Lesson #182: Chocolate Craving Cupcakes

So, I totally had a chocolate craving the other day. In addition, I checked out the new Thomas Keller Bouchon Bakery cookbook from the library. It was a deadly combination!

I've been experimenting with some of the recipes in the cookbook and I just happened to have all of the ingredients for this DELICIOUS cupcake. A more accurate description might be a devil's food cupcake with a chocolate chunk pastry cream icing.

I brought these cupcakes with me to a family Thanksgiving gathering last weekend. They were DEVOURED by the end of the night. That's a good sign that it's a winning recipe :)

LESSON LEARNED: Since this cookbook is written by professional pastry chefs, the ingredients are listed in grams. I wrote the recipe using these measurements - make sure you take the time to measure the ingredients with your digital kitchen scale.

Recipe for Chocolate Craving Cupcakes

Lesson #177: Alien Cupcakes

Happy Halloween! This post is more like a craft project rather than a baking project, but I thought it would be a fun idea to share. Just in case you are looking for an edible craft project. Here's the final product:

Kinda looks like an alien, right?

 First, you bake a batch up cupcakes using the silver foil liners for their "spaceships".

 While the cupcakes are cooling, mix neon green food coloring into store bought frosting. You need to use store bought because you melt it in the microwave and homemade frosting won't melt and set up properly.

 Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cupcake and top with a doughnut hole. Freeze the cupcake for 10-15 minutes.

 Get your chocolate sprinkles (for the eyes) and black licorice (for the antennae) ready!

 Place the unused frosting in a measuring cup and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds - stirring after 15 seconds. Make sure the frosting is liquified and slightly warm. Dip the semi-frozen cupcake into the frosting (I didn't get a picture of this step - it's a little messy!). Attach the sprinkles and licorice to the cupcake. Let set.

 Package up the cupcakes so you can share them with your friends!

LESSON LEARNED: It becomes easier to dip the cupcakes once you practice on a few!

Lesson #170: Coconut Cupcakes

Last Friday was my birthday, so I decided to make these coconut cupcakes as part of my birthday dinner. The day was pretty low-key  - ending with me making dinner for my family (this was my choice - they offered to take me out!).

These cupcakes are very rich and indulgent - everything a cupcake should be! The base is a buttermilk cake with a generous amount of coconut in the batter. The cupcakes are topped with a cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with more coconut.

LESSON LEARNED: This recipe makes over 2 dozen cupcakes. This was way too much for my family gathering - luckily we were visiting friends the next day so I took half of them with me. :)

Recipe for Coconut Cupcakes

Lesson #153: German Chocolate Cupcakes

A little over a week ago I made these multiple component cupcakes for my grandpa's birthday. As long as I can remember, German Chocolate cake is one of his favorite desserts. I was excited to make these because I have never made German Chocolate cake from scratch before. Sure, I have opened up a cake mix box and canned frosting, but I wanted to see if I could make it completely homemade. I believe the last time I tried was about 10 years ago as an entry for the county fair. If I remember correctly, my recipe did not work out well and I ended up scraping the project and using a boxed cake mix........

Well, this time I was successful! The cake was extra light and fluffy due to whipping egg white and folding them into the batter. BTW, this makes the raw cake batter INCREDIBLY silky and makes you want to eat spoonfuls of it! I guess that's the benefit of cooking by yourself, you can do things like this with absolutely no shame. :)

The filling is a cooked custard with toasted pecans and coconut. Piped along the side is a dark chocolate ganache. It was around 95 degrees the day I made these, so they started to get a little soft from the heat. I ended up placing some cupcakes in 1/2 pint jam jars (the same jars I used for these desserts). It worked perfectly!

LESSON LEARNED: I froze some of these cupcakes (assembled with frosting) after I made these so the filling/frosting wouldn't melt. They were just as good to eat when I pulled them out of the freezer.

Recipe for German Chocolate Cupcakes

Lesson #138: Funfetti Cupcakes

Last weekend I was asked by my cousin to make birthday cupcakes for her son's second birthday party. She didn't have any requests besides baking some of the cupcakes in ice cream cones so it was easier for the little kids at the party to grab-and-go with their dessert.  That was such a great idea!

I adapted my favorite vanilla cake recipe by adding a ton of sprinkles to make "Funfetti Cupcakes". For half of the cupcakes, I baked the batter in regular cupcake liners and added an edible image on top (which I purchased on Etsy). For the other cupcakes, I baked the cake in ice cream cones, topped them with a swirl of frosting, and garnished with sprinkles. They were super fun and the kids absolutely loved them!

I only had my cell phone camera when I set up the cake, but you'll get the general idea. The birthday boy is the one driving his birthday present Jeep!

 LESSON LEARNED: Sometimes cupcakes baked in the ice cream cones will sink after they come out of the oven. Don't worry - just cover the top with a swirl of frosting and no one will ever know!

Recipe for Funfetti Cupcakes

Lesson #136: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Even though my life has gotten hectic since we've moved, I decided to take the morning and bake these multiple component cupcakes. Boy, was I glad I did!

The cupcakes are a brown sugar cupcake with chocolate chips baked right into the batter. The filling is an egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough (warning: you will want to eat a few spoonfuls of this by itself!). The frosting is a brown sugar butter cream that really tastes like cookies. AND the cupcakes are topped off with mini chocolate chips. Too cute!

Here's a photo of the finished product, but I took some pictures along to way to give you an idea of how they are assembled.

LESSON LEARNED: Make each part of the cupcake in steps. That way it doesn't seem as overwhelming.

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Lesson #132: Baby Shower Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I baked cupcakes for a baby shower. Since moving into our new house, I haven't had time to take big baking projects, so taking the time to make 9 dozen cupcakes was a nice change of pace. I adapted one of my cupcake recipes that worked well for large batches. The recipe acted like a blank slate for flavoring the cupcakes since I needed to make 3 dozen of different flavors (vanilla bean, chocolate, and strawberry). Overall, the cupcakes were well received and the display was pretty cute!

LESSON LEARNED: When making a large amount of cupcakes, use one recipe as a base and adapt it as necessary.

Recipe for Versatile Cupcakes

Lesson #124: Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

These cupcakes are so CUTE! Not only do they look like eggs, they have a surprise in the middle!

I made them as part of our Easter celebration along with a few other desserts I'll be posting this week. The cupcake base was a "new-to-me" recipe and uses chocolate syrup as part of the batter. These cupcakes are incredibly moist. I made them Friday night and by today they were still great.

LESSON LEARNED: Be warned - these are extremely rich! They might be good as mini-cupcakes or eaten with a glass of milk.

Recipe for Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Lesson #117: Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I decided the combine the idea of a root beer float with a cupcake. Since I've made cherry cola cupcakes before, I thought this would be a fun idea for a cupcake. Boy, I was right!

I substituted root beer for some of the milk in my favorite vanilla cake recipe, topped the cupcakes with a slightly sweet whipped cream, and garnished with a cherry. I'll definitely be bringing these back during summer grilling season!

LESSON LEARNED: These are best enjoyed the same day they are baked. Even in the refrigerator, the whipped cream becomes "deflated" after half a day.

Recipe for Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Lesson #97: Red Velvet Cherry Cupcakes

I'm usually not a big fan of red velvet cake, but these cute cupcakes stole my heart. The cupcakes give a nod towards being a red velvet cake, but incorporate an AMAZING cherry flavor. What's the secret? Reducing a good amount of cherry cola by half and adding a bit of almond extract to the cupcake batter. The frosting is a combination of cream cheese and whipped cream. The frosting is sweet & tangy and has an INCREDIBLY light texture. I might pass on a red velvet cupcake, but never on one of these.

LESSON LEARNED: Reducing cherry cola and adding almond extract give these cupcakes a pronounced cherry flavor.

Recipe for Red Velvet Cherry Cupcakes

Lesson #90: Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Over the past week, I've been in the mood for a comfort dessert. I've been fighting a sinus infection, so all I really feel like doing is sitting around :(

My favorite cake combination is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. When I made cake from box mixes, this is always what I would choose. I picked up a cake book from the library a few weeks ago which mixed up cakes just using one bowl. It seemed like a pretty straightforward method (no creaming the butter & sugar and alternating between milk and a flour mixture here!). You dump the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the wet ingredients, and mix.

The cakes turned out surprisingly great! They were moist and had a yummy butter flavor. I also mixed up a sour cream chocolate frosting which had just the right amount of tang. These cupcakes were so YUMMY that my husband started to eat them before I had the chance to frost all of them.

LESSON LEARNED: This recipe for a one bowl cake worked well!

Recipe for Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Lesson #81: Caramel Cupcakes

Today is my mom's birthday, so I made these cupcakes especially for her! These are super FANTASTIC cupcakes and since she doesn't eat chocolate, these make the perfect birthday cake.

Caramel is incorporated into both the cake batter and frosting. The cake has a nice mellow caramel flavor and the frosting is buttery, yet not-too-sweet. My homemade caramel sauce from yesterday is mixed into the frosting. Do you see the specks of vanilla bean in the frosting? Both parts of this cake are good, but when you eat them together in one forkful, the caramel flavor really shines. Enjoy!

LESSON LEARNED: Homemade caramel sauce has many yummy uses!

Recipe for Caramel Cupcakes

Lesson #54: Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Happy December! I thought I would start off the month with these festive cupcakes to get in the holiday spirit.

The cupcakes have a white cake base which is swirled with a mint flavored batter. To mix up the flavors, I made a few different icings. One was a mint flavored meringue and a chocolate butter cream. These cupcakes are just minty enough without being too overwhelming.

LESSON LEARNED: These cupcakes look pretty and taste good too!

Recipe for Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Lesson #48: Fudge Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Ganache

Yes, these cupcakes contain dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and cocoa powder and are GUARANTEED to satisfy your chocolate craving! I made them last week and shared them with my evening class :)

Most of the time, I could take or leave uncooked cake batter. I usually test a little bit to make sure it tastes OK, but this uncooked batter is AMAZING. I wouldn't recommend eating the whole thing (that is, if you are worried about raw eggs), but a good spoonful probably isn't going to hurt you. It has a mousse-like quality- very light and fluffy. After these cupcakes bake and cool, they have a very fudge dark chocolate taste. I topped them off with some milk chocolate ganache and they were PERFECT!

LESSON LEARNED: Adding 3 types of chocolate to cupcakes = AMAZING results!

Recipe for Fudge Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Ganache

Lesson #37: Chocolate-Filled Sweet Potato Cupcakes

Last weekend while we were in Atlanta, my mother-in-law Laurie gave me this recipe. We both agreed it sounded good and different than typical cupcakes, so I was excited to try it!

There are two special things about these cupcakes: mashed sweet potatoes are incorporated into the batter, and part way through baking, a chocolate kiss is placed in the partially baked cupcake. The cupcakes are simple to put together and are DELICIOUS!

The cupcakes have a wonderful sweet and starchy flavor from the sweet potatoes. Pumpkin pie spice is also added to the batter which gives them a warm & spicy flavor. The chocolate frosting combines both milk and bittersweet chocolate - which perfectly compliments the chocolate kiss in the center of the cupcake. These are a PERFECT addition to your favorite fall desserts!

LESSON LEARNED: Placing a chocolate kiss partway through the baking time, prevents the chocolate from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake.

Recipe for Chocolate-Filled Sweet Potato Cupcakes

Lesson #21: Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Yesterday was my birthday! I had to teach ALL day (three classes- 8am, 3:30pm, 6:55pm!) so I decided to make some cupcakes to share all day long. I think that I love giving all my baked goods away just as much as I like the actual baking :)

I decided on a chocolate cupcake with a white chocolate ganache frosting. The chocolate cake was YUMMY and had just the right amount of chocolate so it wasn't too rich. The frosting, however, was AMAZING! It was like eating a cloud made of white chocolate. In terms of ganache, it wasn't a firm ganache (like you see in truffles), but instead fell on a medium to soft range. The proportion of chocolate to heavy cream was 1 to 2 - so it had twice as much cream as chocolate. After the ganache chilled in the refrigerator a while, you whip it up to it's magical lightness. I, of course, garnished them with a little candy sprinkles since it was my birthday!

LESSON LEARNED: This recipe for white chocolate ganache is amazing!

Recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Lesson #12: Cinnamon Sugar "Toast" Cupcakes

When I was growing up, one of my favorite ways to eat toast was buttering it and then sprinkling a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on top. In fact, I still prefer to eat toast this way! So, when I came across a recipe for a cinnamon sugar cupcake, I had to try it.

This is a buttery yellow cake and the frosting really packs a cinnamon sugar punch. The consistency of the frosting is a mixture of a traditional powdered sugar/butter frosting and a whipped cream frosting, so it's sweet but also light. I think I might have let my butter get too soft when preparing the frosting, but it works in this cupcake because you can really taste a butter flavor. I garnished the cupcakes with a little caramel sauce, but pieces of cinnamon toast crunch cereal would also be great and give the cupcake a little bit of texture. This cupcake really does taste like eating a piece of cinnamon sugar toast!

LESSON LEARNED: This breakfast flavored cupcake is just as good as the original inspiration!

Recipe for Cinnamon Sugar "Toast" Cupcakes

Lesson #9: Roasted Apple Cupcakes with Apple-Cinnamon Frosting

Over the last few weeks I've made a ton of baked goods to send to a bridal shower in Wisconsin. The last thing on the menu was an apple cupcake. We just started to get locally grown apples at the grocery store, so I was super excited to come up with a recipe! First, I decided to roast the apples in the oven to make sure they cooked in enough time since I was making mini cupcakes. Who wants crunchy apples in a cupcake? :)

As I was making the cupcakes, I was deciding which type of frosting would go best with these cupcakes. At first, I thought I would make a caramel buttercream, but I noticed that when I roasted the apples, they released some of their juices which created an apple syrup. I thought that would be the perfect addition to the frosting and - viola - I came up with apple-cinnamon frosting!

These cupcakes have a rich, buttery taste with diced cinnamon apples. The frosting is wonderfully light and fluffy and flavored with the liquid from the roasted apples. They are super yummy!

LESSON LEARNED: Apple-cinnamon syrup makes an awesome addition to frosting!

 Recipe for Roasted Apple Cupcakes with Apple-Cinnamon Frosting

Lesson #4: Chocolate Chai Tea Cupcakes

Cupcakes seem to be one of my "go-to" desserts. They take less time to make and I can easily give them away to people (at least compared to a slice of cake). This weekend, I thought I would try a new technique for infusing flavors into my cupcakes. I wanted to create a chai tea cupcake for my friend Jess (who LOVES chai tea!). I was inspired by combining the recipes for a chocolate spice cake with a chai pot de creme (think creme brulee without the sugary crust).

I used two different techniques with resulted in this light and airy, yet delightfully spicy, chocolate cupcake. First, I warmed milk with chai teabags, a stick of cinnamon, and a few cardamon pods and whole cloves and let this steep for about an hour. I then incorporated this milk into the cake batter. Second, after I mixed up the cupcakes, I folded in whipped egg whites right before baking. This makes the texture of the cupcake very light and avoids dense, "muffin-like" cupcakes. As long as I have the time, I use this egg white technique every time I make cakes. Enjoy!

LESSON LEARNED: One way to infuse flavor into a cake is to steep the milk used in the batter.


Recipe for Chocolate Chai Tea Cupcakes

Lesson #3: Cinnamon French Toast Cupcakes

On Friday, I decided to surprise my husband by making French toast for breakfast. We had some leftover sourdough bread from the week (I've been making my own sourdough starter for the last three weeks by "feeding and watering" it everyday....but that's story for another post!), so I cut into pretty thick slices, dunked into into my egg/milk/brown sugar batter, and sauteed it in some butter. Well, I think I cut the slices too thick and the egg didn't soak into the bread, so it didn't quite turn out. It was a poor excuse for French toast.

Later that day, I thought I could redeem my baking skills for the day and transform my French toast Flavors into a cupcake. The end result was a cinnamon cupcake with a sweet (yet slightly tangy) maple cream cheese frosting. They were WAY better than my first attempt and, honestly, who wouldn't want to eat a cupcake for breakfast?

LESSON LEARNED: Cinnamon french toast is a yummy cupcake flavor!


Recipe for Cinnamon French Toast Cupcakes