Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes and Vanilla Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I think it's safe to say that I am going through a lemon phase. I can't seem to get enough. I can't seem to stop thinking of dishes or treats that will somehow involve LEMON! Today I bring you two new recipes. Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes and Vanilla Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.

I can say in full foodie confidence that these two recipes, the frosting in particular, are the best lemon treats I've had. EVER! The cupcakes offer a near perfect texture and a light lemon flavor. The frosting is sweet but packed with a delicious tart lemon flavor. In all honesty, I could sit and eat the frosting from the mixing bowl. I have never been so excited to share a recipe as I am to share this frosting recipe. 

I found these recipes after a quick look around the internet for some inspiration. After a quick look over the recipe I realized there was no vanilla. I had one of those Foodie Freakout moments in the kitchen. Vanilla is my favorite flavor. I know it's plain, simple and boring to some. Why do I love it so much then? It's SO versatile and can add just the perfect little hint of flavor to compliment so many other flavors. If one uses vanilla beans, one can add some serious pure vanilla flavor to compliment anything. If you haven't used vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste, I highly recommend it. Anywho, I obviously found it necessary to add vanilla to these recipes. I chose to add a little more than normal so that it could stand right beside the power of the tart lemon flavor. I think it was a success!

Another change I made, which is a small change but yields a big result, is lemon juice. I added more. The recipes needed it. I just knew they would be better! And...I was right. 

Now is the point where I stop chatting and you start baking. You should print these recipes and get lost in Foodie Heaven. ;-)

Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes      [Printable Recipe]

adapted from: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/lemon-layer-cake-with-lemon-cream-cheese-frosting/

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.

4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and butter milk. Mix until just combined. Do NOT over mix.

5. Scoop batter into cupcake pans lined with cupcake papers.

6. Bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes.

Vanilla Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting       [Printable Recipe]

adapted from: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/lemon-layer-cake-with-lemon-cream-cheese-frosting/

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Note: Lemon juice and powdered sugar are really to your taste. I used 2 Tablespoons juice and about 4 cups powdered sugar.

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a mixer beat the butter until smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until well mixed.
2. Add the lemon juice and vanilla.
3. Slowly add the powdered sugar until desired taste and consistency.
4. Place frosting in the refrigerator if it's too soft. If not, ice cooled cupcakes.

Spring Cupcake How To

                 

               Dreaming of this...

...this is what we see.

Even if there are inches of snow on the ground in these early days of Spring, I'm still imagining the scent of blooming flowers and fresh cut grass. Not to mention the array of beautiful colors and new life that Spring brings. Since I can't look outside and enjoy the scenery I want, I decided to make some cute cupcakes to celebrate the days to come!

When I was asked to make a dessert for a Relay For Life event I instantly thought of cupcakes. Perfect treat for people to pick up and they aren't too messy at all. Perfect. Apparently everyone thought they were perfect as well...they sold out! The choice of decoration was obviously well received. The pictures I shared over on Facebook got some love too. The Birdie Cupcake was favored so I decided to put together a quick tutorial on how I made them. 

I used basic decorating tips to make these cupcakes and they truly are simple to do. I did learn that I should have went with my original idea of making the birds out of fondant. I think they would look better by being more round...Next time! haha For now, this is how you can achieve these cute cupcakes. They are perfect for upcoming Easter dinners! 

What you'll need:

- Your favorite cupcakes

- Buttercream or Whipped Frosting, colored as you wish

- Decorating bags with couplers 

- Decorating Tips (2, 3, 12 (all previous are round tips) and 233 (grass tip))

- A little creativity and imagination 

Here are the steps:

Starting in the center and working out swirl the nest and build the sides as you go around the outer edge.

Once you've built the nest, add a little detail by randomly pipping with the grass tip.

Fill a bag with the #12 tip attached with blue frosting. Pipe one bird at a time. It will have a pointy top, you'll fix that in a few steps.

In each nest place three blue birds. After you've pipped all the birds let them dry for a few minutes. To smooth out the pointy tip on the birds, with a glove on, use your finger to smooth it out. Lightly press each tip down. This will leave a base for the itty bitty yellow beak. 

Prepare a bag for the yellow frosting with the #3 tip and reuse the brown frosting by attaching the #2 tip. Pipe the upper and lower parts of the beak on the base impression you made in the previous step. Once you've added the beak to each bird on each cupcake go back and add the eyes. Do so by adding a very small dot. Do not squeeze the bag too much, you don't want to add a blob of brown for the eyes.

This should be your final product. How cute!

I also made some Spring flower cupcakes. These were even more simple. Pipe grass on to the cupcake as the base. Using various tips and colors, get creative and pipe on some pretty flowers. Fun!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

When I first think of Fall I immediately think of apples. I know that's a little out of the norm because Fall's most associated with pumpkin. There's a reason apples are my first thought. We have a past.

Anytime I see, eat, or think of apples I remember being a young teen and helping work at one of the local apple orchards. When Fall comes around all I want to do is just go pick apples. The smell of a Macintosh apple is one of the most comforting scents, to me. I'd like to think that the reason I so greatly remember these moments is because it's the first time I did real work. In the years that I continued to help pick apples I grew as an individual. It really taught be a lot about working hard and the rewards of doing so. These days picking and hauling the apples would seem like nothing, but as a growing boy, it was a bit of work. 

Every time I drive past what used to be the apple orchard I relive the moments I had there.  Today, there are no longer hundreds of apple trees, but the house and the little red building, which was the shop, still remain. Each time I see the shop I can remember being in there and just enjoying the amazing aroma of the apples, seeing the jars of local honey on the shelves, and hearing the apples being processed into cider through the doors that led from shop to production. 

The motivation for this recipe came from a visit to the local Farmer's Market. While on my visit there I came across a table that was selling different caramel items. One of those happened to be caramel apples. I didn't snap a photo, oddly, of the one that I purchased but let me just say…WOW. It was a Turtle Caramel Apple. A thick layer of caramel, a healthy dip of chocolate, and a very good portion of pecans. Simply beautiful. I've had the idea of making these cupcakes on the back burner for a while now. After purchasing that apple, I couldn't help but make the cupcakes. 

I searched for a good apple cupcake recipe and came across a few that I thought sounded great. I ended up settling on one and I altered it just a bit to add a little more flavor. The first batch turned out ok, but I'm not happy with just ok. So, I made them again with a few more adjustments and BAM! They turned out "Simply Sinful" as I was told by a lady who indulged in a cupcake. I would have to agree. I am so happy with these cupcakes (I ate 3 right away) that I want to make them everyday! You simply MUST make these cupcakes, even if you don't make the caramel for the top. 

Now, the only Caramel Apple Cupcakes I have ever seen had a popsicle stick or twig in them. I had to change that. Why not make the stick something edible?! So, I brainstormed a bit and I found a great option. I used Wilton Candy Melts and a sucker mold. I melted the candy and put it in a candy squeeze bottle. To finish I simply filled the stick part of the sucker mold. After a quick pop in the freezer they were good to go. I made mine a few days in advance, put them on a plate and tossed them in the freezer until I used them. Simple.

Enough chatter from me…Go make these "simply sinful" cupcakes. Enjoy!

 

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

adapted from Food Network Kitchens

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla

2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup apple butter

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and copped finely

Directions:

1. Line cupcake pans with liners and preheat oven to 350º

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, whisk the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

3. While the butter/sugar is going in a medium bowl whisk the remaining dry ingredients and set aside.

4. After butter/sugar is creamed add eggs one at a time then add the vanilla.

5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then sour cream, 1/3 flour mixture, then apple butter, and then remaining flour. Do NOT over mix.

6. Fold in the chopped apple. 

7. Fill cupcakes liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Switch racks and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

8. Remove and cool completely.

Caramel Topping

Ingredients:

1 bag Kraft Caramel Squares

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.

2. Cook over low heat until smooth.

3. Set aside to cool. Best if placed in refrigerator. 

To assemble the cupcakes:

- with a small spatula top the cupcakes with caramel

- if using pecans simple sprinkle them over the top of the caramel right after you put it on each cupcake

- insert the candy stick just enough for it to stand up

Baking in a small place...for a big cause. Part 1

Who just adores and loves their best friend? ...Silly question, I know. My best friend Stephanie holds a very special place in my life and heart. The past 7 years of my life have been brightened beyond anything I could imagine because of her existence in my life. 

I'm such a sap sometimes. ;-) 

Me and my dearest Stephanie getting ready to make dinner. :)

Stephanie and I love nothing better than to spend an evening, day, or whenever we can manage to get together in the kitchen and COOK! We would both love to own a restaurant and create/cook to our hearts content. Maybe someday our dream will come true...not maybe, it will if we want it to! 

....

The Cause: A benefit auction.

The benefit auction was for Stephanie and her husband, Matt. Matt was recently diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. After some doctors visits, tests, and a few surgeries, the medical bills began to pile. While they both work they are not offered health insurance. The auction went well and Stephanie and Matt were incredibly thankful for all that they did receive. :-)

When Stephanie asked me to do a dessert for the benefit auction she was having for her husband, there was no way I could say no. At first we had discussed a cake to just serve along with the meal available for purchase. In the end with decided to go with cupcakes, easier clean up and we could sell them separate! I wanted to make sure we had a variety so I managed to make 4 different cupcakes. 

The Baking: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes!

I have to admit that for these cupcakes I did cheat a little and use box mixes from the store with added ingredients to make them a little better. While they may not taste to bad, I'd much prefer to make cakes from scratch. It's worth the extra effort when they turn out and taste delicious. I say when they turn out because I seem to have a difficulty getting the cake/cupcakes to turn out every time. This is what happened this time around...

fell in the center. look below for an even worse example. 

Here's the deal, I have no AC downstairs in my apartment and I have a small kitchen...it was HOT! I think I allowed the butter to get to warm so therefore it resulted in those cupcakes. Butter needs to be at room temperature (65-68 degrees) to get the correct amount of air into the batter. Lesson learned.

Now, on to a better picture of what I did manage to create...

While all the cupcakes did turn out, I'm just going to share one recipe (it was the best one). The Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake! The chocolate cake recipe was one I found here and it's been quite popular. I came across this recipe because making chocolate cake/cupcakes from scratch has yet to be a true success for me. I really do like this recipe, with one adjustment. I decided to not add the chocolate chips...It's still really great! The frosting recipe comes from a traditional whoopie pie filling, I just had the idea of adding peanut butter. Let me just say, I could eat that frosting all day. It paired perfect with the cupcake. To make this a Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake I simply filled the cupcake liners about half full and then placed a Reese's Mini (the new tiny ones) in the center and finished filling the cupcake liner. It was my plan to also add a peanut butter cup on top of the cupcake, but someone (don't look at me) ate too many Reese's ;-) Here are the recipes...be sure to check out the website here for any questions on the recipe...they give step by step photos!

Happy Baking!

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Recipe from http://www.kevinandamanda.com

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small pkg Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch pie pans.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

1 small jar marshmallow creme

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat shortening, marshmallow creme, and peanut butter. Mix until combined. Slowly add in powdered sugar followed by the vanilla. Mix until smooth.