Spring Cupcakes

Spring is without a doubt my favorite season.  I love the warmth of the sun, the blooming flowers, and the budding trees.  I also love the fresh fruit.  So obviously I had to make spring cupcakes with, what else, but strawberries.

I found a fabulous recipe for strawberry crepe cupcakes on foodgawker, and I had to try it.  I am always a little hesitant to try standard chocolate/vanilla cupcakes, since there are so many other fun options to make, but theses were the perfect combination of classic and exciting.  The vanilla cake is perfect- moist, fluffy and just dense enough, and the nutella frosting is addictive. 

These really taste like a strawberry nutella crepe- and they may be my new favorite cupcakes!  I will definitely be making these again.

Happy Spring,
Margaret

Strawberry Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!  I am definitely one of those people who takes their holidays seriously, and Valentine's day is no exception.  Seriously, it is a day to celebrate all of the people you love, wear pink and red, and eat ungodly amounts of chocolate (and cupcakes).  Because, well, it couldn't be Valentine's Day in the Cupcake Suite without cupcakes.

Last year I lived in a building with no kitchen- all we had to work with was a microwave.  So last year on Valentine's day I made chocolate covered strawberries with my friends.  This year I decided to stick with the same theme, but take it up a couple notches.  So I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate covered strawberries on top and strawberry cupcakes with a swiss meringue buttercream.  Everything was divine- the fact that nearly all thirty cupcakes were consumed this evening stands as proof.

For the strawberry cupcakes I adapted the Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcake recipe.  They came out beautifully- light and fluffy with a hint of strawberry.  Perfectly pink for Valentine's!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Makes 12-15 cupcakes

1 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, minced

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

red food coloring

Place the minced strawberries in a small saucepan and reduce over low heat, stirring often, until the consistency of jam.  Set aside to cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs, beating on low until combined.  Add the flour in two batches, alternating with the milk, making sure to mix completely after each addition.  Stir in the strawberry mix.

Fill 12-15 cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.  Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

For the frosting, I followed Sweetapolita's Swiss Meringue Buttercream guide.  I divided the recipe she gives by four, and it made enough for my fifteen cupcakes and a little extra.  This frosting is pure airy, buttery goodness.  Seriously, you need to make it.

I also went with my classic Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes.  They are a staple here in the cupcake suite.  It's hard to go wrong with chocolate, and this is hands down the best chocolate cupcake I've had.  They are also ridiculously easy.

Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 18-24 cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Stir together flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk.

Stir in the vanilla, eggs, oil, coffee, and buttermilk until blended and then beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be soupy. Pour into cupcake cups.

Bake 20-24 minutes at 350 degrees- or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the frosting (and the chocolate for the strawberries) I used a super simple chocolate ganache.  All you really need to do is microwave some chocolate chips with a splash of heavy cream.  Make sure to mix it well to let the chocolate completely melt.  Then you can spoon in onto the cupcakes and dip the strawberries.

And voila!  You have a lovely Valentine's Day dessert!

Love,

Margaret

Black and White

Sometimes school gets busy- very busy.  Sometimes I don't bake for an entire week, or longer.  This afternoon I decided that it had been way too long without cupcake or cookies in the suite, and I needed to do something about it.  So I made these instead of finishing my problem set this afternoon.  I'd say it was the right decision.

Happy Baking,
Margaret

Back to Cupcakes

These are by no means the first cupcakes that I have made since I have moved back to school.  These are just the first ones that lasted long enough for me to photograph them.  Cupcakes don't last long in the cupcake suite.

I made my classic chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting the day after moving back, but those were gone before I got my camera unpacked.

I wanted to try something a bit different so I went for Martha Stewart's maple walnut cupcakes.  They were decent, not anything spectacular though.  The cake was a bit dense and not very fluffy.  That being said, my suite still ate them up.  No complaints on their end!

Happy Baking,
Margaret

Baking with Friends

When I see my friends from home during breaks one of our most important tasks is to bake new cupcakes.  Two of my dear friends and I absolutely can't stay out of the kitchen when we are together.  They are a big part of the reason why my cupcake obsession exists.  We always end up making more than one type of cupcake, so this time we went for lemon and chocolate toffee!

Light Lemon Cupcakes

Adapted From Gourmet

Makes about 2 dozen

1 cup canola oil

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350° and line cupcake pans.

Whisk together flours, salt, and baking powder.  Stir together milk, canola oil, vanilla, and zest in another bowl.  Beat together sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until just combined.  Reduce speed to low and add flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Bake in muffin pans for 16-20 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted From Gourmet

Makes enough to frost 1 dozen cupcakes

2 cups confectioners sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat until well combined.  Refrigerate frosting for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

The recipe for the chocolate toffee came from Lighter and Local.  The cupcakes were quite good!  The frosting recipe calls for a ton of butter, but don't be afraid to add it all!  I didn't add it all and my frosting was a bit too thick and hard to pipe.

Happy Baking!
Margaret

Home for the Holidays

Now it's officially winter.  The winter solstice has happened, and it's nearly Christmastime.  It has felt like winter for a bit longer than that, though.  We had our first (and only) snow back in October, the trees lit up on campus a week after Thanksgiving, and since then the days have been progressively shorter while the hours spent on work have grown progressively longer.  Unfortunately, that doesn't leave as many daylight hours in which to bake and photograph, so most of my holiday baking has taken place after the sun has gone down.  So it's not to say that I haven't been baking- I've made several pumpkin loaves, loads of gingerbread cupcakes, and holiday cookies galore- it's just that I haven't had pictures to share.

But now that I'm home, that all changes.  I woke up this morning to the smell of a pumpkin chocolate chip loaf baking in the oven.  Mom did a lovely job- it was just cool enough to slice when I made my way downstairs for breakfast.  The recipe that I used at school was from Food Network, since I was baking with fresh pumpkin.  I would always substitute the seeds for chocolate chips though!

Happy Holidays!

Margaret

Glorious and Edgy

As many of you probably know, I am a dancer, and this weekend I performed with two of Columbia's dance groups.  One of them was Orchesis, Columbia's largest student-run dance group.  One of the pieces I was in was choreographed by a good friend to Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory.  It was one of the most wonderful pieces I have danced in, so my cast decided we needed to do something special for our choreographer.  Since he always brought us candy or snacks at rehearsal we decided on these cupcakes that my friend found.

Not only are they cupcakes- they have a candy bar baked inside of them.  We used snickers- our choreographer's favorite!  Since they sunk a little, we added some chocolate ganache in the middle and then frosted them with chocolate buttercream.  Hopefully they are good- I actually haven't tried them since they were a gift!

From the Edge of Glory,

Margaret

Inaugural Cupcakes

This past Saturday was a very momentous day, a day I have been looking forward to since last April.  Last Saturday was the day that I moved into the Cupcake Suite.  I am now living in my adorable suite with my wonderful friends, and I have loved every minute of it.

Our kitchen is small, but overall it is actually quite useable, even for multiple people.  On Monday afternoon we got right to work baking our first batch of inaugural cupcakes for the suite.  Everyone pitched in a little bit, and we made a big batch.  I decided to go with one of my staple cupcake recipes- the black magic cupcake with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy, and welcome to the cupcake suite!

Margaret

Black Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 18-24 cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Stir together flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk.

Stir in the vanilla, eggs, oil, coffee, and buttermilk until blended and then beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be soupy. Pour into cupcake cups.

Bake 20-24 minutes at 350 degrees- or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting

Bon Appétit October 1999

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

12 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

Sweet Snacks

Sometimes, well most of the time actually, I crave a bit of chocolate in the afternoon.  I'm just looking for a little bite to satisfy my sweet tooth.  These homemade peanut butter cups definitely do the trick.

I used semisweet chocolate to give the cups a richer taste than the average peanut butter cup, although I would love to try these again with dark chocolate.  These are a delicious little treat or snack and are super easy and quick to make!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Makes 8

1/2 cup chocolate chips

heavy cream

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 tbs powdered sugar

2 tsp flour

Microwave half of the chocolate chips with a tablespoons of heavy cream for a minute.  Remove from microwave and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.  If the chocolate is too thick, add a bit more heavy cream.  (You want it just thin enough to pour.)  Line a mini muffin pan with eight papers, and pour a thin layer of chocolate into each.  Cover and place in the freezer to set for a few minutes.

Combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, and flour in a bowl, and mix until smooth.  Set aside.  Melt the remaining chocolate chips using the same method as before.  Set aside.  Remove the pan from the freezer and place a spoonful of peanut butter mixture in each cup.  Pour chocolate over each one until the peanut butter is covered.  Place pan in the freezer for an hour to let the chocolate harden.  Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Bon Appétit,
Margaret

Raspberry Pudding Cakes

My week in glorious Charlevoix, Michigan ended last Saturday with a long drive home.  We packed up the car with our clothes, books, and (as it luckily happened) some leftover goodies.  The day before we left we stocked up on some extra fudge and taffy and went berry picking a second time.  Luckily the berries survived the long trip home, and I was able to bake with them!

I chose this gorgeous-looking raspberry pudding cake that I came across while searching for recipes on foodgawker.  I had originally planned on making it in my first batch of raspberry treats in Michigan, but my mother suggested that we wait until I was home where we could make individual servings in our smaller dishes.  I agreed, and thus the mini raspberry pudding cake was born.

It was a really interesting dish to make.  I have never made a pudding cake before, so I was unsure of what to expect in the intermediate steps.  Isabelle's directions were spot-on though; she reassured you at each step that the batter should look this way or that, even if it wasn't what you were used to with a cake.

I was so excited to try these when they came out of the oven that I could barely wait the suggested 15 minutes before plunging in.  When I did, I was rewarded with a moist cake that gave way to a layer of oozing pudding underneath.  It was quite spectacular, although I probably should have waited a bit longer as the pudding was still a bit too hot!

Bon Appétit!

Margaret

Splendid Shortcakes

Raspberry desserts are my favorite, but raspberries and chocolate are even better.  Since we went berry picking a few days ago we had plenty of raspberries to use, we just had to decide on a recipe.

On my mom's suggestion, I made these Chocolate Raspberry Shortcakes.  They turned out to be quite excellent and different from other desserts I usually make.

You start out by mixing up a dough similar to that of a scone. Like a scone, it doesn't use too much sugar and is mostly butter and flour.

I really had to work it together with my hands to get the dough to stick so I added an extra splash of cream in order to form the balls of dough.

Since the recipe only makes two servings, I doubled it but made six shortcakes.  They turned out to be a pretty good size this way.

They came out of the oven wonderfully light, although a bit more cracked then I would have liked.  For this reason I decided not to cut them in half and serve the berry sauce inside.  Instead, I just spooned it on top and added some whipped cream.

And voila- a fancy (but actually very easy) chocolate raspberry dessert- Chocolate Raspberry Shortcakes!

Margaret