Hunka Burnin Love

My dear friend, Hilary, is moving to California this week.  I am sad that my friend is leaving but so happy that she is on to her next big adventure.  I told her I would send her off with cupcakes and this recipe has been in the back of my brain for a few months.  It's serendipitous that I send her off with baking since that's how I was introduced to her.  I made pumpkin bread more than a year ago for a movie night and she fell in love with it.  And these cupcakes were no exception...she LOVES them!

My Hunk O Burnin Love

I used the cake recipe from Never Home Maker but the frosting from Brown Eyed Baker.  Oh, and it was Sunday and I didn't have creamy peanut butter so I used the crunchy.  The reviews came back to keep the crunchy.  The cake is dense and smooth and the crunchy frosting gives it some depth and character.

Tomorrow is the last day of clinicals for this semester so I baked these cupcakes again and am totally in love with them.  I still have to work on portion control so there is no spill over but it'll work out.  I also love this chocolate cake recipe.  It's perfect and my new go to!

Happy Baking!

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

No real adventures here.  Besides not finding Marachino cherries in the canned fruit/veggie aisle.  You guessed it, in the alcohol section of our local grocery store is where you can find the cherries.  Happy Baking!

Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes: 24 servings
Serving size: 1 cupcake Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep: 45 mins Stand: 30 mins Bake: 350°F 15 mins to 18 mins Cool: 45 mins

Ingredients 

1/2 cup butter

4 egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk*

1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

12 maraschino cherries, halved

1 recipe Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting

Maraschino cherries with stems (optional)

Directions

1. Allow butter and egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups (or coat with cooking spray). In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup combine buttermilk and cherry juice; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups. Press a cherry half into batter in each cup.

4. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups. Cool completely on wire racks.

5. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting over tops of cupcakes. If desired, top with cherries. Makes 24 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

From the Test Kitchen

• Tip *Test Kitchen Tip:To make 3/4 cup sour milk, place 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 3/4 cup liquid; stir. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before using.

Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting

Ingredients 

1/2 cup butter, softened

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice or milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Milk

Directions

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in additional juice or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting reaches a spreading consistency. Makes 2 cups frosting.

Nutrition Facts (Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes)

• Servings Per Recipe 24,
• Calories 262,
• Protein (gm) 2,
• Carbohydrate (gm) 47,
• Fat, total (gm) 8,
• Cholesterol (mg) 21,
• Saturated fat (gm) 5,
• Monosaturated fat (gm) 2,
• Sugar, total (gm) 37,
• Vitamin A (IU) 243,
• Thiamin (mg) 0,
• Riboflavin (mg) 0,
• Niacin (mg) 1,
• Folate (µg) 20,
• Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (µg) 0,
• Sodium (mg) 151,
• Potassium (mg) 38,
• Calcium (DV %) 30,
• Iron (DV %) 1,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cupcakes

At the beginning of the semester one of my classmates helped me learn how to use my Mac.  She is my hero!  She asked for Oatmeal Raisin cookies and I kinda balked.  I'm not so hot with cookies.  I told her I would find a recipe for cupcakes that tasted like those cookies.  And I DID!!!

No huge adventures, no exploding icing, just a lot of work!  And then I FINALLY saw this:

No, not the dirty part...look closely at the rack.  That's right!  It's in there backward.  I kept wondering why I was having such a hard time getting dishes (not just cupcakes) out of the oven.  DUH!!!!!!!  But I didn't figure this out until after the cupcakes were done. 

My classmate sent me a text "These are the best cupcakes I've ever had.  You're awesome!"  Makes my heart smile!

And the recipe comes from Cupcake Wars!!!

Winning Recipe Oatmeal-Raisin Cupcakes, Orange Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe courtesy Ron Bzdewka, Cupcake Wars 2010

Serves: 36 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup oat bran
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• Orange Cream Cheese Icing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line standard cupcake pans with 36 cupcake liners.

Whisk 2 cups oats with the flour, oat bran, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Beat in the vanilla. Turn the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat until combined. Beat in the sour cream. Stir in the raisins by hand. Transfer 2 3/4 cups batter to a small bowl, and then stir the coconut and the remaining 1 3/4 cups oats. Divide the plain batter among the cupcake liners, and then top each with 1 tablespoon oat-coconut batter. Bake until golden, rotating the pans halfway though, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool completely before removing the cupcakes.

To assemble: Frost the cooled cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Icing.

• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Orange Cream Cheese Icing:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons orange flavored liqueur or extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, and salt on medium-high speed until creamy. Turn the speed to low and beat in the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and liqueur, beating steadily until mixed. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 to 60 minutes to firm. 

Happy baking!

Hoppy Easter!!!

Finally, a break in the action of crazy nursing school!  I got the pleasure of making some Easter cupcakes.  Well, actually, the recipe is for Pina Colada cupcakes but I just changed the color of the frosting and added some jelly beans. 

This seemed a simple task but was it an adventure?  Of course it was!  My family recently moved (2.3 miles east) and I've had to adjust to a new oven.  To say it's awful isn't a strong enough description.  It has a hot spot and when you use the top rack as well as the bottom rack, nothing on the top cooks.  I finally figured out, today, how to stagger the pans so the heat moves a little better.  GRRRRR!!  Someday I'll have the oven of my dreams and I won't have to watch cupcakes like a hawk.  None the less, they turned out great!

The frosting started out looking like this and I wasn't thrilled.

Here's the final product...I liked the "grass" look better.  Same decorating tip but with some up and down motions.

Hoppy Easter!

Pineapple Cupcakes
(recipe by Glory Albin)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple (drained slightly)

Directions-
1.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and a light cream color (about 2 minutes).
3.  On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended.
4.  Add in the pineapple and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated.
5.  Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined and smooth.
6.  Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners and fill about 2/3 full.
7.  Bake cupcakes in a pre-heated 350*F oven for about 22 minutes.
8.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
9.  Frost with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Recipe yields 24-28 cupcakes.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(this is just a slight variation on my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, but I'll add it to this page as well, so it's easy to find)

½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract (you may want to start with just 1 teaspoon of coconut extract, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 Tablespoon heavy cream, heavy whipping cream or milk
-or-
1 Tablespoon Dark Rum

Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract, coconut extract and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream or rum.
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

For added flavor and texture, top frosted cupcakes with toasted coconut.
(To toast coconut- lay about 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 4-5 minutes).

Decorate cupcakes with fresh pineapple, maraschino cherries or paper umbrellas. 
Enjoy!


Happy baking!