Week Six: Pomegranate Cupcakes

Welcome to Week Six with Pomegranate Cupcakes!

These cupcakes, along with the design, were found int he Big Book of Cupcakes.

These cupcakes were really good, basically a white cupcakes mixed with pomegranate seeds. They weren't too dry, just the right consistency, including the pomegranates.

Some tips:

If you don't know how to remove pomegranate seeds from a pomegranate then here's how to do so. First you should cut about an inch off each end of the pom. Another tip, take a paper towel and place it over the knife before you cut to catch some of the overflow of the juice. A pomegranate has sections, similar to oranges, and you can slightly see/feel each section. You take a paring knife and score/cut each ridge that protrudes from the pomegranate, you should do this about six to eight times. In a large bowl filled 3/4 full of water, you take the pomegranate and place it in the bowl and rip it where you've scored/cut. Underwater, you should start to break the seeds from the pulp, which is the white flaky stuff from a singular section. The white pulp will float, you should scoop this pulp from the water as you go. Continue doing this to all of the sections until most have been pulled form the pulp. Strain the water, rinse, dry the seeds and you're done.

You don't have to do the Christmas decorations like I've done. You could take any buttercream of your choose, choose any piping tip big enough to cover the cupcake and pipe a swirl onto the cupcake.

Cake Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
5 egg whites
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake pan.
2. In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In a large bowl, beat shortening on medium speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add in sugar. Beat well, scrape bowl, and beat 2 minutes longer.
3. Add in egg whites, one at a time, and beat well. Beat in vanilla.
4. On low speed alternatively add in flour (about 1/3 of mixture at a time) and milk (1/2 at a time), beat until blended.
5. Stir in pomegranate seeds.
6. Pour into cupcake pan, about 2/3 full.
7. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let cool, frost, and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup softened butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Cream butter. Add in powdered sugar.
2. Mix in vanilla. Mix in milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

For Decorations:

White decorator sugar
Rolos
Red pull-apart licorice
Piping tip #4 and piping bags
Red and green frosting (can be store bought)
dots or pearls of your choose
Red Skittles or M&m's

White Diamonds:

Ice cupcakes with plain buttercream. Pipe using the tip #4 with white icing in diagonals on cupcake, go back perpendicular to first lines and pipe diagonal lines again. Dip in decorator sugar. At intersections of lines, place a pearls or dot of your choose. Place a string of licorice, touching at one end, into cupcake along with a wrapped Rolo to look like an ornament.

Swirls:

Ice cupcake with plain buttercream. Dip in white decorator sugar. Pipe swirls, with tip #4, in a zigzag fashion in a slight curve on cupcake to give the impression that the cupcake is a sphere. Make zigs and zags wider towards the edge of the cupcake. Place licorice and Rolo on cupcake.

Squiggle with Dots:

Ice cupcake. using green frosting, pipe, with a tip #4, a squiggle going across the cupcake. Dip in decorator sugar. Place either Skittles or M&M's within a curve of the squiggle. Place licorice and Rolo.

Stripes:

Ice cupcake. Dip in decorator sugar. Using a tip#4 pipe a green line across the cupcake, using either red frosting or a licorice strip place two lines of red above and below the green line. Place dots or pearls along green line. Place licorice and Rolo.

Enjoy!

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura

Week Five: Banana - Toffee Cupcakes

Welcome to Week Five with Banana Toffee Cupcakes!

These fantastic cupcakes were found in the Big Book of Cupcakes.

These cupcakes were really good, really rich batter and cake. The icing was absolutely delicious, really smooth, creamy, and very chocolaty. You could really taste the banana flavor but not so much the toffee.

Some tips:

As I just mentioned, I would probably add more toffee. Probably half a cup more, maybe more, just to enhance the toffee flavor.

I had accidentally added more butter than I was supposed to so I had more batter than needed. These two tips come from this little mishap:

1. I added too much butter. And along with the banana, it would have been extremely soupy if I added all the milk. In the ingredient list, I'll add both what I did and the revised recipe. I ended making 24 regular cupcakes and 3 big cupcakes.

2. I ran out of chocolate frosting.  I didn't have enough unsweetened to make any more chocolate frosting but I did happened to have a jar of store bought vanilla icing. I just plopped a couple of big spoon fulls of the store bought icing into the piping bag along with the left over chocolate frosting. When I frosted the 3 big cupcakes with this mismatch of frosting's, it had a cool effect:

But besides those things, the cupcakes were really good.

Cake Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened butter (Original), 3/4 cups softened butter (Revised)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cups milk (Original), 1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (Revised)
+ 2 mashed bananas (about 1 cup)
+ 1 cup toffee bits (I used Heath Bar bits)--from 8 oz bag

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pan. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, beat butter on medium speed (30 seconds). Gradually add in sugar (1/4 cup at a time). Beat well after each addition and scrape bowl occasionally. Beat 2 minutes longer.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time. beat well after each addition. Add in vanilla.
4. On low, add in flour mixture a little at a time (1/3 of mixture), alternatively adding in your milk (1/2 of milk). Beat until blended.
5. Fill liners till 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool, frost, and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Cream butter and cooled baking chocolate together until blended.
2. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Add in milk if frosting is too thick.
4. Frost and enjoy!

Just sprinkle the frosted cupcakes with the left over toffee bits and enjoy!

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura

Week Four: Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Welcome to Week Four with Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes!

These cupcakes were also found in the Big Book of Cupcakes recipe book.

These cupcakes were kind of dry, there were pockets of pumpkin spice, which I found unusual. But besides that they were good, the candied nuts on top were delicious along with the icing which was just a plain vanilla buttercream.

Some tips:

For this recipe, do not use waxed liners, and if you do, fill the cupcake liner to almost full. This recipe doesn't have any baking soda which makes the cake rise just a bit, so these are dense, supposedly flat cupcakes. So fill the cupcake liner until its almost full.

Cake Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups sugar (granulated)
3 eggs
1 cup (from a 15 oz can) pumpkin (actual pumpkin, use a pie filling)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Garnish:

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 tablespoons sugar (granulated)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake pan.
2. In 8-inch, nonstick skillet or pan, cook pecans and 2 tablespoons of sugar over low heat for about 8 minutes. Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved and coats the pecans. Spoon sugar covered pecan onto waxed paper and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add in sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition and scrape the bowl.
5. Beat 2 minutes longer.
6. Add eggs in one at a time. Beat well after each egg.
7. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. On low speed, alternatively add flour mixture (1/3 at a time) and milk (1/2 at a time) and mix until just blended.*
8. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool, frost, garnish and enjoy!

*Scrape the bowl one more time and mix just a bit longer.

Frosting Ingredients:

6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cups shortened butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Cream butter and add sugar, one cup at a time.
2. Stir in vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk.
3. Gradually add in enough milk (1 tablespoon at a time) until smooth and spreadable.
4. Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Garnishing:

You can sprinkle the candied pecan on top like I did, or you could roll the very edges of the frosting with a few candied pecans. They're good either way.

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura

Week Three: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Welcome to Week Three with fabulous Red Velvet Cupcakes topped with delicious Cream Cheese Frosting.

I mixed two different recipes together from The Big Book of Cupcakes to get this perfect combination.

So, I brought these cupcakes into school for a party and everyone loved them, myself included. The amount of icing on top was perfect to the amount of cake. You can use whatever type of liners you want. I tried to use these fancy ones with some black lace but I didn't have enough...

Some tips:

For coloring the cupcake, you should use a gel paste food coloring. It's brighter than a paste or a liquid food coloring and you don't have to use as much. I got a regular box of the four basic colors from my nearest Micheal's store, they were gel and the red color came out perfectly. It says in the recipe to use a whole bottle, I didn't. I probably used a third. You should also remember that the cocoa powder will darken the cake, and also baking will too. Also, using a gel food coloring doesn't change the consistency of the cake like a paste or a liquid will.

Here are the ingredients for the cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of softened butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3-1 bottle (1 oz.) of red food color (2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pans.
2. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together. Once combined, add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat 1-2 minutes until smooth.
4. Stir in vanilla and food coloring.
5. On low speed, alternatively add flour mixture (1/3 at a time) and the buttermilk (1/2 at a time).
6. Beat in baking soda and vinegar until blended.
7. Fill cupcake liners (about 2/3 full).
8. Bake 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool, frost and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz.) softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Cream the butter an cream cheese until combined.
2. Add in the vanilla and 2 teaspoons milk. Beat until combined.
3. Add in sugar one cup at a time.
4. Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and creamy.
5. Frost and enjoy!

Garnish:

Just a bit of dark sugar pearls.

Sprinkle those over your frosted cupcakes as you wish and enjoy!

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura

Week Two: Aztec-Chile Chocolate Cupcakes

Welcome to Week Two with spicy Aztec-Chile Chocolate Cupcakes!

I also found this recipe in the Big Book Of Cupcakes.

I found these cupcakes were okay, I'm not generally a big fan of spicy things, but it went quite well with the chocolate cake. Also, these cupcake liners were so cool, I just had to use them. I think that any black or metal like liners would look really good with these cupcakes.

Some tips:

I recommend putting the chocolate shard garnish on right before you serve these. I put mine on when I was done making them and as you can see, the chocolate shard decoration melted. They still tasted fine, they just didn't look as good.

If you don't like spicy things, you can not add as much or if you do like spicy things, you can add more, although I would not recommend that as you could mess up the recipe.

Here is the recipe for the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup hot water
2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar (granulated)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
+ 3 teaspoons ancho chili powder
+ 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

Directions:

1. Heat oven the 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake pans.
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ancho chili powder, and cayenne; set aside.
3. In another small bowl, mix hot water and cocoa powder until dissolved. (Use a whisk).
4. In a large bowl, beat the shortening on medium (4 with KitchenAid) for 30 seconds. Gradually add in sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat 2 minutes longer.
5. Add in eggs one at a time. Beat well then add vanilla.
6. On low speed (2 or stir for KitchenAid), alternately adding the flour mixture and cocoa mixture until blended.
7. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
8. Bake 20 to 25 (22 min. worked perfectly for me) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool, frost, and enjoy!

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder
3-4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix butter and cooled chocolate until combined.
2. Add in powdered sugar and cinnamon.
3. Stir the espresso powder into 2 tablespoons milk until dissolved. (Use another whisk).
4. Beat in espresso mixture into frosting mixture along with the vanilla.
5. Beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
6. Frost and enjoy!

Garnish Ingredients:

1 bag (11.5 oz.) milk chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
2. In a 1-quart saucepan, melt the chocolate chips over low heat until smooth. Stir constantly.
3. Remove from heat and spread over foil covered cookie sheet. Should be about 1/8 of an inch thick.
4. Refrigerate until set. About 30 minutes.
5. Break into pieces and decorate iced cupcakes!

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura

Week One: Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes

Welcome to Week One. It's all about a fantastic recipe for Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes.

I found this recipe in a cupcake recipe book called The Big Book of Cupcakes. It has tons of great cupcake recipes in it.

I think that these cupcakes, with the picnic like liners, would be good for like, I don't know, a picnic. They just remind me of some Southern Belle girl, dainty yet with a touch of country in her.
I suggest some type of blue checkered cupcake liners or liners of your choosing.

Some tips:

I messed up on making the icing and made this weird goopy, grainy mixture. I do not recommend that, though it tasted good, it did not look appealing to the eye. I did change the directions so you would make a buttercream instead of whatever I made.

Within the cake, the blueberries did juice a bit and the cupcake liner got a bit soggy on the bottom. I suggest lining them twice.

So, here's the recipe and directions for making the cake:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk
+ 1 cup blueberries
+ 1 tablespoon flour

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Line cupcake pan with chosen/recommended liners.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium (setting 4 for Kitchenaid) for 30 seconds.
5. Gradually add sugar (1/4 cup at a time). Beat well after each addition.
6. Don't forget to scrape the bowl.
7. Beat 2 minutes longer.
8. Beat in the grated lemon peel and vanilla.
9. On low speed (stir setting for Kitchenaid) alternatively add four mixture and milk, a little at a time.
10. Beat until blended.
11. Fold in the blueberries, adding more if you please.
12. Fill cupcake liners, about 2/3 full.
13. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (21 minutes was perfect for me). They're done when a toothpick comes out clean.
14. Take them out and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes then remove from pan.
15. Frost, decorate, and then enjoy!

Frosting recipe:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 table spoon milk

Directions:

1. Beat butter until smooth.
2. Add lemon peel, salt, vanilla, and milk.
3. Beat until blended.
4. Slowly add in sugar.
5. Beat for 4 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
6. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until you have reached your desired texture.
7. Frost cupcakes.

Garnish:

1 cup fresh blueberries
Lemon peel twists
Fresh mint leaves

Directions:

I placed a few blueberries on the top of the cupcake, stuck a mint leaf between the two and started on making the lemon peel twists...
I sliced strips of lemon with the width that I wanted the twists to be and pushed out the lemon flesh in the center. Don't touch your eyes. I repeat. Do. Not. Touch. Your. Eyes. It will sting. Also, you should have parental supervision if you are under aged.
After, I took a small paring knife and cut the lemon peel. Don't cut it in half or anything, just cut one side so it still looks like a circle of lemon peel but it's just cut so you can pull it apart. I then dragged the knife around the inside or around the white part of the lemon and cut the rest of the fleshy part off the lemon off.
I cut and inch to an inch and a half inch strips of lemon rind, took each end and curled, or twisted, it into a little spiral. You should hold them for a while so they can stay curled.
Gently place your lemon peel twists next to the blueberries and mint leaf and enjoy!
(Note: I don't suggest eating the lemon peel twist or the mint leaf.)

Thanks for baking with me!

-Laura