S'mores Cupcakes

♥♥ Intermediate

I know that S'mores are typically a summer treat, but we seemed to be having them a lot around the new year (didn't I hear some where that they will bring luck to you throughout the year?) so I thought that it might be a good time to capitalize on a potential S'mores Cupcake.


If you like S'mores, you'll love these. If you're diabetic however, stay far away! These have double the sugar that most cupcakes do, and they're likely to put you in a sugar coma. These have by far been some of my favorite cupcakes yet.

What you'll need:

• 1 Box Dark Chocolate Fudge (Duncan Hines) Cake Mix (You can use any chocolate mix, but this is the best) 
• 1 1/3 Cup Water
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Marshmallow Cream 
• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Mini-Marshmallows
• Chocolate (for decoration. I like Milk Chocolate Candiquik) 

How it's done: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F, and line muffin tins with paper cups. Spoon 1 Teaspoon graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of each liner.

2. Combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs until thoroughly combined. Fill liners 3/4 full of cake mix, and bake for 19-22 minutes. Baking times will vary.

3. While cupcakes are baking, in a small bowl combine cream cheese, marshmallow cream, and powdered sugar until combined.

4. Once cupcakes have baked and cooled, make a small hole in the top of the cupcake and pull out a small amount of filling. (I like to use my hand-held apple corer for this job!)

5. Pipe cream cheese/marshmallow cream mixture into cupcakes. (Fill as much as you would like, but stop when cream reaches the top of the cupcake.

6. Pipe cream cheese frosting on top of cupcakes, and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Drop a few marshmallows on top, and drizzle with chocolate. (If you use the Candiquik, the chocolate will harden quickly.

ENJOY!

Carrot & Cream Cheese "MuffCakes"

♥ Beginner

Originally, these were called inside-out cupcakes because the frosting is on the inside... however, these are more like muffins (because they are great for breakfast!) with a cream cheese filling. Now we call them "MuffCakes".

These were a great hit at the ward linger-longer, and although I anticipated bringing some home because they aren't very pretty, they were all gone before we snuck out. If you're a carrott cake lover, or cream cheese lover (like myself) then you'll love these sweet little muffcakes as much as we do.

I originally made these from scratch, making my own carrot cake, and they turned out pretty good. But the next time, I made them from a Duncan Hines Decadent box mix and not only were they easier, but they were much more flavorful. At roughly $3.00 a box, it was worth it for the ease. If you want the recipe from scratch, let me know and I'll post it. Otherwise, here's my recipe using the box mix (because let's be honest, you're going to take the easy route too.)

*Btw, I stole these from King Arthur Flour (but mine are better, cough) 


What you'll need: 

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot Cake Mix (New!) 
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 8 oz. Package of Cream Cheese (or Neufchatel Cheese)
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

How it's done: 


1. Preheat your oven to 400*F, and grease or paper your muffin tins. (If you grease, your muffins will rise more and be fuller looking.)

2. Mix up your cake mix with the eggs and oil. Set aside.

3. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until well blended. 


4. Pour 2 Tablespoons of carrot cake batter into muffin tins. Top with heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture, and then cover with remaining batter. (You want the muffin tins 3/4 of the way full - or more if you're like me.)

5. Tap your muffin tin lightly on the counter to release any air bubbles.


6. Sprinkle the top with course white sparkling sugar, because who doesn't love a little extra sugar??

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Baking times will vary. Once baked, let them rest in the muffin tin for 5 more minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

These little gems are perfect when eaten still warm, although they are just as good when they've had some time to cool too! 

Summertime Cupcakes!

♥ Beginner
We had a fantastic Enrichment Activity at church last night!  Of course I didn't get ANY pictures of the event, and all of the fun ladies that were there (I'm kicking myself now!) but we sure did have a blast, or at least I did. We talked about some simple appetizers ideas that were great for an easy quick get together, and I'm hoping that I can get the recipes for them so I can share them with all of you also.  


All of the cupcakes below were made of French Vanilla cupcakes, but if you're in a really creative mood, you could flavor them to the decorations.  I'll add my flavor suggestions along the way, and would love your feedback as well! 
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Butterfly Cupcakes! 
What you'll need: 
Pretzels
2 Colors of Frosting
M&M's 
Pull and peel Twizzlers


How it's done: 
Frost your cupcakes. Cut two small slits in cupcake on left and right of center. Put pretzels in the slits and cover with a skinny strip of different colored frosting down the middle.  Add an M&M and two small twizzlers for antennae. 
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Snow Cone Cupcakes! 
What you'll need: 
White Frosting
three colors of sprinkles (preferably bright colors!)
Styrofoam Cups
Straw and paddle (optional) 

How it's done: 
After baking your cupcakes, frost the tops and drop into the cups. If the cupcakes are smaller than the cupcakes, just cut down the cups until the cupcakes fit correctly.  Once the cupcakes are in the cups, 'get your sprinkle on'!  
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Beach Cupcakes! 
What you'll need: 
Blue Frosting
Crushed Graham Crackers
Small Round Peppermints
Drink Umbrellas


How it's done: 
Cover your cupcakes with the blue frosting.  Make waves! Dip your cupcake in the graham cracker crumbs, and top with a beach ball and umbrella.  I think these would be great with a strawberry cupcake! 
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Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!
What you'll need: 
Cake Batter
Ice Cream Cones
Rice (optional) 
White Frosting
Sprinkles


How it's done: 
Fill your muffin pans 1/2 with rice.  Fill your ice cream cones 1/4th full with cake batter.  Put cones into the rice for stability, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350*F. Once out and cooled, frost with an extra large tip to look like ice cream and top with sprinkles! 
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Corn-on-the-Cob Cupcakes!
What you'll need: 
3 Similarly sized Cupcakes
Yellow, White, and clear Jelly beans
Yellow Frosting
Black sprinkles
Yellow gum paste/Fondant (Optional) 
Cob Holders (optional) 

How it's done: 
These were my favorite because they were so cute.  Frost all of your cupcakes with the yellow frosting and apply rows of jelly beans to them, mixing up the colors.  Make sure all of you rows match from cupcake to cupcake.  Sprinkle a few black sprinkles for pepper, and stab each side with cob holders.  Make butter out of yellow gum paste (or a yellow starburst!).  Wahlah!! Corn on the cob for the sweet tooth.  
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Popcorn Cupcakes! 
What you'll need: 
Popcorn Bucket
Mini Marshmallows (White and yellow)
Knife
White frosting

How it's done: 
Frost your cupcakes with the white frosting.  Cut each marshmallow in half with your knife, and squish them back together.  Place on top of the frosting, and cover the cupcake! Place in the popcorn bucket, it's that easy! 
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Shark Cupcakes!
We didn't actually make these at our activity, but since we have the rest of them up here, and these are so easy, I figured I would add them.  They really are cute if you're making the beach themed ones as well! 


What you'll need: 
Blue candy disks 
Blue frosting 


How it's done: 
Melt your candy disks in the microwave (generally it's 30 seconds at a time), and pipe the candy onto wax paper in the shape of a shark fin.  Once cooled and hardened, place them on top of your already frosted cupcakes. (You could also just make the fins out of blue cardstock paper if you wanted to go an easier route!) 

Strawberry Cheesecake Souffle

♥ Beginner

Sadly, they're called souffle because they didn't cut it as cupcakes. They're still good, and definitely edible, I just should have made them in a souffle dish. That's the great part about failure, you usually still don't fail because something amazing comes out instead. And here you have it, my first blog "flop".

What you'll need: 

• White cake mix
• Eggs, Oil, Water (as suggested on mix)
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 1 Box Cheesecake Pudding

For the Creamy Center: 

• One 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• Half a carton of Strawberries, to taste. 
• 1/4 C. Heavy Cream

How it's done:

Start by preheating your oven at 350*F. Line your cupcake pans (or souffle dishes!).

Mix in large mixing bowl the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, sour cream, and packet of cheesecake pudding mix.  Only mix until well blended, over mixing will make your cupcakes go flat (as if it matters on this one, ha!).  Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl (or food processor) blend cream cheese, whole strawberries (minus the leaves!), sugar, and cream to desired consistency.  Mine was a little runnier than I would like it, it should be thick enough that you have to scrape it off your spoon.  Use cream to thin as needed.

Layer batter, strawberry cream cheese, and another layer of batter in your cupcake pan.

Bake for 18 minutes (or longer) until the tops are brown, and a toothpick comes out relatively clean. FYI, if your cupcakes explode as mine did, you may want to line your bottom rack in the oven to catch any spills or drips.  (I'll be cleaning my oven tomorrow!).

When they come out, let them cool in the pans before moving.  They will be fragile, but still so yummy!!!

Don't forget to frost before you enjoy them... of course, they are great without frosting too!!!!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes!

♥ Beginner

Who doesn't love strawberry cheesecake? They're crazy... or allergic to strawberries... if they do.

It's one of my favorite desserts, and mostly because of the creamy texture and sweet taste of the cream cheese, but I couldn't help wondering if it would be as good in cupcake form.

IT IS!!!  You HAVE to try this recipe if you're a fan of strawberry cheesecake.

What you'll need:
For the cupcakes -

• 1 White Cake Mix
• 4 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Oil
• 1 Container of strawberries (apx. 3 cups pureed)
• 1 (3oz) Strawberry Jello-O packet
• 2 Tablespoons Flour

My awesome friends from church raise
chickens, and they gave me these to try.
They are awesome!!

For the Cream Cheese center -

• 2 (8oz) containers of Cream Cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

How it's done:

We'll take it easy - in two parts. First, preheat your oven to 350*.

1. Begin by cutting the ends off of the strawberries, and cut them each in half.  If you have a food processor, get it out and ready to puree the strawberries.

2. Mix all of the other ingredients of the cupcakes until well blended.  The batter should be thick, if it's not, you can add more flour. Only mix until blended, if you over blend the eggs your cakes won't rise.

3. Once the batter is mixed, put your strawberries through the food processor and puree. The strawberries should be smooth without any large chunks. (I may be obsessed with my food processor, it's my favorite kitchen tool.)

4. Now add the strawberry puree to your batter, and your batter should be red like the picture above. Set aside.

5. Next we have to make the cupcake filling. Mix all of the ingredients listed above for the Cream Cheese center. It's as easy as just blending!! I did this in my food processor as well. It was pretty simple.


6. Line your muffin pans, and fill 1/3 of the way with the strawberry batter. Top with 1/3 cream cheese mixture, and then top with more batter.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Top with your favorite frosting... I prefer the Cream Cheese Frosting - tinted with a little pink food coloring! You could even topped with a strawberry.

McKinley Approves!





Key Lime Cupcakes

♥ Beginner

I made these the same night that I made the Pina Colada Cupcakes, and to be perfectly honest, I'm going to sleep with numb taste buds.  I might have licked the spatula a few to many times...

I'm not sure how you feel about key lime pie, but it's one of my favorites, so these cupcakes are a real treat.  The batter didn't taste right to me, but once they were cooked and frosted they tasted perfect.  (So if you lick the spoon, just know the flavors emerge when baking!)

What you'll need:

• 1 Box of White Cake Mix
• 3 Eggs
• 3/4 C. Buttermilk
• 1/2 C. Water
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice
• 1 Tablespoon of finely shredded Lime peel
• 1/4 Teaspoon of neon green food coloring (I used a little more!)
• 1 Container of Cream Cheese Frosting (I use the premade frosting instead of making my own, because it's easier than having to refrigerate my cupcakes - which I would have to do with homemade cream cheese frosting)
• 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• Lime Curls to top!

How it's done:

1. Preheat oven to desired temperature on box mix.  Mine was 350 degrees.  Line your cupcake pans with liners.

2. Combine cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, water, lime juice, lime peel, and food coloring. Mix on medium speed until combined (about 90 seconds). Don't over mix or your cakes wont rise!!!

3. Bake for time suggested on box mix. Mine were baked 15 minutes.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and remove to wire rack.

4.  While cupcakes cool, mix frosting and vanilla extract together in medium size mixing bowl.  If piping onto cupcakes, add a little sifted powdered sugar to stiffen the frosting. 

5.  Assemble!  Pipe frosting onto cupcake, and top with a lime curl!

**Suggestion!!! Wait until the cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting!  I didn't, and in effect, my cupcakes ended up with landslides of frosting.... it was lame. I knew better.

These cupcakes really taste amazingly similar to key lime pie - I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!  I really like the idea of even topping the frosting with crushed Graham cracker too.  Get creative and let me know how yours turn out.  The greatest thing about these cupcakes is that the flavors are completely up to you, it's all about the extract you add!  Enjoy!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

♥ Beginner

Who's ready for summertime?  Me! Me! Me!

I had a friend send me a request for a Pina Colada or Key Lime Cupcake recipe, so I figured I would give them both a go.  But first, drum roll please... 

Pina Colada Cupcakes!!!!

Let me begin by saying that I don't drink alcohol - at all - so I don't come into a project like this one with a discerning pallet for what a pina colada actually tastes like.  However, I did go out and purchase a pina colada mix which I made in the blender with a handful of ice cubes... and it sure was yummy!  So, armed with the knowledge that I had, I began the process of making the perfect pina colada cupcake. 

*Just as a reminder - I'm trying to make "baker friendly" recipes that will be easy for even the most amateur baker.  If you would like to make your own cupcake batter and frosting without using the premade mixes, that's okay too!

What you'll need:
 

• 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix 
• 1/3 C. Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 C. Water
•  1 Teaspoon Rum Extract
•  1 (8oz) Can of Crushed Pineapple (Leave it in the juice!)
•  3 Eggs
•  1 Teaspoon Coconut Extract
•  1 Teaspoon Rum Extract (Second Teaspoon, one is for the cake the other for the frosting!)
• 1 Container of Vanilla Frosting (I like Duncan Hines)
• 2 C. Shredded Coconut

How it's done:

1.  Preheat your oven to the temperature stated on your box mix.  My Pillsbury Mix called for 350*.  Line your cupcake pan with liners.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, oil, water, rum extract, pineapple, and eggs on medium speed about 2 minutes. I added a smidgen more pineapple and rum extract - I like the more powerful flavor.

3. Once batter is mixed, fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. 

4. Bake for amount of time suggested on you cupcake mix box (mine was 16 minutes)

5. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cupcake pan. 

6. Toast the coconut - evenly spread the coconut on a cookie sheet and stick in the oven for 15 minutes, turning the coconut with a spatula every few minutes.  FYI, it burns REALLY QUICKLY! Once browned, remove from oven and let cool.

7.  Put vanilla frosting in a large mixing bowl and combine with rum and coconut extracts.  (I added a little more than I said on this recipe because I like the stronger flavors, but you don't need to.)

8.  If you plan to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes then you'll need to add a sifted 1/2 C. of Powdered Sugar to your frosting to make it nice and stiff.  (This is when you'll need to add extra extract to your frosting.)

9.  It's time to assemble!  Pipe frosting onto cupcakes, and top with the browned coconut!

These cupcakes totally "take the cake" if you're looking for a really fun summertime treat.  Even if you're just dreaming of summer!