French Quarter Bananas Foster Cupcakes

Today was a just for fun cupcake baking day. I wanted to try a  different recipe for a wedding shower I am doing in June, but after that I felt the need to keep baking. I wanted something original, that I hadn't done before, but I didn't want to go back to the store. After looking around the kitchen, I saw the bananas I had recently bought and decided it was a time to try out a banana cupcake. While I was looking at recipes on Pinterest, I came across one for Bananas Foster Cupcakes. Yum! They didn't have frosting, which I liked because I felt frosting-ed out after my wedding shower practice cupcakes. And they were something I had never made before. I modified the original recipe I found here. I didn't have coconut milk, so I used buttermilk instead. I also only made 12 cupcakes and cut the recipe measurements in half.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (room temp)                          1/4 tsp vanilla

2 eggs (room temp)                                      1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup AP flour                                                1/3 cup coconut

1 tsp baking powder                                      1/8 cup rum

3/4 cup sugar                                                  1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter. Add sugar, beating until combined.
3. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternate flour mixture and buttermilk.
4. Fold in coconut and rum.

5. Spoon batter into lined cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely.

Bananas Foster Topping Ingredients:
*I used the original amount for the topping and I only had a little bit left over.

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 bananas, sliced
1/4 cup rum

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the bananas and toss so they are completely coated. Cook for a few minutes.
2. While bananas are cooking, heat rum in a small saucepan until it simmers.
3. Take rum off of heat and add to banana mixture.

4. Let sit for a few minutes so the brown sugar thickens a bit.
5. Spoon bananas foster topping onto cupcakes.

Yum!! These cupcakes are delicious!! It is nice to eat one without all that icing. They are different and not as heavy as a typical cupcakes. I will be making these again :)

Samoa Girl Scout Cupcakes

Girl Scout cookie season may have ended, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the delicious taste of a Girl Scout cookie at any time of year. Samoas are my favorite Girl Scout cookie. Chocolate, coconut and caramel - what is there not to love? I decided to make a Samoa cupcake that includes all 3 ingredients to really taste like the cookie. I looked up a few recipes and used a variation of a recipe found on the blog Sweet Little Details. I made up the filling to go with them because I wanted a little more coconut. I also increased all of the ingredients and ended up with 3 dozen delicious Samoa cupcakes! 


Chocolate Coconut Cupcake Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa
2 1/4 sticks butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk

Ingredients 

1. In a bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and flour.
2. In another bowl, cream butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and coconut until fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each.
4. Mix the dry ingredients and milk, alternating between the two.
5. Fill cupcake pan and bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes.
6. Let cool completely.


Next up is the filling. I love filled cupcakes! It is so much better biting into a cupcake and having a surprise in the middle. For the filling, I made a coconut butter cream.


Coconut Filling Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp coconut extract
Shredded coconut


1. Beat butter, powdered sugar, milk, and coconut. 
2. Fold in coconut.
3. Cut tops of cupcakes and fill with coconut filling.

Chocolate Coconut cupcakes with Coconut filling

Finally, it is time for the Caramel Butter Cream Frosting and the other delicious toppings


Ingredients: 
3 sticks of butter
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 tsp vanilla
6 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups coconut, toasted 
1/2 cup chocolate chips (for drizzle) 
*To toast coconut, spread onto a baking pan/sheet. Toast at 350 for 10 minutes.


1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the salt and brown sugar. Heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved. 
2. Stir in milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly.

3. Remove the pan fro the heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm (approx. 30-40 minutes), stirring occasionally. *(If you are in a hurry, I recommend putting it in the refrigerator to cool quickly)
4. One the caramel is lukewarm, transfer caramel to a large bowl. Set aside a small amount of the caramel for a drizzle on top.
5. Add the powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 
6. Frost cooled cupcakes.


Garnish:


7. Sprinkle toasted coconut over caramel frosting.
8. Heat chocolate chips in bowl until melted. Drizzle over the top of the coconut.
9. Use the extra caramel and drizzle over the top. 

Coconut filling

Now you can enjoy the delicious Girl Scout cookie taste all year round! Enjoy with a glass of milk, just like the cookie. This filling was AMAZING! I will definitely use it again for a filling or even a frosting. Using the ingredients I listed makes about 3 dozen cupcakes, so if you don't want that many make sure you cut the amounts in half! 

Happy Easter! - Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I can't stop baking! Even while on spring break in Florida, I had to bake for my wonderful hosts. I have been wanting to try carrot cake cupcakes, and being so close to Easter, it was a perfect choice. I looked at Southern Living for a few recipes, and ended up coming up with my own. I wanted to make something moist, on the semi-healthy side, and not too sweet. And I think I succeeded! The cupcakes turned out moist and not too sweet at all! Even the icing was not too sweet, even though I ended up with enough to frost nearly 3x the cupcakes I made. I used ideas from 2 recipes from Southern Living, which can be found here.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

*makes approx 16 cupcakes (or 12 cupcakes and some carrot cake bars-so good!)*


Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

2 eggs and 2 egg whites

¼ cup applesauce

1/2 cup butter milk (made with 1% milk and lemon juice)

1 tsp vanilla

1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained

2 1/2 cups grated carrot

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside

2. Mix together eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. 

3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture.

4. Fold in pineapples, carrots and coconut.

4. Pour batter into cupcake pan, and bake on 350 for 15-18 minutes.

5. Let cool completely.

While cupcakes are cooling, you can make the cream cheese frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz. fat free cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 TBSP of butter, softened

Coconut for sprinkling

1. Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla at medium speed until creamy. 

2. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency. 

3. Spread on cupcakes and sprinkle coconut over top.

A delicious spring treat that is not too sweet, and not too terrible on the waistline (unless you eat 3 cupcakes like I did!) The cake and frosting balance each other perfectly. The only thing I would change is to spray my cupcake liners with cooking spray because they stuck a lot to the liners. Otherwise, absolutely delicious! 

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes-Take 1

My first big cupcake sale will be making 60-70 cupcakes for a bridal shower in June. I have been thinking a lot about flavors, and because it is going to be in the summer, I thought light and fruity cupcakes would be best. Before the big day, I want to make sure my recipes are absolutely perfect by the time I serve them to the guests. So, my first practice round on cupcake #1 begins. These cupcakes were inspired by the strawberry shortcake dessert. Starting with a vanilla cupcake, a strawberry filling, and then strawberry butter cream. I am still playing around with the idea of vanilla butter cream or strawberry, and experimenting with decorations/frosting colors. 

I started with a basic, but delicious vanilla cupcake, similar to this one from Martha Stewart.  

The rest of the recipe I came up with after looking at various ones on baking websites. The next step, after cupcakes are cooled, is the filling. I wanted something sweeter than plain strawberry puree, so I added sugar and boiled the 2 together. 

Approx. 1 container of strawberries, pureed and 1/4 cup sugar.
1 packet unflavored gelatin, 2 tbsp water 

Next, I used a packet of unflavored gelatin. I dissolved the gelatin in 2 tbsp of water for a few minutes before adding the strawberry and sugar mixture. Let the mixture chill in the refrigerator until set.

Once set, it is time to fill the cupcakes! Cut out the center of the cupcake, fill with the strawberry gelatin mixture, and cover back up with the cupcake. 

Time for the frosting! I made a basic butter cream:

2 sticks room temperature butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

5-6 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

Beat butter until creamy, add in vanilla. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, and milk until reach desired consistency.

At this point, I divided the frosting in half, half butter cream and the other half I turned into strawberry butter cream. I did this by using some of the left over strawberry puree/sugar mixture and more powdered sugar. 

And I wanted to practice with fondant, so I made fondant flowers!  

The vanilla butter cream, I colored purple (the shower colors are purple and green) to experiment with a colored frosting. And the strawberry butter cream came out with a very light pink tint. 

The jury is still out on the cupcakes, decorations, and frosting, but it is a start! 

Look for more strawberry shortcake cupcakes in the future, as well as some practice with Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes! 

Cherry Blossoms Cupcakes

A month or so ago, I decided to take my cupcakes to another level and entered into the National Cake Show at the end of March. My first task, deciding what kind of cupcakes I would make. I thought about a spring or Easter theme, but my mom suggested cherry blossoms. The idea was perfect. The Cherry Blossom Festival would be starting soon and cherry blossom cupcakes were original. The judging was based on appearance, not on taste, and I knew my usual frosting wasn't going to cut it. So my next task was teaching myself how to use fondant and gum paste, both foreign to me. After weeks of practice, I finally put together 13 cherry blossom cupcakes on a funky cupcake tree. I wound cherry blossoms from the craft store around the tree to add to the effect.


I started with chocolate cupcakes. I wanted the cupcakes to fill the cupcake tree, so I over filled the batter a bit so they would be very full. I then used green fondant and a circle cookie cutter to make the green fondant background.

Next came the gum paste flowers. I used a little bit of red icing color to dye the white gum paste. I think molded the flowers from a fondant/gum paste mold. I molded 1 large flower and 2 small flowers for each cupcake.

Next, I dusted each flower with pink fondant dust and added it to the fondant covered cupcake. 

Last but not least, the stems. I used chocolate frosting to pipe on the stems of the cherry blossoms. 

And the finished product on the cupcakes on the cupcake tree. So how did I do in the cupcake contest?

3rd Place!!

I was very happy to win and now love using fondant and gum paste. The possibilities for future cupcakes are endless! 

Spring Cupcakes - Taking Orders!

It is time for March Madness, Easter, and Spring! My newest cupcakes creations are all about the things that make the season! 

First up, March Madness Basketball Cupcakes. I used a Chocolate Cupcakes with an Orange Cream Butter Cream frosting. Yum! 

Next, Easter Peeps, Flowers, and Egg Nests! All of them are a Strawberry cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting. The egg nests and peeps are made with toasted coconut and jelly beans.

And my Baby Shower Cupcakes idea! Pink or Blue Egg Nests! 

So order you spring cupcakes now!! $20 a dozen, or $12 for a half dozen. 

*Thanks to Becky for helping out with these spring time creations!*

On St. Patty's Day, Everyone is Irish!

Every year on March 17th, my Irish roots come out. I mean, my dad was born on March 17th so I must be Irish, right? This year I am celebrating the day with a Rock and roll Half Marathon in DC, followed by a day of celebrating with some Guinness, festive cake balls, and maybe even a shamrock shake or two (not necessarily in that order!). The 17th isn't for a few days, but why not begin celebrating early! For my cake pops, I made two different kinds of cake. The first I found from a Pinterest recipe at one of my new favorite blogs, Love from the Oven. This recipe is for Green Velvet Cake Balls. The second was a recipe from the Cake Doctor (but using from scratch cake) for Bailey's Chocolate Cream Cake Pops. Both delicious! For both of these, I used my cake pop maker, which is much more efficient than doing them all by hand. 
First up - Green Velvet Cake Balls!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 oz green food coloring

1. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Add all of the liquid ingredients, adding the food coloring last. Whisk until blended, and set aside. 
2. Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. 
3. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix on medium-high until well combined.

My batter wasn't as green as I wanted, but good enough!

4. Pour batter into heated cake pop maker an wait 5-6 minutes until done.

I need to be a little better about pouring!

5. Allow to cool and freeze until you are ready to decorate. You can freeze for a couple of weeks if you want to make a lot in advance.

A little brown on the outside, but all green in the middle!

Next up - Bailey's Chocolate Cream Cake Pops
I didn't have a chance to take any pictures while I made these, but here is the recipe. 
*And it is completely acceptable to drink some of the Bailey's while making these ;) Maybe why I didn't take any pictures. Hmmmm....


            Cake Ingredients:

• Your favorite chocolate cake batter, or mix.
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream (yum!)
• 3 eggs

         Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

• 4 ounces whipping cream
• 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate

1. Mix all ingredients on high in mixer until completely incorporated.
2. Pour into heated cake pop maker. Wait 6-7 minutes until done. *These ones took a little longer then the green velvet.
3. Cool and freeze until you are ready to decorate.
And now for the decorations!! 
For the Green Velvet Cake pops, I used white chocolate and green chocolate pieces. After dipping cake pops, I used a fun St. Patrick's Day sprinkles mix to decorate. 


For the Bailey's Cake Pops, I used the Chocolate Ganache. Finely chop the chocolate. Heat whipping cream in a small saucepan on the stove. When it just starts to boil, take off heat and pour in chopped chocolate. Stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Dip cake pops in ganache, and decorate!

March is one of my favorite months because St. Patrick's Day means Shamrock Shakes!!! I LOVE Shamrock Shakes. I feel they should have them all year round. But instead of going to buy one, I decided to make a healthier one on my own. So easy, delicious, and doesn't make me feel as bad. 


Shamrock Shake Ingredients:

cup Fat Free Milk

Fat Free frozen yogurt

1/4-1/2 tsp. Peppermint extract (depending on how minty you like and how big your shake is)

Green food coloring


*I didn't put measurements, because it depends on how much shake you want!


1. Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend.
2. Pour into a glass, and accent with some St. Patty's day sprinkles if you have them.

Minty Deliciousness! 

Now it is time to celebrate! Whether you are enjoying a Guinness, corn beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, green velvet cake balls, or a shamrock shake, there is something for everyone on St. Patrick's Day (even if you aren't Irish)! 

Healthy dinners for the week!

Don't worry, I am not done baking, there will be plenty in future weeks! I decided to change things up this week after all of my Pinterest recipe hunting recently. This weekend, I made 2 delicious dishes to use for lunches and dinner this week. The first came directly from a Pinterest recipe I found for Goat Cheese and Spinach Mashed Sweet Potatoes. The second came from the veggie burger ideas I found. I was determined to use the bag of lentils I have had stored in the pantry and found this great recipe from Food and Wine for Cumin Spiced Red Lentil Burgers. I adapted this second recipe to fit my taste and I used regular lentils instead of red. The burgers were no quick cook, but the result of both is some nomtastic healthy meals all week!

Lentil Veggie Burgers



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups red lentils

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp cumin

pinch red pepper flakes

cracked black pepper

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

*For my burgers, I decided not to go the curry route, but used marjoram, cumin, and red pepper instead. So good!

1. In a medium saucepan, cook lentils as directed until water has nearly evaporated and lentils are cooked completely. Drain any excess water.

2. In a pan, heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil. Add onions and cook until soft.
3. Add garlic and carrots. Cook 3-4 minutes until soft.
4. Add celery and red pepper to soften.

5. Add spices, stir and coat veggies. Remove from heat.
6. Add veggie mixture to lentils. Add bread crumbs, parsley, egg and stir.

7. Form into patties.

At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for a day or two, or continue on!

8. Preheat your broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Brush both sides of patties with olive oil. Broil lightly on both sides for 4-5 minutes.

Goat Cheese and Spinach Mashed Sweet Potatoes



Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 ounce goat cheese
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
1 shallot, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
2-3 sprigs of dried thyme

1. Bring a pot of water with sweet potatoes to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. While potatoes cook, saute shallots in olive oil until softened and brown.

3. Combine cooked potatoes, sauteed shallots, spinach, goat cheese, milk, and thyme in a medium bowl.

4. Mash together with a potato masher or fork.

5. Add salt and pepper, and mash again.

A delicious and healthy meal! The recipe for the lentil burgers made enough to keep some out for the week, and freeze a whole bunch more. The burgers can be used as actual burgers, or similar to falafel on a salad or as a side dish. I put them on a bed of spinach, with the mashed sweet potatoes on the side. The lentil burgers are so meaty and flavorful. You really don't notice that they are made with lentils and veggies. They are delicious and nutritious!

Nom!!





Birthday Celebrations with Lemon Bar Cupcakes

February seems to be the birthday month for those around me. I have at least 4 friends and my brother's birthday to celebrate this month. This past week, my friends and I celebrated the birth of one of the best - Brittany - with wine, appetizers, comedy, and cupcakes. Britt loves lemon bars, and I was determined to find a recipe for lemon bar cupcakes. I came across a number of recipes, but ended up mixing and matching to make my unique cupcakes. The result - delicious lemon cupcakes, with a shortbread crust, filled with lemon curd, and topped with lemon cream cheese frosting. Yum!! And a perfect treat for someone who gave up chocolate for Lent (me!).

There are a lot of ingredients in this recipes, and a lot of parts to it. If you are looking for fast cupcakes, these are not it. This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes, so you have plenty to share :)

Cake, crust, and lemon curd ingredients (explained further below)

Shortbread Crust:

33 Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies (crushed)  

*You can use any short bread cookies here

6 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp melted butter 

Place shortbread cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Stir until combined. Set aside. 

Lemon Curd:

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1cup fresh lemon juice

3 lemons, zested

1/2 cup butter, melted

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs.

2. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and melted butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. This means its ready to go! Set aside.

Lemon Cake Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon zest

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, plus 3 egg yolks

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with papers. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in 2 tbsp lemon juice. 

4. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until combined.

5. Take bowl of shortbread crumb crust mixture. Place a tablespoon of the mixture at the bottom of each muffin cup. Use the back of a spoon, or your fingers, to pack crumbs into the bottom of the cup. If any remaining crumbs, you can use on top of cupcakes.

6. Drop 1/3 cup of lemon batter into each cup.

7. Take lemon curd and drop 1/2-1 tsp into each cup filled with batter. The lemon curd with disappear into the batter. 

8. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 

9. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

Use your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe

Mix in: Lemon juice, yellow food coloring

Ice cupcakes as desired. Sift powdered sugar over the top.

New cupcake display! 

These cupcakes were light, lemony, and delicious! A nice change from the typical rich chocolate or red velvet. These would be great for a spring or summer dessert. A group of beautiful ladies celebrating with  appetizers, wine, cupcakes, and comedy night was a success!

Happy Birthday, Britt!