Tag Archives: food

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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Mojito Cupcakes

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Done with finals! Done with junior year! What better way to celebrate than with a cocktail and a cocktail themed cupcake. The recipe for the cake used was from BrownEyedBaker. We followed the recipe almost exactly, except that, in the first step, we forgot about the milk and the mint on the stove and kind of let the milk froth. It was funny, but don’t forget about the milk; it could end in a dangerous disaster. The batter itself was very light and airy. Upon baking for 20 minutes, the cake itself reflected the light airiness of the batter. I highly recommend this recipe, since the cake was light, not too sweet, and had a nice light lime and rum taste. The frosting, a buttercream thickened with powdered sugar added a nice sweetness to the cake.

Finally, thank you to Melissa for sharing this recipe with me and to Mari for making the cupcakes with me! I really loved this recipe (they just keep on getting better!). The garnish with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint was a nice addition and gave the cupcakes some nice color. It was especially nice with the actual mojitos to accompany the cupcakes. Not a bad way to kick off summer, if you ask me!

Xo,
JJC

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Maple Cupcakes

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Maple Cupcakes

Recipe from Countryliving.com

Cake
I added extra maple syrup (1.5 cups) and some extra milk to make the batter a bit more moist. However, the overall flavor was still too light for the amount of maple syrup I put in. I would recommend more milk or even more maple syrup if you want to spend the money on a full bottle of maple syrup.

Frosting
The frosting was a vanilla buttercream, with a dash of maple syrup. The dash of maple syrup provided a nice touch, so then the frosting wasn’t just sugary butter. The consistency of the frosting was perfect. The maple syrup provided some liquid, but it was also made it so the frosting was smooth.

Overall
I don’t think I would make this recipe again because the maple flavor was so light that it didn’t taste like anything. I would recommend to add maple extract to give it more flavor. The cake was also a bit dry, even though I added more syrup than the recipe called for. A more economic option would probably be to make vanilla cupcakes with a thick maple buttercream.

Xo,
JJC