Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've never made red velvet cupcakes nor do I usually choose them when given the option at a bakery, but my little girl really wanted me to make some (presumably because they are red). So, I looked around the web, flipped through some cook books and decided on this recipe from McCormick's. 

The cupcakes came out soft and perfectly moist. They had just the right amount of cocoa flavor that paired really well with the cream cheese frosting. My whole family really enjoyed these and I would make them again. They would be super cute for Valentines! Especially in mini sizes.

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Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 30 Regular Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 bottle (1 ounce) McCormick® Red Food Color
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened, 2 tablespoons sour cream and 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Source: McCormicks

Salted Caramel Cupcakes!

A moist brown sugar cupcake is filled with gooey caramel, topped with a fluffy salted caramel butter cream and drizzled with more caramel. This is one delicious cupcake.

After the cupcakes are baked and cooled, the centers are cut out and filled with caramel.

The tops get put back on...

And the cupcakes get a generous swirl of salted caramel buttercream and a nice drizzle of caramel sauce.

I really enjoyed these cupcakes and I think you will too!
The recipe looks daunting, but see my tips below for an easier method.


Salted Caramel Cupcakes Source: Sprinkle Bakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt together and set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-high until the batter begins to appear fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until each is well incorporated into the mixture. Then add the vanilla.

In three batches, add the flour and alternate adding the buttermilk, making sure that each previous batch is incorporated before adding the next. Fill each muffin tin about half way with batter and bake for 23-25 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before the next step.


Salted Caramel Filling *

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
In a large pot, melt sugar over medium/high heat. Begin to gently whisk the sugar until it begins to melt. Add the butter and mix until it begins to melt. Incorporate the heavy cream. The mixture will immediately begin to foam.

Remove from heat and allow the sauce cool just slightly. Cut a small circle out of the top of each cupcake. Fill with a teaspoon of caramel sauce and re-top the cupcake piece that you cut out.


Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting **

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring at all, until it starts turning a deep brown/amber.

Remove from heat and very slowly add the cream and vanilla. Lightly mix until the mixture is smooth in texture. Allow the caramel to cool, for about 20-25 minutes, but make sure while it's cooling you keep an eye on it to make sure you're still able to pour it. If it gets too thick, you can add a touch of water, reheat on the stovetop, and continue whisking until the caramel is pourable again.

In your mixer, beat the butters and salt until fluffy. Slow the mixer speed down a bit and add the powdered sugar, until combined. Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the mixer and add in the caramel. Mix until all of the caramel is incorporated. Top the cupcakes with the frosting.

* I used a jar of Trader Joe's fleur de sel caramel in place of making it from scratch. I can eat that stuff with a spoon!

** For the frosting, I whipped together 1 stick butter with 1 1/2 cups powder sugar until fluffy. Then I beat in spoonfuls of the fleur de sel caramel until I got the flavor I wanted. It turned out delicious and saved me the hassle of making my own caramel. 

Grapefruit Cupcakes!

These cute little cupcakes have a tender, moist crumb and a fun grapefruit flavor. They would be perfect for a brunch or tea!

I had bowl full of delicious, juicy ruby red grapefruits from Trader Joe's. After taking one bite, I knew I had to bake something with them. I happened upon this cupcake recipe when I was blog surfing and had everything on hand, so I decided to whip some up. 

I tinted the batter pink to give it more of a ruby red appearance. Plus, my little girls love the color pink!

These cupcakes puff up with a nice even top, but not the typical dome shape you would expect for a cupcake. Which is fine for these, since they get glazed instead of frosted.

 I had some extra time, so I played around the cupcakes and grapefruit. He he.

 I'm a dork.

 They bake up super soft and fluffy. I loved the texture when biting into one of these.

These are simple looking, but also pretty and dainty. They would be cute in mini sizes too. Especially for brunch alongside a frittata and some fruit.

These tasted the best after the cupcake was completely cool and the glaze had time to set up. I tried one when it was slightly warm and I tossed some glaze on top just to taste it. I also had one about an hour later and that one was delicious. The grapefruit glaze really makes the flavor pop! 


If you have some ripe grapefruits sitting around, make some of these. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

Pink Grapefruit Cupcakes
Inspired by completelydelicious.com
Makes 8 cupcakes

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (115 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (124 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons (4 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 tablespoon grapefruit zest

For the icing:
1/2 cup (50 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
2 tablespoons grapefruit juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with non-stick cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and grapefruit zest. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Batter will be thick.

Spoon into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice until smooth and there are no lumps. Add more juice if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Spoon onto the cooled cupcakes and let sit for a few minutes to firm up before serving.

Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Rainbow Cupcakes

I'm making cupcakes for my sister-in-law's upcoming wedding in July. For her birthday last year, I made this yummy rainbow birthday cake. She absolutely loved it and requested it for her wedding. 


In addition to the bright wild colors, the cake is super moist and has a wonderful vanilla flavor. The whipped cream cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness. It's a cake mix cake, but it's so delicious that you devour every bite and don't think twice about what's in it.


The bride-to-be decided it would be fun to do cupcakes for the wedding instead of cake. So, I decided to do a test run on the recipe to make sure it would work come nuptial day.


Below is the colorful batter ready for the oven.

They all puffed up nicely with slightly crisp edges that were really tasty!

The cupcakes themselves turned out very moist and fluffy. I hate dry, dense cupcakes. Blah.

This whipped cream frosting is sooo good! It's light and creamy and goes really well with the cupcakes. The only problem is that whipped cream frosting can be a bit runny which makes it impossible to pipe. Since this frosting is so delicious, I tried using a stabilized whipped cream to see if that would thicken the frosting enough to pipe it. And...it worked!! So, this is the recipe I'll use for the wedding!! 

Here are some cute mini cupcakes my daughter made with her little cupcake pan. 

Someone decided to snitch a bit of frosting while I was taking pictures. Made me giggle.

I think these cupcakes are so cute and fun! Perfect for a birthday party or any occasion really. Plus, you can color the batter any way you want.

 I'm excited to make these psychedelic but oh-so-tasty cupcakes for the wedding!

Moist White Cake
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.


* I use a french vanilla cake mix and add a teaspoon of vanilla.

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions
In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.


* I used 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar instead of the granulated sugar and stabilized whipped cream to help thicken up the frosting. Worked well. Also, chill your mixing bowl and beaters before whipping the cream.

Cupcakes

I received a fun cupcake kit last week. It came with a cupcake and frosting mix, liners, sprinkles and a cute spatula. This particular kit was from Sam's Club. I made them with my little girls today and they turned out really tasty.

The cupcake batter was easy to mix up and required only butter and eggs.

They baked up quite nicely. Fluffy and moist.

The frosting was cocoa flavored and turned out creamy and delicious.

For a boxed mix, these were really yummy. The cupcakes were moist with a nice vanilla flavor and the frosting was chocolaty and good.

If you have this mix, make them, you'll enjoy them.

* Just for fun, I grated dove chocolate over the top of the cupcakes. I figured a little extra chocolate couldn't be a bad thing.

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

A yummy twist on the traditional pumpkin cupcake. These cupcakes are super moist and dense and have  a rich layer of cheesecake filling in the middle.

The Steps:

You make two batters; pumpkin and cream cheese. Start and end with the pumpkin batter and add a good dollop of cream cheese filling in between. 

Ready for the oven.

 25 minutes later, fluffy golden cupcakes emerge.

After cooling, you have a moist and dense cupcake.

The cream cheese layer wasn't as thick as I thought it would be, but still a nice addition. Maybe more cream cheese filling next time? Or adding little globs of it through the cupcake batter when you fill the liners?

I used a basic cream cheese frosting instead of the whipped brown sugar one the recipe calls for. I didn't have three extra sticks of butter for this recipes frosting!

For half of the frosting, I added cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg; the other half I left plain. Once the cupcakes were frosted, I sprinkled them all with nutmeg. Very simple, very delicious.

These cupcakes are moist and have a nice pumpkin flavor. The cream cheese filling adds extra moisture and richness. With a creamy frosting and a little nutmeg you have a delicious fall treat.

Mix - Bake - Frost - Enjoy

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs, plus 5 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
Simmering water
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled

DIRECTIONS:
Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.

Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

Using the electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fill a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top. Whisk the mixture until it registers 160° on an instant-read thermometer.

Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 6. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag; pipe large rosettes on top of the cupcakes.

Source: Rachael Ray

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

 I spotted these cupcakes on the delightful blog Indigo's Sugar Spectrum. I knew I had to make them as soon as I saw them! What's not to like about fluffy, moist, vanilla cupcakes topped with a mound of yummy vanilla buttercream?! These were sooo what I needed today! Enjoy. 

I used a piping bag and various tip to make cute designs on each cupcake.

Billy's Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes
Original Recipe: Billy Reece, owner of Billy's Bakery
Makes about 30 cupcakes
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Billy's Vanilla Buttercream
Colored sprinkles, for decorating (optional)
Makes enough for 30 cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

These unique cupcakes were in the October issue of the Rachael Ray magazine. There was something appealing about them, so I decided to whip up a batch today. Moist apple and spice cupcakes get a glorious crowning of rich caramel frosting. What's not to like?

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Here are the grated apples getting ready to be mixed into the brown sugar and spice batter.

I used my new grater from Ikea and the apples were a whiz to slice. Plus, there's a handy bowl to catch everything.

The cupcake liners are filled almost to the top and go into the oven for 25 minutes.

They didn't puffy up like regular cupcakes, probably from the heaviness of the apples, but they did turn a nice caramel color.

After the cupcakes cool, they get a generous topping of caramel frosting.

I love the sweet salty combo, so I sprinkled some flaked sea salt on top of mine. I also grated some fresh nutmeg on a few and that was tasty too!

I'll post the recipe soon. If you have a copy of the magazine, these are definitely worth making!