Boston Cream Cupcakes

Simple:

Y-U-M just, believe me. Cooking Light got it right. The cake was very airy and spongy. I wanted to ensure a solid frosting since my cupcakes had to travel on this very hot day, so I made a ganache instead for the top. The custard was perfect. This recipe worked very well as cupcakes. I do recommend!

URL

Aloha Cupcakes and Cake

Just made cupcakes and a cake for an Aloha! themed birthday party. I think they enjoyed it, I sure did making it! Happy beginning of summer everyone!

Strawberry Tiramisu Cupcake Cake

This idea came from failed cupcakes. I wanted to try out Martha Stewart's Tiramisu Cupcakes. They turned out horribly dry and definitely not birthday party friendly. I had to act fast, so I brainstormed and decided to make a layered cake with the bad cupcakes and strawberries. To moisten the cake a little I brushed each layer with Kahlua. I pureed some strawberries and mixed it with the Mascarpone frosting from the recipe to add to each layer. Then I got a cupcake and used my handy dandy Magic Bullet to make cake crumbs for the top of the cake. I sprinkled with sliced almonds and there we go. The cake was a hit...thank God because it was headed for disaster! Thanks a lot Martha.

Homemade Ding Dongs/Devil's Food Cupcakes

Haha. Ding Dongs. Makes me laugh... I have honestly never eaten a Ding Dong before. Maybe a Ho-Ho once in awhile. I was browsing for a "healthy" dessert over at CookingLight.com and found a recipe that would please those around me. I tend to bake for others because it makes me happy (and also keeps me skinny...) ! Cooking Light calls these "Devil's Food Cupcakes" but Ding Dongs are funnier to me.

It was a new adventure for me making the Marshmallow creme (for the center filling). I had marshmallows around, but I decided to make the creme from a recipe I found over here. The recipe was successful, but I used my Agave syrup instead of Corn-Syrup and it def overpowered the rest of the flavors. Remember Laura, Agave syrup is MUCH sweeter! You don't need that much! When will I learn? So, to remedy this, I melted some marshmallows with a little butter in a pan (not very Cooking Light like) and gradually added the marshmallow mixture I made up prior. This brought back the marshmallow-y flavor I had before the Agave mishap! I think what I did was a little unconventional, but I was trying to reverse sheer boobery! Next time I would let the creme sit in the fridge a little longer so it could harden up a little before filling the cupcakes.

Recipe to follow...

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (3/8 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream (I made my own using the link found above)
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (see below )

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in half the flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in milk just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spoon batter equally into 16 muffin cups (1/3-cup capacity; cups should be almost full) lined with paper baking cups.

3. Bake in a 350º regular or convection oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center or a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans and set on racks to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

4. With a small, sharp knife, cut a cylinder about 3/4 inch wide and 1 inch deep from the center of the top of each cupcake. Trim off and discard about 1/2 inch from bottom of each cylinder. With a knife, hollow out a small cavity inside each cupcake.

5. Spoon marshmallow cream into pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Twist end of bag tightly to secure. Place tip in cavity of one cupcake; without moving tip, squeeze filling into cavity, to 1/4 inch from top. Repeat to fill remaining cupcakes. Insert cake cylinders into holes.

6. Spoon chocolate cream cheese frosting into another pastry bag, fitted with a 3/4-inch star tip, and pipe onto tops of cupcakes, or spread on cupcakes with knife.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Preparation

In a bowl, with a mixer on low speed, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. In another bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat into cream cheese mixture until frosting is smooth.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I am IN LOVE with the recipe! A little girl who I teach once in awhile and that I just adore had her birthday today. I had her little sunshiny face as inspiration for me last night when I made this. She ended up loving these cupcakes and hearing/seeing the happiness made it all worth it. :) Thanks again Deb, you are so dependable.

I loved the subtle peach flavor in the cupcakes paired with the cream cheesiness of the frosting. I didn't obviously have fresh peaches (it's Spring in NY) so I dug out my frozen diced peaches and drained them. They turned more into a mush, but it added to the smoothness of the batter.

Y-U-M

Recipe to follow...

(never too old)

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 to 28 cupcakes

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt
3 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped smallish (I went for a 1/3-inch dice)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 28 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.