Monthly Archives: June 2013

Banana and Chocolate Cupcakes

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This summer has basically been a summer of working and baking cupcakes. I don’t mind. It’s extremely relaxing and pretty great. This weekend I made banana cupcakes with a chocolate frosting. I made these cupcakes nearly a year ago, and these look a lot prettier. The bananas I used overly ripe, making the cupcakes nice and moist and light with a delicious banana taste. The cake could have stood on its own, but the dark chocolate frosting made the overall cupcake a taste from heaven.

Xo,
JJC

Recipe
Cake, yield 16
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition.
6. Fold in the mashed bananas into the mixture.
7. Fill 16 cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
8. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons milk with 2 cornstarch mixed in
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1. Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the liquids, cocoa powder, and confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.

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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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Sometimes you just have the urge to make cupcakes (okay, maybe just me) but don’t want too many. This is one of those cupcakes that I wish I had made more than I actually did. Even though it was a simple chocolate cake, the interior was nice and moist and fluffy. As always, I had a surprise of frosting inside the cake, which give the cake a delicious balance of peanut butter and chocolate.

Xo,
JJC

Recipe
Cake, Yields 16
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
2 eggs

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate powder.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition.
6. Fill 16 cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup milk with 2 tablespoons of dissolved cornstarch
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
~1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

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Tequila Sunrise Cupcakes

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Tequila Sunrise Cupcakes
June 16, 2013
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This weekend, I realized that a mixer was the greatest investment I made in baking this month, and I cannot believe that I didn’t purchase one earlier. Even a cheap Hamilton Beach 6-speed hand mixer saved me so much time and energy. This tequila sunrise cupcake was so delicious and moist. While mixing the ingredients, it didn’t look so tasty, as the acidity and the milk mixed together and appeared to curdle. But after baking for 20 minutes, it tasted mostly like orange with a sweet, but not too sweet, hint of the grenadine.

In addition frosting was so delicious that I wish I could share how it was. There was a bit of everything, and not one flavor was overpowering. All I have to say is that it needs to be remade and added in all cupcakes (including the surprise inside the cupcakes).

Overall, this cupcake was so delicious. It tastes even better when you have it with a tequila sunrise cocktail with it! Enjoy!

Xo,
JJC

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Recipe
Cake, yield 16
– 1/4 cup orange juice
– 1/2 cup buttermilk
– 2 tablespoons tequila
– 1 tablespoon grenadine
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
– 1 cup sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
– 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, orange juice, tequila, grenadine, and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition.
6. Fill 16 cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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Frosting
– 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
– 1 tablespoon milk with 2 tablespoons of dissolved cornstarch
– 2 teaspoons tequila
– 1 tablespoon grenadine
– 2 tablespoon lime juice
– 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then add the liquids and the confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.

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Coconut and Lime Cupcakes

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Coconut and Lime Cupcakes
June 8, 2013

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My sister’s birthday is coming up. And now that my family has realized that I can actually bake desserts, they have commissioned me to make a cake, even though I don’t bake cakes. So I took a recipe for the cupcakes I normally made and poured it into a cake pan. I would say that it was a success.

For this recipe, I adapted a normal vanilla cake and the mojito cupcake recipe to create what I thought would be something light and tasty. The cake was fluffy and had a sweet coconut flavor and a kick of lime. To make it even better, I might replace the buttermilk with coconut milk. Since this was also to be a cake for my sister’s birthday, I doubled the amount I normally make. There was enough batter to make 8 cupcakes and a 9 inch cake.

Between making the batter, baking, cooling, and decorating, these cakes and cupcakes took up the entire afternoon. But it was totally worth it. The cake was delicious and makes for a nice summery treat.

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMY!

Xo,
JJC

Recipe
Cake, yield 1 9-inch cake+8 cupcakes

DSC_15952 sticks unsalted butter
2 cup of granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cup shredded baker’s coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime zest

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lime zest.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, lime juice, and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition.
6. Fill 8 cupcake liners about 2/3 full and pour the rest of the batter into a cake pan.
7. Bake at 325 until each is golden brown. The cupcakes took about 20 minutes, while the cake took about 45 minutes.

Frosting
DSC_1597– 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
– 4 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved 3 tablespoons of warm milk
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 3 tablespoons lime juice
~ 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar

Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then add the liquids and the confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.

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