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.

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.

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

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

Apple Mixture
Makes about 2 cups apple mixture

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

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

Apple Cream Cheese Filling

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

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

Apple Cupcakes
Makes 18 full size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes

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

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

1 cup apple mixture

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

Assembly

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

Here’s the thing about a galette… they’re supposed to be a little imperfect.  That’s the nature of making something “rustic” … I didn’t feel like I could really mess up anything and even when the dough didn’t turn out exactly the way I wanted it to look, in the end, it doesn’t even matter!  Just like pie crust, don’t let those pretty little flecks of butter go away in the dough.  You still want to have that marbled effect that makes for delicious, flaky, buttery galette.  Yuuuuum.

Ps. if ya wanna get fancy… it’s not pie dough, it’s pâte brisée, which according to our girl Martha Stewart is the “French version of  classic pie or tart pastry.”  I love that a little bit more… keepin’ it super classy around here!

 Pâte Brisée (Martha Stewart)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

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.

I found a few recipes online that had great reviews, including Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes, I love me some Barefoot Contessa… but she used buttermilk instead of coconut milk, so I decided to go with a super, slightly adapted version of Simply Recipe’s, Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.  If you have a little bit  more time, Bon Appetit has an amazing version that calls for reduced coconut milk and vanilla bean.

Instead of doubling this recipe, I just made 2 batches separately.  I used large liners so I ended up with 15 from each batch, which was great since I was gifting a dozen, if 1 or 2 didn’t work out, it was going to be okay.  Ps. these liners. THE BEST.  They’re sturdy enough to bake standing on their own, no muffin pan needed, and since they’re so big I was able to fit a hefty ice cream scoop full of batter into each cup.  I already have a few more packages in my cart because I want to use them all the time!

Coconut Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of canned coconut milk*
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

*Coconut milk can be found at your grocery store in the Asian aisle, I usually have some on-hand from the actual Asian store, but if you don’t have one of those in your area, your grocery store should carry some.  They also may have some in the natural section of your store.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine & whisk the flour, salt and baking powder.  Measure 1 cup of well shaken coconut milk to a liquid measuring cup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Mix well.
3. In a standing bowl mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy at least 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each to ensure mixing. Be sure to scrape down the sides after each egg to ensure even mixing.
5. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients to the mixer, with 3 additions of flour, beginning and ending with the flour.  Mix the batter until there are still a few streaks of dry batter and stop.  You do not want to overmix.
6. Gently fold in the shredded coconut. Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18-22 minutes.  (If you’re using the same cupcake liners that I used, I baked my cupcakes for about 25 minutes, but you’ll want to keep an eye on them.)
7. Remove cupcakes from oven when a tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar (more if needed to reach desired consistency)
• 2-3 tablespoons coconut milk (as needed)
• 2 cups toasted, sweetened, shredded coconut

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese in a standing bowl mixer, with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add the powdered sugar with the mixer on low and mix until combined.
3. Add coconut milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
4. To toast coconut: Add coconut to a baking tray, toast for 3-5 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven, allow coconut to cool before garnishing cupcakes.
5. Frost as you wish! Either with large dome of frosting that is covered in toasted coconut, or with a large star tip and a sprinkling of toasted coconut

These cupcakes are super delish.  They’re dense, but in the best way possible.  The cupcake is heavy, but the texture is still super light and fluffy.  They’re not too sweet and the coconut flavor isn’t overpowering at all, instead it’s nice and subtle.  Please don’t skip out on the toasted coconut, in my opinion, that’s what really makes these special. The aroma of the coconut is really great from the toasted coconut and it’s just so pretty!

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know! Happy baking!

xo-Jenn

I’m fairly certain that there is nothing better in life than having cupcakes with champagne.  See, told ya… perfection!  I thought about these a few weeks ago and then decided to google them before heading into the kitchen.  Google folks, it’s your bff.  Before I start baking I always do a quick search to see if someone has already come up with the idea that’s brewin’ in my head.  100% of the time (promise, 100%) I find something… it might not be exactly what I’m looking for, but probably something close.  I found a few recipes but these looked amazing and I actually had everything already, winx2.

Peach Bellini Cupcakes (Recipe Source: Sing For Your Supper)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 egg whites
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup champagne or prosecco
• 1/4 cup peach schnapps
• 1 medium peach, peeled and diced

Yield: 24 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium sized bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.
3. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the champagne and peach schnapps.
4. With the mixer on low alternate adding the flour mixture and the champagne/peach schnapps in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
5. Gently fold in the diced peaches.
6. Scoop batter into liners and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Peach & Champagne Buttercream

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup champagne or prosecco
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon peach schnapps
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 drops red food coloring (for a pretty pink color)
• Pearl Nonpareils (for garnish)

1. Combine the butter and the vanilla in a standing bowl mixer and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the powdered sugar to the standing bowl mixer 1 cup a time, with the mixer on low.
3. Combine champagne or prosecco and peach schnapps in a small bowl and add to the mixer after the powdered sugar has been incorporated.
4. Add milk and red food coloring and beat until light and fluffy.
5. Pipe with a large star tip and add nonpareils as a garnish.
6. Enjoy with a peach bellini

Peach Bellini:

• Chilled champagne or prosecco
• Fine sugar
• Peach schnapps
• Fresh peaches, sliced

1. Dip rims of champagne flutes into fine sugar.
2. Pour 1 ounce of peach schnapps into each glass.
3. Fill flute with champagne and garnish with a fresh peach slice.

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

The original recipe calls for a lemon curd filling, which sounds super tasty, but I decided to use a raspberry jam (just the regular jam from my fridge) as the filling because I wanted to something sort of sweet to play off the lemon flavor in the cupcakes.  The cupcakes remind me of a lemon pound cake, they’re kind of dense but all of the flavors and textures definitely work well together.  The filling really works well with the cake, the cream cheese frosting is light and sweet with a nice kick from the limoncello!

These are definitely a grown-up cupcake!  I would love to make them for bachelorette party or a ladies night…

Limoncello Cupcakes (recipe slightly adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker)

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons limoncello
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 1/2 cups  raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar in a standing bowl mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time until combined.
5. Add limoncello and mix for 1 minute.
6. On low speed add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour.
7. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter, mix just until combined.
8. Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool.
9. Core the center of each cupcake and remove to make room for the filling.
10. Pipe raspberry jam into each cupcake. (You can keep or discard the cores, up to you )

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon limoncello
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• zest of one lemon (reserve some to garnish cupcakes)
• 12 raspberries to top cupcakes

1. Cream butter and cream cheese in a standing bowl mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
2. Add limoncello and mix until combined.
3. On low speed, add powered sugar and mix until everything is combined.
4. Add lemon zest to frosting and pipe frosting with a star pastry tip.
5. Top each cupcake with lemon zest and a fresh raspberry.

Just an FYI, these cute little cupcake wrappers are from World Market they were like $4 for a pack of 24… super cute!  Also, I linked to the brand of limoncello that I used ($24) but you could also make it!  If you’re looking for a fun project for presents, limoncello would be great!  Check out this cute post from Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage… (she’s one of my fav fashion bloggers!)

I hope that you’re all having a great weekend!  Oh, and just for funsies here’s a fun pic of favorite my baking companion Cupcake Wine? YES PLEASE!

xoxo-Jenn

Turns out they’re super easy to make, but they looked like you worked super hard on them… that works for me, everytime!

Enjoy!

• You’ll need: a pineapple, baking tray, parchment paper, cutting board, sharp knife & vegetable peeler or teaspoon.  Line your baking tray with parchment paper.

• Cut off the top/bottom of the pineapple.

• Cut off the rest of the rind.

• Using the tip of your vegetable peeler/teaspoon poke out all of the seeds on the pineapple.

• Slice the pineapple super thin and place on the baking tray (I had 2 sheets).
• Bake at 250F for 30 minutes.  Flip and repeat for another 30 minutes.
• Keep an eye on them, it might take a few more minutes, it might take less. You want them to dry out juuuuust enough
• After they come out of the oven, place them in a cupcake tin so that they can get their pretty shape!

aloha cupcakes with fancy schmancy pineapple flowers!

happy, pretty cupcakes!

Hope you like! Happy new week, Javacupcakers!

xo-Jenn

I’m not gonna lie. I hate making pie crust from scratch. It’s a pain in my behind. I know, I know… it tastes sooooo much better than store bought, but without all my baking supplies (aka my rolling pin or glass pie pans) I wasn’t about to try to make a pie crust from scratch here. I do however think that the Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts are quite delicious and no one will ever know it came from a box!

And yes… I could have gone to the local market here and gotten all fresh fruits for this pie, which seriously, you totally can when you make it, but out of convenience and cost, I went with frozen berries.

JavaCupcake’s Simple Triple Berry Pie
Makes 2 – 9in pies.

2 cups strawberries, frozen (1 small bag)
2 cups raspberries, frozen (1 small bag)
2 cups blackberries, frozen (1 small bag)
1 ¼ cup sugar + more for dusting
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
6 tbsp butter
1 egg + 2 tbsp water, beaten for the egg wash
2 boxes Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place racks on two lowest shelves and place a cookie sheet on the bottom shelf to catch all the dripping juices.
2. In a large bowl, fold together the berries, sugar, zest and lemon juice.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. While the berries are resting, roll out your pie dough into your 9in pie pans, leaving at least ½ inch hanging over the edge.  Cut the second sheet of dough into ¾ in strips.
4. Fold the flour into the berries then distribute evenly into your two pans.  Brush the egg wash along the edges.
5. Cut the butter into small pieces and place over the top of the berries.
6. In a lattice pattern, arrange the strips of dough on top of the berries.  Cut off any excess dough that hangs over the edge from the lattice dough only.  Fold the edges of the bottom dough over and crimp.  Egg wash the entire top of the pie then sprinkle with more sugar.
7. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 F degrees then reduce heat to 375 F degrees for 60-75 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  If you see that the edges of the pie are getting too brown, use foil or a pie ring to cover the edges to keep from burning.
8. Cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smile! Happy Wednesday!

I’m pretty sure that I’ve said this before, but I want to be Joy the Baker’s best friend.  Like real best friend.  You know the kind that bakes you delicious treats and comes to your house with them when you’re sick I need her to be that friend.  The woman can do no wrong in my book.  These little cupcakes were absolutely perfect for today.  They made me feel like Spring is really here.  They’re light, fluffy, tart and sweet at the same time oh, and pretty.  Pretty also wins extra points in my book…

The recipe calls for a chocolate ganache, which I was actually planning on using, until I saw them come out of the oven and then I fell in love with the pretty, little raspberry flecks and I couldn’t cover them all the way up.  Then, I remembered the dark chocolate buttercream that I used for the 14 Layer Cake (ps. have any of you made that cake yet?  Let me know! I’d love to hear how about your 14 layer experience!) and I was sold.  Seriously. Out. Of. This. World. Delish.  You won’t be disappointed.  I usually have some to share, these might not make it to work  ;) I decided just to pipe some frosting mostly in the middle of the cupcake, because I still wanted to see the edges… I really like the way these turned out and the fun cupcake liners help as well!  I went a little bananas the other day and ordered a bunch of stuff from Bake it Pretty so expect to see more fun liners in the future

Raspberry Almond Cupcakes (Recipe Source: Joy the Baker)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup fresh raspberries, roughly chopped (*thawed, frozen raspberries would also work if you don’t have any fresh raspberries)

Yield: 12 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in egg and almond extract.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until incorporated.  Fold in the raspberries.
4. Divide the batter among lined muffin cups.  Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream (Recipe Source: Bakerella)

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (recommended: Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
• 1 box (1 lb) confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-3 Tbsp milk (*if needed, my cream cheese was reallllllly soft, so I didn’t actually add any milk, but if your frosting is too thick, add a few tablespoons as needed to get the desired consistency)

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
2. Add the cocoa and vanilla.
3. Add the confectioner’s sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

*I may have gone a little overboard with the frosting on this one… don’t get me wrong, I still think they look and taste amazing, but the frosting was a little heavy (weight wise) for such a light cupcake.  No worries for me and other frosting lovers, but if you prefer something a little on the lighter side, have no fear… use a smaller pastry tip or stick to the ganache, which is also rich and delicious.

*Indicates helpful Tips & Tricks

Ps. Even though it’s been kind of a long week already I am SOOOOOOO looking forward to Cupcake Camp Seattle!!!! Are you going to be there?  I’ll be there with the boy and the little brother.  If you see me, please say hello! I’d love to meet you & be friends!  Tickets are $8 if you pre-order & $10 at the door.  If you would like to purchase tickets, here is the link.

Happy Wednesday! xoxo-Jenn

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.

So, I ran to the store, bought a can of peaches some cinnamon and a couple loaf pans (mine are still in a box, on a boat, in transit from the States) and sat down with this recipe from C&H and worked it, tweaked it and made it my own.

Note:  I’m going to make this coffee cake again for a meeting on Tuesday and I plan to spice it up even more.  I’m going to make a little bit extra of the topping mixture and gently fold it into the batter.  Just enough so swirls of it will be in the cake after baking.   I’m also going to add just about a 1/2-1 tsp of cinnamon into the flour.  Not much… but just enough to add a little more flavor to the cake.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

JavaCupcake’s Peach Coffee Cake
Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf

Topping
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature and very softened

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Roll the mixture between your fingers to make sure it’s all mixed into the butter.
2. Set aside.

Cake
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 can sliced peaches, drained
1-2 tbsp flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease and flour your pan(s).
2. Drain the peaches.  Separate out 1/3 of the peaches and dice into small chunks. Dredge in the 1-2 tbsp of flour.  Set aside.  Slice the remaining 2/3 peaches in half the long way (lengthwise). Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together using a hand mixer or stand mixer the melted butter and sugar.  Add the egg and mix until combined.  Lastly, slowly mix in the milk.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder.  In thirds, fold into the mixture with a spatula.  Turn mixer on for 15-20 seconds only to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
5. Fold in the diced peaches.
6. Fold in the sour cream.
7. I made two small loaves, so I put half of the mixture into each pan.
8. Spread 3/4 of the topping mixture over the top of the batter.
9. Using the sliced peaches, line the top of the topping with peaches, spreading them out evenly.
10. Spread the rest of the topping over the peaches.
11. Bake 35-45 minutes or until browned on top and a knife comes out clean in the center of the loaf. Rotate your pans 180 degrees about 20 minutes into baking.
12. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pans and cooling on a wire rack.
13. Or… don’t let them cool completely and cut yourself a slice and eat it warm.
14. Share the second loaf with a friend.

With that said, I was really in the mood for something that would make me smile and think about all of the sunny days that will be here soon! *hopefully*  I know, probably wishful thinking for WA, but a girl can dream right?

I’ve made this recipe before and they’re a pretty delicious little treat.  Something about the sweetness of the jam and the pop of the orange really makes them amazing.  They’re a little more dense than a regular cupcake, sort of like a scone or a pound cake, I guess that’s why they’re called a “tea cake” and not a cupcake, but hey, whatever works.  This recipe is via Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book.  I really love it and it was a present so that makes it even better!

Just an FYI, turns out Martha knows what she’s talking about when she tells you how to put these little guys together.  Trying to be smarter than Martha and pipe the jam into the center of each cake is not a genius idea.  You will end up with a huge crater that is not very pretty.  *le*sigh*

To “fix” my mistake, I made the glaze a little bit thicker by creaming some butter and cream cheese together and adding more confectioners sugar, so not quite a full “frosting” but enough to set and not make it look like I messed up big time!  I added just a little bit of zest to top each cake, to make me happy.  These liners came in a bag of 3 colors (pink, green, and blue) from Michaels.  They were perfect for the Spring time feeling that I was going for.  I think these would make a wonderful Easter or Mother’s Day treat.

yummmm

Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 4 large eggs, separated, room temp.
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup strawberry jam
• Citrus Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray or brush with butter and dust with flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until just combined after each.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into the batter. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared cup. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill with 1 tablespoon jam. Top with an additional 2 tablespoons batter, covering jam entirely.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers of top layers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Run a small offset spatula around the edges, and turn the cakes onto wire racks and let cool completely.

To finish, drizzle cakes with glaze, and let set, about 30 minutes. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days in a single layer at room temperature in airtight containers.

Orange Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add more sugar to thicken or more juice to thin the glaze. Use immediately.

*If you would like a thicker “glaze” cream together 8 oz of cream cheese and 1 stick of butter, add the glaze ingredients and more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you desire.

Recipe Via: Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book

PS. I think this recipe would work well with just about any jam/citrus combo… I’m thinking raspberry and lemon or lime would be tasty for next time!

Happy Thursday, Javacupcakers!

Sugar cookies shaped like “OSCAR”!

Raspberry Whoopie Pies

Cupcakes from Cupcake Royale

Peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate (my FAVORITE)

Gluten-free peanut butter mousse cake

Fresh cut fruit, perfect for my greek yogurt breakfasts!

Cupcake shaped cupcake pan

Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes -WTF?? lol

Although these tarts have several steps and take a bit of time…. they make a ton of perfect bite size tartlets for any party! A big THANK YOU to my husband for rolling out the dough and making most of the shells for these! They were a huge hit at our party!

Tart shells
6 pre-made pie shells (3 boxes)
mini cupcake pan
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Unroll one pie shell at a time. Using a rolling pin, roll out any tears and creases, making the dough slightly thinner and bigger.
3. Using a round cutter (I used a cup from my cabinet), cut out dough. Prick each piece of dough several times all over to prevent puffing while baking.
4. Repeat until all the dough is cut.
5. Place one round into each hole of your mini pan. Make sure to press gently into the pan, you don’t want to stretch the dough.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool completely before filling.

Lemon filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs
3 extra-large egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon zest (approx 6 lemons)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt

1 cup (approx) fresh blueberries tossed in 1/2 tbsp sugar

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, scraping sides and mixing completely after each addition.
3. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and mix until well incorporated.
4. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until thick, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
5. Whisk briskly when it starts to thicken and cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly, making sure it does not boil.
6. Pour into cooled tart shells and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.
7. Just before serving, top with 3 fresh blueberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Originally, I wanted to call it a cupcake… but let’s be honest here, there’s no frosting and it’s got a struessel topping and fruit. It’s a muffin. *le sigh*

These muffins have a vanilla base topped with a creamy cheesecake and a brown sugar crunchy topping. After baking and cooling, they are topped with a strawberry glaze, fresh raspberries and blueberries and a dusting of powdered sugar.

I just shared one with my husband… it was still warm. Oh em gee….. YUM!

JavaCupcake’s Very Berry Cheesecake Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted

powdered sugar for dusting

1. With a wooden spoon, mix together the dry ingredients.
2. Add the butter and mix until crumbs form.
3. Set aside.

Fruit
4 large fresh strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a small sauce pan, combine the strawberries, sugar and vanilla.
2. On low heat, mash strawberries until broken down into tiny pieces, creating a lot of juice.
3. Heat until just starts to bubble.
4. Strain and reserve the juice. Eat the remaining berries. Yum.

24 fresh raspberries
40-60 fresh blueberries

Filling
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
2. Scrape the sides then beat in the egg.
3. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
4. Set aside.

Muffin
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the egg, egg yolk and sugar.
4. Add the oil and vanilla. Scrape the sides, then add the sour cream. Mix on high for 2 minutes.
5. With the mixer on low, add the flour, half at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix only until the flour is completely incorporated.
6. STOP: See note below on how to assemble the cupcake before baking.
7. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the top is firm, golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.
9. STOP: See note below for after cooling assembly.

Assembly BEFORE baking
Scoop muffin batter into baking cup no more than 2/3 full.
On top of the batter, scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling.
Using a toothpick, swirl together the batter and cream cheese. You’re just trying to mesh the two together slightly, not mix it.
Generously top with the brown sugar topping. Press down into the cupcake.

Assembly AFTER baking
Top each muffin with 2 raspberries and 3-5 blueberries (depending on size of blueberries).
Drizzle strawberry sauce over the cupcake.
Dust with powdered sugar.

Amanda started by zesting two lemons.  With that zest, she pressed it into the sugar to make lemon sugar.  Oh yes…. lemon sugar.   These lemon bars are tart, full of lemon flavor and so good!   The strawberries were next… Amanda swirled them on top of the lemon layer to make a delicious combination of sweet and tart!

Amanda’s Strawberry Lemon Bars
Makes 9 bars

For the crust:
Scant 1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon sugar
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
pinch of salt
6 tbsp unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes

For the lemon filling:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, from 2 lemons
zest from two lemons
2 tbsp milk
pinch of salt

For the strawberries:
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, whole
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/8 cup warm water

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper making sure the paper covers the sides.
2. Zest the lemon.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the 2/3 cup and 1 tablespoon of sugar from the crust and filling with 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.  Using the back of a spatula, press the lemon into the sugar, releasing the oils and in turn making lemon sugar.  This should take about 2 minutes and the sugar will be very fragrant.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar and salt for the crust.  One at a time, add cubes of butter.  With a fork, work the butter into the flour mixture.  Once all the butter has been added, use your fingers to break up any pieces of butter.  The crust will not come together like a dough.
5. Press the mixture into the 8×8 pan.  Put in the freezer to cool for 10 minutes then bake in a 375 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. While the crust is baking, prepare the strawberries.  In a medium pot, combine the strawberries, sugar and vanilla over medium high heat.  After all the sugar has melted, use a potatoe masher to mush the berries.  You want some chunks, but mostly juice.  Mix together the corn starch and water until the corn starch dissolves, then pour into the strawberries.   Bring the entire thing to a boil for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and set aside.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Then whisk in the lemon juice, zest, and milk.
8. Pour the lemon filling over the cooked crust.  Dollop spoon fulls of the strawberry mixture on top of the lemon.  Using a knife or spoon, make swirls with the strawberries to incorporate into the lemon.  Don’t over swirl, we want there to still be a strong yellow/lemon color.   (Note: You don’t have to use all the strawberry… use as much or as little as what looks good to you.)
9. Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees or until it has become solid and is firm to the touch.
10. Cool completely, cut into squares and dust with confectioners sugar.

So last night, I put together a trial run of a new flavor and recipe of cupcakes.  White chocolate strawberry. I figured the cupcake recipe itself would be just fine… it was a variation of a cupcake I had made before.  But, this time I tried baking a strawberry in the middle.  Not a good idea.  It affected the structre of the cupcake and they sunk in the middle.  Next time, I core the middle and fill after baking.

So the cupcakes were a little sunk in the middle, but HOLY COW they tasted DELICIOUS.  I whip up some extra strawberry filling and decide I’ll plug those holes with this strawberry goodness.  Yum.

On to the frosting.  White chocolate whipped cream.  Double yum.  I steep the milk with a vanilla bean, get it nice and warm then melt in the chocolate.  Just like the recipe said.  Ok… on to cooling.  Pop it in the freezer to speed up the process, it was late and I wasn’t in the mood for patience.  I think it’s sufficiently cold and start to whip it in my mixer with the whisk attachment.

2 minutes later… epic failure.  It looked as though the chocolate was separating from the cream.  I’m no expert, so I have no ideawhat was going wrong.  Maybe it really wasn’t cold enough.  Who knows.  Maybe I should have added the melted chocolate after I started whipping the cream?   I don’t know.  Ugh.

I put the filled, unfrosted cupcakes in my Martha Stewart cupcake case, lock closed the lid, clean up the kitchen a little bit and go to bed feeling defeated.

A few hours into sleep, I hear a crash out in the living room.  I figured the cats had knocked

something over but was too tired to care to get up and look.  This morning when I wake up, my husband informs me as I take my first steps into the living room that I’m not going to be happy because the cats knocked my case of cuppies on the floor, smushing them.

*sigh*

I knew it was my cupcakes last night when I heard that horrific crash.  I just knew it.   I was angry but really… what could I do?  They were cats, not people.  I could yell and scream all I wanted but I’m sure they’d do it again… in a heartbeat.

So now, my cupcakes sit in their case damaged beyond any repair I could possibly imagine.  Seriously, if I could, I’d probably still eat every last one of them though.  The white chocolate cake with the strawberry is OUT OF THIS WORLD.

I’ll try these again soon… I want them perfected by Valentine’s Day, just not today… or tomorrow… or the next day.

Lessons Learned:

• Don’t bake with the cats in the house.  Lock them up in the back room until I’m done… and when I say done I mean every last cupcake is gone and the kitchen is back to being spotless.
• Don’t try to skip steps when making filled cupcakes.  Baking a whole strawberry in the middle of a cupcake equals sunken cupcakes due to loss of structure.  Bake cupcakes, core centers and then fill.
• When a recipe says to cool something before mixing it.  Don’t try to cut corners.  Allow yourself enough time to actually cool it before moving on to the next step.

I found the most amazing University of Washington cupcake liners at the UW Bookstore and I knew I had to use them for this big game!  I thought about doing apples for this cupcake, but then realized that red was the color of our rival and well, let’s be honest, I’m over apple.  So I decided on lemon!  (Besides, the Huskies are purple and GOLD so lemon would work great!)

Earlier this summer, I made a strawberry lemon cupcake which was out of this world and knew I had to use some of the same techniques with the lemons in this cupcake.  So, off to the store I went, got a giant bag of lemons, then I got a family recipe from my mother-in-law for lemon curd to fill the cupcakes with and started baking!

Eves Family Lemon Curd (make this before you make your cupcakes so it has time to cool)
1 lb sugar (approx 2 cups)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
6 oz (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3 lemons

1. Zest & squeeze the lemons and set aside.
2. Using a double boiler, melt the butter on medium heat.
3. Add the sugar, lemon juice and zest, whisking until smooth.
4. Bring to a soft, slow simmer (but NOT a boil) and add eggs and whisk thoroughly.  Stir constantly until thickened.  Make sure not to boil or bring the heat too high, you don’t want to cook the eggs.
5. Cook until the curd sticks to the back of a wooden spoon and is nice and thick (approx 10 mins).
6. Transfer to an air tight container and cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
7. Stores for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Lemon Infused Cupcakes
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 lemon, zested and squeezed for juice
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
lemon food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line pans with 24 liners.
2. In a medium bowl, prepare the sugar by working the lemon 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.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy.
4. Add the sugar/zest to the butter and mix on high until smooth.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing thoroughly after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
6. In another bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
7. In a measuring cup that pours, mix the milk and lemon juice.
8. Beginning and ending with the flour, add the flour and milk alternating on low speed. Scrape the sides and mix only until incorporated.
9. Using an ice cream scoop, fill liners 3/4 full.  These cupcakes don’t rise too much, so you can fill your liners a little fuller than usual.
10. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Rotate pan and reduce heat to 325 degrees and cook an additional 8-10 minutes.  Cupcakes will be done when a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Leave in pan to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Sweet Lemon Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 lemon zested and squeezed for juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy.
2. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
3. While it’s mixing, zest the lemon into the butter/sugar.
4. Combine the juice of the lemon, milk and vanilla in a measuring up the pours. Set aside.
5. In three parts, add the sugar alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the powdered sugar.
6. Mix on high for 3-4 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

To Assemble the Cupcakes:

1. Core out the center of the cupcakes.  (I used an apple core tool which made it really quick and easy)
2. Fill the cupcakes with apple curd.
3. Top with buttercream and sugar sprinkles.

I brought Carrie her cupcakes at the Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift show because she had to work on her birthday!

For Carrie’s cupcakes, I made a variation of my Tree Hugger cupcakes… a little simpler and a few less steps!  These are a snickerdoole cupcake filled with caramelized apples, topped with a cinnamon buttercream, more apples and caramel drizzle!  SO GOOD!

JavaCupcake’s Appledoodle Cupcakes
Makes approx 36 cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 large eggs (3 jumbo eggs), locally grown, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2tbsp milk
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line cupcake pans with 36 liners.
3. With an electric mixer, combine butter and sugars and mix until light and fluffy.
4. While mixing, in another bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Sift at least twice to ensure all ingredients are combined.
5. Add eggs one at a time to butter and sugar, mixing thoroughly after each egg.
6. In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk and vanilla.  Get applesauce measured as well, do not add it to milk mixture.
7. Add flour mixture in four parts alternating with either the milk or the applesauce making sure to end with flour mixture.
8. Scrape sides of the bowl and give it one final mix for about 30 seconds.  Do not over mix.
9. Fill liners 2/3 full with batter.
10. Bake for 15 minutes and rotate pan 180 degrees in oven. Bake another 3-4 minutes.
11. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean and top is lightly golden brown.

Apples for filling
4 tbsp butter
2-3 large locally grown apples, cored and diced – Honeycrisp was used for this recipe
½ cup brown sugar, not packed
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp corn starch

1. In a medium pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter
2. Add apples to the pan and coat with the melted butter
3. Add the brown sugar and mix  until sugar starts to melt.
4. Add cinnamon and mix until combined.
5. Put a lid loosely on top of the pan for 2-3 minutes, just long enough to start to soften the apples.
6. Add corn starch to thicken.
7. Remove lid and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
8. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to fill cupcakes.
9. *Note* You want the apples to have a lot of sauce! So don’t reduce it too much!

Cinnamon Buttercream
-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
-2lbs (or one bag) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
-1/2 cup milk
-2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ tsp of cinnamon

1. In an electric mixer on medium-high, cream butter until smooth.
2. Mix the vanilla and milk together in a measuring cup and set aside.
3. Add sifted sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each cup.
4. Between each cup of sugar, add the milk/vanilla mixture, making sure to end with powdered sugar.
5. Add the cinnamon.
6. Beat on high for 5 minutes.
7. Frost cupcakes using a Wilton #6B star tip.

To Assemble the Cupcakes:

1. Core each cupcake and insert a dollop of caramelized apple mixture.
2. Use a Wilton #6B star tip to frost with buttercream.
3. Top with a drizzle of caramel sauce and 3 pieces of diced apple.

These cupcakes are an apple cupcake with chunks of apple, filled with a homemade caramel then topped with a cream cheese frosting and decorated with sugar crystals, mint and pretzel stick!  So cute!

JavaCupcake’s Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Adapted from I Heart Cuppycakes
http://iheartcuppycakes.com/2008/10/06/aye-1-caramelappleautumn/

Makes 16 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For apple cupcake
3 medium granny smith apples
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

For caramel
2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

For cream cheese frosting
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

pretzels
green & red sprinkles

mint leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

To make cupcakes—

1. Preheat oven 350F.
2. Rinse, cut in half and core the apples. Place them on an ovenproof pan or baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 35-45 minutes until soft.
3. Remove the apples from the oven, let cool slightly, then remove peel and mush the apple with the back of a fork. Measure out 1 cup of apple mush and set aside to cool.
4. Combine flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Add the cooled apple mush and mix just to combine.
6. Add the flour and apple juice in three parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.  DO NOT OVER MIX!
7. Scoop into cupcake papers about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees, then bake 3-5 more minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make caramel—

1. Measure sugar, water and corn syrup in a large pot and stir just to combine ingredients.
2. Turn to medium-high heat and without stirring, bring sugar mixture to a boil.  Boil 10-15 minutes until sugar turns an amber color.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the butter with a whisk. Be careful, it’s HOT and the caramel will bubble!
4. Wait about 30 seconds and slowly stir in the heavy crème.
5. Scrape sides of pan and mix until thoroughly combined.  Pour into a heat safe glass bowl/measuring cup to cool.

To make frosting—

1. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.
3. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar mixing after each. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

To assemble cupcakes—

1. Fill cupcakes with caramel using this method.
2. Top the cupcake with frosting in a rounded shape.
3. Roll cupcake in green sprinkles to cover the frosting.
4. Break off pretzel and stick into the top to resemble a stem. Insert a mint “leaf” in the frosting near the stem.

These cupcakes are a white butter cupcake filled with a homemade strawberry preserve and topped with strawberry buttercream, pink sugar crystals and cute flowers!

You can find the recipe I used for these cupcakes, here!

And for her Daddy…. I made the same cupcakes but in blue liners with different decorations!!

WELCOME HOME 1SG JASON EVERSHED!!!!!

And here’s the complete order…

She wanted mini’s…. two different kinds…. and in 3 days.  Ok, it’s not like I had much going on… but usually, I like at least a weeks notice for cupcakes because I like to special order liners, wrappers, embellishments, etc etc.  I had to come up with two cupcakes and find everything I needed for them locally!  But… I did it!  I came up with two delicious cupcakes… and this first one:

Mini chocolate cupcakes with a fresh raspberry center topped with a super sweet vanilla buttercream, sugar pearl and sprinkles garnished in a white cup with green ribbon!

Wow, that’s a mouthfull! hehe (and so is the cupcake!)

The recipe was an easy one for me… I used my standard moist chocolate cupcake recipe, put a fresh raspberry inside and topped it with my standard buttercream recipe.  Easy-peasy! For me… a basic cupcake can be spiced up and embellished to become a spectacular cupcake!

Mini Moist Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Makes 36 minis and 12 regular cupcakes

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs at room temperature

1  ¾ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

Fresh raspberries (enough for each cupcake)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line pans with foil or paper liners.
2. Mix oil, sugars, cream and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each.
4. Beat on medium for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl.
5. Sift dry ingredients together.
6. Sift them again.  Make sure all the flour and cocoa are thoroughly combined and all clumps are gone and the mixture is very fine.
7. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in three parts, scraping the sides of the bowl and thoroughly mixing after each.
8. Beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
9. Add the boiling water and mix until just blended.  DO NOT BE ALARMED, mixture will be thin.
10. Fill cupcake liners no more than 1/2 full.
11. Add a raspberry to the center of each cup, push in until almost covered.
12. 
13. Bake 8 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees, and bake an additional 2-3 minutes.
14. Do not over bake! Cupcakes will be done when there are air bubbles in the center and it springs back to the touch.
15. Leave in the pan 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 lb bag of confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tbsp corn syrup

1. In an electric mixer on medium-high, cream butter until smooth.
2. Mix the vanilla and cream together in a measuring cup and set aside.
3. Add sifted sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each cup.  Between each cup of sugar, add the cream/vanilla, beginning and ending with sugar.
4. Slowly pour in corn syrup and mix well.
5. Add more cream, if necessary, to obtain desired consistency.
6. Beat on high for 5 minutes.

I started looking on Etsy to find some liners which would match perfectly for my niece and found turquoise with green polka dot liners.  I mean really, it’s like they were made just for her! So super cute!! I ordered them and they arrived the morning I was baking the cupcakes.  Well….. unfortunately, the company I ordered them from sent me the wrong liners.

<-the ones I wanted

Apparently, she had two liners with the same name and sent me the other ones.  Needless to say, I wasn’t very happy and I didn’t have time to search out a local store potentially an hour away just for new liners.  So, I made do with these and wrote an email to the company I bought them from.  (Who didn’t really offer much help other than a discount on a future order.  It’s not like these things are that expensive, so a discount?? lol no, I’m good. Thanks)

After I got over that little fiasco, it was time to make the cupcakes and they turned out amazing!  Made a special pedestal for my niece to hold one perfect cupcake just for her and she was thrilled with it.  I told her that she’ll be able to put the pedestal on her dresser next to her jewelry box and keep her special rings and necklaces and such on them.

I also created several pedestals with some fun things I found at thrift stores.  A couple of them even matched the cupcakes perfectly!

And finally…. the birthday girl with her cupcake and pedestal!

Emily was so happy with these cupcakes and loved everything about them!  Everyone at the party gave me rave reviews and some even said they were the best cupcakes they’ve ever tasted! YAY me!!!  I got two referrals and hopefully they’ll turn into orders!

Makes approx 3 dozen (36) cupcakes.

Cupcakes:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
Zest of one lemon

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla
¾ cup milk
The juice of ½ a lemon

4 cups strawberries, roughly chopped + 1 cup sugar + 2 tbsp butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pans with 30 liners.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter.  Add the strawberries and coat with melted butter.  Stir in sugar and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes until strawberries begin to reduce and a thick strawberry sauce is made.  Divide in half and then set aside to cool.

Prepare the sugar by working the lemon 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.

Cream the butter for 2-3 minutes using electric mixer and the paddle attachment.  Add the sugar to the butter mixture and continue creaming until fluffy.

While butter/sugar are creaming, in another bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder and set aside. Sift at least twice to ensure all ingredients are combined.

Add eggs one at a time to butter and sugar, mixing thoroughly after each egg.

In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk, lemon juice and vanilla.

SLOWLY alternate adding the flour and milk mixture to the butter/sugar.  Begin and end with the flour and make sure to mix very well after each addition.

Scrape sides of the bowl and fold in ½ the strawberries.  Do not over mix.

Fill liners 1/2 full with batter.

Bake for 13 minutes and rotate pan 180 degrees in oven. Bake another 3-6 minutes.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to completely cool.

Buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs (approx 8 cups) powdered sugar
1/4 -1/2  cup milk
Zest of ½ a lemon
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tbsp light corn syrup

Directions:
In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.

One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar.  Between each cup, add a splash of milk.   Mix until smooth & scrape down the sides after each addition

Before the last cup of sugar, add the zest and juice of the lemon.  Mix until smooth.

Add the corn syrup.

Add any remaining milk until you get the texture and consistency you want.

Mix on high for 4-5 minutes.

Remove ½ the buttercream and set aside.  Add 5-7 drops of yellow food coloring to the remaining frosting and mix until it’s the color you want.

To Assemble:
Strain the second half of the strawberries, reserving the juice for later.

Spoon a small dollop of strawberry on top of each cupcake.  (NOTE:  My cupcakes sunk in the middle because I DIDN’T use ROOM TEMPERATURE butter!!! Eeeek)

Put half yellow/half white frosting into a pastry bag with a star tip and frost the cupcakes.

Drizzle cupcakes with reserved strawberry juice.

Top with a fresh, clean strawberry.

Take pretty pictures of your cupcakes!

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Pound Cake

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
The zest of one large lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
The juice of one large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2  tablespoons poppy seeds
1 heaping cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside.

Cream butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer.

In the mean time, using a spatula work the lemon zest into the granulated sugar by pressing the sugar and the zest together.  This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant.  Add the sugar to the butter mixture and continue creaming.

Add the lemon and vanilla extract.

Add eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute each.  Scrape down the bowl after each addition.

Slowly add the sifted flour and baking powder.  Don’t over mix in the electric mixer.  Bring the ingredients together with a spatula.

Fold in the poppy seeds and the blueberries with a spatula until just incorporated.

Pour into a greased and floured pan and bake for 70-85 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Basic Vanilla Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together the 2 tbsp of milk and vanilla.   Add that mixture to powdered sugar in a small bowl.

Mix with a spatula until smooth.

Add remaining milk (or more) until you get the consistency you want.

Drizzle over the top of the cooled pound cake.

.

Emme’s Banana Bread

1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter
2 large eggs

3-4 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

¼ cup cinnamon/sugar mixture

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

3. In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar.

4. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each.

5. In a small bowl, peel the bananas and mush them with a fork until most chunks are gone.

6. Add the cinnamon, milk, vanilla and nutmeg and stir with the fork until combined.

7. In another bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

8. Add the banana mixture to the butter/sugar and mix until just combined and then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

9. Slowly, add the flour mixture in three parts to the batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix just until incorporated.

10. Pour batter into loaf pan and spread evenly with spatula.

11. Generously sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the batter.

12. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

13. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

I had never worked with whole wheat flour before, so I needed to do a bit of research on how to use it.  I read a lot of articles online and talked to other bakers and felt confident that I could make these scones successfully!  You can find the “how-to’s” of using whole wheat flour in my “Tips & Tricks” post here!

I had my doubts during the baking process…. the dough was really sticky (a lot more than with the chocolate scones) and I thought maybe I had done something wrong.  Until…. they came out of the oven and smelled… and tasted SOOO GOOOD!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones

Loosely adapted from Evil Shenanigans Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Scones

Makes 8 Scones

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and kept very cold
1- 1½ cups thawed, drained & patted dry frozen blueberries (you can use fresh as well)
1/3-1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, well beaten
Sugar for topping

Here are some of the specialty ingredients I used.  King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour, Homemade Vanilla Extract, and local Remlinger Farms frozen blueberries.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or line it with parchment paper. (Don’t use wax paper, it will burn!)

2. In a medium bowl, sift the wheat flour 3-4 times. This will help bring some air into the flour so your scones won’t be so dense.

3. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and combine using a whisk.

4. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingers until the butter is in small pieces, no larger than peas.

5. Strain and pat dry the thawed blueberries. Fold them into the dry mixture making sure they are coated well.

6. Starting with 1/3 cup cold buttermilk, pour in the milk and vanilla and gently combine with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. If the mixture is too dry and crumbly, add more buttermilk a tablespoon at a time just until the dough comes together. (The blueberries will add a lot of moisture, so be careful not to add too much milk.)

I love that the homemade vanilla has little bits of Tahitian vanilla in it!!
7. With your hands, gather the mixture into a ball in the bowl, making sure to incorporate all the dough. Mixture will be wet and sticky!

8. Turn out onto cutting board and GENTLY knead the dough three times by pressing the dough into a fat disk, folding the dough in half , turning it 1/4 turn and repeating. You can add a bit of flour to the cutting board to help with sticking. Do not over knead you don’t want to smash the berries!

9. Once kneaded pat and press into an 8″ circle and cut the disk into 8 wedges.

10. Using a spatula, transport the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. Since the dough is wet and sticky, make sure your scones keep their shape by forming them with your fingers or spatula.

11. Brush with beaten egg and top each scone with as much sugar as you like.

12. Bake the scones for approximately 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

13. Cool ten minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack.

I know that apples aren’t native to the Pacific Northwest, but we have a lot of apple orchards on both sides of our state and thought it would be a perfect base for a cupcake! With a suggestion from my sister, I decided to buy locally the apples and eggs because we all know how much the “tree-hugging” people from Seattle and the Northwest love their locally grown, organic foods!  So from this, the “Tree Hugger Apple” cupcake was born!

The base of the cupcake was inspired by this Appledoodle Cupcake I found while browsing the Iron Cupcake Earth website.  I changed a few things and made it my own by adding sliced apple to the top of the batter before baking, then filling the cupcake with more apple and drizzling the buttercream on top with caramel.

I got this awesome new camera, so I was able to document the process of making these cupcakes!

These are the goodies I used to make these cupcakes.  Wilton cupcake liners, pink sugar dust, and a Wilton #6B star tip.

First, preheat oven to 350F and fill two 12-hole cupcake trays with cupcake wrappers. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine egg whites, vanilla and 1/4 cup milk and mix with a whisk.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix together to blend. Add the butter and remaining 3/4 cup milk. Mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high if using a hand mixer) for 1.5 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and milk mixture in three equal parts, beating for 20 seconds between additions.

So, in true JavaCupcake style… I totally made an oooooppsie.  The batter didn’t look as pretty as the above picture at first.

Fill each cupcake liner 1/2 – 2/3 full with batter.

Bake 15-17 minutes. After 10 minutes of baking, rotate pan 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Remove when air bubbles just being to pop on top and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then place on a cooling rack.

Let cool completely before filling and frosting. I chose to use my favorite raspberry jam to fill the cupcakes with.

To fill the cupcakes, I used this technique I found on BakingBites.com.

Using a Wilton #6B star tip, I frosted the cupcakes in a circular pattern.  I immediately dusted the top with the pink sugar dust.

After the buttercream had a few hours to set and slightly harden, I topped them with an upside down fresh raspberry.

And here they are… all finished and ready to deliver!

I met Tracy and her Grandmother at the restaurant and they were over the moon with these cupcakes! Grandma was a delight and it was such a pleasure to make these goodies for her birthday!

Here is a photo journey of the cupcakes that turned out to be a big hit with my family!

The batter just before it hit the cups!

Oh yes, that is puree swirled on top of the cupcakes!

Just out of the oven…. mmmmmmm.
Topped with meringue buttercream and a blueberry!!

Blueberry perfection.

A couple of notes about the recipe…
I, personally, did not care for the meringue buttercream. This recipe, the frosting turns out very buttery in flavor. When my family tried the cupcake, they said it was very rich but when paired with the cupcake it was perfect. I think if I were to make this again, I would add more sugar and add less butter. Also, I think I’d make just my favorite buttercream recipe and add the blueberry puree for flavor. Another suggestion was that I put whole blueberries in the cupcake as well. Just some things to think about Enjoy!

I’m not sure if I browned the butter correctly… my daughter said it smelled like grilled cheese while I was making it. I may have burnt it just a bit. Next time, I’ll watch it closer… like the recipe said to. *Ooops* The batter was perfect for 12 muffins, full of blueberries… and the crumbly topping was a perfect addition to add some crunchy texture to the muffins.

They were so good, I ate two just as they came out of the oven. Shoved them in my mouth while dripping crumbs all over the sink. Totally worth the mess. This morning, I’ve got my cup of coffee and have devoured two more muffins… a bit slower this time though. Delish.

PS… the muffins taste nothing like grilled cheese either

The first batch got a little crispy on the bottom (darn my oven)… but the rest turned out beautifully! I’m taking these to my Art Class tomorrow for our end of the quarter potluck. I hope they enjoy!!

Click on image for recipe.

White Butter Cupcakes with Strawberry filling and Strawberry Buttercream

3 ½ cups sifted cake flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated white sugar, divided

½ cup HOT water

4 large eggs, separated

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup milk

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1)      Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with liners.

2)      While eggs are still cold separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.  Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).

3)      In a mixing bowl sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

4)      In bowl of electric mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes).  Add 1 ½ cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).  Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

5)      With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

6)      Add the hot water and mix just until incorporated.

7)      In a clean bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the remaining ½ cup of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then fold in the remaining whites until combined.  Do not over mix the batter or it will deflate.

8)      Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners ½ full.

9)      Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

10)   Cool the cupcakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on the wire rack.

Strawberry Filling
2 (4) cups strawberries (can be frozen), stems removed
1/2 (1) cup water
1 (2) teaspoon vanilla
1/2 (1) cup sugar
2 (4) tablespoons cornstarch or 4 (8) tablespoons AP flour

1. Add the strawberries, water, and vanilla to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Sift together the sugar and cornstarch and then stir into the strawberry mixture. Cook until the mixture is thick and the strawberries have broken down, about 20 minutes.
3. To fill the cupcakes, use this method.

Strawberry Buttercream

2.5 sticks (1 ¼ cup) butter, room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

2 heaping tablespoons of strawberry filling

1. Beat butter until creamy.
2. Adding  sugar one cup at a time, mixing until creamy between each cup.  With last cup of sugar, add the salt.
3. Add vanilla and mix.
4. Add strawberry filling one tablespoon at a time until incorporated.
5. Mix on high until light and fluffy. (About 4-5 minutes)

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