Cupcakes Week 49

Guava Cupcakes
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup guava nectar
2 cups guava pastry filling
1 recipe guava buttercream (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined.

Alternately add the flour mixture with the guava nectar, beginning and ending with the flour. Fill was muffin cups with the batter, ¾ full (I use a 2 ounce scoop). Bake about 20 minutes (rotating pan after about 10 minutes) until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out (almost) clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling. Makes 24-30 cupcakes

To fill the cupcakes, hold the cupcake in one hand. Use a paring knife, a large round up or a cupcake plunger, cut a small hole in the center of cooled cupcakes. Use the guava filling to fill the cupcake. Top with buttercream.

Guava Buttercream

1 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. guava nectar
1/8 tsp. of salt
¼ cup guava pastry filling
In a medium bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat the mixture at low speed just until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add guava nectar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon in guava filling and mix until combined. If the butter begins to break, keep beating. Top the cupcakes as desired.

WAHOO!

Only 4 more weeks of cupcakes!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

Cupcakes Week 48

Sweet Tooth? Child of the 80s? Or maybe you watch Toddlers and Tiaras like I do, and crave a pixie stick afterward. These are for you

Pixie Stick Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
12 ounces mixed berry 7-Up*
1 small envelope each cherry, orange, grape and berry blue (or tropical punch) Kool-Aid drink mix
Pixie Frosting (recipe & ingredients follow)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with about 15-18 paper liners and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix and 7-Up... that's it! No eggs, no oil--nothing! Just soda and mix. Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Spoon about 3/4 cup of batter into two separate small bowls (3/4 cup batter per bowl). Stir in one packet of grape mix into one small bowl, and one packet of the berry blue mix into the other small bowl until each bowl is blended and flavored. If desired, tint the batter with purple or blue food coloring to enhance the color.

3. Put a heaping Tablespoon of white batter into each muffin tin. Then, top the white batter with one small teaspoon each of grape and berry blue batter. Using a sharp knife, swirl the grape, berry blue and vanilla batters together very lightly. Bake for approx. 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with light moist crumbs. Cool completely.

Now make your Pixie Frosting!

Pixie Frosting

2/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp lemon juice
About 4 cups powdered sugar
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and lemon juice until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, until light and fluffy. Divide frosting evenly among two bowls.

2. Stir half a packet of cherry drink mix into one bowl, and half a packet of orange drink mix into the other until combined. Portion frosting among two piping bags and pipe orange frosting onto cooled cupcakes and top with cherry frosting. If desired, sprinkle frosted tops with more powdered drink mix or Pixie Stick powder for an extra pucker punch.

**Note: if you can't find mixed berry 7-Up, substitute it with 12 ounces (1 can) of regular or cherry-flavored 7-Up. I like the lightness soda adds to cake mix and the mixed berry flavor adds just a subtle sweetness to the cake that is so good.

Cupcakes Week 47

It's almost Valentine's Day so why not make something hot and spicy ;)

Red Hot Cupcakes
For the white cupcakes:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
12 tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
5-10 red hots per cupcake

For the red hot syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red hots

For the red hot frosting:
1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp red hot syrup
1/4 cup crushed red hots
* If you want to frost all 24 cupcakes with as much frosting as I've pictured above (which is probably too much, but it's pretty) you'll want to double this recipe. If you want a less sweet version, try folding in 1/2-1 cup of whipped cream to break it up

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating on low between each addition. Add vanilla.
- Add flour slowly in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour.
- Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and place 5-10 red hots in each cupcake, using a clean finger to push them halfway down into the batter.
- Bake 15-17 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

- For the red hot syrup, bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan.
- Add red hots and stir occasionally until completely melted. A gummy clump of red hots will form, but keep stirring and eventually it will break up and melt.
- Allow syrup to reduce for 15-30 minutes.

- For the frosting, beat butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until completely mixed.
- Add the red hot syrup and beat until well combined.
- Mix in crushed red hots (I used a food processor to crush them).
- Poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes and brush some red hot syrup on each before frosting.
- Load frosting into a piping bag fit with a large tip and decorate as desired.

Cupcakes Week 46

YUM!!

Sweet Potato-Pecan Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 (16-oz.) can mashed sweet potatoes
2/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
Garnish: coarsely chopped pecans
Preparation

1. Place pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan.
2. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted, stirring once after 4 minutes.
3. Beat sugar and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
4. Whisk together mashed sweet potatoes, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sweet potato mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Fold in toasted pecans. Place foil baking cups in muffin pans, and coat with vegetable cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.
5. Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove immediately from pans, and cool 50 minutes to 1 hour or until completely cool. Spread cupcakes evenly with Cream Cheese Frosting. Garnish, if desired.