Follow the Ruels

Seven-Minute Frosting

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to share my quick and easy seven-minute frosting with you guys! While I won’t say it’s my favorite buttercream (my Swiss meringue buttercream still takes the cake, literally), it is the perfect frosting to make when you are in a pinch. 

And in case you are wondering if it actually takes seven minutes to make. Yes, it does! The last time I made the frosting I turned on the stopwatch on my phone. From beginning to end (including measuring and sifting) it took just seven minutes!

The reason this frosting is so quick to make is that it’s essentially an American buttercream. That is a buttercream that is just made with butter, powdered sugar, a little milk, and flavoring. But unlike some American buttercreams that can be a little dense and too buttery, this one strikes a good balance.

There is also a little trick involved to ensure your frosting isn’t super dense and totally lifeless. Read on to find out what it is!

How to Make It.

Step number one to making this delicious, yet easy seven-minute frosting is to start with good quality butter. Please do not use margarine or even that baking butter than contains added oil. You want 100% dairy, high fat, unsalted butter. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on the super high-quality French butter. But just make sure that it’s real butter made from cream.

Step two is to whip the heck out of the butter. Don’t just whip the butter until it’s “light and creamy”. Whip it, whip it good.

By that I mean, whip it until it turns from a yellow color until an almost ivory white color. It should look like it’s increased in volume and definitely look a lot lighter than when it started. 

This will incorporate lots of air into your frosting so that it’s nice and light and won’t taste or feel overwhelmingly buttery. 

The last step is to sift the powdered sugar into the butter to ensure there are no lumps or clumps and you have the smoothest possible frosting. This eats up quite a few of those seven minutes, but it’s worth every second

After you mix in your sugar, your frosting will probably feel and look a bit dry. Add in your flavoring and a bit of milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a frosting with a nice creamy consistency. 

And that’s all it takes to get a simple, quick, yet delicious frosting! 

Even though Swiss meringue will always be my favorite of the buttercreams, it doesn’t always make sense to spend the time (and the egg whites) on it. Most of the cakes and cupcakes you have seen on this blog have been made with my seven-minute frosting, not Swiss meringue. 

So if you are just making some cupcakes to bring to work or for an informal event, I highly recommend this version of American buttercream.

If it’s for or special occasion, or you really want to impress your eaters, go with the Swiss version!

Recipe

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Gender Reveal Cupcakes

I have another gender reveal goodie for you today!

But if you read Monday’s cookie post, then you know that I am not quite giving away any secrets just yet. You will have to come back later this week for the actual gender reveal.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to go through some of those old wives’ tales to “predict” the baby’s gender. We’ll see which ones are right and which ones are wrong at the end of the week.

If you don’t care about any of that, just skip down to “Recipes and Supplies” to see how to make the cupcakes. 

Wives’ Tales
  1. Sweet vs. Salty. Sweet cravings mean you are having a girl; salty cravings means you are having a boy. Verdict: Boy.
  2. Morning sickness. Extreme morning sickness (i.e vomiting) means you are having a girl; mild morning sickness means a boy. Verdict: Boy
  3. Moody vs. Mellow. If you are moodier than usual, you are having a girl; less moody and more mellow then you are having a boy. Verdict: Boy
  4. Baby’s heart rate. It’s said that if the baby’s heart rate is faster than 140 BPM then it’s a girl. Last ultrasound had it clocking in at 145. Verdict: Girl
  5. Cold feet. Colder feet means you are having a boy. Warm feet means you are carrying a girl. Verdict: Girl
  6. The Skin Test. Oilier skin that is breaking out more than usual means it’s a girl. Dry skin means it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy
  7. Chinese Gender Calendar. This fun little calendar predicts gender by finding the intersection of the lunar age of mom at the time of conception and the month of conception. My lunar age is 27 (I am liking this lunar age thing) and the baby was conceived in March. Verdict: Boy
  8. Clumsiness. If you are clumsier than normal, then you are having a girl. If you are just are sure-footed then it’s a girl. Verdict: Girl
  9. Weight Gain. Gaining weight all over means you are having a girl. If the weight seems to be just in the tummy, it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy
  10. Foot Size. Growing feet indicate a boy, while feet that stay the same size indicate a girl. Verdict: Girl. 
  11. Sleep Position. Falling asleep (naturally) on your left side means it’s a boy. On the right side means it’s a girl. Verdict: Girl
  12. Carrying High vs. Low. Carrying hight means it’s a girl; carrying low means it’s a boy. Verdict: Boy? (Not really sure where I am carrying this baby)
  13. Ramzi Method. During an early (transvaginal) ultrasound you can see which side of the uterus the baby is forming. If it’s forming on the right side, it’s a boy. On the left side, it’s a girl. Flip the results if the ultrasound is done abdominally. Verdict: Girl
  14. Mayan Gender System. The Mayan’s used mom’s age at conception and year of conception to predict gender. If both are even or both are odd, then it’s a girl. If one is even and the other is odd, then it’s a boy. My age at conception was even (although my birthday was probably the next week) and the year was even. Verdict: Girl. But if we use my lunar age, then it’s a boy. 

Boy – 7

Girl – 7

I swear I didn’t plan it to come out 50/50! If you want to throw out the Mayan method because it’s somewhat inconclusive, then the remaining 13 wive’s tales favor a boy. But barely!

There were several other wives tales that I didn’t test. Most of them involved taking urine samples or eating lots of garlic. No thank you! If you want to see a full list of these wives tales, I highly recommend this post. It’s where I initially got this idea. 

There was one “wives tale” that I did use to predict baby’s gender. Actually, I predicted this baby’s gender years ago using this method. I will wait to tell you what that one is on Friday when I reveal the actual gender. 

Alright, enough about this baby…let’s get onto the cupcakes!

Recipes and Supplies

The beauty with these cupcakes is you can make just about any cupcake flavor you’d like! 

Sure, there are some exceptions like making a strawberry cake or anything tinted one color or another. But as long as the cake is a fairly neutral color (even chocolate would work) then it should work perfectly.

One note on chocolate: if you do decide to go this route, you will want to make a small batch of vanilla just for the centers so that they can be dyed one color or another. Of course, if it’s a girl you can make strawberry or red velvet for the centers. For a boy, blue velvet would also work. 

I have several recipes that can help you out in this respect:

For the frosting, I’d recommend sticking with something simple so that you can tint it various colors. Here are a couple options that will work well:

To assemble the cupcakes you will need:

  • Food coloring
  • Cookie Cutter
  • Cupcake Tin
  • Cupcake Liners
  • Large Piping Bags
  • Piping Tips: #1A, 1M, and 2D (or any large round and star piping tips)
  • Sprinkles

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How to Make Them

Start by making your cupcake batter. 

From the main batch of batter remove about 1 cup of batter and tint it the desired color. 

Pour the dyed batter into some sort of baking dish. It can be a small cake pan, sheet pan, or even several cupcake tins. You at least want whatever you are baking to be 1/2 inch thick. Bake the small batch of cake for 15-20 minutes, depending on size of the baking dish, or until the cake is fully baked. 

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely. To make cutting out the shape even easier, chill the cake for about 3o minutes. 

If the cake was baked in one flat layer, then just use a small cookie cutter in your preferred shape to cut out the centers. If you make cupcakes, slice the cupcake horizontally into 2-3 slices, then cut into shape.

To assemble the rest of the cupcake, spoon a small amount of batter into the bottom of a lined cupcake tray. It should be enough to cover the bottom. Place the cut out cake into the batter, then spoon more batter on top so that it is covered. You don’t want to overfill your cupcake tin (like I did). So try to keep it about 2/3rds of the way full. 

Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 

While the cupcakes cool, make your frosting. 

You can make your favorite frosting recipe, but if you don’t have one, here’s mine! It’s a delicious Swiss Meringue Buttercream that is light, airy, and not too sweet. 

To top these cupcakes, you will want both pink and blue frosting. Remove about 2 cups of frosting from the main batch and place 1 cup in two separate bowls. Tint one blue and one pink.

To get that swirled effect in the frosting, lay out a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. Spread a thick layer of pink, white, and blue in a line. Then roll up the plastic wrap in a tube and twist the ends. Snip off one end and place the whole tube into a piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip. 

Place the extra frosting into separate bags fitted with different styles of tips. 

To create a fun frosting decoration, I like to pipe the multicolored frosting in a spiral on top of the cupcake. Then I use the other colors to pipe little stars or dots around one side. 

Add some extra decoration by adding some multicolored sprinkles on top. 

Have fun with the decoration. There isn’t any rhyme reason to it. I just tried to get each cupcake to be equally blue and pink. But you could also keep them stark white if you wanted!

These cupcakes are just as easy to make two of as it would be to make a full dozen (or more), so I think these would be the perfect way to announce the gender to friends and family. Everyone can have their own cupcake and when the bit in they will get to see what color’s inside!

What do you think? Totally doable, right? I think they would be a great addition to any baby shower or gender reveal party!

Limoncello Cupcakes with Fondant Topper

Since we are headed off to Italy, I have been getting into the spirit with all things Italian. I have been taking Italian lessons with Duolingo, doing some very in-depth research (eating) of the various types of pasta and pizza, and have been finding ways to incorporate my favorite Italian liquor into anything I can think of.

Hense these limoncello cupcakes that just as delicious as they are nice to look at!

How to Make Them

To make the cupcakes, start by getting all your ducks in a row. It will make the cake making process so much easier. 

First combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Then in another bowl or measuring cup combine the wet ingredients. 

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the eggs one at a time. 

Alternate mixing in the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. For me, I like to do this in five parts: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. 

Portion the batter into the muffin tin so that each cup is about 2/3rds full. I like using an ice cream scoop because it makes this step so much easier. 

Bake until they are just a little bit golden around the edges or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. 

As an optional step to really impart more limoncello flavor into the cupcakes, you can brush the tops of the cupcakes with a little bit of limoncello. Not only will you get a tad more flavor (and a little kick!), but it will ensure that the cupcakes stay nice and moist.

How to Decorate Them

Decorating, for me, is the best part. And these limoncello cupcakes are actually really simple to decorate thanks to the fondant topper.

Start by rolling out some fondant so that it’s about 1/8th to 1/4th inch thick. Then cut out with a round cutter about the diameter of the top of the cupcake.

Paint the fondant using a combination of food coloring and clear alcohol (I use vodka) to create a paint similar to watercolor. 

From here, let your creativity shine and paint whatever you like. I personally like to paint the basic shapes first, let that layer of paint dry a bit, then paint in additional details on top. One thing to know about painting on fondant is that it can get gummy if you use too much liquid. Just keep that in mind as you are painting or painting over another color.

Once the paint has dried (which will only take a few minutes), you can add the fondant toppers to the cupcakes. First spread on a bit of buttercream over the top of the cupcake. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but I recommend trying to get the top as even as possible.

Then lay the fondant circle right on top.

Gently press down the fondant so that it is firmly attached to the buttercream and is laying flat. 

And there you have it. Super delicious, beautiful, but easy to make limoncello cupcakes! In my mind, it’s the perfect way to get excited for our Italian adventure!

Supplies and Recipe

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Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla gets a bad rap, doesn’t it? It’s equated with being plain and boring. Sure, when vanilla, particularly vanilla cake or cupcakes, is done poorly it’s pretty “meh”. But when vanilla cake or cupcakes are done well they are delicious. 

And let me tell you, these vanilla cupcakes are delicious! They make the perfect foundation for any other flavor, filling, frosting, or just all on their own. 

I have been testing out vanilla cupcake recipes for a while. Everything  from Martha Stewart to How to Cake It. While everything I tried was good and definitely tasty, nothing really knocked my socks off until this recipe. These cupcakes are light and airy, yet moist and rich. They pack a serious vanilla punch that is anything but plain and boring. 

There are a couple things I have learned after making more than a few vanilla cupcake recipes:

  • Cake flour is nice and all, and will definitely make the texture of the cupcakes a bit lighter and softer, but it is not necessary. You can still make a darn good cupcake with all purpose flour.
  • Always use whole milk. I have learned over the years that when it comes to baking (and lots of other things, actually), whole milk is king. Please do not use 2% or (dare I even say it) skim. And if you do, don’t tell me about it, k?
  • Measure your flour by spooning your flour into the measuring cup, then level. While some other recipes are a little bit more forgiving with the amount of flour, you don’t want to weigh down your cake or cupcakes with any more flour than the recipe calls for. 

To make these cupcakes start by whisking together all your dry ingredients. If you want to ensure that there are no lumps, you can run everything through a sifter. I find that giving it a good whisk pretty much does the job.

Set the dry mixture aside and cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs (preferable 1 at a time, but I am a little impatient when it comes to cake).

Now for the good stuff. I like using vanilla bean paste in these cupcakes because the flavor is so concentrated and rich. It really makes the flavor of these cupcakes stand out. Plus, I like the little vanilla beans speckled throughout the cake. 

If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, don’t fret! You can substitute with the seeds of one vanilla bean (split in half, and scrape a knife over the inside, scraping out all the seeds) and a bit of vanilla extract. If you only have vanilla extract, just add a bit more.

With the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla all mixed together, its time to mix in the flour and the milk alternating between the two. I like to mix the flour in 3 parts and the milk in 2 parts. So I mix flour-milk-flour-milk-flour. Always start and end with dry ingredients. 

I am not sure the exact reason for this mixing method, but I have found that alternating between wet and dry, you get a smoother batter and a lighter cake.

Bake the cupcakes until they are just cooked all the way and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. I take my cupcakes out before they brown too much and when there are still some crumbs that stick to the toothpick. That way they are nice and moist and not dried out at all!

The beauty of these vanilla cupcakes is that they can be paired with anything. Here I just paired them with my favorite buttercream frosting, which was still delicious. But they can be paired with chocolate frosting, caramel frosting, strawberry frosting. Maybe even filled with lemon curd, chocolate sauce, or raspberry jam. They are the most delicious canvas for any of your cupcake creations!

Supplies:
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The Best Buttercream Frosting Recipe

It may surprise you to hear that I am not much of a frosting person. Whenever I eat cake, I typically eat around the frosting, leaving a huge heap of it on my plate. 

But of course, there are always exceptions. The exception is this buttercream. Every time I make it I get so many compliments on how light, airy, and not-too-sweet it is. People are used to that dense, buttery, sickeningly sweet buttercream so this one is basically like a breath of fresh air. 

There are actually three main types of buttercream frosting (that I am aware of): American, Italian, and Swiss. The American version is what we are used to. It is basically just butter and sugar mix together. American buttercream is totally fine in moderation and is really good if you need to make some intricate designs on your cake or cupcake. But when it piled on top of said cake or cupcake, it’s just too much. 

Italian meringue buttercream incorporates meringue (fluffy egg whites), which makes it super light and airy. To make Italian meringue, you heat up sugar and water until it boils, then pour it into to a stand mixer bowl that is whipping up the egg whites. The only reason I don’t like this version is that making Italian meringue dirties up one extra pan and you have to make sure the sugar get’s to the perfect temperature or you risk ruining your meringue.

I prefer the Swiss meringue buttercream because it has all the benefits of the Italian version but with a lot less hassle. Instead of heating up water and sugar, you actually heat up the egg whites with the sugar and whisk them over a double boiler until the sugar has dissolved. Then you whip up the egg whites until you have stiff peaks. I do this all in the bowl of my stand mixer so that I only have one bowl to clean up in the end. 

Once the meringue has cooled, you add in your butter. Now this is where I have gotten a little thrown off in the past, and I know other people struggle with this too. So many times I think I have ruined my buttercream because it looks super lumpy and gross, like the picture on the left. But, that’s just a step in the process to getting it nice and smooth. 

When you slowly add the butter  to the egg whites, it’s almost like trying to mix together oil and water. They just don’t want to go together without a little coaxing. So after just a little mixing it will appear that the frosting has separated. Just keep mixing and you will get a creamy, smooth buttercream frosting!

The best part about this frosting is that it goes with anything! You can add other flavors to it, but the plain vanilla can top off any cake flavor. 

It’s also sturdy enough to pipe any details, like flowers, leaves, ruffles, etc. If you have seen any of my cakes or cupcakes that have some design on them, this is the frosting I use. 

Its also the only buttercream frosting that I don’t scrape off my cake because it’s just too good to let go to waste!

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Tres Leches Cupcakes with Salted Dolce de Leche Topping

Do you love dry, crumbly cakes? Well then, this cake is not for you. Tres leches cake is one of the most moist and spongy cakes I have ever had. 

Tres leches is a classic Southern American cake made by soaking the cake in a mixture of three different milks: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. 

But there is actually a forth milk in these cupcakes in the form of the dolce de leche topping, which is essentially a caramel made from sweetened milk. There are lots of ways to make dolce de leche, but my favorite (because it requires little to no babysitting) is the slow-cooker method. You place jars of sweetened condensed milk in a water bath in a slow cooker and let them cook on low for 8 hours. When they come out you have a delicious, caramel sauce.

When I made these tres leches cupcakes, I started with the topping since that would take literally all day. But I went on with my day (in this case, work), and came home to find all the hard work done for me. 

The cupcakes aren’t quite so easy, in that you actually have to lift a finger. The recipe is very similar to a yellow cake, but I added a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg for some extra flavor.

Start by creaming together the butter and sugar. Then add the egg yolks in one at a time. Whisk the egg whites up separately until they are nice and fluffy. Alternate mixing in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until you have a nice smooth batter. Then fold in the egg whites. This will make sure your cupcakes are nice and airy.

Once the cupcakes have cooked and cooled, whisk together your milks: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. Pour that (carefully) over the tops of your cupcakes. 

Once your cupcakes have soaked in all that milk you can determine if they need a little more. It may feel like you are adding a lot of the milk, but I promise they will soak it right up.

When they are all milked out, you can top them with the dolce de leche topping. Just slather that stuff on the top. You really can’t go overboard with it. 

And because caramel needs a little something extra, sprinkle some sea salt on top and thank me later. All that sweetness needs something to balance it out.

These cupcakes were to. die. for. The cake is super moist but not soggy. It’s also nice and light and airy. The dolce de leche is the perfect topping because the cake isn’t overly flavorful on it’s own. The kiss of sea salt at the very end just puts it over the top. You should probably charge your friends and family $4 a pop for these cupcakes, because the only other place you will find a cupcake this good is in a fancy bakery.

But if cupcakes aren’t your thing, you can make this same recipe in square pan and cut out slices. There is truly no wrong way to eat tres leches cake.

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How to Make Floral Inspired Cupcakes

Decorating cakes and cupcakes has been my latest obsession. I have been jumping on every opportunity to make cupcakes for friends just to practice and hone my skills. 

I’ve actually found that for the most part, decorating cupcakes (I won’t speak to cakes since I haven’t had as much experience with them) is MUCH easier than decorating cookies. It requires a lot less time. And you have license to be a little more abstract with your decoration, particularly flowers. 

Of course, you could make some super realistic looking flowers or decorations that I am sure would challenge my previous theory, but for now, this girl is perfectly happy sticking to some fun and easy ways to decorate cupcakes! 

Which is why I thought I should show you my 5 favorite cupcake decorations! They are all “floral inspired”. I don’t want to call them flowers, because like I said below, you may have to really use your imagination to consider them flowers. But when paired all together, they look like a beautiful bouquet!

This is kind of a tiered flower with two layers of petals and dot in the middle. For this flower I used a big round tip, like a 2A. For bigger petals use a 1A, smaller use a 12. 

These hydrangea inspired cupcakes are my favorite because they are just so easy! Using a 2D tip, you just dot the top of the cupcake in these pretty little flowers. They piping tip does all the work for you!

And because hydrangeas are typically multicolored, I like to add multiple colors of icing into one piping bag so that every flower has a little of each color. I recommend sticking with 2 colors, and not doing any more than three unless you are going for a specific look. 

This rose decoration is one that I make a lot, even when I am not going for a floral inspired cupcake. It’s just such a beautiful cupcake decoration. But when you add a couple leaves, boom! it’s a rose!

For these cupcakes, use a 1B or 2B (any closed star tip) and make spiral on top of the cupcake. The 1B will give you a more open rose, like the one on the left. The 2B or smaller tip will give you a tighter rose, like the one on the right. 

For the leaves, use a 366 or any large leaf tip. Leaves are really easy to make. You just press the tip into the side of the flower, squeeze a blob of icing out of the tip while gradually moving the tip away from the cupcake. Then stop squeezing and swiftly pull the tip away creating a little tip.

This daisy looking cupcake is very similar to the cupcake at the very top except there is only one layer of petals. I also used a bigger round tip, a 1A, to create the fatter petals and a 12 tip to make the yellow center. But again, any big round tip will work!

To create the multicolored petals, I wiped a little bit of pink icing on one side of a piping bag, then filled the bag with the white icing. That way, just a bit of pink would streak the petals as the were piped out of the bag. 

Now this is my favorite cupcake. It combined the flowers that are on each of the cupcakes into one bouquet! I like to start with the rose, since it’s the biggest, then surround with hydrangeas, dots, and leaves. With these, you can really do anything you want! Be creative! 

See, you can totally make these. Just use your favorite cupcake recipe (here’s one!) and your favorite buttercream recipe (I’ll be sharing mine soon!) and get to decorating! 

To see a list of all the tools and ingredients I used for these cupcakes, see below (Note: this post contains affiliate links, which means every time you follow the link and purchase something, I get a small commission which I’ll probably use to buy more butter, sugar, and piping bags)

 

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One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

This past weekend was a bit of a baking marathon. My kitchen now permanently smells like butter and sugar. Not that I am complaining. 

One of the many baking projects I took on this weekend was making cupcakes for a bridal shower. I tend to have these grandiose ideas when anyone asks me to make something for them. I try to come up with some unique and delicious flavors. But when push comes to shove, I always seem to fall back on some old classics. There is nothing wrong with a classic chocolate cupcake. In fact, sometimes a classic chocolate cupcake is the best cupcake. 

This particular chocolate cupcake recipe is one of my favorites because, well, it’s just dang delicious! But maybe more importantly it only dirties up one bowl! After baking dozens of cookies and cupcakes all weekend, trust me, that really is the most important thing about this recipe. 

The ingredients are pretty standard, but I always recommend to use the best possible cocoa powder whenever possible, because that is what will effect the flavor the most. I have made this exact same recipe with cheaper cocoa powder, and the cupcakes don’t have the same richness and flavor. My favorite cocoa powders are Ghirardelli, which you can get in most super markets, or Valrhona, which may be a bit harder to find in stores but can easily be found online. 

Since this is one bowl recipe, start by dumping all the dry ingredients into a big bowl – flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then give it a good stir to get everything mixed together. 

Then mix in the wet ingredients. I like to measure my milk, then pour the oil right into the same measuring cup, only dirtying one measuring cup. Since this recipe calls for 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup oil, you should have 1 cup in the end. 

Also, this is a tip I picked up from a baking class and many Food Network shows, it’s best to mix the batter as little as possible. It should just be mixed until the flour is just barely incorporated. Too much mixing and the cake will be dense and tough.

All that to say, it’s okay if your batter has a couple lumps. It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. 

Next, fill the muffin tin up with batter. I try to fill mine up about 2/3rds of the way, but I haven’t quite mastered that yet. Some of my cupcakes come out too small, while others have these little muffin tops. Again, I am not complaining. Muffin tops are my favorite (except on me), but would be nice to have more uniform cupcakes. 

After a few minutes in the oven, they are good to go! They will make your kitchen smell amazing. You may even risk burning your tongue just to bite into one right away. Something I know nothing about…[as she looks around nervously].

But really, they are best once they have had a chance to cool a bit. Especially if you plan on frosting them. It is not wise to put cold, buttery frosting right on top of a warm cupcake. (Learned that the hard way.)

 The only thing easier that these cupcakes is a cupcake mix out of a box, and trust me, these taste ten times better!

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Tiramisu Cupcakes

I have a pretty high standard for tiramisu. My former boss was married to an Italian chef. Not just a chef who specialized in Italian cuisine, a chef who worked in Italy his entire career until he met his wife. You know he made some pretty mean tiramisu. So yeah…the bar is high.

And this is probably where I should tell you that these tiramisu cupcakes are just as good as my former boss’s Italian chef husband’s tiramisu (say that 5 times fast). Yeah…they aren’t (dude, his tiramisu is legit). But, they are pretty dang good! And just a tad easier. 

Instead of ladyfingers, I made my favorite vanilla cake, which just so happens to be Trader Joe’s vanilla bean cake mix (don’t hate!). Once they were nice and cooled, I poked a couple holes into cupcakes using some left over (unused) chopsticks.

Then I poured over an espresso cream over top, which soaked right into those holes faster than I can put back a cup of coffee on Monday morning. 

Next, I topped off these coffee-soaked cakes with a whipped cream-marscarpone icing. Which, as you may guess is made up of whipped cream and marscarpone cheese (and a bit of sugar, of course).

Tiramisu isn’t tiramisu without a hint of chocolate. Like traditional tiramisu, I dusted the tops of each cupcake with some cocoa powder. 

Pretty easy right?! I would much rather make these tiramisu cupcakes than actual tiramisu. There’s almost no assembly required.

And if you are wondering why in the heck did I poke all those holes? 

That’s why! All that creamy-coffeey (making up words over here) goodness works it’s way right down into the cupcake which makes the cakes super moist and extremely flavorful. Like having a shot of espresso along with your cake. 

The best (and only) way to have a shot of espresso, in my opinion. 

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Classic Red Velvet Cupcakes (made without Food Coloring)

My very first experience with Red Velvet cake was watching Steel Magnolias as a kid. Not sure why, but that experience didn’t really inspire me to try red velvet cake for myself (maybe something to do with the Armadillo shape to the cake). It would take another 10+ years and a move to the South for me to have my first bite of red velvet. 

And I have been hooked ever since. I have experimented with several recipes over the years trying to find the ultimate recipe for red velvet cupcakes. 

But there is something a little bit different about my red velvet cupcakes. Beet juice. Yes friends, my secret ingredient is beet juice. Well, it’s not that big of a secret. A couple of decades ago, just about every red velvet recipe called for beets to give the cake that redish hue. Nowadays, we just dump a whole bottle of red food coloring into the batter and call it day.  

But aren’t you kind of sick of using excessive amounts of food coloring? I think it says a lot that the girl that owns no less than 75 bottles of food coloring is telling you not to use food coloring. But I promise, you will feel so much better about eating these cupcakes knowing that they are pretty much au naturale. 

Just like any other red velvet recipe, this one combines flour with a touch of cocoa powder and buttermilk to get it that moist velvety texture. 

Then to put the red in red velvet I used Mother Nature’s very own food coloring. I actually found some beet juice in the juice aisle of my local grocery store. But I wanted to have a much more concentrated color pay-off without adding too much moisture. So I decided to reduce it on the stove. I poured half a cup of the juice into a sauce pan and let it simmer on the stove for a few minutes until it had reduced by half, resulting in 1/4 cup of some thick beet juice. 

I know that seems like a little bit more work than your typical cupcake recipe. But look at how great that batter looks? It’s nice and red, but not artificially so. You know, it’s not that bright stop-sign red. 

 

Once they are baked, they are wonderfully moist and delicious! There is absolutely no sign of beets anywhere in these cupcakes except in color. There is a subtle chocolate flavor, but it’s not too heavy or rich. 

And of course I topped off my red velvet cupcakes with my favorite cream cheese frosting. Because in my opinion it’s the cream cheese frosting that really makes a red velvet cupcake so good. 

While red velvet is definitely appropriate for Valentine’s Day, I think of red velvet being in season year round. It’s a perfect cake for Summer, since it’s not as rich and heavy as chocolate cake can be. It also seems like a perfect choice for Christmas paired with some green sprinkles or something festive. But please, whatever you do, don’t turn it into an armadillo cake like they did in Steel Magnolias. Nobody wants that. 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:128]

The Best Cream Cheese Frosting

You may be surprised to know that I am not a huge fan of frosting. Whenever I get a slice of cake, I will typically avoid the frosting completely, or only eat a bit of it. It’s probably why I prefer naked cakes over any other kind of cake. That and they are so much easier to frost!

There is one exception to the rule, however, and that is cream cheese frosting. I love cream cheese frosting! It’s most likely because it’s not super butter or overly sweets. It’s just the right amount of creaminess, tartness, and sweetness. 

I made this particular batch of cream cheese frosting to go along with some red velvet cupcakes, which I will share with you soon! But since I use my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe in a couple other recipes I will be sharing soon, I thought I would kick things off with this one!

If you have never made cream cheese frosting before, it is super simple. All I do is beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. That’s it! Unlike Swiss- or Italian-meringue buttercream, there is no labor intensive step of whipping up a finicky meringue or boiling sugar. Just dump it all into a bowl and mix!

Because I was just making cupcakes, I halved my normal recipe to have just enough frosting for 12 cupcakes (and a little extra for tasting). If I were making a 2 layer cake, I would make a full recipe. And for a 3-4 layer cake, I would have done one and 1/2 to two times the full recipe. Fortunately, this is a very easy recipe to halve or double!

This frosting is not only perfect for red velvet cupcakes, it would also be great on your classic chocolate cupcake for an unexpected twist. It’s also great on carrot cake, hummingbird cake, strawberry cake…really just about anything! Or if you are like me, you can just eat it straight out of the bowl. No cake needed!

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PIN NOW, MAKE LATER

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cupcakes

Friday was B’s birthday, which I missed since I was in San Diego. I felt obligated to try and make it up to him. I had big plans to take him to all his favorite places in Charlotte on Saturday when I got back. That didn’t happen either. I was exhausted from my overnight flight back that I pretty much slept all day. Which meant that Sunday I had to do something extra special. While, B doesn’t normally like sweets, he does love cookies and cream ice cream and ice cream cake. We do not need an entire ice cream cake sitting in our freezer, so I scaled it down and made little ice cream cupcakes!

I used Trader Joes vanilla cake mix that my cousin raved about this past week. And she was not kidding! It is the best cake mix I have ever tried. For this recipe, I added some crushed up Oreos, so that the batter was also “cookies and cream”.

Since I wanted to leave plenty of room for ice cream, I only filled the muffin tin about half way up. I only made half of the cake mix, and ended up with 12 cupcakes. If I had made the entire box, I probably would have had 24. 

Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled, I froze them and then let the ice cream sit out to soften. It is a lot easier to top the cupcakes with soft ice cream than hard. But it also means I had to work quickly so that the ice cream didn’t melt everywhere. I put the cupcakes back in the freezer for about an hour so that the ice cream could harden back up.

While a little messy if left out too long, these were the perfect portion of ice cream cake and would be a great dessert to make for a kids birthday party or any old get together. Plus, you could mix up the ice cream and cake flavors and really get crazy with it!

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