Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Honey-Lavender Cupcakes!

I drove to Olympia early yesterday morning and came home to a beautiful spring day... So I perched myself on the porch in the sun and sipped on lavender tea with a bit of honey and lemon while listening to the geese fly over the lake. PERFECT DAY.... So i thought... Why not capture this moment with a cupcake!



Honey-Lavender Cupcakes!

 

Ingredients:

2 and 3/4 cup                          All-purpose flour
3/4 tsp.                                    Baking powder
3/4 tsp.                                    Baking soda
1/2 tsp.                                    Sea salt, fine
1/2 cup                                    Sour cream
1/4 cup                                    Milk
4 tbls.                                      Lemon juice
3/4 cup                                    Unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup                                    Honey
1/4 cup                                    Sugar
3                                              Eggs, room temp



Pre-heat oven to 375. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, and lemon juice. In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter, sugar, and honey. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and add flour mixture alternately with sour cream mixture until fully incorporated. Drop into cupcake liners with a spoon (mixture will be bread-dough-like consistency). Bake until done (toothpick comes out clean).



 Lavender-honey buttercream:

1 cup                                            Unsalted butter, room temp
4 cups                                           Powdered sugar
1 tsp. (or to taste)                         Lavender extract
2 tbls.                                           Honey
                                                     (Purple food coloring if preferred) 



In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream butter until lightened. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in extract and honey. (Add Tablespoon(s) of milk if needed for desired consistency.)



Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Kentucky Bourbon Cupcakes!

I got the Kentucky Bourbon cake recipe from a book called "Vintage Cakes" By: Julie Richardson... LOVE THAT BOOK! MUST BUY!.... Anyway... It was supposed to be a glazed cake or bundt cake... but I decided to try it as cupcakes with a light peach-bourbon buttercream.... Because what pairs better with bourbon than fresh peaches?? 

 

 

Kentucky Bourbon Cupcakes!


Ingredients:

3 cups                              Cake flour, sifted
1 tsp.                                Baking powder
1/2 tsp.                            Baking soda
1 tsp.                               Sea salt, fine
1 cup                               Unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 cups                Sugar
1/2 cup                            Brown sugar, packed
4                                      Eggs, room temp
1/4 cup                            Bourbon (I used Makers Mark)
1 cup                               Buttermilk, room temp



Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in three additions. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in bourbon. Pour evenly into cupcake liners and bake until done (toothpick comes out clean). Let cool completely.


Peachy-Bourbon Buttercream:


1 cup                               Unsalted butter, room temp
5-6 cups                          Powdered sugar
1/4 or 1/2 cup                 Fresh peach puree
1 to 2 tbls.                      Bourbon (again I used Makers Mark)





Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Sweet Mini Orange Cupcakes!

Ohhh how I am longing for some California sunshine! All I want to do is go to our little condo in Palm Springs and pick oranges off the trees nearby... So walking passed these beautiful organic oranges inspired these little bites of sunshine!


Sweet Mini Orange Cupcakes!

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup                         Unsalted butter, room temp
4 oz.                             Cream cheese, room temp
2 cups                           Sugar
4                                   Eggs, large
1 tbls.                           Orange zest
2 tbls.                           Fresh orange juice
3 cups                          All-purpose flour
1 tsp.                            Baking powder
1/2 tsp.                         Baking soda
1/2 tsp.                         Sea salt, fine
1 cup                            Sour cream



Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter and cream cheese. Slowly add sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated (Scraping down sides of bowl). Beat in zest and juice. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream until fully incorporated. Drop my the spoonfuls into cupcake liners. Bake until done (toothpick comes out clean, about 10 minutes or so). Cool completely.



Orange Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup                                   Unsalted butter, room temp
5-6 cups                              Powdered sugar
1/4 cup                                Fresh orange juice
                                            Orange zest or orange food coloring (if desired)


In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream butter until lightened. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in orange juice and additions. 
  



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

These little delights are the best of both worlds.... A light and fluffy cupcake that tastes like a buttery, sugary, snickerdoodle cookie!



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!


Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups                       All-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups                       Cake flour, sifted
1 tbls.                                    Baking powder
1/2 tsp.                                  Sea salt, fine
1 tbls.                                    Cinnamon, ground
1 cup                                     Unsalted butter, room temp
1 and 3/4 cups                       Sugar
4                                            Eggs, large, room temp
2 tsp.                                     Pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups                       Milk



Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together AP flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add vanilla to milk and add milk to butter mixture alternately with flour mixture until fully incorporated (scraping down sides of bowl as you go). Pour evenly into cupcake liners and bake until done (toothpick comes out clean). Cool completely.



Seven-Minute Frosting:

1 and 1/2 cups (+ 2 tbls.)                 Sugar
2/3 cup                                              Water
2 tbls.                                                Light corn syrup
6                                                        Egg whites, large, room temp


In a small saucepan, add 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, water, and corn syrup. Place a candy thermometer at the side of the saucepan. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved and mixture starts to boil. Once boiling, stop stirring and let boil until thermometer reaches 230 degrees. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer with whisk attachment, start whisking egg whites until sift peaks form. Slowly add remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Once sugar/water mixture comes to 230, remove from heat and pour in a steady stream into egg whites while they are whisking (medium speed). Continue whisking on medium until completely cool (about 7 minutes). 

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and dust with cinnamon and sugar.





Thursday, April 11, 2013

Strawberries and Champagne Cupcakes!

So I was making these cupcakes tonight for a birthday party order tomorrow (While watching Pretty Woman).... They had to be strawberry.... So I developed this recipe a few days ago and it turned out AWESOME and I was sooo pleased.... But then I realized I had made a little too much batter... At the exact moment I was about to just bake off the rest of the cupcakes... The scene where Julia Roberts is eating strawberries with her champagne came on.... And there you go...


Strawberries and Champagne Cupcakes!

 

 Ingredients:

3 cups                                  Cake flour (not self rising)
2 tsp.                                    Baking powder
1 tsp.                                    Sea salt, fine
1 and 1/2 cups                     Unsalted butter, room temp
2 and 1/4 cups                     Sugar
1/2 tsp.                                Pure vanilla extract
1 cup                                   Milk
8                                          Egg whites
1 cup                                   Strawberries, pureed
                                            Champagne, for brushing


Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter and 2 cups of sugar. Beat in vanilla. Add milk alternately with flour mixer scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. In another bowl with a hand mixer, whisk egg whites gradually adding remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg white mixture into batter. Fold in strawberries. Bake until done (toothpick comes out clean).

Once cupcakes are cooled completely, poke about 8 holes in the cupcakes with a toothpick and brush with champagne.



Champange buttercream:

1 cup                                      Unsalted butter, room temp
4-6 cups                                    Powdered sugar
4 tbls.                                     Champagne
                                               Red food color or extra strawberry puree



Beat butter until lightened. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in champagne and red food color (if desired).





Monday, April 8, 2013

Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes!

I have been experimenting with vegan cupcake recipes for a while now... but didn't want to post it until I had a couple perfected! This one is a simple vegan chocolate cupcake filled with homemade strawberry jam and topped with vegan vanilla frosting! Simple... but Ohhh so delicious.


Vegan Chocolate-Strawberry Cupcakes!

 

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup                    Cake flour OR Gluten free All-purpose baking flour
3/4 cup                              Sugar
1/4 cup                              Cocoa powder (preferably dark)
1 tsp.                                 Baking soda
1/2 tsp.                              Sea salt, fine
5 tbls.                                Vegetable oil
1 tbls.                                White vinegar
1 tsp.                                 Pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cup                    Water
                                         Homemade strawberry jam (or your favorite flavor/brand)



Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric hang mixer, beat together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients until fully incorporated and smooth (mixture will look slightly more watery than usual). Pour evenly into cupcake liners and bake until done (toothpick comes out clean). Makes 12 regular sized cupcakes.


Cool cupcakes completely. Scoop out middles of cupcakes using a melon baller and pipe jam into centers.


Vegan Vanilla Frosting:

4 cups                            Powdered sugar
1 cup                              Dairy free margarine
1 tsp.                              Pure vanilla extract
2 tbls.                             Rice milk (or your favorite dairy free milk alternative)


Cream margarine until lightened. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla and rice milk (feel free to add more or less for desired consistancy).