Friday Links ~ Cupcakes

TGIF!  How does that saying never get old?  Probably because Fridays and the weekends that accompany them shortly thereafter never get old.  Another thing that never gets old?  Cupcakes.

I know you love them too.  Layer cakes will always have a special place in my heart, but I've often found that cupcakes go over better when there's a crowd involved.  This is especially true if that crowd is mingling.  You don't want to have to mess with cutting a slice of cake, balancing it on your plate while juggling your fork, and then have to figure out what you're going to do with your wine glass while you enjoy your tasty treat.  But you will swiftly grab a cute cup of cake neatly bundled in its own wrapper.

And therefore I bring you some of my fave cupcakes from around the web today.  Some of these I like because of their unique flavor combinations and others I just like because they look pretty.  Yes, I'm judging the book by it's cover here.  Deal with it.  And do the same yourself here.

Gluten Free Blackberry Lemon Cupcakes

I'm loving that more bakeries out there are whipping up

gluten free versions of their favorite sweet treats.  These fruity cups of

love are certainly no exception!

The Cupcake Blog

Pink Lady Strawberry Cupcakes

Sadly this may be the last post before I check out for about a week and a half.  I only say this because I would rather surprise myself (and you) with another post tomorrow, rather than disappoint everyone by saying that I will be back and then don't show.  I'm getting married in just four short days (yay!!), and I know there will be several last minute things to take care of that unfortunately will trump blogging.

But let's focus on today's post, shall we?  And oh my goodness was I excited about this one!  I always love a good reason to whip up something sweet, and yesterday brought an incredibly exciting opportunity to do so.  I was having afternoon tea (how fabulous does that sound?) with the lovely little lady that will be my flower girl in my wedding this weekend.  She has got to be the MOST precious thing I have ever seen, and I truly hope that if I have a little girl one day she will turn out like Kaleigh.  Such a doll!!

I was going to bring a treat to tea anyhow, but then I found out that her birthday is just a few days away. And who doesn't love a good cupcake for their special day?  Since her favorite color is pink I decided on these Pink Lady Strawberry cupcakes.  While they are probably thought of more as a summer cupcake because they are so light, they still fit the occasion perfectly.  A cream cheese frosting sits atop these baby cakes and pairs wonderfully with the strawberry flavor.

Princess Crowns and K's

This is probably either my favorite cake of all time, or it's tied with first right along side italian cream cake.  You definitely get the strawberry flavor, but it isn't too overpowering and it tastes incredibly fresh.  A lot of times strawberry cake can taste very artificial to me.  The crumb is also incredibly tender, but not to the point that the cake won't hold it's shape.

Pink Lady Strawberry Cupcakes adapted from Eats Well with Others
4 1/2 C cake flour
3 C sugar
5 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 C pureed strawberries (I used fresh, but I'm sure frozen would work too)
8 egg whites
2/3 C milk
hint of pink food color

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

*This cake recipe makes 36-40 cupcakes or one layer cake.  The frosting would need to be doubled for this cake recipe. *

Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake tin with liners.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl.  Put mixer on low speed and blend until combined, about 30 sec.  Add butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend.  Turn mixer on medium speed and beat until light and fluffy (this will take 2-3 min).  The mixture will resemble fluffy ice cream at this point.

Strawberry puree

The fluffy ice cream look that I was referring to....

In another bowl mix together eggs white, milk and food coloring.  Add this mixer to the batter in 2 or 3 additions, scraping bowl down after each addition.  Divide batter among cupcake tins.

Bake 15-20 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cupcakes rest in tins and then remove to cool for one hour.

To make frosting, combine all ingredients in mixer and beat until smooth. *It's so important that the butter and cream cheese are at room temp.  Otherwise you will get hard lumps of both ingredients in your frosting because they didn't completely blend together.

Because these were for a birthday girl who loves pink and all things princess, I decided to use some candy melts to make princess crown cupcake toppers and "K"s.  To do this just melt the candies and then place in a small plastic squeeze bottle.  Then pipe the desired shapes onto wax paper and let cool.  Decorate them as desired before they cool so that any decorations will stick.

Candy melts (they come in all colors) and squeeze bottles can be purchased at your local Michael's or craft store.  The edible glitter and pearls seen here can be purchased there as well.

I also made a trifle with the left over cake that I wanted to share.  Hopefully any cake or cupcakes that you set out to make will turn out lovely, but what if they don't?  Sometimes the crumb is too tender or the layers just won't hold.

Instead of crossing it off as a complete loss, a trifle is a great option.  Just crumble the cake and layer with frosting into a glass or bowl.  It's a gorgeous presentation and you still get to enjoy the yummy dessert you set out to make.  Plus, your guests will never know the difference :)

Strawberry and Cream cheese trifle

Old Fashioned Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling

Today I bring you yet another recipe from the forgotten vault.  This one had slipped my mind as well until I stumbled across the photos this morning.  I adapted these little babies from one of Paula Deen's recipes.  And any confection Paula Deen whips up is always good in my book :)

These cupcakes are composed of a classic butter cake and a traditional buttercream frosting.  Some might call it boring, but I absolutely love the simplicity of it.  Due to this simplicity, it's also a recipe that you know pretty much everyone will love.

The only thing I did switch up was that I added a lemon curd filling.  This gave the cupcakes a surprise pop of flavor when you bit into them.  Nothing too overpowering, just a little something extra.  If lemon curd seems too "spring" or "summer" to you, you can certainly add a different filling or omit it all together.

Most of the time a filling is added *after* cupcakes are baked.  But since I wanted more of a subtle flavor that melded into the cake I added it prior to baking.  The typical method would be to pipe the curd down into the cupcakes once they cool.

Old Fashioned Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling adapted from Paula Deen's original recipe

1 3/4 C cake flour (not self rising)

1 1/4 C unbleached all purpose flour

2 C sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes

4 large eggs

1 C whole milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 small jar prepared lemon curd (found in the jelly section of your grocery store)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners and set aside.

In large bowl combine both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix on low speed for about 3 minutes or until combined.  Add cubed butter, mixing on low speed until butter is just coated.

Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Slowly add milk and vanilla until completely combined.  Scrape bowl as you mix.

Scoop batter into prepared cups, filling cup approximate 2/3 full.  Then add one small scoop (depending on the desired strength of flavor) of lemon curd to each cup.  Don't worry, the curd will slip down into the batter as it settles.  Bake 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

*The below photo shows my first filling method of placing the curd in between two scoops of batter.  Unfortunately this resulted in the curd falling down to the very bottom of the cupcake.  If you put the curd on top, it gradually finds it's perfect spot right in the center.

Old Fashioned Frosting

2 sticks butter, room temperature

8 C confectioners sugar

1/2 C milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract


Cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla.  Beat with paddle attachment until smooth.  Gradually add remaining sugar until desired frosting consistency is reached.


You can add the frosting any way you'd like, but I piped these cupcakes with a simple open frosting tip.  This frosting isn't quite as stiff as others, and so I'm not sure how it would fare with other, more intricate frosting tips.

Dig in!!

Well Owl Be....It's 2012!

Okay, a confession about my confections: if you haven't noticed I've taken a break from blogging that has lasted over a month and a half.  I got in this rut where, while I did indeed cook, I never got around to uploading the photos or posting on here about them.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've been planning a wedding and have a lot of other stuff on my mind.  So sorry!

I figured for my first post back I should do something fun, and thus I'm bringing these adorable owl cupcakes to you.  My sister, Sarah Beth, is slightly obsessed with owls and I made these for her birthday.  I just love these little guys!  This is such an easy and fun project that is perfect for anyone ages 5-95.

All you need are some double stuffed Oreos, Reese's Pieces, Junior Mints and then your favorite cupcakes and chocolate frosting.  I cheated and used boxed Devils Food mix and canned icing.  It made the whole process slightly easier :)

After making the cupcakes and letting them cool, spread frosting over the cupcakes.  Make sure that the frosting on top is even, which will ensure that the "owl" part of this project is much easier.

Make the eyes first by twisting apart the Oreos.  *If you don't get double stuff the icing will be too thin and you won't be able to get a clean break.*  Then use a dab of frosting to adhere the Junior Mints to the frosted side of the Oreo halves.  Carefully press the Oreos onto the cupcakes.

To make the ears, cut in half the other portion of the oreo (the half without the vanilla frosting).  Press these two pieces above the eyes of the owl.  Then pipe chocolate frosting over them to make the feathers.

The last part is the beak.  Press a Reese's Piece in the middle of the cupcake below the eyes.

Tada!!  How cute are these guys?!  Definitely play around with the positioning of the Junior Mints to change up their expressions.

PS: I did *not* use double stuffed Oreos, and as you can see I had a hard time getting the frosting to stay completely on one side of the Oreos for the eyes......let's just say it was a point of frustration.

On another note...it's 2012!!  I can't hardly believe how fast this year has flown by.  For 2012 I have a few things on my bucket list to cook....

-Pound cake (can you believe I've never made one?  Ever?)
-Chicken and Dumplings
-Homemade Girl Scout cookies
-Creme Brulee
-Hi Hat Cupcakes
-Cake pops
-Chicken Enchiladas
-Tres Leche Cake
-Sweet Potato Biscuits
-14 Layer Cake

What's on your list for 2012?