A's and B's

So, this might be bad but..I told my students that if they all got A's or B's on their Greece test then I would bake them cupcakes.

Ususally when we have parties I just pick them up from the grocery store...their icing is wayyyy to sugary so, I decided to make them...granted I made the box kind but, I thnk it is better than the store bought.

I just used a box of Funfetti Cake mix and vanilla frosting.

I was just so proud of all of them for their test scores, I wanted to do something special for them.  :)

Next week is my grandmothers' Pistachio Cake...going to try and make it into cupcakes....mmmmm...my favorite  :)

Hike!

One of my favorite ice creams is Cookies -n- Cream...mmmmm.  So, I wanted to take that delicious flavor and turn it into a cupcake.  I tried to do a devil's food cake cupcake with an oreo buttercream frosting.  Sounds scrumptious!

We had a last minute venue change for the superbowl party to my house.  That left me with a little less time to spend on my cupcakes due to the fact that my house was a disaster.  I knew ahead of time, I wanted to decorate my cupcakes with tiny footballs.  I saw on the internet how you can use tootsie rolls by popping them in the microwave.  I had everything in my shopping cart..but...when I went to grab the oreos for the buttercream, I found these cute football oreos and just HAD to use them.

Needless to say, the cupcake part came out great.  Not too sweet...a little dry...but very good.  The oreo buttercream tasted like straight up butter.  I didn't taste the oreos at all.  Does anyone have any good buttercream recipes that I can try?

Devil's Food Cupcake

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cocoa powder

6 ounces butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together boiling water and cocoa. Cover and set aside. With a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and add this mixture, alternately with the buttermilk. Add cocoa and water mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Scoop into cupcake pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool completely before decorating. Serve.

Oreo Buttercream

4 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

3 sticks unsalted butter

12 oreo cookies, crushed

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot (approximately 160 degrees).

Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Fold the oreos into the buttercream.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Creamcheese Icing

After just baking the other ones on Thursday, I was a little thrown off by the quick turn around time needed to make these.   I had a friend who was very unhappy at her job and finally quit.  We were all so proud of her.  She enjoys baking as much as I do...so, I made her favorites.  I thought we would be celebrating this occasion over the weekend but, we all decided last night was a good night to celebrate.


I got home from work at 4:00 and had to rush to make these cupcakes before everyone came over for dinner at 6.  I don't like feeling stressed about baking but, I wanted to get these done for her.

I knew I was making these sometime this week so I had all of the ingredients but, I forgot to check how many cupcake liners I had.  Oopsie!  The recipe says it should make about 20...I thought I was in the clear...I had 18 large cupcake liners and tons of mini ones...I figured I could make 18 big cupcakes and a few small ones...no problem.  The recipe ended up making 18 large cupcakes and 32 mini cupcakes!!!...I was in a mini cupcake forest!

Decided to frost half of them and freeze the rest.

As far as the actual recipe, it was very easy.  Lots of little side mixtures you add to one another.  The biggest problem was, I was covered in red food coloring as was half of my kitchen.  When I had to do the dishes, I did them with a crappy shirt so I didn't ruin my other one.  I'm not joking...I was COVERED in red food coloring.  My hands still are pink today.

Making the icing was a breeze.  It was actually my favorite creamcheese icing I've made so far...creamy but not too sweet.

Everyone loved them....it's a keeper.

Recipe:

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

2½	cups sifted cake flour
1	teaspoon baking powder (heaping teaspoon)
1	teaspoon salt
2	tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2	oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
½	cup unsalted butter, softened
1½	cups sugar
2	eggs, at room temperature
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1	teaspoon white vinegar
1	teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins or silicone pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don’t do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under ¾ full. I ended up with 20 cupcakes. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not yet complete. Or you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and if it comes out clean they are done!
5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.


CREAMCHEESE ICING

2	(8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
½	cup butter, softened
2	cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1	teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Beat softened cream cheese with vanilla until smooth, then add softened butter a little at time, beating until smooth. Finally, add powdered sugar to taste (maybe less than is called for).

Week 1 - Vanilla Frosted Cupcakes

I've always had a dream of opening a bakery.  My father is a baker but, he works for larger bakeries that mass produce their products. It was funny how he could never bake in small quantities and would always burn the Christmas cookies.

As a kid, my favorite toy was my play kitchen....and eventually when I got older, my EZ-Bake oven.  Now that I am married and have a husband that travels a lot, I need something to fill my time.  I started baking for holidays and parties, and now have decided that I am going to bake a different kind of cupcake a week.

The first one I made was a plain cake with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  The cake part was delicious.  A little overcooked.  Plain and buttery.  The downfall was the frosting.  It was waaayyy too sweet and very dense.  I did love the vanilla flavoring that was in them.

I brought the extras to work and...they loved them.  I have a co-worker that loves frosting...especially sweet frosting...she ate hers and someone else's left over frosting.  I guess if you like sweet things than this one is for you.

I will most likely revisit this cupcake sometime in the future to tweak it but for now, I will let it be what it was.  A very sweet little cupcake.  Next week....a basic red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

Recipe:

Makes 12 (It made 6 big ones)

• 4 ounces butter
• 4 ounces superfine sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces self-rising flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon hundreds and thousands

for the frosting

• 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 ounces confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350˚.  Put 12 (or 6) paper cases in a muffin pan.

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs.  Sift over the flour and, using a metal spoon, fold into mixture with the milk.  Spoon the mixture into paper cases.

Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.  Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

To make the frosting, put the butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and, using an electric handheld whisk, beat until the butter is pale and very soft.  Gradually sift in the confectioner's sugar, whisking well after each addition.  Spoon the frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a medium star-shaped nozzle and pipe large swirls of frosting on top of each cupcake.

Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands.

**Got this recipe from:  Easy Cupcakes