White Chocolate Twix Cupcakes

April 11, 2013 by 16 Comments

White Chocolate Twix Cupcakes by JavaCupcake.comSeveral months ago, my husband and I were shopping at the German market Edeka and we spotted a candy bar we had never seen before. White Chocolate Twix! WOAH!  My husband LOVES Twix and he LOVES white chocolate… but together, in the same candy bar… HOLY COW!  Of course the first thing to pop in my mind was how these would make the BEST cupcakes!

I really wanted to get that Twix cookie flavor into the cake part – so I used a basic sponge cake recipe and then incorporated crushed shortbread cookies into the batter.  The result is perfect – it’s hard to describe, but it’s almost like a soft cookie.  It has a thick crumb and tastes just like shortbread.  YUM!

White Chocolate Twix Cupcakes by JavaCupcake.com

The cupcake is filled with caramel sauce.  Now – since I wasn’t trying to spend ALL day in the kitchen, I used a jar of premade sauce, but you could definitely make your own.  Dulce de leche would be great in the middle of these cupcakes too!  When taking a bite into these cupcakes, instead of caramel oozing out all over the place, it was soaked up into the cake… so you get a burst of caramel flavor without the mess! Perfect!

Topping these little  yummies is a whipped white chocolate frosting.  I call it whipped because that’s what I did to it – whipped the heck out of it making it a light and fluffy frosting.  And on top of the frosting, a 1/3 of a White Chocolate Twix candy bar!

And – if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty certain no one has ever made these before… I think it may actually be a cupcake first!!

Enjoy!

{Recipe} White Chocolate Twix Cupcakes by JavaCupcake.com

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White Chocolate Twix Cupcakes

Total Time: 2 hours

Yield: 24-30 cupcakes

Shortbread cake filled with caramel sauce and topped with whipped white chocolate frosting!

Ingredients

    Shortbread Cupcakes
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1 package (250g) Walkers Shortbread Cookies, crushed (both fine and chunky pieces)
  • 1 12.25oz jar Smuckers caramel sauce
    • Whipped White Chocolate Frosting
  • 200g Lindt white chocolate (you can use any brand of white chocolate, just not chips or candy melts)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 750g (about 4 1/2 cups) powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

    Shortbread Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy - about 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes.
  5. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla.
  6. In three parts add the flour mixture and mix on low... between each addition of flour, add half the milk. Mix only until just combined.
  7. Fold in the crushed shortbread cookies.
  8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16-18 minutes.
  9. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Core each cupcake with an apple corer. Reserve the cake from the middle.
  11. Fill each cupcake with about a tablespoon of caramel sauce and place the cored cake on top of the caramel - filling the hole.
    12. Whipped White Chocolate Frosting
  12. Place chopped chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl. Microwave in 30 second bursts at 60% heat until 80% melted. Stir until all the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool.
  13. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix on high until combined.
  14. Mix in the vanilla.
  15. With the mixer on low, pour in the white chocolate. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on medium speed until incorporated.
  16. Add the heavy cream & salt and whip for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
  17. If the frosting seems too soft, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to slightly firm up.
  18. Use a large open, star tip (such as Wilton B8) to pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake. Top the cupcake with 1/3 of a white chocolate Twix candy bar.
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Filed Under: candy cupcakes, caramel, caramel cupcakes, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, recipes, white chocolate cupcakes, white chocolate frosting

Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes

September 10, 2012 by 12 Comments

The Fall season is right around the corner and all the yummy seasonal candies are out in the stores already!  I posted a link to my Fall Recipe Round-Up that I put together last year and I’ll be adding all of this year’s recipes to it as I make them.  This cupcake is the first one of the season!

I saw a bag of new mini Milky Way candy bars at the PX last week… Caramel Apple in flavor.  Interesting… very interesting, I thought.  But once I popped one in my mouth, the combination of smooth caramel and the apple flavored nougat all covered in chocolate I knew I needed to make a cupcake!

So, I took my favorite chocolate cake recipe for the cupcake, filled with the chopped apples covered in caramel sauce and topped it with a caramel buttercream, caramel drizzle and a Caramel Apple Milky Way bar.  I’ve done some apple cupcakes in the past, but none with a chocolate base…. GENIUS I tell you!!  DELICIOUS even more!

So… run to Target and find a bag of these and make these cupcakes!  Perfect transition into Fall flavors!

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Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes

51

Yield: 12-16 cupcakes

Perfect cupcake to transition into Fall! Chocolate cake filled with caramel apples topped with caramel buttercream, caramel sauce and a Caramel Apple Milky Way bar!

Ingredients

    Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 3/4 cup strong coffee
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
    • Caramel Apple Filling
  • 2 Gala apples (or your favorite), diced/chopped
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, loose
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (optional - I didn't have any time time, but I really recommend it if you have it!)
  • 1 Tbsp flour
    • Caramel Buttercream
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1.5lbs powdered sugar
  • 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3-4 Tbsp caramel syrup (I used Smuckers)
    • Garnish
  • Caramel syrup
  • Caramel Apple Milky Way bars, halved

Instructions

    Chocolate Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and sour cream.
  4. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter on medium-low heat. Add the coffee, cocoa and vanilla and whisk together. Cook for 2 minutes until cocoa has melted and you have a smooth consistency.
  5. Slowly pour a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into the egg/sour cream and whisk until combined. You're tempering the egg with this step. Add the remaining chocolate and whisk until combined.
  6. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the wet. Whisk together until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  7. Pour batter into cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake about 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. Use an apple corer or core out the center of each cupcake.
    10. Caramel Apple Filling
  10. In a large frying pan, melt the butter.
  11. Add the apples, sugars, cinnamon and lemon. Mix until combine and the sugar is completely melted. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat until bubbly, stirring constantly. You don't want it to burn, but you want the apples to get semi-soft, but not mushy.
  12. Add the flour and mix until the sauce on the apples thicken.
  13. Remove from heat, transfer to a glass bowl and allow to cool completely.
  14. Fill each cored cupcake with the apple filling.
    15. Caramel Buttercream
  15. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
  16. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream and beat until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
  17. Add the caramel sauce until you reach your desired consistency. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes.
  18. Top each cupcake with a swirl of buttercream.
  19. Garnish with with a drizzle of caramel sauce and the halved Milky Way bars.
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Filed Under: apple, candy cupcakes, caramel, caramel cupcakes, caramel frosting, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, cupcake recipes, filled cupcakes, frosting and icing, recipes, seasonal, seasonal and holiday cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Biscoff Milka Cream Cheese Frosting

September 5, 2012 by 20 Comments

Ok.  I’ll have to admit.  Before today I had never tasted a Biscoff cookie.  I’d seem them at the German restaurants and in the stores but had never tasted one.  To be honest, I didn’t even really know what flavor to even expect.  But today, once I actually tried one I realized what the obsession with Biscoff is.  Caramel.   Yup.  These cookies taste like caramel!!  NO WONDER!

I looked all over the internet for someone else who had made a Biscoff cupcake and I really wasn’t impressed with what I had found.  None incorporated the cookie into the batter, just the spread and none of them had the appearance I was looking to achieve.  So, I set out to make a recipe of my own.

Peanut butter is a lot like Biscoff spread in texture and consistency, so I researched peanut butter cake recipes.  I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Cake by Paula Deen that called for crushed graham crackers in the cake and thought that could be easily substituted for crushed Biscoff cookies and the peanut.  So I made it the batter, altered the sugar to include some brown sugar, substituted Biscoff for the peanut butter and crushed Biscoff cookies for the graham crackers.  The recipe FAILED miserably.  I think there was too much leavening (baking powder) in this recipe and the cupcakes all sank like the Titanic.

I seriously hate it when recipes fail.  I mean REALLY hate it.  It feels like such a waste of ingredients and like I should of known better or something.  Seems like lately I’ve just had too many epic fails with recipes.  (Most of those I don’t even mention on the blog or Facebook, btw.)

Well… I had about 2/3 cup of Biscoff spread left and decided to try again, but this time I’d make my chocolate cupcakes and top it with Biscoff buttercream.  I bought Milka chocolate cream cheese at the German store and thought that’d pair well with the Biscoff in the buttercream.  Damn.  This buttercream is so good…  definitely glad I decided to go with the chocolate cake though…. pairs perfectly with it!!

I created cute little tags and attached them to these cups with some ribbon and gave a cupcake to each of Emily’s 7th grade teachers at her Open House last night.  They were all very shocked and surprised and loved them!! I’m pretty sure that Emily’s teachers will be getting treats from me until she graduates from college!!

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Biscoff Milka Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: At least 12 cupcakes

Decadent chocolate cake topped with a smooth frosting bursting with Biscoff flavor!

Ingredients

    Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup hot water
    • Biscoff Milka Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese with Milka
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup Biscoff spread
  • 1lb powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream
  • crushed Biscoff cookies (for garnish)

Instructions

    Chocolate Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line cupcake pan with 12 liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, egg and vanilla.
  4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the oil mixture. Whisk until you can't anymore.
  5. Add the hot water and whisk until smooth.
  6. Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpic comes out clean.
  7. Cool completely before frosting.
    8. Biscoff Milka Cream Cheese Frosting
  8. Cream together the cream cheese, butter and Biscoff spread. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  9. Add the sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Mix until combined and crape the sides of the bowl again.
  10. Beat on high for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
  11. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake and rim the sides with crushed cookies.
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Filed Under: Biscoff, Biscoff buttercream, caramel cupcakes, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes, cookie cupcakes, cupcake recipes, dark chocolate, frosting and icing, recipes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 10, 2011 by 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

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

Apple Cream Cheese Filling

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

  1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment.
  2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Mix in the vanilla.
  4. Add the apple mixture and mix on low until just combined.
  5. If mixture is too thick, add a tbsp of heavy cream to smooth out.
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
  1. Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
  2. Mix in the vanilla.
  3. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  4. Add the cream to loosen.
  5. Mix in the caramel syrup and mix until smooth.
  6. Beat on high for 30 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again.
  7. 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

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, juice and vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk/sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  4. Add the flour to the wet mixture and mix together just until combined.
  5. Fold in the apple mixture.
  6. Fill regular size liners about 2/3 full.  Fill mini liners 1/2 full.
  7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Rotate pan after 12 minutes of baking.
  8. Cool in pans for about 7 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assembly
  1. After cool, cut a cone out of the center of each regular size cupcake.  Trim off the bottom of the cone.
  2. Core out the center of each mini cupcake using an apple corer.
  3. Fill each cupcake with the cream cheese apple mixture.  Replace to tops of the regular size cupcakes only. (I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the regular size cupcakes and a piping bag to fill the mini’s)
  4. Top with caramel buttercream and then rim with your favorite topping. (Nuts, candy, sprinkles, caramel sauce)
  5. Insert popsicle stick or lollipop stick into center of cupcake.
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

Caramel Creme Latte cupcakes

May 30, 2011 by 21 Comments

When my good friend Chrissy asked me to make cupcakes for her in-laws that were coming to visit her family here in Germany, I couldn’t say no.  Joe and Liz are from Oregon and love coffee, so I thought what better than a coffee based cupcake!  [Read more...]

Filed Under: caramel, caramel cupcakes, Coffee, cupcake recipes, featured, recipes

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes (take 2)

March 14, 2011 by 6 Comments

I spent all weekend making these cupcakes.  The first day, well, it was an epic fail.  They weren’t pretty at all.  The middle had a huge hole and I was super sad.  Boyfriend & I have agreed to disagree about what happened.  The power went out with about 2 minutes left while they were baking.  I said it’s the powers fault.  He says that they looked like that before the power went out. [Read more...]

Filed Under: caramel cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, cupcake recipes, dulce de leche, posts by jenn, recipes