Cupcakes Posts

20Mar
8

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey’s Frosting

I have been waiting to make these cupcakes for several months now.  Being fiercely proud of my Irish heritage (and also a huge fan of Guinness), I knew that I had to make these for the international holiday of my people, St. Patrick’s Day!

My friend Ashley made these cupcakes a few years back, and the first thing I noticed was how unbelievably moist the beer makes the cupcake. Baking with beer is nothing new, but the combination of chocolate and smooth, malty Guinness is just amazing. I revisited the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and decided to give them a whirl.

The original (and many subsequent) recipe calls for a chocolate whiskey ganache, but since I was making these for coworkers, I figured I’d leave the Jameson for our happy hour. Even with just Guinness and Bailey’s, by the time these were devoured, my coworkers had dubbed them “boozecakes”. Next time, I’ll definitely fill these with ganache, and decide whether or not I want my recipients to be hammered.

Being a huge nerd, I decorated these things like crazy. And also listened to “The Wild Rover” on repeat.

I wonder what other treats I can make with beer and liquor?

Guinness Cupakes with Bailey's Frosting

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , , , ,
24Sep
2

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yes, pumpkin cupcakes again. It’s officially autumn, so pumpkin cupcakes will make an appearance at least one more time this season. Since I’ve already gone on and on and on and on and on about pumpkins in my previous posts, I’ll keep this one simple.

Ogle the beautiful pumpkiny goodness and find the recipe after the jump. I used the classic pumpkin cupcake recipe and this time topped them with cream cheese icing.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , , , ,
19Sep
4

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

I’m not really sure where the idea for Banana Cream Pie cupcakes came from, since I don’t even like bananas. I hate the banana-flavored Runts, avoid banana nut bread like the Black Death, and let’s not even talk about regular old bananas. Tastes like old socks to me. But hey, I understand that people enjoy bananas. And the homemade banana pudding I made for these cupcakes was actually pretty amazing (yes, I tasted it, and it’s AWESOME). And that’s saying something.

For the cupcakes, I just used a standard vanilla cupcake recipe (courtesy of Magnolia Bakery, of course). I used a standard vanilla buttercream for the frosting, but I bet adding in some cinnamon would be great.

When I was looking up banana cream pie recipes to adapt into cupcakes, I was shocked at how many called for regular vanilla pudding over banana slices….really? No banana-flavored pudding? Sigh. I figured I had to do it the old-fashioned way: making banana pudding from scratch.

As for the filling, I will warn you: it’s a lot of work. I got the recipe from Salon, of all places, and it called for a banana caramel with a traditional pudding base. You could just buy a box of Jell-o vanilla pudding and add in a couple of pureed bananas. but honestly, the homemade banana pudding is worth it.

To fill the cupcakes, I used the cone method, just like I did for the apple pie cupcakes. I topped these off with a crushed vanilla wafer garnish.

I recommend making the pudding first, and have it cool while you’re baking the cupcakes.

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , ,
12Sep
4

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Autumn is my favorite time to bake – second only to Christmas, of course. Fall baking is indulgent and sweet and almost always includes a heavy dose of cinnamon. Plus, they always seem to take advantage of some of the delicious things so prevalent during the season: apples and pumpkins. And we know how I feel about pumpkins.

These apple pie cupcakes are perfect if you want that apple pie fix without going through all the trouble of making a pie. Yes, the filling is a little labor-intensive, but whipping up a batch of cupcakes is nothing compared to a well-made pie crust.

Essentially, these are vanilla cupcakes with apple pie filling in the center. To fill the cupcakes, I used what’s known as the “cone method”. To do this, take a paring knife and place it about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cupcake and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Cut around the cupcake until you have a cone-shaped cupcake top which can then be removed. I’m sure you could do something yummy with those.

I drizzled a little caramel sauce on these before I frosted them, which was messy, but tasted great.

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , ,
03Sep
8

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I’ve started this blog! It’s been so much fun baking and updating every week. I hope I can do this for many more years! In honor of the beginning of September, this week I made pumpkin cupcakes (which, loyal readers, I hope you remember was the first recipe I ever posted on the blog). Hopefully these turned out a lot better.

I don’t know about where you are, but here in Upstate New York this week has been a scorcher, which is why I wasn’t sure if the world was ready for pumpkin quite yet. Yes, it’s September. Yes, pumpkin beer and pumpkin lattes have already been rolled out at most retail locations. It just seems a little weird eating pumpkin-and-cinnamon-flavored treats when it’s a hot and hazy 93 degrees outside. Nevertheless, pumpkin is just too good to put off any longer, so here they are!

I’ve posted the original pumpkin cupcake recipe again after the jump. You’ll also find my improved frosting recipe – this time, a cinnamon buttercream instead of that brown sugar monstrosity from last year. If it wasn’t my first post, I’d delete it. Why did you guys eat those things?!

These are much more adorable:

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , , , ,
29Aug
0

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Despite last week’s creativity, this week I’m going with a classic: red velvet cake. I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize that red velvet is really just chocolate cake with red food dye :-/ But it’s delicious!

Red velvet cake always reminds me of the holidays when my great aunt would bring an aaaaaa-mazing red velvet cake to Christmas dinner. It’s such a comfort food! The rich texture, the treacly-sweet frosting…so good. Even though it’s summer (just barely anymore!), red velvet cake instantly brings me back.

This is my second attempt, and everyone has their own version of the red velvet cupcake. Although, I want to vent about something that I encountered a lot while looking for recipes: people bitching about the red food dye. They wanted something “natural” and “healthier”. Dude…you’re making cupcakes. They’re not exactly beacons of health.

Anyway, let’s ooh and ahh over cupcakes. I made these with cream cheese frosting, and I’ve found it absolutely necessary to mix in the cream cheese while it’s cold (not softened like many recipes call for). Warm cream cheese is runny and gross, so keep it cold!

This recipe is mildly adapted from Joy the Baker’s website, who got it from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , ,
20Aug
9

French Toast Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting

I was full of baking inspiration this week! After getting sick of making the same-old vanilla cupcakes, I wanted to do something exciting. Not a copycat recipe, not something shamelessly stolen from Magnolia Bakery…something somewhat original. And it is very hard to find something that no one else has baked before. There are a lot of creative bakers out there. Even though this recipe has been done, I think this recipe has an edge.

When I came up with this recipe, I tried to think about what makes French toast, French toast: cinnamon, egg, and maple syrup. I added an extra yolk to the cupcake batter, and maple extract to the super-decadent mascarpone frosting, since most stuffed French toast is filled with mascarpone or cream cheese. Okay, the mascarpone frosting didn’t work out, so I adapted the famous Magnolia buttercream to taste like maple syrup!

And these cupcakes taste exactly like French toast. It’s almost a little weird.

But, that means they count as breakfast, right?

French Toast Cupcakes

Recipe after the jump.

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , ,
11Aug
1

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

…so I lied in my last post. Meant to post these right after Independence Day but summer got in the way. Nevertheless, here they are: my patriotic Magnolia vanilla cupcakes with complementary vanilla buttercream!

Apologies for the distant photograph; was enjoying the Fourth of July party far too much to take pictures. Sparklers are from a local party store, and sugar lime cookies courtesy of my wonderful friend Ashley, who accompanied me on my baking and Fourth of July journeys this year. It was wonderful having her back in town, if only for a few days! No one (other than my mom) appreciates baking in the kitchen watching good movies more than her.

Embarrassingly enough, on my first attempt making these cupcakes that night, I dropped an entire egg into the batter, and my beloved KitchenAid mixer dutifully chopped the eggshell into bits within seconds. I tried picking out the bits of shell, but soon admitted defeat and started over again. Such is life.

I’ve posted the Magnolia vanilla cupcake recipe previously (when I made my Super Bowl cupcakes earlier this year), but I’m posting the recipe after the jump for convenience. Hopefully Ashley will do a guest post and provide the recipe for her awesome sugar lime cookies!

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , ,
29Jun
2

Coming Soon…

They’ve been referred to as “crack cupcakes” due to their overwhelming deliciousness. They are perhaps even better than Reese’s cupcakes. They rarely make it to the end of any party, never mind a normal work day at the office. And I will be making the most epic version of this classic cupcake for Independence Day.

Stay tuned!

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes, News and tagged with
28Feb
10

Reese’s Cupcakes

I’m not going to say I invented these cupcakes. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter has long been replicated in baking recipes. I will, however, say I did this recipe the best I could find. These are not just chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting…these are REESE’S CUPCAKES. As in, just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. As in, amazing.

You could use the Magnolia chocolate cupcake recipe (the old standby), but I instead used a devil’s food cake recipe that made for some awesomely fluffy cupcakes. Frosting is simple and completely foolproof, and I crumbled up some peanut butter cups for garnish. I suppose you could use Reese’s Pieces as well, but let’s be serious. Peanut butter cups are way better.

Am I right?

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , , ,
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