Devil's Food Cupcakes

We decided to make this cupcake for Ashden's birthday party, since he was having a Pirate themed party (hence the devil's food), and the recipe makes 32!  The cupcake was a great version of a devil's food, but we decided to frost it with a Chocolate-Sour Cream frosting!  The frosting was a little bit of heaven with a whole lot of chocolate.  How can you go wrong with powdered sugar, cocoa, cream-cheese, sour-cream, butter and melted bittersweet chocolate?!  You can't, the end process was amazing, and sadly wasted on a bunch of five year olds!

Until next time,

t & k

German Chocolate Cupcakes

  This all time cake classic makes a wonderul little cupcake.  The batter uses melted semi-sweet chocolate rather than cocoa powder for a really intense chocolate flavor.  Having never made a German Chocolate Cake, I was unprepared for how the frosting is made, it is a process.  You start by heating the egg yolks, evaporated milk, brown sugar and butter until thick, about 10 minutes, strain, and then stir in vanilla, salt, coconut and pecans.  Let cool completely, and then frost.  Who knew all of those ingredients make up that delicious frosting?

I took the left overs to a community pot-luck the next day, and they were a hit.  They are so rich and sweet, that it is easier to divide the cupcake into two, and instead of eating the whole thing!

Until next time,

t & k

S'mores Cupcakes

I bought the cupcake book for this cupcake alone, and when we started this project in January, I knew we would have to wait until summer camping season to make this cupcake, and then the day finally arrived!!!  These lived up to all the hype and then some.  We went on a quest to find graham flour, and then we had to buy a torch (although, you can put them under the boiler too).

 

The base tastes just like a graham cracker, really dense with a hint of cinnamon and honey.  Then you make a chocolate ganach glaze, need I say more?  And then top the whole thing off with marshmallow frosting, piped tall and then scorched for that just sitting around the campfire feel.  Holy hannah banana these were good!

Until next time,

t & k

Pound Cake with Swiss Meringue Vanilla Bean Buttercream

So after you get over spending a small fortune on real vanilla beans, you will fall in love with these cupcakes, and especially the frosting!  The cupcake was a delicious version of the classic pound cake, but where these little puppies really shine is in the frosting, wow, wow, wow!!

If you have never made swiss meringue buttercream, you are in for a treat.  The process is extensive, you combine egg whites, with sugar, and a pinch of salt (and in this variation, the seeds from inside a vanilla bean) and heat over simmering water until the sugar is dissolved.  Then you beat the egg white mixture until stiff but not dry peaks form, about 10 minutes.  After that you add the butter a little at a time, and beating until smooth, and all air bubbles are eliminated.  Once that is all done, you have created the most delightful frosting ever!

This cupcake has to be saved for someone who can appreciate the process of making a real buttercream!

 Until next time,

t & k

Blackberry-Cornmeal Cupcakes

OK, so this one was super delish.  Tee, Tess and her friend Haley picked fresh blackberries the morning we made these, which is a must!  We have decided that any cupcake that uses buttermilk in the batter turns out super moist, and extra delightful, so this one lived up to our expectation.  I would make these all summer long, and an alternative to a blackberry muffin.  So good!

Until next time,

t & k

Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcake

This was one of the cupcakes in the 'cookie' section, it is a take on the classic.  The cupcake was just a basic peanut butter batter, but the frosting was to die for!!  Cream-cheese, powdered sugar, butter and peanut butter, yummy!!

Until next time,

t & k

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Tee's niece spent the summer here, and this was her pick.  I have to say, I don't know what all the hype is about Red Velvet, I was not impressed!  We burned the first batch of these babies, and had to do them twice.  We credited it to the vinegar and oil in the batter, we lowered the oven temp, and watched them closer the second time around.  It has a traditional cream-cheese frosting.  Let me know what you think of Red Velvet, maybe it is just me!!

We did use the red gel paste to attain the color, and I would use more to get a richer red!

Until next time,

t & k