I’ve recently had the honor of baking for a wedding! When a friend from high school asked me to supply the baked goods for a dessert bar she wanted at her wedding, I was super excited to get into the kitchen and whip up some wedding-worthy treats. I met with the bride-to-be months before the actual date to discuss colors, flavors, and what types of desserts she wanted, and I’ve spent the past few months brainstorming ideas and bookmarking recipes online. Here are a few pictures I quickly snagged of the cupcakes I made before I delivered them to the bride. Recipes to come!

For this cupcake, I wanted something elegant but simple, and because the colors of the wedding were cream, black, and silver, I decided on a vanilla bean cake with vanilla bean frosting. My sister had bought me vanilla beans a few months ago, so I used pure vanilla seeds in both components, giving this cupcake a strong vanilla flavor. Some may think that’s too much vanilla for one cupcake, but as a chocolate lover, I must say, this cupcake was pretty darn tasty.

The first cupcake of this post and this one are the same flavors, only frosted and decorated slightly different. Personally, I’m not a cupcake lover, so buttercream frosting doesn’t really do much for me. I absolutely love to make it and pipe it, but indulging in it just isn’t my cup of tea. However, I am a sucker for anything coffee flavored, and mocha falls right into that category. With strong black coffee as a main ingredient in this frosting, this mocha buttercream is heavenly – piped on top of devil’s food cake, I think the combo might have made me a cupcake lover after all!

I never have been a big cupcake fan. For my birthdays when I was a kid, my mom would always make a large chocolate chip cookie with whipped cream and sprinkles. Poke in a few candles, and vuala, I was a happy camper. I never could get over that thick and sweet frosting that was pipped high on cakes and cupcakes. Nowadays, I’m a much bigger fan of cupcakes. Maybe it’s because I’m the one making them and I can adjust the sweetness of the frosting to my liking, or maybe it’s because I’ve finally discovered whipped cream frosting.

Originally, I pictured making angel food cupcakes, topped with a light and airy whipped cream frosting, drizzled with fresh raspberry sauce. Sounds delicious, right? Well, if you must know, my angel food cupcakes were an utter fail, leaving me with little deflated, pancake-like sponges, crispy at the top and squishy at the bottom. I fed them to my garbage.

Which brings me to these cupcakes. I guess I had breakfast on my mind, or maybe next week’s Easter brunch, because after I gave up attempting angel food again, I decided to make french toast cupcakes. These cupcakes were just how I like my french toast, moist with maple syrup, dolloped with whipped cream, and finished off with fresh berries. The cake had warm spices and a hint of maple syrup and the whipped cream frosting was cool and not too sweet. I drizzled a few with some maple syrup for an added maple flavor and topped each cupcake off with a fresh raspberry. These would be a great addition to any Easter brunch table, or even just a fun dessert for the family!

French Toast Cupcakes
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the flours, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

My Favorite Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Using a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese for 5 minutes until smooth. Slowly add the heavy cream and beat on medium until it starts to thicken. Add the granulated sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Lower the speed to low as you slowly add the powered sugar (it makes a bit of a mess so help incorporate it with a spatula if needed). Continue to beat on medium for 5 minutes.

Guinness infused, chocolaty cupcakes, filled with Jameson Irish whiskey ganache, topped with sweet and creamy Baileys buttercream. Did I get your attention yet??

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought to add beer to my cupcakes. Okay, I might have thought about it, but I wouldn’t expect it to taste any good. When I think beer I think… wings, sliders, football, barbecues, pretty much anything but cupcakes. But my friends, I have to tell you, combining a cup of stout beer like Guinness with this chocolate cupcake recipe resulted in a surprisingly moist, rich, chocolaty cake I would recommend to anyone.

Since St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner (March 17th to be exact) and Hoboken is celebrating with Lepre-con all day today, I figured now is a perfect time to introduce these Irish Car Bomb cupcakes.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with America’s staple St. Patrick’s Day cocktail, here’s what it contains: 3/4 pint of Guinness, 1/2 shot of Irish whiskey such as Jameson floated over 1/2 shot of Irish cream such as Bailey’s. The shot is dropped into the beer and chugged quickly, before the mixture begins to curdle. Some say it tastes like a chocolate milkshake. I must agree.

For those of you who are very familiar with this St. Patty’s Day drink-of-choice, are you also familiar with what an Irish car bomb is exactly? I would assume that if you’ve never looked into the meaning, you’d have no idea where the name came from. Well, it’s your lucky day (no pun intended), here’s a little history lesson!

From the 1960s to the later years of the 1990s, Northern Ireland was involved in a period called the Troubles. During the Troubles, war was declared and ongoing violence took place. On July 21, 1972, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) used 22 car bombs in the city of Belfast. These bombs took the lives of a few innocent people, while many were left severely injured. This day became known as Bloody Friday.

Many people these days find the use of the name ‘Irish Car Bomb’ to describe a popular drink to be offensive and distasteful, while some find it fairly harmless. In American culture, this is a drink we are simply accustomed to ordering on St. Patty’s Day. So next time you order one, you’ll know a bit of the history, too.

Now, I didn’t mean to be a Debbie Downer telling you the historical meaning behind an Irish car bomb, so let me lift your spirits a little. Irish car bombs as a drink are very tasty, but as a cupcake – even tastier! As I mentioned earlier, these cupcakes are alcohol infused from top to bottom (literally). Guinness is baked right into the cupcake batter, resulting in a rich, chocolate cake, Jameson is poured into warm ganache which is piped into the center of the cupcake, and they’re all topped off with creamy, rich, and decedent Baileys buttercream. Although the process to make these cupcakes many seem like a lot of work, they’re worth it, trust me. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Irish Car Bomb Cucpakes
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2-3 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting

• 4-5 cups confections sugar
• 2 ½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperatue
• 6-7 tablespoons Baileys

Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

The insides will look like this:

Frosting Directions: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Enjoy, and Happy Hoboken St. Patty’s Day!

As we all know, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. And if you didn’t know Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, you don’t have a Facebook and/or Twitter. If you do in fact have a Facebook or Twitter, you know that tomorrow is a day for lovers, Whitney Huston died, and Nicki Minaj had an awful performance at the Grammy’s.

Now, back to Valentine’s Day. In honor of this holiday, I was asked by the restaurant where I work to make some kid of red velvet dessert to put on the menu. Naturally I was ecstatic that they would even think of asking me to do this. So I took the challenge, and these mini red velvet layer cakes are the outcome of a long night of baking. I must admit though, I’m not a huge red velvet fan. I just don’t get the hype about it. I’d rather have a piece of chocolate cake with coffee mocha frosting or a piece of peanut butter cheesecake… yeah, stay tunes for those. What I must admit though, is that this red velvet recipe is more of a sponge cake consistance which makes it super light and fluffy. Frosted with the cream cheese whipped cream, these are definitely a dessert to order this Valentine’s Day.

I can’t say this recipe idea was mine – I wish I could, but I simply can’t. Heather over at Sprinkle Bakes made these recently and her pictures blew me out of the water, so I knew I had to make them. I adapted the whipped filling a tad to make it sweeter and a bit thicker, but all in all, these were exactly what I was hoping for!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Lately, I’ve been on some kind of chocolate peanut butter kick and dreamed (literally… I dream in chocolate and frosting) of making a rich chocolate cupcake with a creamy peanut butter frosting. I searched high and low (aka I Googled a ton of recipes) to find a cake and a frosting recipe, and was completely satisfied with the results of both. The peanut butter frosting was very rich and very much a crowd pleaser, but I’m thinking next time I might add about 4 ounces of cream cheese to the mix. I made a few special ones with mini Reese’s cups baked inside the cupcake and the feedback was that they tasted like Funny Bones. Remember those?!

I have a little confession to make. Until this past weekend, frosting cupcakes was my worst baking nightmare. I envied bakers who were able to master the technique of using a pastry bag and decorating tip to frost cupcakes. I’ve searched site after site trying to find the correct way to frost a cupcake with little to no luck of actually creating a beautiful one myself. I had received a 15 piece Ateco decorating tip set for Christmas last year and insisted on using it every time I made cupcakes. My only problem though, was that I just wasn’t achieving that perfect ribbon-like swirl.

Then it hit me. I was using cake decorating tips! To me, a decorating tip was a decorating tip, and every time I watched a tutorial online, the closed star tip they used (the one that makes the pretty ribbon swirl) looked exactly like the one I had! But, to my surprise, it wasn’t. At all. I want to inform everyone out there reading this that you too can become a master cupcake froster. All you need is a 2D large closed star decorating tip, a large coupler, and a pastry bag – oh yeah, and some frosting!

(I’ll post a picture of the two tips tomorrow to show the size differences!)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe

Chocolate Cupcakes
From Annie’s Eats

Ingredient:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1½ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

To make the cake batter, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk together and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the sour cream, milk and vanilla extract. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until incorporated.

Spoon a tablespoon or two of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner. If using, place a mini peanut butter cup in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Enough to frost 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Back in December, my sister and I took a cupcake decorating class at Butter Lane Cupcakes in NYC. In a class with about a dozen others, we made Butter Lane’s signature vanilla, chocolate, and cream cheese frostings and were taught the proper techniques to whipping up the perfectly, light and airy frosting they use on all their cupcakes. Their secret? They cream the butter and cream cheese (there’s cream cheese in all their frostings) on medium for 5 minutes. That’s right – 5 minutes on medium. I don’t know about you, but when I make pretty much anything, I’m not standing at my mixer waiting patiently for 5 minutes. I mix until combined and move on. But in order to achieve that super light and creamy frosting, 5 minutes is totally necessary.

So a few days after the class, I opted to make my own cream cheese frosting to top off some chocolate cupcakes. Since the frosting recipe from Butter Lane makes nearly double what I needed to frost my cupcakes, I had to think of another use (we all know that letting perfectly good frosting go to waste is a sin). I thought about it for a while and Googled a few recipes and finally found the perfect way to use up my extra cream cheese frosting: carrot cake cookies filled with cream cheese frosting. Duh, right?

I was a little skeptical when I decided to make these cookies. Carrot cake in cookie form? But I went through with the recipe and I’m glad I did. These were super moist and packed with flavor. I personally think these could stand alone, without the addition of the cream cheese frosting, but the frosting just “put the icing on the cake” – as the expression goes! As a foodie (and proud!) I seldom make the same recipe twice. I like trying new things and baking up new creations, but these cookie will definitely be made again, and again! Trust me on this one, you’re going to want to make these.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
from Picky Cook

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter – room temp
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs – room temp
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats – not instant
• 1 1/2 cup grated carrots – about 3 large carrots
• 1 cup raisins – optional (i hate raisins so i omitted)
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Directions
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, silpats, or simply spray with cooking spray.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 – 4 minutes in a stand mixer). Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until well combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger; whisk to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low until just combined. Do not overmix!

Mix in oats, carrots, raisins (if using) and walnuts. Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Shape tablespoons of dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. I flattened mine a bit and sprinkled a bit of sugar on the tops before putting in the oven.
Bake until browned and crisp around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes (mine took 11 minutes so check early) rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
from Butter Lane Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 stick of butter, at room temp
• 16 oz cream cheese, at room temp
• 8 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 splash vanilla extract

Directions
Combine butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. While mixing at a low speed, add sugar. Once combine, add a splash of vanilla extract and mix on a medium to high speed for 3 minutes, or until smooth and fully combined. Frost and enjoy!

Sunday is a holy day to some and a relaxing day to most. To me, Sunday is not only holy and relaxing, but also the best day to bake! Yesterday, I sat pondering what yummy goodness I would make that day. I’ve really been tempted to make cinnamon buns, but figured those could wait for a morning that I didn’t wake up at noon. I then found a recipe for a chocolate cake with peanut butter moose and chocolate drizzle. While this sounds heavenly and I will most likely make it in the near future, I voted against it when I found the recipe for spiced vanilla cupcakes. Spiced vanilla cake? Sounded too interesting to pass up. So, ladies and gentlepeople, this is what I have for you today: spiced vanilla cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting.

To be completely honest, I’m not a fan of cupcakes, and I’m surely not particularly a fan of vanilla cupcakes. I nearly loathe buttercream frosting (even though these aren’t buttercream), but will make it, strictly to have fun piping it. I guess the good news in me not liking cupcakes is that there are more to give away, because, between me and you, I would have housed that chocolate and peanut butter cake I mentioned before. Then I would have gotten nasty looks from my roommates for not sharing. (Love yous!)

I used my lovely decorating tips I got for Christmas and finally got to use the pretty neon cupcake cups I got the other day. The cake part of these cupcakes, as you can read, are spiced with cinnamon, giving them just a little kick you wouldn’t expect. The cream cheese frosting is not too sweet, but goes nicely with the cinnamon vanilla cake.

Spiced Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from Cupcake Rehab

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Cream the butter in a stand mixer until smooth and light. Add sugar and continue to mix until fully incorporated and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F.

Combine milk and vanilla. Add portions of the flour mixture and milk mixture to the electric mixer, alternating, starting and ending with flour. Pour evenly into cupcake pans lined with paper liners, about ½ – ¾ full. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cupcakes spring back to the touch.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Cupcake Project

• 8 ozs cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 C sifted powdered sugar (You can decrease this amount if you don’t care about it being as stiff for piping)
• 1/2 C cocoa powder

Directions:
Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Mix in cocoa powder.

My sister and I decided to spend last Sunday making cake balls. It was our first time making these little bite sized cakes, and we both spent ample time on the web (especially Bakerella’s blog) trying to perfect the art of the perfect cake ball. We took a ton of photos, so I’ll go through the process step by step.

Before I begin, let me explain that many recipes call for boxed cake mix and canned frosting. Jackie and I decided to be overachievers that day and not only made two different flavors, but also made our own cake and homemade frosting. Unless you’re feeling extremely ambitious, just use the boxed cake mix and frosting, it really just makes life a lot easier. Our balls took on a moister texture than they probably should have been, making them difficult to coat with chocolate. They came out so delicious though, I really can’t complain!!

First things first: Although I forgot to take a picture of our chocolate cake (sorry!), make your cake batter and pour it into a flat baking pan (we a used 13 x 9). We decided on chocolate cake with mocha frosting and red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

While your cake is in the oven, get started on your frosting. Unlike actual cake, cake balls require you to mix the frosting right into the cake, which give it that really moist inside.

After you take your cake out of the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes (I find it very important the cake cools before you crumble and mix it with the frosting. A warm cake makes the icing get kind of liquidy, which isn’t the best for rolling the balls), crumble the cake with your hands like so:

Then, add the frosting to the crumbles…

…and with your hands, or a stand mixer, mix the frosting into the cake so it’s a giant yummy, gooey mess.

At this point, stick the whole bowl into the fridge and let the cake mixture chill. Chilling it helps the balls stay firm and makes them less likely to fall apart when dipping them in the candy coating later. While that was chilling, I played with Eva the diva… Ain’t she cute?!

So back to business. Take the chilled mixture out and start rolling those balls! One recipe makes about 50 balls, so be ready to get your hands dirty.

When you’re done rolling all your cake into little balls, I suggest sticking them back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, this way, when you dip them they don’t have the tendency to fall apart….. like ours. This was the trickiest part for Jackie and I. We checked out Pioneer Woman’s post with Bakerella herself showing how to perfectly ‘tap off’ the excess coating, but she makes it look far easier than it actually is. I’m convinced this whole cake-ball-making thing is an art skill that needs practice to be perfected. But hey, that’s just me!

In the end, we came out with what Jackie now calls, “cake bites.” They weren’t all perfect little spheres but they came out tasting heavenly.The candy coating gave it that crunch and when you bite it, the middle was so moist it nearly melted in your mouth.

Have any tips, tricks, or questions about these bite sized treats? Share them with me!