges AND their texture was too light and crumbly for my taste.  Not a good combo for a cupcake.

So this morning I decided to have a second try at them and fixed my errors.  I omitted the baking soda and added more baking powder (this helps combat the acidity of the citrus) and I also added the coloring BEFORE I mixed in the flour.  This allowed me to fold in the flour just until combined, making the perfect cupcake consistency!

These cupcakes are “Blood Orange” Candy Corn cupcakes because I’m using flavored candy corns.  My best friend sent them to me…. Blood Orange Candy Corns.  Unfortunately, my store didnt’ have any blood oranges, so I used a naval orange.  :)   I’d suggest using an actual blood orange if you can!

Blood Orange Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

zest of 1/2 a large Blood orange (I used a Naval orange – read above)
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp orange extract
juice of 1/2 a large Blood orange (I used a Naval orange – read above)

2 cups cake flour
(to make cake flour, measure AP flour, remove 4 tbsp and add 4tbsp corn starch. sift together 2-3 times)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Yellow Gel food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the orange zest and sugar.  Press the back of a spatula into the sugar and zest, releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar.  Keep doing this until sugar becomes fluffy and fragrant.
3. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and orange sugar.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes.
6. Mix in the sour cream, orange extract and orange juice.
7. Add the food coloring and mix until there are no streaks of white batter left.
8. Fold in the flour in three parts, alternating with the milk.  Mix ONLY UNTIL JUST COMBINED.  Do not overmix!
9. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I decided to make an Oreo cupcake and decorate it like a graveyard as well as an orange flavored candy corn cupcake! I know that candy corn typically isn’t orange in flavor, but my friend Sarah sent me a package of blood orange candy corns… so this works out perfectly!

For the Graveyard cupcakes I made this oreo cupcake… it’s a favorite recipe of mine that works out perfectly every time I make it!   Instead of a cream cheese frosting like the recipe calls for… I used a standard buttercream and added oreos.  I made 1.5x the amount I’d normally make for a dozen cupcakes, just to make sure I had enough frosting.  Here’s that recipe:

Oreo Buttercream
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
10 Oreos, chopped
1/4 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter until smooth.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with a small amount of cream at a time, and beat until smooth and creamy.
3. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the chopped Oreos and mix on high for 2 minutes or until all the big chunks of Oreo are gone.
5. Add more cream until you get your desired consistency.  You may not need all the cream.
6. Mix in the salt until well combined.

So for my first bundt cake… I decided on a chocolate and pumpkin combo. I figured it would be best to be safe and instead of doing two batters and making it marbled, I would make one batter with chocolate and pumpkin together.

For the glaze, I spent all morning pondering it… Do I make a vanilla & cinnamon glaze for a more dramatic effect or a thick chocolate ganache for flavor and texture? I’m leaning toward the chocolate because really, you can’t go wrong with chocolate. I guess we’ll know which one I decided on by the end of this blog! HA!

The cake batter is a little unorthodox in it’s ingredients, but trust me the cake will be AMAZINGLY delicious!  It’s super dense, moist and the pumpkin flavor is just enough to add some spice to the cake.  It leaves you wondering… mmmm, what is that?

Pumpkin & Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cup minus 1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp corn starch

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground gloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg white, room temperature

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 f degrees.  Grease the inside of your large, deep bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour and corn starch in a large bowl.
3. Add the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  Whisk until well combined.
4. In another large bowl, mix together with an electric mixer the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar.
5. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
6. Add the canola oil, corn syrup and vanilla and mix until combined.
7. Gradually add the flour to the wet mixture.  Fold in the flour mixture until just combined.  Do not over mix.
8. Pour batter into bundt pan.  Pound pan on the counter 2-3 times to help the batter settle and to get any air bubbles out.
9. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a long skewer/stick comes out with no wet batter or just a few crumbs.   You may want to rotate your pan after at least 40 minutes cooking to ensure even baking.
10. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
11. Drizzle glaze over the top allowing it to drip down the sides.
12. Top with mini chocolate chips.
13. Cut into slices and enjoy!

1. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, buttermilk and cinnamon.
2. In another small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and buttermilk.
3. Drizzle the cinnamon glaze over the bundt cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
4. Drizzle the sugar glaze over the cinnamon glaze, making sure it drizzles between the cinnamon glaze drizzles…. creating a contrast in colors.
5. Top with mini chocolate chips.
6. Allow the glaze to set before cutting &  serving.
7. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial

Cupcakes

• Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Tree Hugger Apple Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial
• Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting
• Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
• Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes - #2
• Spiced Mocha Cupcakes
• How to make Fall trees to top your cupcakes
• Pumpkin Cake Balls/Pop
• Caramel Creme Latte Cupcakes
• Appledoodle Cupcakes

Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Tutorial

• Pumpkin Donut Holes
• Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
• Emme’s Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Spice Bread
• Honey Cornbread Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Syrup

• Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Cookies/Bars

• Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Now, I wanted to make these really strong in banana flavor, so I used banana extract and did not add the typical spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc).  If you wanted to turn these into a muffin, I’d suggest adding a few spices, using a bit of brown sugar instead of white and creating a crumble for the top.  But, since I’m topping these with a peanut butter frosting, I really wanted a strong banana flavor not to be overwhelmed by the frosting.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 ripe medium bananas, smashed
2 large eggs
1/2 tbsp banana extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add in the melted butter, bananas,  eggs, banana extract and sour cream.  Mix together with a whisk about 10 strokes.
4. Add the chocolate chips. Switch to a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix another 10 strokes.
5. Fill liners 2/3-3/4 full with batter.
6. Bake 22-24 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are golden brown.
7. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup peanut butter, heaping
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup milk or heavy cream
pinch of salt (optional)

melted chocolate
banana slices

Everyone told me I should make an apple pie with the apples, but I really wasn’t in the mood for pie.  So, I surfed the internet for inspiration and saw a pull apart bread baked with diced apples and tons of cinnamon and brown sugar.  I’ve always wanted to try a pull apart bread so I thought this would be the perfect time to start.

The recipe I got my inspiration from came from Flour Me With Love.  It’s got a great photo tutorial that I followed to put together the dough and bread.  I changed up the ingredients just slightly and of course added my own flair to it. I liked this recipe a lot because I didn’t have to wait for the bread to rise. I just made the dough, rolled and cut it and into the oven it went!

Apple Filling:
6 apples, peeled & diced (I used my apple peeler, corer, slicer then cut into pieces. This worked great!)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp warm water

1. Peel, core and dice your apples.  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them.
2. In a large pan, combine the butter, apples, sugar, vanilla and spices.
3. Mix the corn starch and water together then add to the mixture.
4. Bring to a light boil and cook for 3-4 minutes,
5. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes,  continually stirring.
6. Set aside to cool and thicken.

Dough:
3 cups flour (plus more for work surface and kneading)
1 package yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
2. In a small sauce pan, bring the milk to a simmer… just until bubbling.  Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until melted.  Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the hook attachment, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and brown sugar.
4. Add in the water, egg and milk/butter mixture.
5. Turn on your mixer to medium speed and mix until a ball forms.  My dough wasn’t coming together, so I added another 1/4 cup of flour to help it come together.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a well floured surface.
7. Knead for 5 minutes adding more flour to keep the dough from getting sticky or sticking to your hands or counter.
8. Roll out into a large rectangle (or the best you can do), about 1/4 inch thick.
9. Spread 2 tbsp butter over the dough then spread the apple mixture over it evenly.  Reserve about 1/4 cup of apple mixture.
10. Using a pizza cutter.  Cut about 4×5 inch pieces of dough.  Stack them into piles of three pieces.  Don’t worry if sizes aren’t exactly the same, just do your best to stack like sizes together.  If you have odd sizes, just add them to the tops of your piles of three.
11. Hold your baking pan on it’s end.  Stack your pieces into the pan.  Set the pan down and spread the pieces out so they fill the entire pan.
12. Use the reserved 1/4 cup apples to spread on top.
13. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.  If the apples on top start to brown or burn, cover the loaf with foil.
14. Let cool in pan for about about 30 minutes, there may still be some raw dough in the middle, but don’t worry!
15.  Run a butter knife along the edges of the pan to help it come out.
16. Glaze and enjoy!

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powered sugar and cinnamon.
2. Add the vanilla, butter and milk and mix until you get a smooth consistency.
3. Pour over slightly cooled bread.  Allow to set up before cutting into the bread.

Mini Cupcakes

Tools: 
Apple corer
Piping bag

3 Steps:

-Press the apple corer into the center of the mini cupcake.  Twist gently and pull out the center piece of cake.
-Fill a piping bag with your mixture, cut off the tip so you have about a 1cm opening.
-Pipe the mixture into the cupcake just until it reaches the top.

Tools: 
Sharp knife
Mini ice cream scoop

3 Steps:
-Using a sharp knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake.  Make sure the knife goes almost to the bottom of the cupcake when cutting the cone.  Trim off the bottom of the cone so what you have left is a flat top.
-Using the mini ice cream scoop, scoop a dollop of filling into each cupcake until it’s full.
-Replace the flat top of cake back on top of the filling and press down until it’s flat.

Seriously, tell me these aren’t the cutest things you’ve ever seen!? They totally look like a shirley temple.  And honestly, who doesn’t love a shirley temple!? They’re so fun and cute and oh yeah. Did I say fun?  They remind me of being a little girl and being able to order something “fancy” at a restaurant.

Just a few notes…

• Don’t be afraid of the marischino cherry juice and/or the red food coloring… I used a few drops and the bottom layer still turned out a little bit lighter than I was anticipating.
•  I cut down the almond extract in the buttercream to 1/8 teaspoon, because while it was still delicious, the almond flavor was a little bit more intense than I wanted it to be.  (oddly enough, the almond flavor sort of tastes like cherries)
• I drained my cherries on a paper towel and very *gently* squeezed out some of the excess juice so that they didn’t mess up the pretty frosting.
•  Please don’t skip out on the Cherry 7-Up, I think it adds great flavor and it’s just sort of fun!
• I made these the night before I needed them and they kept well a sealed container in the refrigerator.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 12-24 maraschino cherries with stem, for garnish

1. In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy at least 2-3 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, add the pinch of salt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon juice and mix until combined.
3. Whip the buttercream until smooth and add the maraschino cherry juice to the buttercream and mix until combined.  The maraschino cherry juice gives it a nice subtle flavor and the prettiest light pink color.
4. Pipe with a star tip and garnish each cupcake with a cherry.

I decided to make a few that were all pink batter, just for funsies… I didn’t like them as much as the 2 toned cupcakes, but they still tasted great If you’re short on time, or you don’t have red food coloring in your kitchen, you can skip that step all together (but, it was my favorite part of this recipe).

So, when I saw what Joy the Baker posted yesterday and the urge to get back in my kitchen and bake came over me I just KNEW that it was going to be this pie.

See last week, I made over 150 cupcakes in 4 days.  That may not seem like a lot of cupcakes for an established bakery, but for a stay-at-home mom who only has two good cupcake pans and and can only bake one pan at a time…. 150 cupcakes is no small feat.  I burnt out after those four days of baking and vowed I was going to take this week off.  I said THE ENTIRE WEEK I WILL NOT BAKE.

Well, it’s Tuesday and I baked a pie.  But really, can we call that really baking?  It was more like slicing and mixing and rolling.  I guess the pie baked, but I didn’t really make anything.  lol I even used a premade pie crust.  I totally cheated.  :D

But, let me tell you… there is NOTHING BETTER than a slice of WARM peach and blueberry pie with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream.  I took a piece that was waaay too big for me and I ATE ALL OF IT.  Ok, not ALL, my daughter helped me with half but I WANTED to eat all of it!!

I used Joy’s recipe for the pie filling, changed things just a bit to accommodate for what I had in my kitchen and I used a pre-made pie crust… but seriously friends, this pie was one of the best I’ve ever made!

Peach Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Pillsbury Premade Pie Crust

about 3 pounds ripe peaches (I used 8 small peaches)

1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup (heaping) sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
juice from one lemon

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, for topping crust before baking

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Lightly spray 9-in pie dish with cooking spray. Place the rack in the center of the oven.
2. To make the filling, wash and slice peaches. In a medium bowl, combine peach slices and blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit, and gently toss together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the lemon juice. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the crust out.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of the Pillsbury pie dough out into about a 13-inch round. Fold the dough in half and gently lift onto pie dish and unfold. Gently press into the base of the pan, being careful not to tear or stretch the dough.
4. Add the pie filling to the pan making sure it’s spread evenly.
5. Roll out the top crust just as you did the bottom crust. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a few small shapes in the top dough. Set cut outs aside. Fold the dough in half and gently place it on top of the pie filling.
6. With a small knife, trim the crust, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang. With your fingers press the top and bottom crusts together and fold under. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges of the dough.
7. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Arrange the reserved dough cut outs on top. Use a little egg wash on the backs to “glue” them to the pie.
9. Place pie, on a cookie sheet, in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 and bake for 35-45 more minutes. Remove from the oven when crust is browned and golden, and the juices are bubbling. You may want to check it after 20-25 minutes to see if the crust is browning too much on the edges. If they are, cover with a pie crust round/protector or foil.
10. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving.
11. Serve warm with ice cream!
12. Enjoy!

The recipe from Annie’s Eats was a pretty basic recipe, but I wanted to kick things up a bit and really bring out the lime flavor.  In the original recipe, they noted that most of the lime flavor came from the lime syrup that was drizzed on top, but I really wanted a punch of lime to come through in the cake itself.  I zested two limes and pressed that into the sugar, bringing out the natural oils and flavors creating a lime sugar.  I also added the juice of the two limes into the batter.   I also added a bit more lime juice concentrate than the original recipe called for too.  :)  And a few other tricks.

I’m really happy with the intense lime flavor of these cupcakes.  Paired with the sweet cherry frosting, it’s a perfect summer treat!

Enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
Makes 4 dozen cupcakes

Cake
5 1/4 cups flour*
3/4 cup corn starch*
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced

10 oz can of limeade concentrate or lime margarita concentrate, thawed and at room temperature

6 eggs

1 cup milk
1/3 cup hot water

*NOTE: This combo of corn starch and flour is to make cake flour.  If you have cake flour on hand, use 6 cups of it.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, prepare the sugar by working the lime zest into sugar by pressing the back of a spatula down into sugar, thus releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar. This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, salt, baking powder and soda three times.  You really want to make sure the corn starch is very incorporated into the flour.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the lime sugar and mix on high until light and fluffy.
5. Add the entire can of limeade concentrate and lime juice.  Mix until combined.  Don’t worry if it appears curdled… it’s normal at this point!
6. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
7. In three parts, add the flour mixture.  Between each addition of flour, add half the milk.  Mix only until the flour is just combined.
8. Add the hot water and mix by hand until incorporated.  DO NOT OVER MIX!
9. Fill liners 2/3 full, or use an ice cream scoop to distribute one full scoop into each liner.
10. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
12. Once cool, poke 7-10 holes in each cupcake with a toothpick.  Drizzle a tablespoon of syrup over each cupcake, allowing it to soak into the cake.

Since these are mini’s I won’t be drenching them in the Amaretto like I did the regular size cupcakes, but you definitely should poke some holes in your cupcakes and drench them with more of this delicious liquor if you decide to make regular size cupcakes with this recipe. I’m pretty sure that’d be just a little too much Amaretto for such a small cupcake, since there is Amaretto in the cake, ganache and the buttercream!

I’m bringing these to an FRG meeting tomorrow. (For those of you who don’t know… FRG = Family Readiness Group in the Army. I’m the FRG Leader of my husband’s company in the Army and it’s my first meeting after taking the job. I want to make a good impression!) I’m pretty sure these will be a hit with not only the other FRG Leaders but the soldiers who will be there!

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes
Makes 24 mini cupcakes and about 6 regular size cupcakes

1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line your cupcake pan with mini nut cups or mini cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, oil, sugar egg, and amaretto.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. In two parts, gently whisk the flour into the wet mixture.  Mix until all the clumps are out.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
5. For minis: Scoop batter into liners about 1/2-2/3 full.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. For regular size: Scoop batter into liners about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes until removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Amaretto Ganache
This made enough to dip all the cupcakes with 1/2 left over

4 oz semi-sweet bakers chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup whipping cream (I actually ran out of whipping cream, so I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup coconut milk)
3 tbsp Amaretto liquor, separated
1 tbsp butter

1.  Chop the chocolate and place it in a glass bowl.
2. In a double boiler, bring the cream and 2 tbsp Amaretto to a boil.
3. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds.
4. Stir until smooth.
5. Add the butter and 1 tbsp Amaretto and stir until incorporated.
6. Dip the tops of cooled cupcakes in the ganache.  Set aside before to firm up frosting.

Chocolate Amaretto Buttercream
Makes enough to frost all the cupcakes in the above recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
2-3 tbsp whipping cream

Amaretti biscuit cookies

1. Sift together the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder.
2. Cream the butter until smooth.
3. 1 cup at a time, add the sugar/cocoa.   Mix until smooth.
4. Add the amaretto and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the whipping cream until you get the consistency and texture you desire.
6. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds on high.
7. Pipe a dollop of buttercream onto each cupcake.  Top with an Amaretti biscuit cookie.

I picked up a trio of Mozart Chocolate Liquors which included a white chocolate liqueur… which meant that I had to make a White Chocolate cupcake!

What I came up with was this delicious little piece of white chocolate heaven…

White chocolate cake drenched with Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur topped with a white chocolate & Mozart Liqueur buttercream. I call these White Chocolate Mozart cupcakes!

These would be amazing filled with strawberries too… I’m just sayin’… white chocolate + strawberries = yum!

Mozart White Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes, maybe a couple more

1 ½ cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
3 oz white bakers chocolate, melted
¼ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup hot water

¼ cup white chocolate Mozart liquor

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk and sour cream.
4. Using a double boiler on medium-high heat.  Melt the chocolate.  Set aside to cool.
5. In the meantime, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.
6. Add the egg whites one at a time and mix until incorporated.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
7. Mix in the vanilla.
8. On medium, slowly pour the chocolate into the egg/sugar/butter mixture.  Scrape the sides and mix until completely combined.
9. Add the flour and milk/sour cream alternating, beginning and ending with flour.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until combined.
10. Add the hot water and mix just until incorporated.
11. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full with batter.
12. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
14. After the cupcakes have completely cooled, poke 10-15 holes with a toothpick in each cupcake.  Brush the liquor over the top, making sure it soaks into the cupcake.

Mozart White Chocolate Frosting

1oz bakers white chocolate, melted
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp Mozart white chocolate liqueur
¼ cup milk or cream
1lb sifted powdered sugar

1. Cream the butter.
2. While that is creaming, melt the white chocolate using a double boiler.  Cool slightly after melted.
3. Mix in the liquor and vanilla to the butter.
4. Slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into the butter mixture until completely incorporated, scraping the sides.
5. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the milk until you get the consistency you desire.
7. Mix on high for 3 minutes.

This cupcake is a really moist cupcake filled with my favorite raspberry jam.  The frosting is a twist on a classic peanut butter frosting because it has a bit of cocoa powder in it too.   I made them for a 4th of July party and they were a HUGE it!

Peanut butter Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

½ cup butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk

1/3 cup hot water

½ cup raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugar.
4. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on high 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
6. Mix together the sour cream and milk.
7. Add the flour and sour cream/milk, alternating, beginning and ending with the flour.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until incorporated.
8. Add the hot water and stir until combined.
9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minute or until a toothpic comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to wire wrack to cool completely.
11. Core the center of the cupcakes and fill with raspberry jam.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 lb (3-4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup whipping cream

1. Cream together the peanut butter and butter.
2. Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
3. One cup at a time, add the sugar mixture and mix until creamy.
4. Add the vanilla and just enough cream until you reach you desired consistency.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high for 30 seconds.

I made these as mini and regular cupcakes… I preferred the mini cupcakes just because I’m not a huuuuuge mint/chocolate chip fan… I know, I know… it’s craziness!  BUT, everyone seemed to love them and I heard that they had a great mint/chocolate ratio.  Mission accomplished!

The actual chocolate cake doesn’t include any mint flavor, so to punch up the flavor a bit, I melted a few Andes mints in the microwave and then dipped each cupcake in the glaze.  It smelled amazing and made them look extra pretty.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Recipe Source: Bakers Royale)

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup Dutch process  cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 muffins pans with cupcake liners.
2.  In a bowl mix sour cream and baking soda together; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder together and set aside.
4. In a standing bowl mixer cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in salt and beat until combined.
5. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Turn off the mixer and use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon and alternate adding sour cream mixture and flour mixture, beginning with the sour cream and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix just until combined.
7. Fold in mini chocolate chips.  Do not overmix.
8. Fill each liner with a full ice cream scoop of batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Mint Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup of crushed Andes (melted in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds)
• 1 cup butter
• 4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/3  cup of crushed Andes
• 3-4 drops of green food coloring (to get a pretty mint color)

1. Dip each cupcake in the melted Andes glaze.  Allow chocolate to set on each cupcake before frosting.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a standing bowl mixer on medium for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Add powered sugar to the mixer on low and mix until combined.
4. Add vanilla and whipping cream and mix for 2-3 minutes.
5. Mix in crushed Andes with a rubber spatula.  Add 3-4 drops of food coloring and mix until combined.
6. Garnish with Andes mints.

Personally, I loved the way this cupcake turned out with the crushed Andes in the buttercream, but if you want a smooth buttercream substitute the crushed Andes for 1 1/2 teaspoons of crème de menthe.  Also, this chocolate cake has sort of become my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes.  It’s rich but still light and fluffy.

Happy baking!

xo-Jenn

They were super simple to decorate. I had most of the things on hand already and luckily, I had recently won a kit from Cupcake Crafts specifically for the 4th of July!

This weekend, I’ll be out of town, so I want to wish all of you a very safe and fun Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July!

It’s really a lot simpler than I thought it would be. Although, a bit time consuming (it took 2 days)… the end product was really worth it!

This Butterfinger cake has a layer of graham cracker crust on the bottom, a layer of Butterfinger ice cream, Butterfinger crunchies in the middle, a layer of vanilla ice cream all covered in Whipped cream frosting and sprinkled with more Butterfingers.

It’s Butterfinger heaven.

Here’s what you need to make this cake:

Prep time: 2-3 hours plus overnight, 1 more hour the next day

Wilton 10″ Springform pan
Non stick spray
Large mixing bowl

2 half gallons of vanilla bean ice cream
8-10 Butterfinger King Size candy bars, crushed into very small pieces/crumbs

24 (full size) graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. At least 45 minutes before you begin, set out one half gallon of ice cream on the counter to soften. You want it partially melted, but not completely liquid.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Spray the bottom of the spring form pan with non-stick spray.
3. Combine crushed graham crackers with the sugar. Add the melted butter until all the graham crackers are moistened.
4. Press graham crackers into the bottom of the spring form pan. You want to create about a 1/4 in crust. You may not need all the mixture. (Save the rest for another recipe!) Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack completely.
5. After the crust has completely cooled, prepare your ice cream. In a large mixing bowl, mix one half gallon of softened ice cream with at least 1/2 cup of crushed Butterfingers.
6. Take out the 2nd half gallon of ice cream to soften.
7. Spread all of the Butterfinger ice cream on top of the graham cracker crust.
8. Reserve 1/4 cup of remaining Butterfinger for topping. Spread the rest evenly across the Butterfinger ice cream. Pat it down gently into the ice cream.
9. Place springform pan in the freezer for 20-30 minutes or until the ice cream firms up.
10. After it has firmed, spread the vanilla ice cream on top until it fills the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
11. Prepare the whipped cream frosting by beating the whipping cream with the whisk attachment on a stand mixer on high for several minutes. Add the vanilla and sugar gradually and slowly as it begins to whisk. You’ll know it’s done when its thick and fluffy in texture.
12. Apply a thin layer of whipped cream to the top and sides of your cake. I used a large star tip to create a decorative border around the top edge.
13. Sprinkle the remaining crushed Butterfinger on the top.
14. Freeze for 1 hour or until ready to use. You’ll want the whipped cream to be solid.
15. Remove the cake from the 15 minutes before you want to serve.
16. Enjoy!

You see,  a snickerdoodle is made with a white powder called “cream of tartar” which activates the baking powder during the baking process.  Personally, I think it gives is a bit of a twist in the flavor too.  Also… a snickerdoodle is different than a sugar cookie in that it is rolled in sugar AND cinnamon.  DIVINE !

Where does the name Snickerdoodle come from?  The Joy of Cooking* claims that snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and that the name is a deviation of the German word Schneckennudeln (lit. “snail noodles”), a kind of pastry.  I’ve also read that some people think that it was just a made up word.  Personally, I’m going to believe it has German origin, since I’m here in Germany!

(Citation: *Rombauer, I. S., Becker, M. R., & Becker, E. (2006). The Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition. Scribner.)

Typically, snickerdoodles bake relatively flat, chewy and super full of flavor.  I’ve seen some doodles cook up puffy and with a mound on top, but I don’t usually like those.   My favorite is fresh from the oven and soft.   After a couple days though, these cookies tend to get a little crisp and hard, but nothing a little milk and dunking can’t fix!

This week, you’ll see recipes for:

• Snickerdoodle cookies
• Snickerdoodle cupcakes
• Snickerdoodle mini cupcakes
• Snickerdoodle whoopie pies
• Snickerdoodle sandwich cookies
• And maybe a few more…

Check back everyday for a new way to make these delicious little cookies!

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!

I used a simple recipe for the cupcakes and mixed in my favorite raspberry jam then topped them with a vanilla bean buttercream. But… to fancy them up, I piped flowers, rosettes and some sweet decorations. They turned out pretty cute if you ask me!

Happy Mother's Day!

JavaCucpake’s Raspberry Jam Cupcakes
Makes about 30 cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream

3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/4-1/2 cup of your favorite raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line your cupcake pans with liners.
2. Cream together the sugar and butter.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream and beat until fluffy again.  Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
5. In thirds, add the flour to the wet mixture alternating with the milk.  Begin and end with the flour.  Mix only until combined.
6. Scoop about a tablespoon of batter into the cupcake liner, making sure it covers the bottom of the liner.  Scoop 1 teaspoon of jam on top of the batter then top with another tablespoon of batter.  With a toothpic, gently mix the jam and batter together in the liner.  Don’t mix too much, you want nice ribbons of jam running through the cupcake when it’s done.
   

   Swirled jam and batter

7. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpic comes out clean.
   

   Fresh out of the oven

8. Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs of powdered sugar, sifted
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped of the seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 scant cup milk

1. Cream the butter.
2. One cup at a time add the powdered sugar. Once it becomes too stiff to beat, slowly add a tablespoon of milk to loosen it up.
3. Add the vanilla beans and vanilla extract.
4. Add the rest of the sugar and milk. You may not need all the milk, only add enough until you get the consistency you desire.
5. Mix on high for 3-4 minutes.
6. Color with food coloring gel and frost your cupcakes!

*Tips & Tricks*
To make rosette’s use a large star tip (Wilton 1M is what I used). Start in the center of the cupcake, holding the bag straight up (90 degree angle from the cupcake), and apply pressure to the bag pushing frosting out creating a star. Without decreasing pressure, pipe frosting clockwise around the star beginning and 9:00, then 12:00, then 3:00, then 6:00 and back at 9:00. I found that the rosettes looked better when I piped the outter circle really close to the star. If you search on YouTube, you’ll be able to find video tutorials on how to make rosettes! Good luck!

Simple sweet rosettes

Simple dots and a candy heart

Pretty flowers made using a "pedal" tip

Just for Mom adorned with pink pearls

Now… before I go any further, I must take a moment to thank Rudy from Man Bakes Cake in helping me come up with the recipe for this cupcake. I was admiring his version of the cupcake and asked on his Facebook if he had a recipe. We exchanged a few emails in which he explained the basic process and ingredients for making his version of the Samoa cupcake. I took a few of his ideas and ran with it! I would have never thought to use one of the main ingredients in this recipe… coconut milk… but it really makes this cupcake AMAZING!

So thank you MAN BAKES CAKE for the inspiration and direction in making this cupcake!

So let me tell you about this cupcake.  This Samoa cupcake starts with a brown sugar base.  Now, most cupcake recipes I use call for some kind of liquid to be added, usually milk, but for this cupcake we use coconut milk.  That combination of brown sugar and coconut make for a perfect Samoa flavor.  For some crunch and added flavor, I’ve mixed in an entire box of Samoa cookies and some coconut flakes into the batter.  The cupcake is topped with a caramel coconut frosting.  This frosting is also made with the coconut milk.  I guess you could say that coconut milk is the secret ingredient of this cupcake.  I’ve never worked with it before, but I’ll definitely be using it again when I need a rich coconut flavor.   The chocolate drizzle on top is just a semi-sweet chocolate, but it’s a perfect pairing with the caramel flavors and coconut.

So… I won’t keep you from the recipe any further!  Enjoy!

Samoa Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

1 ½  cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ tsp coconut extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼  teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 box Samoa Girl Scout Cookies – broken into pieces

1 box Samoa Girl Scout Cookies – cut in half
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with 24 liners.
2. In a mixer, beat butter on high until soft.
3. Slowly add sugar and beat until light and creamy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well after each egg.
5. Add the coconut extract and mix until incorporated.
6. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
7. Measure out  the coconut milk and set aside.
8. Add about ¼ of the flour mixture followed by 1/3 of the milk mixture.
9. Repeat this step until you end with the flour mixture.  Mix just until incorporated.
10. Fold in the coconut flakes and Samoa cookies
11. Fill cupcake liners with batter about ¾ full.
12. Bake for 10 minutes then rotate pan.  Bake another 5-7 minute or until cupcakes are golden brown.
13. Let cool in pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to completely cool before frosting.
14. Frost with caramel coconut frosting, drizzle with melted chocolate and top with ½ a Samoa cookie.

Caramel Coconut Frosting
(Depending on how much frosting you want to put on your cupcakes, you may only need half this recipe)

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup coconut milk + 2 tbsp more
1 ½ tsp coconut extract
2 lbs sifted powdered sugar

1. In a small pan, melt the butter on medium high heat.
2. Stir in the coconut milk.  Slowly add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved, about  2-3 minutes.  Do not let the mixture boil.
3. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.
4. 8 oz at a time add the sifted powdered sugar and mix with a hand mixer.  Scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition.
5. If necessary, add up to 2 tbsp more coconut milk to create the consistency you want.
6. Mix on high about 2 minutes, scraping sides making sure all the sugar is incorporated.
7. Work quickly to frost the cupcakes, the frosting will be warm but hardens quickly and is harder to work with.**

*Tips & Tricks*
The frosting will still be warm when it’s ready to be used. Make sure you’re ready to frost your cupcakes as soon as the frosting is ready! Once it cools, it will set up and harden, making any piping or spreading more difficult to do.

So, I came up with these.  Now, they didn’t quite rise like I wanted them to, so I’ll have to tweak the recipe a little if I make them again to change the ratio of flours/baking powder to create a better rise.  But… they were SO moist and so full of flavor!  I brought some to all my neighbors and they all loved them!!  One of them said it tasted like Hawaii!

They are a pineapple cupcake with chunks of yummy pineapple baked in topped with a mango buttercream with chunks of mango garnished with two pineapple wedges and a tropical umbrella!

Whip up a batch of these, relax on your back porch with your sunglasses and relax… day dream yourself to Hawaii with these Aloha Cupcakes!

Aloha Cupcakes – Pineapple cake toppled with mango buttercream
Makes approx 32-36  cupcakes

Pineapple Cupcakes
12 tbsp (1 ½ sticks) butter, room temp
1 ½ cups sugar
4 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup sour cream
½ fresh pineapple, diced (about 1 cup)

3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  Line cupcake tin with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
4. One at a time, mix in the egg whites.  Whip until light and fluffy.   Scrape the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix to incorporate.
6. Add ½ cup of the pineapple and all the juice of the entire 1 cup.   Reserve the last of the pineapple for later.   Mix until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
7. In thirds, add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture.  Mix only until combined, making sure to scrape the sides.  Between each addition, add half the milk.
8. Fold in the remaining pineapple chunks.
9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.   (See *Tips & Tricks* below)
10. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Rotate pan after 10 minutes of baking to ensure evenness.
11. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

*Tips & Tricks*

If you fill your cupcake liners up too high with batter, sometimes it can cause them to be flat and spill over the edges when baking.  To ensure a nice, round dome, fill your liners no more than 2/3 full.

Mango Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup finely chopped fresh mango and the juices (you could even run them through your food processor to get them chopped up really fine)

1. Cream butter in a large bowl.
2. Add sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly until creamy;   Scrape the sides of the bowl.  If necessary, add 1 tbsp of the cream to help smooth out the mixture.
3. Add the vanilla and mango with juices about half way though adding the powdered sugar.
4. Slowly add the remaining cream.  You may or may not need all of it or more.  Add it slowly until you get your desired consistency.
5. Mix on high for 5 minutes until creamy and fluffy.

I also heart french toast.  This was an amazing little combo.  Kudos to the person who came up with this idea, I want to be your best friend as well!  I’m sure you’ll heart it too

These cupcakes were  super moist and after they came out of the oven and were still nice and hot, I poked them a few times with a skewer and drizzled some maple syrup over them and then let them cool before frosting them.  I used some tasty maple syrup (grade A, dark amber), the sort of expensive kind from the grocery store, but it was totally worth the few extra dollars.  By sort of expensive I mean a few more dollars than Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth but not out of control.  The syrup is also pretty awesome in the frosting… mmmmm, maple syrup cream cheese frosting.  Yes, please.  You’re welcome to cook the bacon the way that makes you the most happy… I like to bake mine in the oven.  It comes out crispy and delicious.

French Toast & Bacon Cupcakes (Recipe Source: Life is Better with Cake):

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 ½  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh, if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 6 slices of bacon

Yield: 12 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla, and also set aside.
4. Add the egg yolks to the creamed butter one at time, waiting for each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next.
5. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Alternately, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, waiting for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next (scrape the bowl down occasionally). Raise the speed to medium and mix briefly until a smooth batter is formed. Transfer the batter to a large bowl.
6. In a medium bowl whisk the egg whites with a handheld mixer. Whip the egg whites on high speed, until stiff peaks are formed.
7. Working in 3 batches, using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter, until just incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the cups in the muffin pan. Bake, rotating the pan once, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
8. Poke cupcakes with a skewer and drizzle maple syrup over the top of each cupcake.
9. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting.
10. Cook your back as desired.

Maple Syrup Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• milk, as needed to receive desired consistency

1. Cream butter and cream cheese in a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add 2 cups of confectioners sugar to the mixer.
3. Add maple syrup.
4. Add the remaining 2 cups of confectioners sugar to the mixer.
5. Add milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency.
6. Pipe frosting with a large pastry tip.
7. Cut each slice of bacon in half.  Add a piece of bacon to the top of each cupcake.
8. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy… have an amazing weekend, Javacupcakers! See you next week

xoxo-Jenn

Oh, and you better eat them while they’re warm.  To. Die. For.  The cream oozes out the middle, it’s all warm and soft.  Oh heavens.  This is probably one of my favorite cookies ever. And… they’re HUGE.  You really only need one at a time.  Oh,  and dunk it in milk.  Do it. Dunk it.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes approx. 24 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and soft
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature (I used Danish eggs!)
1 tbsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 Double Stuffed Oreos

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. One at a time, add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined and scraping the sides of the bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
4. About a cup at a time, slowly beat in the flour to the wet mixture, scraping the sides after each addition.
5. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough into your hand and flatten the dough. Place an oreo in the center of the dough and mold it up around the sides. Scoop another tablespoon (not so much this time) and flatten it on top. Pinch the seams where the dough comes together and mold it in your hand so the edges are round. At this time you’ll also want to trim off as much extra dough as you can. You only want enough to just cover the cookie and not flatten out when you bake it. Otherwise you’ll have a flat cookie with a big bump on top where the Oreo is.
6. Place 12 cookies on your baking sheet (lined with or without parchment or mat… it’s your preference) and bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.
7. Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet until removing to a wire wrack to cool completely. Or not. Right now would be an excellent time to eat one too. The cream from the Oreo will be all melty and oooooze out of the cookie… like this:

One of the last cupcakes I had back home was the chocolate peanut butter cupcake from New York Cupcakes in Bellevue, WA and really… it’s probably my all time favorite cupcake.  It’s a super delicious chocolate cake with a baked in chocolate covered peanut butter ball, toppeed with peanut butter frosting.  Seriously, so good.  So… these first cupcakes are inspired by my favorite NYCC cupcake.

For the cake, I used my standard chocolate cupcake recipe, but tweaked it just a little bit by adding sour cream.  I also only had regular cocoa instead of dark.

I hand rolled the peanut butter balls in the middle… the recipe is really so simple and can be made ahead of time.  I actually made them the day before and they sat in my freezer until I needed them.

The last time I made peanut butter frosting, it turned out really too thick.  Almost unspreadable.  So, this time, I tried things a little different and really loved how it turned out.  I’m pretty sure I can find a dozen different uses for this frosting too.  It’s THAT good.

So… without further adieu… here’s the recipe!

JavaCupcake’s Covered Peanut Butter Balls
Makes about 24 balls

1 cup creamy peanut butter (crunchy would be good too!)
2 tbsp room temperature soft butter
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 heaping cup of powdered sugar, sifted
1 12oz package of milk chocolate chips

1. In a medium-heat safe bowl, microwave the salt, butter and peanut butter for about 45 seconds or until it’s soft, but not completely melted.
2. Add the vanilla a mix it all together using a rubber spatula/scraper.
3. Add the powdered sugar and mix together until it’s a paste like consistency.  Add more sugar if it’s too soft.
4. Roll ¾ in balls in your hands and line on a cookie sheet.
5. Freeze for 1-2 hours or until hard.
6. After 2 hours, melt the chocolate.
7. Dip each frozen ball in the chocolate, shake off the excess and place back on the cookie sheet.
8. Freeze another 1 hour.
9. Make sure balls are completely frozen when baking them in cupcakes.

JavaCupcake’s  Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1cup milk

premade peanut butter balls

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Whisk together until combined.  Make sure all the flour and cocoa are thoroughly combined and all clumps are gone and the mixture is very fine.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl,  (with my new hand mixer!) mix oil and sugars.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each.  Beat on high for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
5. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix until incorporated.
6. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together.
7. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in three parts, adding half the milk between each addition.  Make sure to begin and end with the flour and to scrape the sides of the bowl.  Do not over mix.  Tip:  After flour has been mostly incorporated with the mixer, use a large spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl & mix.  You don’t want to work the flour too much, so hand mixing will help with that.
8. Place one chocolate ball in the bottom of each cupcake liner.  Pour batter over the top of the ball until the cup is almost full.
9. Bake at 375 F degrees for 10 minutes.  Rotate pan 180 degrees and bake another 5-6 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

JavaCupcake’s creamy, light, fluffy not-too sweet, not-too peanutbuttery PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes

½ cup room temperature soft butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used JIF)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
2-3 tbsp non-fat milk

1. In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter about one minute.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again another 30 seconds.
2. Add the vanilla in mix to incorporate.
3. About ½ cup at a time, add in the sugar alternating with the heavy cream first then non-fat milk. You may not need all the milk.  Scrape the sides after each addition of powdered sugar.  Add only enough milk until you get the consistency you want.
4. Mix together another 1-2 minutes.  Do not over mix.

ASSEMBLY
1 cup milk chocolate chips
peanut butter m&m’s

1. Place one ball in the liner before adding the batter.  Make sure it’s centered.
2. Frost cupcakes.  Melt 1 cup chocolate and drizzle over the frosting.
3. Top each cupcake with peanut butter m&m’s.

We had really just stopped in for ice cream but was distracted by the case with the cupcakes in them! I literally almost lost my mind when I saw them!! Sweet little vanilla cupcakes topped with a beautiful mound of chocolate goodness. Not to mention the lemon tart and tiramisu that was also in the case with these cupcakes!

This little shop I’m in, Emi Nails & Coffee Bar, well… it’s also a coffee shop, nail salon, ice creamery and cafe!  I’ve never been in anything quite like it.  While getting your nails done, you can enjoy some cupcakes, ice cream and coffee.  This day, Emily had ice cream, I had a cupcake and Dave had a lice of lemon tarte.

(Sorry about the crappy photo quality.  I wasn’t expecting to run into cupcakes, so I didn’t bring my camera, just our phone!

Now, the first thing I notice is that they aren’t called cupcakes in this shop. They’re referred to as muffins. I’m wondering if that’s a German thing or what? But I couldn’t seem to call them a muffin. I mean, there was no fruit and there was frosting. lol It’s a cupcake. Seriously.

Also in the case was a beautiful lemon torte and tiramisu.  I wanted to try them all.  Yum.   But, we just settled for the tarte and cupcake!

The lemon tart was simply divine.  I expected it to just be cut and served on a plate, but this Germany cafe had other things in mind.  First, she dusted the plate with powdered sugar, put two swirls of chocolate on the plate, cut a generous serving of tart onto the plate then garnished it with a sweet berry.  (Not sure what kind of berry it was, but it was SO GOOD.)  Wow.  Simply beautiful.

The tart itself had a buttery crust, sweet lemon curd type filling and a toasted meringue top.  It was like an explosion of lemon in my mouth with every bite.  SO GOOD.  The lady at the shop told me a friend of the owners makes them for the shop everyday.  Seriously, whoever that person is, well, they’re my new BFF.  YUM!

Now, on to the best part… the cupcakes!!  My little cupcake was also served on a plate dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with a berry.  I don’t think I’ve ever been in a cupcake shop in the USA that served a cupcake like this!

My first bite was of the cake.  It was moist, dense and full of great flavor.  As I took a few more bites of it, I realized that it was more like a pound cake than it was a crumby, typical American cake.  Nevertheless, it was DELISH.

On to the chocolate frosting.  At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was different.  It didn’t have a strong chocolate flavor and the consistency was unlike American frosting.  Then, it dawned on me.  It’s a mousse!  The frosting on this cupcake was a chocolate mousse! Thick and creamy.

Pound cake + chocolate mousse = YUMMY!

Now, I’m not gonna say this is the best cupcake I’ve ever had (cause really, nothing has been able to compare to the cupcakes at New York Cupcakes in Bellevue, WA), but these were definitely an experience!  I’m really excited to find more cupcakes in Germany to see how they compare to these and to American cupcakes.  From what I’ve read and heard from others here in Germany, cupcakes aren’t too popular here or haven’t really caught on like they have in the States.  Soon though, I’ll venture to a bigger city to look for a cupcake shop!

Until then, I’ll just walk down the street to this cafe/nail shop to get my cupcake fix!

Meet Jenn.  She’s rad.  I mean really, super rad.  <3

I met Jenn a few years ago when I was a student at the University of Washington Tacoma and she worked there and we’ve been friends ever since!  Over the last year I’ve been drooling over all her yummy food pictures she’s been posting on Facebook and I just knew she’d be a perfect addition to JavaCupcake!  I am really looking forward to what she can bring to the blog and I can’t wait to read her first post!

Jenn will be sharing her cupcake adventures as well as other yummy things she’s baking in her kitchen!  Check out our “About Us” section for more info about Jenn!

WELCOME JENN!  I am so excited to have you on my team!!

PS… If you were paying attention, you’ll notice I said “writers”… yup, that’s right.  One more fabulous writer will join our team in the coming weeks!! Stay tuned!

For these cupcakes, I took my classic chocolate cupcake recipe and amped it up. I substituted buttermilk for regular milk, the sugar ratios are a little different, and of course, they’re drenched in Kahlua.  The frosting is also my classic buttercream, but I also changed it up a little bit.  Instead of the paddle attachment, I used a the whisk and of course, added Kahlua instead of vanilla.  Oh yum.

Kahlua drenched Chocolate cupcakes
Makes approx 21 cupcakes (would make more if you put less batter in the cups)

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

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tbsp espresso powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup hot water

Kahlua – yes, a whole bottle.

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until completely combined or about 2 minutes.
3. Pour yourself a drink. Yes, use the Kahlua you just bought for these cupcakes. Take a big drink.
4. While they are mixing, whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
5. Alternating flour and buttermilk, add the flour in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides and only mix until combined.
6. Fold in the hot water and mix until combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Take another drink.
9. Bake for 10 minutes then rotate pan. Bake another 5 minutes.
10. Who are we kidding here. By now, you’ll need to pour another drink to sip on while these are cooking.
11. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then to a wire wrack to finish.
12. While still warm, poke 8-9 holes in the cupcakes with a toothpic.
13. Using a brush, drench the cupcakes with Kahlua. Three times. Yes, you want LOTS of Kahlua in your cupcakes.

Kahlua Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2lbs (1 bag) of powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup milk

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer using the WHISK attachment, whip the butter.
2. Do you still have your drink?  Take a sip, or gulp.
3. One cup at a time, add the sifted powdered sugar. Scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition and mixing until thoroughly combined.
4. Between each addition of sugar, alternate between adding the Kahlua and milk.
5. Whip on high for 2-3 minutes.
6. Chill for 5-10 minutes before piping onto cupcakes.
7. Dust each cupcake with dark chocolate cocoa powder.
8. Pour one last drink, get a cupcake, and relax!

Here’s where you come in!  I have put together a 12 question survey to better help me create the perfect buttercream recipe.  I’d love your advice, feedback and input!

Thank you so much!!

—————–BUTTERCREAM SURVEY——————-