Cupcakes week 27

How about a little breakfast?


Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream

Cupcakes
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup sugar
3 eggs
2 egg whites
3 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries

 Maple Buttercream: 
½ cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons Mapleine (maple flavoring)
4 cups powdered sugar
Milk, as needed
Cinnamon sugar and fresh blueberries to decorate

 Note: If you really want to treat yourself, put a warm cupcake in a bowl and pipe some of this maple buttercream over it and let in melt into the cake. It is absolutely to die for!

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners (yields 24)
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. On low speed, add eggs and egg whites one at a time until each in fully incorporated.
 4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
5. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the wet (milk, vanilla extract and sour cream). Let each ingredient fully mix in before adding another, still be careful not to over mix. 
6. Fold in blueberries.
7. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for about 18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
8. Maple Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add maple flavoring and powdered sugar and let beat again. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of milk to loosen.
9. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and berries.

Cupcakes week 26

The halfway point!!!  Wahoo!!!

how about something fun and a little different?

Parfait Cupcakes
makes 6

Cupcakes
¾ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
 ½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
Zest of one lemon
A few drops of lemon oil

Cream
1 cup cream (or half and half will work)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup raspberries (fresh or frozen thawed, drained)
½ cup lemon curd
6 wine glasses
6 teaspoons limoncello (lemon liqueur or other)
Flakes of colored sugar, candies, etc.. (For decoration)

For the cupcakes
In a bowl, beat the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until frothy and airy, about 5 minutes.
Add the lemon zest, lemon essence and eggs one at a time, beating one minute after each addition.
Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredients and beat just until everything is well blended ( do not over beat!).
pour into muffin pan previously buttered and lined with boxes of paper.
Bake on center rack at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Cool completely at room temperature before you handle.
For Cream
In a bowl using an electric mixer, whip cream , sugar and vanilla until firm. Transfer half of the whipped cream in a second bowl and fold in raspberries. Add the lemon curd to the half the remaining cream and whisk a few minutes more times, until well incorporated and set aside.
For mounting 
Turn the cupcakes, make sure they fit well in the cups, cut the excess if necessary. Cut cupcakes in half horizontally, put a teaspoon of limoncello at the end of each cup and place the bottom half of each cupcake to the limoncello. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of raspberry mousse on top of each cupcake half, spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Place half on top of each cupcake with raspberry mousse and garnish each cup of lemon curd mousse (with a spoon or pastry bag, to taste). Decorate with colored sugar, candy or other, to taste.

Cupcakes Week 18

My husband loves lemon lately. So I had to make him a lemon cupcake. I like lemon too, but I like it with other flavors. Problem solved with these little delicious gems :)

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

For the lemon cupcakes:
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temp
3 Tbsp lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 cup buttermilk

For the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream frosting:
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 egg whites
3 sticks butter, cubed and at room temperature
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup strawberry puree (from about 6 medium, hulled strawberries)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325. Prepare muffin tins with paper liners or baking spray.
Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar on a high until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next one. Add lemon zest and lemon juice. Turn mixer to the low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated.
Fill each muffin cup ~3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pans at the halfway point. Allow cupcakes to cool completely in the pans before removing.
Place the stand mixer bowl over a simmering pot of water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk the sugar and egg whites until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture registers 160 degrees with a candy thermometer.
Place bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until the mixture is cool and holds stiff, glossy peaks (approximately 10 minutes). Change to the paddle attachment and beat in one tablespoon of butter at a time on medium. The mixture might appear curdled but keep beating, it will pull back togethe. Add lemon juice, and strawberry puree. Increase speed to high and beat until the frosting reincorporates and is smooth and fluffy.

Low Fat, High Taste Breakfast

Good Ol' Hungry Girl again. This book is going to be my new bible i swear. This does take some time to cook, but it's so worth it!

The Big Apple French Toast Casserole
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
8 slices light bread, cut into cubes
1 apple (preferably Fuji), cored, peeled, and diced
4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups light vanilla soymilk
1 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup, divided
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda), or more to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter until melted. Set aside.

Spray an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Place bread cubes evenly along the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle diced apple evenly over the bread.

In a medium-large bowl, combine melted butter, cream cheese, soymilk, egg substitute, 2 tbsp. syrup, cinnamon, and sweetener. If you like your French toast pretty sweet, add an extra packet of sweetener. Using a handheld electric mixer set to medium speed, mix until lump-free and smooth. Pour mixture over the bread and apple.

Make sure bread is soaked in the liquid mixture. If needed, toss lightly to coat. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until egg mixture is pretty firm and cooked through. (Be sure not to overcook, as bread could burn.) Let cool slightly.

Cut into quarters and serve with remaining 1 cup syrup for dipping. Dig in!


Nutrition Information:
PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe): 232 calories, 4.25g fat, 687mg sodium, 38.5g carbs, 5.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 16.5g protein
Weight Watcher Points-4

Bring on the strawberries!

Have you ever seen those dessert shells they always have in the produce section of the grocery store? Well i did, and that's where the story starts. talking to my cousin Steph this week she mentioned strawberry shortcake and that triggered the severe craving for it. Eating healthy is fine and well, until you hit a craving for something like strawberry shortcake...

So take at the grocery store i decided i was going to give it a whirl with the dessert shells. I picked them and looked at the Nutrtition label, and umm HELLO! 120 calories and 1 gram of fat. Why thank you to the makers of these little cake of heaven!.

I came home and grabbed my cutting board, knife and bowl and sliced up the strawberries ( i made all of the strawberries for almost 2 cups), then adding 1 tablespoon of sugar to let them sit in (about 2 hours), creating the most delish syrup-y goodness. I placed them in the shells and topped with fat free cool whip.

AMEN. HALLELUJAH. PRAISE JESUS.
they were exactly what i need to kick that shortcake habit.

a total of 140 calories and 2 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber and 2 WW Points. these will be a staple this summer :)