Cupcakes Week 14

Wanna impress your guests?? Try these :)

Chocolate Strawberry Flame
Yield: About 20 cupcakes

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN MAKING THESE!!!
Cupcakes:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside.

Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, water, heavy cream, oil and vanilla. Mix with a hand held mixer until smooth.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each half full. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting:

2 sticks softened butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together sugar, cocoa and butter; beginning on low speed then increase to high. Beat until fluffy and lightened in color. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Frost cupcakes.

Strawberries:

18-24 Strawberries - you'll need as many as you have cupcakes
Vodka, rum, or your choice of liquor 80 proof or higher (use Bacardi 151 for fail-proof results)

Hollow the strawberries carefully. If you pierce the side of the strawberry accidentally, start with a new one. Since you'll be setting the liquor aflame, it is important that your strawberry is leak-proof.

Set one strawberry atop each frosted cupcake. Fill strawberries with liquor just before lighting (see tips). If you need to light them all at once, (say, for a party) use a turkey baster to quickly fill all the strawberries and a grill lighter in lieu of matches.

Cupcakes Week 13

Wanna a kick back to your college drinking days? Here's a good way to do it :) and it won't leave you asking "what happened last night?" or "what's your name?"

Irish Car Bomb Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

ingredients:
Guinness cupcakes:
1 cup stout (Guinness)
16 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Whiskey (or Bailey's) ganache filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1-2 tsp. whiskey or Bailey's (optional)

Bailey's buttercream frosting:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3-4 tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream

*Note: The Guinness gets mostly baked out in the cupcakes, but if you're serving these for people who don't drink, you'll want to leave out the whiskey or Bailey's from the ganache and the Bailey's from the frosting. You can use milk for the frosting instead.

directions:
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend. Add the stout-butter mixture and beat just to combine. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15-20 seconds). Add the butter and Bailey's (or whiskey) and stir until combined.

4. Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped (or you can spoon the mixture into the cupcakes). (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.) Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes.

5. To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Mix in the Bailey's until smooth. Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Cupcakes Week 12

What's better than a pb&j sandwich? Oh, I know...PB&J CUPCAKES!

Peanut Butter And Jelly Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Peanut Butter Cupcakes:

1 C (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 C sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 C peanut butter (I use all natural creamy peanut butter)
1 t vanilla
dash of salt
4 t baking powder
2 1/2 C flour
1 C milk
fruit jelly (I use a high fruit content jelly)

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix butter, peanut butter and sugar.
Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
Add vanilla.
Add 1 C flour sifted with salt and baking powder and mix.
Add milk and mix.
Add remaining flour and mix well.

Spoon into cupcake papers and make a well in each one.
Spoon a heaped teaspoon of jelly into each one.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Buttercream:

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened
1 C peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's All Natural)
1 t vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
1/2 C cream

Beat butter and peanut butter together well.
Add vanilla and mix.
Add powdered sugar mix.
Add cream and beat well.

You may use less or more powdered sugar or cream depending on the consistency you want. Peanut butter also varies a lot. So this may change the consistency of your frosting.

Frost cupcakes when completely cooled!

Cupcakes Week 11

My husband is a HUGE Jack Daniel's fan....so these are for him :)

Make sure you get a good amount of buttercream on them.

Jack Daniel's Vanilla Caramel
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Corn Syrup
5 Tbsp. Water
3/4 cup Salted Butter, in pieces
1/3 cup Whipping Cream
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 Tbsps. Jack Daniels

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water until dissolved over low heat. Increase temperature to high, cover, and boil two minutes, to roughly 300 degrees, or until a warm amber color. Drop in butter pieces and whisk. Then add in cream, whisk again, and then sour cream, whisking to incorporate. Finally, add in vanilla and Jim Beam and whisk until combined. Allow to cool before using. Store leftovers in refrigerator until needed. Rewarm for 10 seconds in microwave if desired.

Jack Daniels Buttercream
makes enough for 24 cupcakes
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
1 Stick Salted Butter, Room Temp
1/2 box Instant Vanilla Pudding (or, cheesecake flavor is great, too)
1 Tbsp Jack Daniels
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Confectioners Sugar

Place room temperature butter in bowl of stand mixer and beat it until smooth, then add half a box of instant Vanilla Pudding and Jim Beam. Beat again until smooth, then add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and beat it again, about 4 minutes or so. Now add in powdered sugar – 1 cup should do the trick. Beat it again for 5 minutes. If it isn’t sweet enough for you, just add a little more sugar and beat it again, but it should be good to go at that point! I pipe mine on using a giant star tip, which makes it a little dressier (and actually easier, in my opinion.)