Red Hot Cupcakes

Spice Up Valentine's Day!

I love the idea of a Red Hot cupcake! It is the perfect recipe for spicing things up a bit on Valentine ’s Day.

Unfortunately, when I looked around for a good recipe, I couldn’t seem to find one that wasn’t a) super complicated or b) filled with tons of actual spices. I’m not against using real spices, but I really wanted my cupcake to taste like the little red hot candies vs spicy chili powder and cinnamon.

I combined a few recipes and came up with my own way to flavor it just the way I wanted to!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of butter (divided)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups of Red Hots
• Additional ½ cup of sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners
3. In a medium sauce pan on low heat add your Red Hots, 1/2 cup of sugar,1/2 cup of butter, 3 tbs of water
4. Let the Red Hots melt. Stirring continually so it doesn’t burn
5. Let simmer until most of the Red Hots have melted and mixed in with the sugar and butter.
6. In a medium bowl, cream together 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
7. Pour in your red hot liquid – mix well
8. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth.
9. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.

10. Bake 20 to 25 minutes

For the frosting, I think a Marshmallow Whip is the perfect addition. Decorate with Red Hots and enjoy!

Monday Pick-Me-Up Cupcake

Coffee Cupcakes!

Alright, as promised, here is a yummy cupcake recipe to kick off your week right!

Dark Chocolate Coffee Bean Cupcakes

Cupcake:

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup and 2 tbs of whole milk  
• 1/3 cup strongly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line Cupcake Pan with liners
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
• In a mixer on medium speed, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add in the milk, coffee, and melted butter.
• Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients.
• Bake for 15 minutes.

Frosting

• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 2tbs of brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar – add more for a thicker consistency

Directions:

1. Cream Butter and powdered sugar in a mixer on medium high speed.
2. Mix together instant coffee, brewed coffee, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla extract
3. Add to mixer and whisk on medium high for about 3 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
4. Put in piping bag and frost your cupcakes
5. Garnish with coffee beans or chocolate shavings if desired

The perfect morning pick-me up or after dinner treat! Enjoy!

Xoxo,

Jill

**Image courtesy of http://ladylorien.tumblr.com/page/2 **

Cupcake Cookies

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I don’t know about you, but I am soooo glad it is Friday! What a week! Today’s recipe is admittedly, not a cupcake, but just as delicious and fun to bake. Not too mention these cupcake cookies go perfect with a cup of hot chocolate.

Also, don’t forget to enter the Stay Calm Cupcake Kit Give-Away! Enter today, you still have time. I have gotten lots of great entries, but not nearly enough. Two winners will be chosen on Monday, Nov. 8th. Good luck!!   https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/619/

All blog subscribers get $5 off any cupcake purchase over at my etsy shophttp://www.etsy.com/shop/StayCalmCupcake It’s a great deal but it ends soon.  Use code sccs10

And now for the Cupcake Cookie Recipe!!

Cupcake Cookies!

Cookie Dough:

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Toppings:

• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon

Raw cookie dough ball rolled in chocolate chips and sugar mixture.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Beat together butter and sugar on low speed of mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanill and egg. Mix thoroughly.
3. Stir in flour and baking soda.
4. Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, shape dough into balls.
5. Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small separate bowl.
6. Drop dough  balls one by one in the sugar mixture. Make sure the dough ball is entirely covered with sugar.
7. Place a dough ball in a “tart liner” (I’m not sure what they are called, they look just like cupcake liners but aren’t as tall. You can tell from the picture what they are) and place chocolate chips on top. I used about 7 chips per dough ball.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, just until cookies have set. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.
9. Bake at 375°F oven for 7-8 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown.
10. Tips: Do not over bake cookies; watch closely near the end of baking time.
11. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Have a Great Weekend! xoxo

Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello Readers!

I am so sorry for being absent for over a week. I have been busy traveling for work, baking for birthday parties, and celebrating my boyfriends 25th! No worries, though, I am back…and with a fabulous recipe to share!

Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes - Yum!

I made these cupcakes for my cousins birthday this month. These decadent white chocolate cupcakes are topped with a yummy strawberry vanilla swirl frosting and can add the perfect touch of “girly” to any party.

Enjoy the recipe! xoxo

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together the 2 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In small saucepan, melt 6 ounces white chocolate and hot water over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature. You can also melt the chocolate in your microwave for 1 min (in incriments of 30 seconds)
4. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.
5. Stir in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Mix in melted white chocolate and 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
6. Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18-22 minutes. The tops will be slighlty browned.

Strawberry Vanilla Frosting

Vanilla

• 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat 2/3 cup of butter in a bowl until smooth and glossy. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the confectioners’ sugar. Add the cream and  whip on high speed until light and fluffy.

Strawberry Frosting (From MarthaStewart.com)

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

For the two-tone frosting effect, I used the same technique from my “Paintball Cupcakes” (https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/paintball-cupcakes/)

Til next time, Stay Sweet!!

Marshmallow Whip and Mingle Monday

Fluffy and Yummy!

Happy Columbus day readers! Today’s post is special for two reasons:

1) I found an incredible marshmallow frosting recipe that will be perfect for halloween ghost cupcakes!

2) It’s monday, which means it’s Mingle Monday over at Life of Meg (http://megnificentlife.blogspot.com/). I have come to look forward to Monday’s simply for Migle Monday.

Life of Meg is a blog about well…the life of a girl named Meg. Her blog is creative, flirty, and fun! As far as cupcakes go, I get a lot of inspiration from the colors and pictures she often posts. She write about anything and everything – from date nights and breast cancer awareness, to Glee and travel tips. Overall, it’s a really fun and easy read!

My favorite part of her blog however, is Mingle Monday. Here’s how it works:

1. Wait for Monday to arrive
2. Go to http://megnificentlife.blogspot.com/
3. Add your blog name to the list of Mingle Monday Participants
4. Find 2 new blogs from the list of other bloggers that are participating in Mingle Minday
5. Read their blogs and leave comments mentioning you found them on Mingle Monday
6. Report back to Life of Meg by leaving a comment saying what you liked most about the new blogs you found!
7. Ta-Da, you just Mingled!

 It’s a great way to get your blog some exposure while finding some really cool new blogs to read. So here’s a shout out to Meg, your blog rocks! Thanks for giving all of us a venue to find new blogs and to get some exposure for our own blogs.

Join me at Mingle Monday!

Alright, so now for the fabulous Marshmallow Whip frosting that I have officially fallen inlove with!

Marshmallow Whip – From the book “Baking: From my home to yours”

1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract – 1/2 tablespoon of Marhmallow flavoring

1. Put the egg whites in your mixer bowl or in another large bowl – Make sure the bowl you use is 100% dry.
2. Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Uncover your saucepan and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites on medium-low speed.
4. Remove mixture from heat – let cool until temperature reaches 235 degrees.
5. When the syrup is at about 235 degrees F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. 
6.  Add the vanilla and marshmallow flavoring and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes.

Perfect for chocolate cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, or my favorite..coconut cupcakes! Enjoy xo

French Vanilla Berry and Double Fudge Cupcakes

 

Double Fudge Cupcake

 I love chocolate! So it is no suprise to me that I am obsessed with this chocolate cupcake. It’s a moist chocolate cupcake topped with rich chocolate frosting. The recipe is pretty simple too! It’s an adapted version of my Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes(https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/chocolate-caramel-cupcakes/) Follow the same recipe just leave out  the caramels. For the frosting, I used the same recipe (in the link above) but replaced the 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening with 1/4 cup of butter. I love a recipe that can make two different cupcakes!!

French Vanilla Berry

Now, for my French Vanilla Berry cupcakes! These cupcakes are so perfectly light and fluffy that you almost dont feel guilty for eating 3 of them in one sitting more than one. I used a traditional vanilla cake recipe and added some key ingredients. I used 1 tablespoon of French Vanilla flavoring (I like Wilton’s, but there are many brands that I’m sure will do just fine) and then I add 2 tablespoons of french vanilla cofee creamer. Weird, I know! But it works like a charm.

Now, for the berry part of this cupcake! I have written about my double berry buttercream recipe in a previous post. This frosting is similiar but it is double berry cream cheese rather than buttercream. Both are so delicous, but I find that the buttercream is better for cake filling and the creamcheese is better for cupcakes.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 box of strawberries (at least 15 strawberries)
• 1 bog of blueberries (2 ½ cups)
• 3 cups of sugar
• ¼ cup of cornstarch

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened

2 tsp of vanilla extract

5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons milk

2 tbs of lemon juice

Directions

With the first set ingredients, you are going to make the berry jam.

1. Wash the berries
2. Cut the strawberries
3. Place berries in a bowl and mash them together (I used a potato masher)
4. Pour berries into a pan and add 3 cups of sugar and lemon juice.
5. Stir until combined
6. Let boil (stirring occasionally) for 7-10 minutes until it starts to thicken.
7. Turn to low heat and add cornstarch (be sure to add the cornstarch to cold water before adding it to the hot mixture – reference the directions on the side of the cornstarch box)
8. Remove from heat, let cool completely

Using the second set of ingredients:

1. Cream the creamcheese and butter with electric mixer.
2. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.
3. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until it appears fluffy.
4. At this point, add in 2 1/2  cups of the cooled berry filling. (You might need more depending on how much of the berry flavor you want to taste)
5. Mix togethert until well combined
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.

 ** Don’t forget to sign up for the Bake It Pretty Giveaway! Deadline is October 4th.

Read my Sept. 21st post for deatils!!**

Paintball Cupcakes

Packaged up and ready for delivery!

I recently had a lady order cupcakes for her son’s 14th birthday. She ordered “paintball themed” cupcakes. To be honest, I was a little stumped at first. How on earth was I going to pull off, “paintball” cupcakes ?! I have never been paintballing in my life, not to mention the thought of getting hit by an exploding ball of paint makes me cringe! Luckily, I was able to think of some pretty fun ideas and the overall presentation turned out really great! I decided to color the icing in bold colors and used a frosting trick that allowed me to pipe two colors at once. I think this gave the cupcakes a paintball feel. What do you think?

Two-Tone Frosting

 

To create the two-tone effect, I wrapped the blue icing in plastic wrap and rolled it into a thin tube. I did the same thing for the yellow icing. I then cut the tips of the plastic wrapped frosting “tubes” and put both colors of icing in one piping bag. Voila, two-tone icing!! This trick is really easy and saves from a big mess!!

 I hope the birthday boy liked his cupcakes and had a great birthday!

      Until next time, stay sweet! xo

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate Caramel Goodness!

Happy Monday readers!

Last night I made Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes – complete with gooey caramel centers, milk chocolate mousse, and rich chocolate cake. The recipe took me longer than I had hoped, and I had to make some adjustments along the way, but I came out with a great cupcake and a flawless recipe. Please enjoy!! I’m warning you though, the milk chocolate mousse is really good…I was tempted to pipe the frosting straight to my mouth and skip the cupcake all together. Don’t worry…I didn’t 😉

 

 

 

Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cupcakes (makes 24)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Caramel Cupcake    

24 Kraft Caramel squares

1 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Caramel Sauce

10-14 Kraft Caramel Squares

¼ cup of Half and Half

Milk Chocolate Mousse Frosting

1 cup of milk chocolate chips

2 cups of Nestle Toll House Cocoa Powder

1 stick of softened butter

¼ cup of vegetable shortening

1 cup of whipping cream

1 ½ cups of powder sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs.
4. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too thin – add a little bit more flour.
5. Pour batter into cupcake liners, making them half full.
6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Take cupcake from the oven and place a caramel square on the top of each cupcake. Bake for 5 more minutes, until the caramel has melted onto the cupcake.

Before baking the caramels

Mousse

1. Cream together the butter, vegetable shortening, and powdered sugar
2. Slowly add in cocoa powder and whipping cream
3. Beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form
4. In a microwave safe bowl, put your chocolate chips and ½ tbs of butter – Heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir until completely combined and melted.
5. Add melted chocolate mixture to the mixing bowl – mix until well combined

**Note: Do not over mix this frosting, if you do, it will begin to curdle and separate. It takes about 10 minutes for the mixture to form soft peaks and become frosting like **

Caramel Sauce

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the caramel squares with the half and half. Stir continuously or else your caramel will burn.

Pipe your frosting on the cupcake and drizzle with caramel. Now enjoy!!

Birthday Celebrations!

I made birthday cake this weekend! To be honest, I have never prided myself in fabulous, or even out of the ordinary, cake making skills. But I have to say that this weekend, I was pretty darn impressed with myself. I made two cakes, each of which got rave reviews from everyone who had a piece.

The first was a Sesame Street cake for my niece Sofia’s 2nd Birthday!!

It was a funfetti cake, filled with double berry buttercream, and topped with vanilla cream-cheese frosting. I was really pleased with how the filling turned out. I refrigerated it over night and it was almost like icecream in the center of the cake . The berry flavor complimented the cream-cheese frosting on the outside of the cake, and gave the cake a refreshing flavor. Sofia liked it – and that’s all that mattered 🙂

Happy Birthday Sofia!

 To get the different textures on the cake, I used a fork, a knife, and a spoon. Techinique and decorations like these can be done somewhat easily. Since you are looking to get a “fluffly” texture, you don’t have to be worried about being perfect. The more imperfect, the better!

For Elmo and Cookie Monster, I used a spoon ans did little “swoops” in the frosting. I used a fork for the Grouch and just scraped the surface enough to raise the icing in lots of little peaks. Big Bird was easy, I just used a knife and spread the icing in different directions.

I bought the face pieces from Amazon (but they can be purchased on eBay as well). It was $3 for the set and they came within 4 days of me ordering them. They worked perfectly and gave my characters a more realistic look!

The second cake I made was for Adrienne. Adrienne loves butterflies, so I made her a butterfly cake. I didn’t use a butterfly shaped pan though, I just baked a sheet cake and cut out the shape I was looking for. (I was able to make cake truffles with the remaining cake! Yum!) The cake was a marble cake, topped with a french-vanilla cream cheese frosting. If  I would change anything, I would have added more vanilla cake – the “marble cake” was a little heavy on chocolate. But other than that, I thought the cake had a great flavor palet.

Butterfly Marble Cake - Better pictures to come!

 I will be uploading some better pictures and more detailed recipes this evening. So keep an eye out for them. Until next time, stay sweet! xoxo

Double Cup Cupcakes

Hello readers! Can you believe that September is already here? I am happy to say that I have been busier than ever with baking projects. From bridal showers, to birthday parties, my plate has been pretty full. I am excited though, to share with you today’s INGENIOUS cupcake topper idea. I know you are going to love it!! So without further adieu….I present “Double Cup Cupcakes”

I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs, “Confessions of a Cookbook Queen” (http://confessionsofacookbookqueen.blogspot.com/2010/05/cupcake-cupcake-toppers.html. They are cupcakes with cupcake toppers, so cute, and so easy!!

Cupcakes on Cupcakes..this is an idea I can get behind!!

Picture by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

You will need:

Frosting of your choice

• Piping Bag
• Sprinkles
• Red Sugar Pearls
• Reese Cups

Simply unwrap the Reese’s cup, but leave the paper wrapper on. Pipe frosting on top like you would a regular size cupcake. Add miniature sprinkles and tada!! You have a really cute cupcake topper.

**Hint: You could also use these for cake toppers, or miniature candies at a child’s birthday party. The options are endless.

For the cupcake portion, you could use almost any recipe. I would choose chocolate to compliment the Reese cup.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 18-24 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I always use Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each cup no more than 2/3 full.

 Bake 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting, I say cream-cheese or butter cream: Recipes for Frosting found here!

Now, top them with sprinkles and the miniature cupcakes candies! These have to be the cutest double cup, cupcakes ever!!

__________________________________________________________________________

A Sweet Little Cupcake

Today’s  blog is dedicated to a sweet little girl named Madelyn. 

Madelyn

I went to high-school with Madelyn’s mom, Danielle. While I have never “officially” met Madelyn, the pictures that her mommy posts on FaceBook let me see what  a sweet little child she truly is. Madelyn is a special little girl not only because of her adorable chubby cheeks and her two-tooth smile, but because she has Down Syndrome, and fights every day to do things that we all tend to take for granted. Please take a second and visit Madelyn’s fundraising page. Danielle and “Maddy” are raising money to walk in the “Step up for Down Syndrome” walk on October 16th. To read more about Madelyn and the walk, or to donate to a great cause, please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/madelyncopello