Rainbow Cupcakes!

Hi guys! I took a break from cookie making this month to relax, clear my head and give my poor hands a break from squeezing those little icing bags and bottles. (I don’t know how every cake/cookie decorator in the world doesn’t have carpal tunnel. Geesh!) However, a month is a long time and I just couldn’t stay out of the kitchen a minute longer!(and it’s also the last week before my month long sugar fast….I know, I’m sure you’re thinking I’m crazy, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I was reading Pioneer Woman’s blog the other day and she mentioned she was going to try it, so I thought, hey, why not? Who wouldn’t want prettier skin, shinier hair and loads of natural energy, not to mention a bit of weight loss! ;) And a month isn’t too terribly long, but then I realized I picked the world’s worst month to try this little challenge. EEK! Halloween! What was I thinking!?! But maybe it’s the best time to do it…..I’ll let you know how it went on November first. Anyhoo, back to the cupcakes.

We’ve had one of those Betty Crocker Cupcakes and Cakes mini books floating around the office for a while and I’ve been eyeballing a few I wanted to test out. One of the girls at the work is leaving, so of course we had a little party and she decided she wanted the rainbow cupcakes as dessert. I hopped right on board! I love rainbows and these looked fairly easy to make!


Ingredients:

1 Box Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

Food Colors (red, orange, yellow, green and blue)

2 Containers (1lb each) Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy white frosting (I accidentally grabbed the whipped version and they turned out pretty well)

Orange Extract (This was my addition, so you can substitute any extract flavoring you want or leave it out.)


Cupcake Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350F (325F for dark or nonstick pans).

2. Place paper baking cups in your cupcake pan. (The recipe says it will make 24 cupcakes, but I only got 18 out of mine.)

3. Make cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and egg whites.

4. Add 2 tsp orange extract.

5. Divide batter evenly into 5 bowls.

6. Mix a different food color in each bowl.

7. Place 1 tsp of each color batter into each muffin cup, layering the colors in order of the rainbow. DO NOT STIR!!! They should be about ½ to ¾ of the way full.

(When I made mine I misread the directions and used a tablespoon instead, oops! But they turned out PERFECT, so I recommend using a tablespoon instead.)

8. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

9. Cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely.

{Can you believe how perfectly poofy these suckers turned out?!? Me neither! My cupcakes are NEVER this pretty...okay, I'm done ranting! :) }


Frosting Instructions:

1. Spoon frosting out of both containers into a medium bowl.

2. Mix in 2 tsp orange extract.

3. Divide frosting evenly between 3 small bowls.

4. Tint one red, one yellow and one blue.

5. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

6. In a large disposable decorating bag fitted with a #6 star tip (I used a larger tip, I believe it was a Wilton 1M)

7. Spoon each color of frosting side by side in bag, alternating colors and working up from the tip of the bag. Don’t stir them together.

(Sorry there's no picture. It was quite messy because I filled my bag with a little too much frosting. I was just a bit excited to use more than one color on a cupcake.)

8. Twist the top of the bag closed and start frosting. You might get a lot of one color when you first start but the others will eventually come out, just keep squeezing!

9. You want to start on the outside edge and swirl in towards the center ending in a small peak.

I think the colors on these are to die for! The computer just doesn't do them justice.

Hello sunshine!

We all know the old saying, "April showers bring May flowers!". We've had a lot of rain this spring, so needless to say, I'm ready for some flowers! So, I made my own.

This past week I made cupcakes for a BBQ picnic we threw for one of my coworkers. This was her last week because she and her family about to have a new little bundle join their lives.

I've been working my way through a new cook book I picked up at C&B, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. The authors Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito are also the owners of Baked in Brooklyn, NY. My favorite thing about the book and their recipes is that it seems like they just tweaked American classics by using higher quality ingredients and updated flavorings. Everything just seems to have a different and special touch.




I decided to make their Devil's food cake cupcakes...what pregnant woman doesn't like chocolate, right? This was my first time making these and they were AMAZING! Light, fluffy, moist...everything you want in a cupcake!

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE

For the cake batter:
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt


1. POSITION A RACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OVEN AND PREHEAT TO 350 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with circles of parchment or waxed paper. Grease the paper or spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. IN A LARGE BOWL, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder, and chocolate. Pour in the boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool, then stir in the buttermilk.
3. IN ANOTHER BOWL, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter and oil together until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. SIFT TOGETHER THE FLOUR, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat at low speed for a few seconds, just until combined. Beat in half of the chocolate-buttermilk mixture, again beating just for a few seconds until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in another one-third of the remaining flour mixture for no more than a few seconds, just until combined. Add the remaining chocolate-buttermilk mixture, beating just for a few seconds until combined. Finally, fold in the remaining one-third of the flour mixture by hand, using a large balloon whisk or rubber spatula, just until no streaks of flour remain.
5. DIVIDE THE BATTER BETWEEN THE PREPARED CAKE PANS AND SPREAD EVENLY. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and peel the parchment paper from the layers. Cupcakes take about 15 to 16 minutes to bake. Let cool completely before frosting.

To go along with the picnic theme I decorated them to look like sunflowers. I used a basic buttercream icing recipe, mini chocolate chips for the centers and royal icing to make the lady bugs.

Gotta love girls night!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of making the dessert for a much needed "Girls Night". There were a few old friends and some fabulous new faces. These girls were such a delight to spend the evening with! There's no better ending to a stressfull week than a night filled with laughter, wine and chocolate...of course! I found my latest recipe in "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey" by Jill O'Connor. I bought this book on a whim about a year ago because the cover and pages were just too cute...boy, am I glad I did! Everything looked delicious, but I never really had a reason to make anything in it until now. These cupcakes are delish and have the perfect amount of chocolatey goodness.




BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES
(makes 12 standard cupcakes with the picture perfect mushroom top)

For the filling:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (If you can't find it, you can use cream cheese as a substitute)
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

For the cake batter:
1 ½ cups bleached all-purpose flour
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup natural cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate glaze:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. Line a standard 12-cup tins with paper cupcake liners. (The cake ended up sticking to the paper, so foil liners will probably work better)

2.TO MAKE THE FILLING: In a medium bowl, cream together the mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar, egg, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3.TO MAKE THE CAKE BATTER: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the boiling water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients. Stir together until smooth.

4.FILL EACH CUPCAKE CUP ONE-FOURTH FULL OF BATTER AND TOP WITH A HEAPING TABLESPOON OR SO OF THE FILLING; divide it evenly and use it all. Top the filling with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly. Bake until cupcakes are puffed and firm, about 25 to 28 minutes.

5.MEANWHILE, MAKE THE GLAZE: Combine all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, continue to microwave for 30-second intervals and stir until smooth.

6.TRANSFER THE CUPCAKES IN THE PANS TO A WIRE RACK AND LET COOL COMPLETELY. When cool, dip the top of each cupcake in the chocolate glaze (feel free to double, triple, or quadruple dip, if you like!). Let the excess glaze drip from the cupcakes for a few seconds and then place the cupcake right-side up on the wire rack until the glaze firms before serving.












YUMMM!