Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

The last of the Halloween recipes.  The dessert Corrie requested for his birthday were chocolate mint cupcakes, so that’s what he got!  In the party rush I didn’t end up getting a picture of one by itself, but cest la vie.

 

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcake

• 8 Tbsp (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mint extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Buttercream Frosting

• 8 Tbsp butter, room temperature (1 stick, 4 ounces)
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with cupcake liners.

Melt together the butter -cut into chunks, chocolate, cocoa in a double boiler or in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl (stir after 30 second increments until smooth).  Whisk until the ingredients are well combined and smooth.  Let cool to touch.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add salt, sugar, mint extract, and beat until well combined. Slowly add in the chocolate butter mixture and beat until combined.

Add in half of the sifted flour mixture, mix to combine. Mix in the sour cream. Mix in the remaining flour mixture.

Spoon the batter evenly into the lined muffin cups. Place in oven in middle rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool in muffin tin on a rack for 15 minutes. Then gently remove cupcakes from the tin and let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in milk and mint extract.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar on low speed, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Taste and add more mint extract if it isn’t minty enough for you, or powdered sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.

Candy Corn Cupcakes

I love how festive these came out, and…I love that you could adapt them for pretty much any holiday!  Valentine’s Day – layer red and pink with white icing or red and white with pink icing or pink and white with red icing…okay, I think you get the idea.  Anyways, these will be stuck in my back pocket as a handy, festive go-to treat!

P.S.  I really should have cut one open and photographed it, but I just didn’t think that far ahead in the midst of party prep…sigh.  Underneath that orange layer was a yellow layer…trust me…I’m not a doctor.

Candy Corn Cupcakes

• 1 box plain white cake mix (I like yellow cake better so that’s what I used since I knew I wasn’t having a “white” layer in the cupcakes!)
• 1 cup sour cream (I used light)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• Food coloring – for candy corn ones – yellow and orange
• Whipped topping or buttercream frosting
• Candy corn

Preheat oven according to cake mix directions.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake tins.

Combine cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, milk, and eggs into a large bowl.  Mix according to the cake mix directions.

Divide batter evenly into two separate bowls.  Color half of the batter with a few drops (or to whatever shade you like) of orange food coloring – if you don’t have orange food coloring use 1 drop of red food coloring to every two drops of yellow.  Color the other half of the batter with a few drops of yellow food coloring.

Fill each cupcake liner 1/4 of the way with the yellow batter.  Place the muffin tin in the freezer for about 8-10 minutes to help avoid the layers from blending together too much.  Top with orange batter until liner is about 1/2 or slightly more full.

Bake according to cake mix package directions.

Cool cupcakes completely.  Top with whipped topping or buttercream frosting just before serving and decorate with a piece of candy corn.

Refrigerate any remaining cupcakes.

Recipe: very slightly adapted from a recipe card Kroger sent me

Brown Sugar Cupcakes…and Buttercream Frosting…OH MY!

My mommy has now asked me several times when I was going to post the recipe for these, which obviously makes me happy as I know they were a hit! These cupcakes served more than quadruple duty.  I took a couple to friend’s birthday, sent a couple into work with Corrie for a friend, took a couple to a friend’s house, and then took the next day to Cleveland with us for our parents.  WHEW!

The brown sugar adds a different but very tasty element to these cupcakes.  They’re a little denser than your typical cupcake, but I really enjoyed the more complex flavor I thought they had.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• Two drops each of maple, almond & lemon flavorings (optional) (I used about 5 drops of almond as that was all I had on hand.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In your large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and eggs.  Add remaining ingredients and beat only until batter is well mixed.  Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.  Scoop batter into cups about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or just until the tops of the cupcakes have set. Remove from oven and cool.

Buttercream Frosting

• 2 sticks butter, slightly softened
• Flavorings or Extracts (I again used a few drops of Almond to mimic the cupcakes.)
• 2 pounds powdered sugar (I ended up using about 1.75 lbs.)
• Up to a 1/2 cup milk (I ended up using about 3 Tbsp. of half-n-half as I was out of milk!)

To create a fluffy, flavorful basic buttercream, begin by whipping the butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add any flavorings (1/4 tsp. -1/2 tsp. of a flavored extract, a splash of fruit juice, a scoop of cocoa powder, a spoonful of peanut butter, etc.) then add half of the powdered sugar. Whip with an electric mixer. Slowly begin to add milk a few tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached. For a slightly thicker frosting, add powdered sugar by the half cup, as needed. If you’ll need more frosting than 2 lbs. of sugar can make, be sure to add a stick of butter for every 1 lb. of powdered sugar.

Source for both recipes: Conversations With a Cupcake

Chocolate Guinness (Smithwick’s) Cupcakes

So…I’m a little late.  I made these for St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s past Easter!  I actually used Smithwick’s instead of Guinness since we already had some.  I don’t know if it was the change of beers or not, but I did not taste the direct flavor of the beer at all, but even I liked these.  Since I’m not a chocolate cake person, these must have been super yummy.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

Chocolate Smithwick’s Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

• 1 cup Guinness/Smithwick’s beer
• 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 5 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the Guinness mixture to the bowl and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and baking soda and whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10-12 minutes. They will seem very soft.  Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla and cream until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl in batches, beating on low until just combined and then on high speed until desired consistency is reached. For a stiffer icing, add more powdered sugar. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source:  Mrs. D Loves to Eat (the cake) adapted from Nigella Lawson (the frosting) adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

These were moist and delicious, and the frosting complemented them perfectly.  As I mentioned I baked them for two different occasions, and everyone had more than one.  Even though this isn’t an Ina recipe, it does prompt me to want to say “how bad can that be?”!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
Makes 24 cupcakes and 3 cups of frosting

Found at Mrs. D Loves to Eat; originally from Martha Stewart (cupcakes) and The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally Cooks Illustrated (frosting)

Cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 20 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (updated 10/29/10 – I made this again today and used probably twice as much!  I’m not sure what the difference was?)
• 1/8 Tbsp. table salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Add the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Mix on low speed until combined.  Then add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.  With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition.  Continue to mix only until the ingredients are incorporated; don’t over beat!

Using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, fill each liner about 2/3 full with batter.  Bake, rotating pan halfway through, for 17-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. To the butter, add the sugar and salt, and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds.  Again scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla and heavy cream; beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.  Frost cupcakes!

Only a few weeks late…

So I wanted to make a dessert, but it needed to go two places – Corrie’s co-worker’s birthday treat and to watch the Superbowl with a few guys.  The dilemma was how to make one recipe fit two things, and candy melts ended up fitting the bill perfectly.  I’ve seen numerous places where people use candy melts in creative ways, often spawned from the creativity of Bakerella, so I decided to make little toppers for the Superbowl-bound cupcakes as an easy way to make them festive!

I simply printed out each teams’ logos, laid a piece of wax paper on top, melted the candy melts, and piped out the logos then put them in the fridge to harden.  Now I am just going to have to show restraint on how often I do this…the possibilities are endless!

Oh…and these cupcakes, especially the frosting, – totally delicious; recipe is coming up next!

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

The other variety of cupcakes I brought along were chocolate amaretto since Corrie enjoys amaretto flavor.  In hindsight I would probably make the frosting a bit stiffer to hold the peaks better, but it’s really just to your taste!

These were also yummy and the frosting addicting – did I mention there was amaretto in it?

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

Very slightly adapted from Love and Olive Oil

Yields 12 cupcakes

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. almond meal or finely ground almonds
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur
• 2 Tbsp. cream or soy creamer (I used a non-dairy milk that was made out of almonds.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and put paper liners in your muffin pan.

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, oil, amaretto, and vanilla extract until foamy.

In a different bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, and add in two batches to the coconut milk mixture.  Stir to combine until no or very few lumps remain in the batter.

Fill each muffing cup with about 3 Tbsp. of batter, and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes (mine were done at closer to 16 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove to a cooling rack immediately to cool to room temperature.

Frosting: Beat the softened butter until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Next add the cocoa powder and a 1/2 cup of the confectioners sugar, and beat until it’s combined.  Next add in the amaretto and then continue to add 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar at a time along with the cream as necessary, until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.   Apply to cooled cupcakes and eat!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made these as one of two varietys of cupcakes that traveled to Columbus for Corrie’s birthday celebration.  I used a different icing from the original cream cheese icing since I was traveling with these cupcakes, but the taste-testers all gave good reviews (whether they were just being kind I don’t know, but I did manage to get rid of them all ).  These have a peanut butter ball surprise in the middle, but I forgot to take a picture of it cut open!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Cupcake recipe found at:  Proceed with Caution (from Good Housekeeping)

Frosting recipe found at: Recipezaar

Made 24 cupcakes

Filling:

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Cupcakes:

• 8 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups powered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Filling: Beat together confections’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla using your mixer on medium speed.  Once combined, portion out the mixture into 24 balls (about 1 heaping teaspoon).  I found that since the balls are sticky, rubbing a little confectioner’s sugar on my hands prevented the mixture from sticking to me, but the balls don’t need to be perfectly round.   Put the balls on waxed paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line your standard muffin-pan cups with paper liners.

Cupcakes: Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl or on waxed paper.   Using a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, mix together sour cream, milk, and vanilla.  In your mixing bowl (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), beat sugar and butter on low speed until just combined.  Then, increase speed to high, and beat for 1 minute.  Lower the speed back to low, and add the eggs, one at a time beating well after each.  Once both eggs are added, beat an additional 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternately mix in the flour and sour cream mixtures, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.  Cease mixing when the mixture has just been incorporated.

Portion 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.  Place a peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with another heaping tablespoon of batter.  Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean.  Take the cupcakes out of the pans immediately after taking out of the oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting: Cream butter and peanut butter together in your mixing bowl.  Incorporate in half the powdered sugar, and then add in milk and vanilla. Finally add the remaining powdered sugar.  Blend until smooth and fluffy.

Coconut Cupcakes

I started with some buttermilk I wanted to use up and ended with some very dangerous coconut cupcakes.  Although I’d love to figure out how to not add 800 lbs. of butter, these will definitely be made again!  Thank goodness some were taken for trivia night (show below packaged up ready to go), but unfortunately this post reminded me I still have some unfrosted ones hanging out in my freezer…and there’s cream cheese in my refrigerator…oh my, I think trouble has arrived.

Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes

I found this delicious recipe at Food Network.

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 c. sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature (I used four large and one egg-white to see how that worked; no ill effects noticed, but I again, have no idea how that kind of thing actually impacts anything )
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut (Yeah, I didn’t have quite this much on hand, but they still tasted yummy.  However, since I do love coconut, these would have benefited from me having used the full amount!)

Frosting:

nocoupons

• 1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I was lazy and didn’t sift it…)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter (I found on one pan this worked great, on another it was slightly too much, so I think I’d go more like 3/4 or so next time to be safe).  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.