Mardi Gras Cupcakes

February 20, 2012 by JavaCupcake · Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

These cupcakes are ready to PARTY for Mardi Gras!

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/mardi-gras-cupcakes/

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes

Is there anything better than cinnamon and cream cheese together?

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/mardi-gras-cupcakes/

How to assemble Mardi Gras cupcakes

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/mardi-gras-cupcakes/

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

Happy Valentine’s Day! Red Velvet Love Cupcakes

February 14, 2012 by JavaCupcake · 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

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

Cream Cheese & Vanilla Bean Frosting

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Enough to frost 12+ cupcakes

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-red-velvet-love-cupcakes/

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

Mocha Mocha Cupcakes

February 8, 2012 by JavaCupcake · 5 Comments

I had an order for a client today for some decadent Mocha cupcakes. Mmmm coffee and chocolate… you really can’t go wrong with that combo. I decided that I would take my new favorite chocolate recipe that normally calls for the use of a Guinness beer and sub that for brewed coffee to create more of a mocha flavor. I then topped the cupcake with a basic chocolate buttercream but threw in a little bit of cream cheese for some extra tang and smoothness. Really though, this recipe for chocolate cupcakes I’m finding to be very versatile and it creates a moist, dense cupcake… every time! So although this post is short and sweet… these Mocha Mocha cupcakes are FULL of flavor! YUM!

Mocha Mocha Cupcakes

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp espresso powder (HEAPING tbsps!)
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, add 1tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes)
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan over medium-high, heat and whisk the butter and brewed coffee together until the butter has melted.
Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder and heat until simmering. You want the mixture to thicken, but not boil. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
While the chocolate/butter mix is heating/cooling, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
SLOWLY pour the chocolate mix into the egg mix, whisking constantly. NOTE: Add only a couple tbsp to temper the eggs. You don’t want to add so much hot liquid too quickly, it will cook the eggs. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
Whisk the flour/sugar into the wet mixture in two parts. Whisk about 50 strokes.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 with batter.
Bake 18-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate pan after 12 minutes.
Let cupcakes cool in pan for 4-5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/mocha-mocha-cupcakes/

Mocha Mocha Buttercream

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: Enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp espresso powder mixed with 2 tbsp warm whipping/heavy cream
2lbs powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipping/heavy cream
pinch of salt

Instructions

Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Mix in the cocoa powder and espresso powder/cream. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Mix in the powdered sugar in two parts. Add a few tbsp of heavy cream after each addition. Beat on high until smooth.
Mix in the salt. Scrape sides of the bowl.
Add the remaining heavy cream until you get the consistency and texture you want.
Beat for 4-5 minutes on high.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://javacupcake.com/2012/02/mocha-mocha-cupcakes/

Filed Under: buttercream, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate frosting, Coffee, coffee cupcakes, cupcake recipes, featured, frosting and icing, mocha frosting, recipes

Tagalong Cupcakes

January 28, 2012 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

I had surgery on Thursday… and I was SUPER nervous. It’s nothing too serious, just having 3 teeth pulled that should have been fixed a long time ago. But now, I’m 33 weeks pregnant and in TONS of pain and just can’t wait any longer to have them taken care of.

So… to keep my mind occupied the day before (and hopefully off the throbbing in my mouth), I decided to bake cupcakes! Last week, I made Thin Mint Cupcakes with Girl Scout cookies so today I’m trying out a recipe for Tagalong Cupcakes made with my favorite peanut butter and chocolate GS cookie!

I asked on my Facebook page how exactly I should make this Tagalong cupcake and I really enjoyed the suggestion of one reader to make a thick crumb cake. I’ve never actually tried to purposely make a cake with a big crumb and I thought this might be the perfect time to try that. I did an internet search for thick crumb cake recipes and found lots of recipes for a New York Style Crumb Cake and I thought hmmm…. with a little tweaking, this could be pretty darn good as a cupcake!

And of course, the cupcake has to be filled with peanut butter… just like the cookie! For this filling, I used a variation of my favorite peanut butter buttercream recipe, but made it more creamy and smooth than thick like a frosting.

Oh the frosting. When you see a Tagalong cupcake…. you first see the dark chocolate covering the cookie. It’s shiny and sometimes, I just bite the edges of the cookie off and eat just the chocolate part first. So I knew this cookie had to have that same shine and color. Creamy chocolate was a MUST!

New York Style Vanilla Bean Crumb Cake
Makes 12 cupcakes

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

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup vanilla sugar (regular sugar is okay too)
1 large egg
seeds of one vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract (split bean length wise and scrape out seeds)
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and vanilla sugar for about 2 minutes.
Add the vanilla bean seeds egg, scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat on high for at least 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Mix in the sour cream, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the flour in two parts and mix just until smooth.
Add the heavy cream and mix only until incorporated. DO NOT OVER MIX!
Scoop evenly into 12 cupcake liners.
Bake 18-19 minutes, rotating pan after 12 minutes.
Cool in pan 4-5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe inspired by: First Look, Then Cook

Whipped Peanut Butter Filling
Makes enough to fill & garnish 12 cupcakes

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Mix until smooth.
Scrape sides again, add the vanilla and heavy cream. Whip on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 oz cream cheese
1 lb powdered sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
Add the sugar/cocoa to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
Add up to 1/2 cup heavy cream or until you get the smooth consistency you want.
Beat on high for 3 minutes.

To Assemble the Cupcakes:

6 Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies, halved
Whipped Peanut Butter Filling
Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Piping bags & tips

Core the center of each cupcake using an apple corer. I wanted to make sure these cupcakes had LOTS of peanut butter filling, so I cored them all the way down to the bottom liner.
Using a small closed star tip, pipe the whipped peanut butter filling into each hole making sure a little bit peeps out the top.
For half of the cupcakes, I stopped there with the peanut butter filling. On the other half, I piped a small layer of the peanut butter filling on top of the cupcake as well.
Using a Wilton 1M tip, pipe a beautiful pile of creamy chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake.
With the remaining peanut butter filling, pipe a small dollop on top of the chocolate frosting on the cupcakes that are only filled in the middle.
Garnish with half a Tagalong Girl Scout Cookie.
EAT!

Filed Under: buttercream, chocolate, chocolate frosting, cookie cupcakes, cookie cupcakes, cupcake recipes, dark chocolate, frosting and icing, girl scout cookie cupcakes, recipes, vanilla, vanilla cupcakes

Thin Mint Cupcakes

January 25, 2012 by JavaCupcake · 6 Comments

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

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

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

8 to bake with.

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

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

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

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

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

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

2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

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

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

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

Vanilla Bean Peppermint Buttercream

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

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

To Assemble Cupcakes:

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

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

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

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

Breakfast Cupcakes

January 10, 2012 by JavaCupcake · 5 Comments

I have these gorgeous bananas sitting on my counter right now. Long, bright yellow, soft but still a bit firm, not too over ripe… perfect for baking. I’ve also got about 10 strips of bacon. Oh and I’m craving peanut butter buttercream.

So yeah… I made a cupcake… with all those things in it.

I started with a basic banana cupcake base, added some maple syrup, chopped up some bacon and BAM… YUM! Then, I topped the whole thing with my favorite peanut butter buttercream and a chunk of crispy bacon that’s been drizzled with maple syrup.

So yeah… you could totally eat this cupcake for breakfast.

PS… So, I’d love to share the peanut butter buttercream with you, but a certain baker in Seattle would kick my ass for sharing it with you. You’ll have to use your own pb buttercream for these cupcakes. (PS, it’s not a cream cheese based frosting either… all butter, baby!)

Banana & Bacon Maple Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp banana extract
3 large bananas, diced and lightly mashed (we want lots of banana chunks and just a little bit of mush)
1/4 cup maple syrup

7-8 strips of crispy bacon, diced

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the center of the flour and add the butter and 1 egg and mix 7-8 strokes.
Add the second egg and mix until combined, about 4-5 strokes.
Add the bananas, vanilla extract and maple syrup and fold in with a spatula until combined.
Fold in the diced bacon, making sure the sides and bottom of bowl have been scraped and combined. Do not over mix the batter!
Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 3-4 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
Top with your favorite peanut butter buttercream and a chunk of bacon soaked in maple syrup.

Filed Under: bacon, banana, buttercream, cupcake recipes, frosting and icing, fruity cupcakes, maple, peanut butter, peanut butter frosting, recipes, savory cupcakes

New Year’s Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes

December 31, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 3 Comments

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

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

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

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

Love you all!

Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes
Makes 18-20 cupcakes

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

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

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

pink food gel coloring

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

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

Recipe adapted from: Sprinkle Bakes

Raspberry Filling
Makes enough to fill 2+ dozen cupcakes

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

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

Champagne Buttercream
Makes enough to frost 18 cupcakes

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

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

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

Filed Under: alcohol, alcohol cupcakes, alcohol frosting, champagne, cupcake recipes, featured, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, fruity cupcakes, holiday, new year's, raspberry, recipes, seasonal

4 Holiday Cupcakes – Recipes & Decorating Tutorials

December 23, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 8 Comments

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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

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

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

Coconut Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

Supplies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract

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

1/8 cup hot water
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

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

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

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

Directions:

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

The North Pole

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

Directions:

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

Christmas Tree

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

Directions:

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

Snowman

Supplies:

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

Directions:

For the arms, eyes and mouth: Melt dark chocolate, fill a piping bag and cut a small hole in the tip. On parchment paper on a cookie sheet, pipe dots for eyes, tiny dots for a mouth, and twigs for arms. Make sure to make a few extra of each in case they break later. Put them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes to set up. Check out this VIDEO TUTORIAL on how to make the arms.
For the carrot nose: Melt white chocolate, fill a piping bag and cut a small hole in the tip. On parchment paper on a cookie sheet, pipe a small dot then using the tip of the bag, drag the dot to one side creating a carrot like shape. Immediately cover the shape in orange sprinkles. Make sure to make a few extra of each in case they break later. Put them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes to set up.
Using your offset spatula, spread a small amount of white frosting on top of the cupcake, completely covering it.
Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, making a flat surface.
To pipe the snowman, scarf and hat: I used this VIDEO TUTORIAL as a guide to pipe the snowmen. NOTE: Pipe the scarf onto the snowman before you pipe the head on. It looks more like it’s around the neck when you do this. I didn’t put a tip on the coupler when I piped the head on either. Also, I didn’t use a tip in the bag for the scarf and hat, just a small hole. For the hat, I just piped a dollop on top of his head in a circular motion and flipped it to the side a bit as I pulled the bag away.
Gently place the eyes, carrot nose and mouth onto your snowman’s face. Press arms in gently into the 2nd snowball of your snowman.

Wreath Cupcakes

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

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

Filed Under: Christmas, Christmas and Holiday Cupcakes, Christmas tree, coconut, coconut cupcakes, cupcake recipes, featured, holiday, holiday wreath, North pole, snowman

Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon Cupcakes

November 17, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 16 Comments

Our military commissary has stocked three flavors of eggnog right now. Pumpkin, Cinnamon and Gingerbread. The pumpkin tasted just like pumpkin pie, but I knew I didn’t want to bake with it. I’m kinda over pumpkin, ya know? And then I sipped on the cinnamon nog…. and HOLY COW!

I’m not gonna lie. I’m not a fan of the eggnog. But the cinnamon eggnog was SO GOOD! I might even drink an entire quart of it! YUM!

So, then my brain got to churnin… eggnog cupcakes. Yah, that’s typical. But Cinnamon Eggnog cupcakes? And what goes better with eggnog than a little bourbon? So uhm, yeah. Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon cupcakes were born!

Don’t worry, these won’t get you drunk… just make you happy!

PS… the liners I used for these cupcakes are probably one of my most favorite liners EVER! They come from my friend, Kellie Sutton of Sutton Gourmet Paper. The thing that makes these liners so amazing is that they keep their color, texture and shape when baking. They DO NOT soak the batter or oils into the liners like others do. So every time you bake with Kellie’s liners, you get a perfectly beautifully wrapped cupcake!

Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon Cupcakes
Makes 17-18 cupcakes

1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup bourbon whiskey (I used Seven Oaks American Straight Bourbon Whiskey)
1 1/4 cup cinnamon eggnog
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the bourbon, eggnog, oil, vinegar, vanilla and sugar on medium speed until smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
Add the flour and mix on low speed just until all the flour is wet.
Stop the mixer, scrape the sides with a spatula and make sure all the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix. This step should only take 2-3 strokes.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cupcake.
Allow to cool in the pan for 3-4 minutes until removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spiced Bourbon Buttercream
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb + 1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp bourbon whiskey (I used the same bourbon as in the cupcakes above)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp (more or less) cinnamon eggnog
1/8 tsp salt

nutmeg – garnish

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
One half cup at a time, add half the powdered sugar and beat until smooth between each addition.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the whiskey, beat until combined.
Sprinkle in the cinnamon and mix until incorporated.
One half cup at a time, add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth between each addition.
Add the eggnog until you get the consistency you desire. You may want more or less of the eggnog. Mix in the salt and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Frost each cupcake and sprinkle with nutmeg to garnish.

Filed Under: alcohol, alcohol cupcakes, buttercream, cinnamon buttercream or frosting, cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, eggnog, eggnog cupcakes, eggnog frosting, frosting and icing, recipes

Blood Orange Candy Corn Cupcakes

October 30, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 1 Comment

You may have read about the Graveyard cupcakes I made for the Fall Festival at my husband’s work. Well, I also wanted to make candy corn cupcakes. The first batch I made I knew I screwed up. I told myself… hey, there’s citrus in these cupcakes, CHANGE THE RATIO OF BAKING POWDER. Did I listen to myself? No. I also didn’t listen to myself when I KNEW I had over mixed the cupcakes when adding the food coloring. BAD BAKER!

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

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

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

Blood Orange Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

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

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

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

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Yellow Gel food coloring

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

Orange Buttercream

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1.5 lbs (about 6-7 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream

3-4 tbsp fresh sqeezed orange juice, strained

1 tsp orange extract

1/4 tsp salt

Orange Food Gel food coloring

Blood Orange Candy Corns

Cream the butter.
One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Between each of addition, add the orange juice and extract.
Once all the sugar has been added, add the heavy cream until you get your desired consistency.
Add the salt and mix until combined. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Remove 1/3 of the white frosting.
Add orange gel food coloring to remaining 2/3 of the frosting and mix until no more white streaks are left.

Assembly

Pipe a large swirl of orange frosting on top of the cupcake.
Place a small dollop of white frosting in the center of the orange frosting.
Garnish with a Blood Orange Candy Corn.

Filed Under: cupcake recipes, decorating ideas, featured, frosting and icing, fruit frosting, fruity cupcakes, orange, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes

Graveyard Cupcakes

October 29, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 3 Comments

Today is the Fall Festival for my husband’s Battalion here in Germany. I am also an FRG Leader for one of the companies in the BN so I had a huge part in planning the festivities for today! One of the events is a Bake Off (my idea, of course! hehe)! I wanted to make something that was not only delicious, but spooky and on theme for Halloween!

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

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

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

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

Assembly of the Graveyard cupcakes is really a quite simple process.

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 Milano chocolate cookies, halved

Wilton Foodwriters pen

10 Crushed Oreo cookies (just the cookie, not the cream)

Top the cupcakes with a generous mound of frosting.
In a medium bowl, dump the cookie crumbs. Turn your frosted cupcake upside down and dip it into the cookie crumbs. You’ll want to put some pressure into the crumbs so that the cookies coat the entire top of the cupcake and frosting. Roll the sides too if needed.
Using the palm of your hand, pat the cookie crumbs until they form a nice round mound, like a grave.
Using the food pen, write any spooky phrase you want on the cookie halves. I wrote RIP. Place each cookie into the frosting.
You could also put hands or bones, maybe gummy worms or other spooky creatures in your grave… really, the possibilities are endless!

Filed Under: buttercream, chocolate, cookie cupcakes, cooking icing, cupcake recipes, decorating ideas, featured, frosting and icing, halloween, holiday, recipes, seasonal, tips & tricks

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

October 21, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 16 Comments

I’ve made apple cupcakes a million times. I’m most known for my Tree Hugger Apple cupcakes which I debuted at Cupcake Camp Seattle a few years ago. I’ve made them dozens of times for family and friends. The only problem with these cupcakes is the amount of time they take and the number of steps needed to make them. I wanted to come up with a simpler, yet equally as delicious version of an apple cupcake that could be made in one bowl.

Now, there’s no getting around prepping the apples in butter, sugar and spices. That’s just a MUST for these cupcakes, especially if you want them filled. If you wanted to skip the filling step, you could add the cooked apples to your batter before baking and omit the raw apples from the batter. You’d have swirls of cinnamon and apple throughout the cupcake. YUM!

But, I wanted filled cupcakes this time so I chopped up half a large apple and put that in the batter. I’ll fill the cupcakes when they’re cool with the cooked apple mixture.

I topped these cupcakes with an apple, cinnamon and caramel buttercream… it took has chunks of apples running through it. Super good… super sweet!

Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (you could use apple juice too)
1/2 cup chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners.
Cream together the butter and sugars.
One at a time, mix in the eggs. Add the vanilla then beat on high for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Sift into the batter the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix by hand about 5-6 strokes.
Add the milk and mix only until all the flour and milk are incorporated.
Gently fold in the apples. Do not over mix!
Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Leave in pan for 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling
1 large apple, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk mixed with 1 heaping tbsp corn starch

In a medium pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat.
Add the apples, sugars and vanilla and stir. Cook until bubbling, about 5 minutes.
Add the milk + cornstarch mixture and bring to a bubble. Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickens.
Remove from heat and continue to stir for about 1 minute.
Set aside to cool.
Fill cupcakes and reserve remaining apple mixture for buttercream.

Apple Cinnamon Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 lb powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 tbsp heavy cream

remaining apple mixture

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Cream together the butter and shortening.
Add about 1/2 the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add 1-2 tbsp cream and mix until combined.
Add all of the remaining apple mixture, cinnamon and salt. Mix until smooth.
Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
Add enough cream until you get the consistency you desire.
Scrape sides of bowl and mix on high for 1 minute.
Frost cupcakes and drizzle your favorite caramel sauce over frosting.

Assembly

Core the center of your cupcakes out.
Fill with apple filling.
Top with apple cinnamon buttercream.
Drizzle with your favorite caramel syrup.

Filed Under: apple, buttercream, buttercream, caramel, cinnamon, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, fruit frosting, fruity cupcakes, recipes, seasonal, spiced

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

October 19, 2011 by Danielle Petel · Leave a Comment

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

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Makes 12 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

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

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

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

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

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

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

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

Maple Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

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

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

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

ENJOY!

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

Chocolate & Banana Cupcakes with PB Buttercream

October 16, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

I’ve been dying to make peanut butter frosting for a while now. I was waiting for a reason to make these, but then decided I needed no reason and just whipped some up. I love this recipe because it’s a one bowl batter. My FAVORITE kind.

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

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

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

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

Peanut Butter Frosting

Makes enough to frost 18 cupcakes

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

melted chocolate
banana slices

Cream the butter until smooth. Add the peanut butter and cream together on high until smooth.
1/2 cup at a time, beat in the powdered sugar. In between sugar additions, add 1-2 tbsp milk. You may not need all the milk, but you will use all the sugar. (I used the heavy whipping cream and only used about half of the 1/3 of a cup I poured out.)
Add the pinch of salt and mix together until smooth and fluffy. (The salt is added to cut the sweetness, if you like a super sweet frosting, omit the salt.)
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Drizzle melted chocolate over frosting and garnish with a fresh banana slice.

Filed Under: banana, buttercream, buttercream, cupcake recipes, featured, frosting and icing, fruity cupcakes, peanut butter, peanut butter frosting, recipes

3 easy steps to core & fill cupcakes

September 10, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 1 Comment

Recently, I made Caramel Apple cupcakes where I needed to core and fill both mini and regular size cupcakes. I realized how simple the process was and decided to take a few pictures so I could share the process with you.

Mini Cupcakes

Tools:
Apple corer
Piping bag

3 Steps:

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

Standard Cupcakes

Tools:
Sharp knife
Mini ice cream scoop

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

Filed Under: featured, filled cupcakes, tips & tricks

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 10, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 16 Comments

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

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

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

Apple Mixture
Makes about 2 cups apple mixture

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

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

Apple Cream Cheese Filling

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

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

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

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

Apple Cupcakes
Makes 18 full size cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes

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

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

1 cup apple mixture

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

Assembly

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

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

Pink Lemonade Mini Cupcakes

August 30, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 7 Comments

I’ve been thinking about pink lemonade cupcakes alllllll summer but it hasn’t really seemed warmed enough, until now! Thank you, Washington for finally bringing back the sunshine!

I’m a little jealous that Betsy is already thinking about Fall because I would love to be making pumpkin cookies right now but I can’t really bring myself to it when it’s super sunny and nice outside! I feel weird complaining about the sun-btw.

LOL… anyways, back to the pink lemonade cupcakes! They’re so fun! And pink, and lemony! So fun! If you’re looking for one last hint of summer, make these cupcakes

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes (Starting to Simmer)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 packets Pink Lemonade ”On The Go” Crystal Light
2-3 drops of red food coloring (as desired)

Yield: 2 dozen

Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a standing bowl mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, at least 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the milk and Crystal Light packages until combined.
With the mixer on low, add the flour and milk mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour. (Add the red food coloring, as needed) Mix until the batter is smooth, but do not over mix.
Fill each liner with an ice cream scoop full of batter and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean from the center of a cupcake.
Cool completely before frosting.

Pink Lemonade Buttercream

1 cup (2 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
4-5 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream, as needed to achieve desired consistency
1 packet Pink Lemonade ”On The Go” Crystal Light
2-3 drops of red food coloring, as needed to achieve a pretty pink color
Lemon candy wedges (lemon drops would be a great substitute)

Cream butter in a standing bowl mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth 2-3 minutes.
Turn the mixer down to low and add the powdered sugar one cup at at time, mixing until smooth.
Add the Pink lemonade packet, a little at a time. I used about 3/4 of the packet, to get the flavor that I wanted.
Add the heavy cream as needed to achieve your desired consistency.
Add a few drops of red food coloring, until the buttercream is the “right” shade of pink for you. I wanted it to be a light pink, so I only used 2-3 drops.
Mix on medium-high for 1-2 minutes, until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Pipe with a closed star tip and garnish with lemon candy wedges.

Tons of recipes out there use boxed white cake mix and pink lemonade from concentrate for pink lemonade cupcakes. I’m not hating on those versions, I just don’t ever boxed cake mix in my pantry-so from scratch works best for me. If that’s your cup of tea-please, let me know how they turn out!

I made these into mini cupcakes for a sweet 16 birthday party and they were fantastic, BUT, for some reason they decided to detach themselves from the liner. IDK why, that’s never really happened to me before, so I decided to take all of them out of the liner they were baked in and put them in a fresh mini liner. Could just be a baking fluke on my part-but wanted to put it out there, just in case that happens to you as well.

PS. Here’s a peek at the other mini’s from the party in order: Banana & Dulce de Leche, Pink Velvet, and Chocolate Chip Pancake.

Filed Under: cupcake recipes, fruity cupcakes, lemon, mini, posts by jenn, recipes

Banana, Espresso & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

August 25, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 9 Comments

So, I’m a sucker for the goodies at Starbucks. I’m not a just coffee kinda girl… oh no, I want a blueberry scone, perfect oatmeal, a ham breakfast sandwich, a good ol’ hawaiian bagel OR a piece of their banana chocolate chip coffee cake. That coffee cake is delish. I figured it would pretty easy to replicate in a cupcake… so that’s exactly what I did.

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

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

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

Hope you’re all having a fabulous week!

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

Banana, Espresso & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

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

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 16 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In the well combine, melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla extract and Starbucks Via packet. Combine with flour until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Gently mix in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed to get desired consistency

Cream butter and cream cheese until light fluffy in a standing bowl mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes.
Reduce speed to low and add the powdered sugar and combine on low speed until incorporated, about 2-3 minutes.
Add heavy cream as needed.
Pipe frosting with a large star tip.

xo-Jenn

Filed Under: banana, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, Coffee, cupcake recipes, posts by jenn, recipes, Starbucks

PB & J (take 2)

August 18, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · Leave a Comment

I know that there is already a PB&J cupcake recipe here at JC but, I loved these so much that I still wanted to share them with you all! If you’re looking for a nostalgic recipe to remind you of your childhood-look no further than these cupcakes.

Shirley Temple Mini Cupcakes

August 17, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 9 Comments

Hola friends! A few weeks ago I came across Shirley Temple cupcakes from The Curvy Carrot and I knew I haaaaad to make them! I decided to go the mini route, just because they’re so cute, especially with a little cherry on top, but either way-they’ll be a big hit!

Triple Chocolate Marble Cupcakes

August 10, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 4 Comments

I had a request for cupcakes this week that included white, milk and dark chocolate. There are so many different ways to make this cupcake and it was hard to not include every technique in them. Ha! (Over achiever, I know!) I decided on a marbled cake with white and milk chocolate then I’d fill it with a bittersweet chocolate ganache and top it all with a dark chocolate frosting.

Seriously, if you love chocolate… then this cupcake should satisfy every chocolate craving you will ever have.

The first dozen I made, I also topped them white a swirl of white chocolate. But… my chocolate wasn’t behaving for me, so I only did a dozen with the white chocolate. It really looked awesome with the white on top… but my patience was running out by the time I got to the second and third dozen. :)

These cupcakes are pretty labor intense and cost a little extra because of all the chocolate, but the presentation is gorgeous and they really are heavenly.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cake
Makes 12+ cupcakes

1 ½ cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp clear vanilla extract

3.5 oz white bakers chocolate, melted

¼ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup hot water

Milk Chocolate Cake
Makes 12+ cupcakes
1 ½ cups cake flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp clear vanilla extract

3.5 oz milk chocolate, melted

¼ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup hot water

Use the same directions below to make both batters.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk and sour cream.
Using a double boiler on medium-high heat. Melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool.
In the meantime, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg whites one at a time and mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Mix in the vanilla.
On medium, slowly pour the chocolate into the egg/sugar/butter mixture. Scrape the sides and mix until completely combined.
Add the flour and milk/sour cream alternating, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until combined.
Add the hot water and mix just until incorporated.
STOP. Make the 2nd batter. When that is completed, continue to the next step.
Scoop a heaping tablespoon of white chocolate batter into one side of the liner. Scoop the same amount of chocolate batter next to it in the liner.
Pound the cupcake pan flat on the counter 2-3 times to help the batter settle. Using a toothpick, swirl the two batters together 3-4 times. Do not over swirl, you don’t want to mix the two together, just create a marble effect.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
After the cupcakes have completely cooled, core each cupcake and fill with the chocolate ganache. Top with the dark chocolate frosting and a shaving of white chocolate (optional).

Chocolate Ganache

1 cups bittersweet chocoalte chips

4oz bakers dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a microwaves safe bowl.
Microwave in 30 second spurts and stir until 85% of the chocolate has melted.
Remove from the microwave and stir until all the chocolate has melted.
Let cool for 5-7 minutes to thicken.
Spoon into cored cupcakes.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 lb powdered sugar, sifted into the cocoa powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted into the powdered sugar

8oz dark bakers chocolate, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream, heaping

1-2 tbsp milk

Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool.
In the mean time, cream together the cream cheese and butter.
Add sifted cocoa powder and powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again.
In a slow stream with the mixer on medium, pour in the melted chocolate. Mix until combined.
Add the sour cream and beat into submission. :)
Add the milk until you get your desired consistency.
Frost cupcakes immediately.

Filed Under: chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate frosting, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, recipes, white chocolate

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

August 9, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

Cinnamon rolls are an ooey gooey cinnamon sugar treat that EVERYONE loves. But when I saw cinnamon rolls as cupcakes on Pinterest I knew these were right up my alley.

I took a basic cinnamon roll recipe, rolled them small and baked them in cupcake liners then topped them with a basic frosting. Fresh from the oven or warmed up 3 days later, these cinnamon rolls will be a delicious delight for your belly!

Dough
Makes about 24 cupcake rolls

2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet dry active yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)

2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
3-4 tbsp ground cinnamon

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.
In the same bowl, whisk in the eggs, butter, salt, and sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5-10 times. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).
After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners, and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
Roll dough into a large rectangle (approx 12×24) or 1/8in thick on a lightly floured surface.
This is where it gets fun. Smear butter over dough then sprinkle the sugars and cinnamon over the top. Using your fingers, work the sugars and butter together creating a paste like spread. Make sure it’s spread evenly over the dough.
Roll up dough and cut into at least 24 rolls. I unrolled each one and rerolled it tighter so it would fit nicely into the cupcake pan. Place each roll in a cupcake liner.
Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake rolls until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool another 10 minutes.
Frost cupcakes while they are still slightly warm. You’ll want the icing to ooze into the cupcake but not drip off the size.

Icing
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 6 tbsp hot water

In a stand mixer, cream the butter.
Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time and beat until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the hot water 1 tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Spread 1-2 tbsp on slightly warm cinnamon rolls.

281721_10100514103214938_10733760_57782993_604901_n

Filed Under: cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, cupcake recipes, recipes

Itty Bitty Bumblebee

August 7, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 3 Comments

I don’t mess around too much with classic cupcake combos… like chocolate & vanilla. I have a fav chocolate cake recipe that I love and I’ve recently become attached to the most amazing, light & fluffy vanilla buttercream but, when it comes to dressin’ them up a bit… that’s where I get to have a little bit of fun!

Banana & Blueberry Cupcakes (Vegan & Gluten Free)

August 5, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · Leave a Comment

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

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

July 29, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 22 Comments

As soon as I saw the recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes on Annie’s Eats I was certain it would make it into the rotation sometime this summer. I put the call out to my friends that I’d be making them this week and got a couple orders for these little summer goodies.

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.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
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.
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.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the lime sugar and mix on high until light and fluffy.
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!
Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
In three parts, add the flour mixture. Between each addition of flour, add half the milk. Mix only until the flour is just combined.
Add the hot water and mix by hand until incorporated. DO NOT OVER MIX!
Fill liners 2/3 full, or use an ice cream scoop to distribute one full scoop into each liner.
Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
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.

Lime Syrup

1 10 oz can of lime juice concentrate or lime margarita concentrate, thawed

1 cup powdered sugar

Whisk together the powdered sugar and thawed concentrate until all the sugar has dissolved into the concentrate.

Cherry Buttercream

Double this recipe to have enough to frost 4 dozen lime cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
5-6 tbsp Maraschino cherry juice
3-4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp Wilton Christmas Red food color gel

Maraschino cherries, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, to the butter. Cream after each addition.
After half the sugar has been added, add the cherry juice and mix until combined.
Add enough whipping cream until you get your desired consistency, you may not need all of it, or you might want to add more.
Mix in the coloring.
After everything has been combined, mix on high for 30 seconds.
Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a cherry and lime for garnish.

Tips & Tricks – Lemon & Lime Sugar

When using lemon or lime in a recipe, to really add a punch of flavor, zest the fruit into your sugar before creaming with the butter. By working the zest into the sugar, you’ll create a fragrant sugar full of the oils and acids from the fruit creating an extra dimension of flavor to your cupcakes that will really make them stand out! I do this almost every time I use lemon or lime and it really creates an exceptional product! Good luck!

Filed Under: cherry, cupcake recipes, featured, frosting and icing, fruit, fruit frosting, fruity cupcakes, lime, recipes, tips & tricks

Banana Nut Cupcakes – three ways

July 21, 2011 by JavaCupcake · Leave a Comment

I don’t have much to say about this cupcake, other than it’s pretty darn delicious and that I really just wanted to share the recipe with you. So, today, instead of talking about my cupcake… I’m going to talk about me. I hope that’s okay with you… if not, click the “x” in the corner. haha

It’s not hard to figure out that I’m not in the grand ole USA anymore. I’ve been here in Germany since March and I can finally say that it’s starting to feel like home. I’m settled into my house, most things are unpacked, and I’ve finally got what seems to be like a routine going. Good news for us… my husband will NOT be deploying with his unit to Afghanistan this time. I got the role of FRG (Family Readiness Group) Leader for my husband’s company and his Commander offered him a job that would keep him with the Rear Detachment, the group that doesn’t deploy. He gracious accepted the job. I’m over the moon about it actually because we just found out we are pregnant with baby #2. Perfect timing for him to take a desk job and be home for the next 2 years. So things here in Germany are good. Really good.

We’ve been fortunate enough to do some traveling since we’ve been here too. Nuremberg, Munich, Eagle’s Nest, Prague, and Salzburg… just to name a few. I hope to get a little more traveling in before baby comes next March.

My daughter, Emily, starts middle school this Fall. I can’t believe how grown she’s getting. Middle school. ACK! Although, it is pretty cool to be here in Europe during her middle school years. How many kids can say they did their school shopping in Prague? HA!!

Ok… on to the recipe!

I made this cupcake in three ways. First, as a regular size cupcake and for the rest, I used my IKEA pan and liners and embellished them a little different.

JavaCupcake’s Banana Goodness Cupcakes
Makes 3 dozen cupcakes

Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
5 large ripe bananas, mashed
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp banana extract

1 cup finely chopped mixed nuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In the well whisk together the melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla extract. Continue with a spatula to combine the wet with the flour until incorporated. Blend only until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Gently fold in the nuts and chocolate chips.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1-8oz. package of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter (creamy/smooth, not fresh ground)
½ cup honey
5-6 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
Mixed nuts, finely chopped for garnish
Banana chips, for garnish
Chocolate jimmies, for garnish

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, peanut butter, honey and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract and mix. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and combine on low speed until incorporated.
Pipe frosting with a large star tip, sprinkle with chopped nuts or chocolate jimmies and top with a banana chip.

Filed Under: banana, cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, frosting and icing, fruit frosting, fruity cupcakes, recipes

Chocolate Amaretto Mini Cupcakes

July 19, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

For some reason I thought of Amaretto today. I don’t know why… but it just came to me. It might have been because of the Amaertti German biscuits I bought at the German store today (which are SO GOOD). But the point is… I’m making these cupcakes! Ha! So, I ran BACK to the local German store and picked up a 700ml bottle of Italian Amaretto (for only €3,99!! liquor is so cheap here!) and came up with this recipe for Chocolate Amaretto cupcakes!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amaretti biscuit cookies

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

Filed Under: alcohol, alcohol cupcakes, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, cupcake recipes, featured, ganache, recipes

Mozart White Chocolate Cupcakes

July 15, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

A few weekends ago, my family and I took a little weekend trip to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is home to many things including Mozart and the classic film, The Sound of Music. Also in Salzburg you’ll find Mozart Chocolate Ball, made by a Salzburg confectioner in 1890 and named after Mozart.

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

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

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

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

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

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

¼ cup white chocolate Mozart liquor

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

Mozart White Chocolate Frosting

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

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

Filed Under: cupcake recipes, featured, frosting and icing, recipes, white chocolate cupcakes, white chocolate frosting

Peanut Butter & Jelly

July 15, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

Seriously, who doesn’t love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I grew up eating them for lunch almost everyday day. If it wasn’t for lunch, it was a snack. And although as an adult, I don’t each them as often I did as a kid, they are still a staple in my daughter’s life.

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

Peanut butter Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

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

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

½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk

1/3 cup hot water

½ cup raspberry jam

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

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

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

Filed Under: cupcake recipes, featured, filled cupcakes, jam and jelly cupcakes, peanut butter, peanut butter cupcakes, recipes

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

July 10, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 8 Comments

Hola cupcakers! Hope that you’re all having a great weekend! I’m a little behind on posting, because July is a crazy busy month for us, but I’m always baking (of course!) these mint chocolate chip cupcakes were a big deal at work hope you like them too!

Chocolate Chip Pancake With Maple Syrup Buttercream

July 2, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · Leave a Comment

Happy weekend, JavaCupcakers! For those of you in the US, Happy 4th of July weekend! These cupcakes are a great way to start off your weekend

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

July 1, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · Leave a Comment

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

Independence Day Cupcakes

June 30, 2011 by JavaCupcake · Leave a Comment

With the 4th of July right around the corner, I wanted to share with you these Independence Day cupcakes I made! These cupcakes will be available to purchase at Emi Nails & Coffee Bar in Grafenwoehr. [Read more...]

Filed Under: cream cheese frosting, cupcake recipes, decorating ideas, featured, filled cupcakes, flags, frosting and icing, holiday, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes, velvet cupcakes

Mini Boston Cream Pie

June 27, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 6 Comments

I made these before and they didn’t make it to work. Which sort of means that we ate a dozen in my house. In one weekend. Whoops.

Double Doodle & Mini Doodle Cupcakes

June 24, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

If you love Snickerdoodles, then these cupcakes are the ultimate in Snickerdoodle. These “Double Doodle” cupcakes are packed full of cinnamon, sugar and flavor! Sure to be a crowd pleaser at any party! [Read more...]

Filed Under: buttercream, cinnamon, cinnamon buttercream or frosting, cookie cupcakes, cookies, cupcake recipes, frosting and icing, recipes, Snickerdoodle Week

Red, White and Blue Velvet Cupcakes

June 14, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 2 Comments

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

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

Glazed Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes

June 14, 2011 by JavaCupcake · 4 Comments

Ever since National Doughnut Day I’ve been wanting to make these cupcakes. I love me a jelly doughnut and what better doughnut to make than a jelly filled one. I had seen other recipes for doughnuts similar, but none that included a glaze and a filling… because seriously, what’s a doughnut without a delicious coating of glaze!?!? YUM! [Read more...]

Filed Under: cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, glaze, jam and jelly cupcakes, recipes

Coconut Cupcakes

June 11, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 13 Comments

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

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

June 3, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 6 Comments

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

Peach Bellini Cupcakes

May 31, 2011 by Jenn Magofna · 3 Comments

Do you have a ladies brunch coming up soon? No? Well, then you should plan one just so that you can make these cupcakes… they’re perfection! So cute & classy… we love classy around here