Carrot-Apple Muffins

In the middle of all of the Christmas decadence (which I am certainly enjoying my fair share), I thought that I would share a healthy sweet treat.

These are carrot-apple muffins made with a combination of all-purpose flour and almond flour, so they have a nuttier taste.  In lieu of butter, these cupcakes use a combination of applesauce and grapeseed oil.  The Greek yogurt keeps these cupcakes very moist.  These cupcakes do not have any additional sweetener added, so they are not overly sweet.  If you wanted to sweeten them up, I would suggest adding a tablespoon of honey, coconut sugar, or a sweetener of your choice.

You could make these into cupcakes by adding a healthy frosting, like a dollop of almond butter or even flavored Greek yogurt.

If you are looking for a healthier treat to bring to a Christmas party, these just may be the ticket.  Or, you can just file this away for a recipe to try in January. :)

Happy Baking!

Carrot-Apple Cupcakes
Yields 12 mini muffins

Ingredients:
60 grams (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. almond flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
2 tbsp. applesauce
2 tbsp. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup shredded carrot

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a mini cupcake pan with 12 muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and whisk together.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg, applesauce, yogurt, grapeseed oil, and vanilla.  Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Drop 1 tablespoon of the batter into each paper liner.  Bake for about 12 minutes until the muffins are golden.  Cool the muffins for 5 minutes before removing the liners from the pan.

Source: Adapted with modifications from Giada De Laurentiis' Feel Good Food

Ina Garten's Coconut Cupcakes

Almost a year ago, my friend Jenn and I saw Ina Garten during her Make it Ahead cookbook tour's stop in Denver.  It was so much fun to see Ina live!  Ina brought up her acclaimed coconut cupcakes during her visit and joked about the large amounts of butter in those cupcakes.  Jenn and I talked about how we needed to try those coconut cupcakes.  Ever since then, I had Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes on my must bake list.  As a chocolate lover, I give desserts with chocolate preference on the baking list, and so the coconut cupcakes just lingered at the bottom of the list.

When I was flipping through my Ina Garten cookbooks on a Saturday afternoon (one of my favorite afternoon activities is going through cookbooks with a cup of tea), I was reminded that I really needed to make those coconut cupcakes.  Since I hadn't made cupcakes for far too long, it was time to bump these cupcakes up on the baking list.

Now, if you're going to make cupcakes, go big, or go home, right?

I say "go big, or go home" because these cupcakes have 1 1/2 pounds of butter in them.  That's 48 tablespoons of butter.  It's also equivalent to 6 sticks of butter.  I'm not sure which sounds better: pounds, tablespoons, or sticks.  Bottom line, these cupcakes have a whole lot of better, but they are so worth it.

While we're referring to ingredients in pounds, I suppose it's a good time to bring up that these cupcakes also have a pound of cream cheese.

As you might expect, these cupcakes are pure dessert nirvana.  They are fluffy, buttery cupcakes with a nutty vanilla flavor with coconut baked into the cupcake.  The cream cheese frosting makes these cupcakes absolutely delectable and incorporates the same vanilla and almond flavors with shredded coconut.  

Ina's recipe called for filling the cupcakes up to nearly the top of the liner.  Most cupcake recipes call for filling them 3/4 of the way.  However, I wasn't going to question Ina Garten, so I filled them to nearly the brim.  The cupcakes did not rise very much, so don't be concerned about filling them so high.

I made the cupcakes and froze them (after they finished cooling) overnight and frosted them the next day.  I find that it is easier to frost cakes (and cupcakes!) when they are frozen.  Freezing cake also helps keep the moisture in the cake.  By doing it the next day, it also gives the dishwasher time to clean the bowl of the stand mixer. ;-)

There is a lot of frosting in these cupcakes, and truth be told, you could probably even half the frosting.  In my humble opinion, frosting is the best part of a cake, so I made the full frosting recipe so that I could generously frost the cupcakes.

Calling these cupcakes "divine" seems almost to be an understatement.   All I can say is go make them.    For Thanksgiving, break up all the pumpkin desserts and throw in something different with these coconut cupcakes.  

Ina Garten's Coconut Cupcakes
Yields 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
24 tbsp. / 3 sticks / 3/4 lb. butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
12 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
7 oz. shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

For the frosting:
24 tbsp. / 3 sticks / 3/4 lb. butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 1/2 lbs. confectioner's sugar
7 oz. shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners, and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 5 to 7 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Then, with the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time.  Then, add the vanilla and almond extracts, and mix well.

In three parts, alternatively add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter.  Mix until just combined, and then fold in 7 ounces of the shredded coconut.  

Fill each cupcake liner to the top with the batter.  Bake for about 25-35 minutes, until the cupcake tops are golden brown.  After baking, allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before moving to a baking rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts.  Then, add the confectioner's sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Source: Ina Garten

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

It's Christmas week--the busiest baking week of the year!  What's baking and cooking this week in your kitchen?

Today's recipe is Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes.  These are really classic cupcakes dressed up by adding crushed candy canes. The combination of chocolate and peppermint is always a crowd pleaser around Christmas.  I think Williams-Sonoma's peppermint bark may have had something to do with that. ;)  

Recently, my friend Eddie was on the hunt for some chocolate peppermint cupcakes for a co-worker's birthday.  He tried a few places around town but had no luck and asked me if I could help him make the cupcakes.  Yes, please!  :)  

We had a lot of fun making these.  Eddie was ready to grab the hammer to crush the candy canes, but I enlisted one of my favorite kitchen toys (the food processor) for that task.  You could also substitute peppermint bark for the candy canes, too.

These cupcakes have a brownie base, and the brownie cupcakes were very fudgy.  We probably could have baked them a few minutes more (which I have factored into the directions).  Besides adding peppermint flavor, the candy canes also added a small crunch to the texture of the brownies.  The peppermint flavor wasn't too overpowering--it was just right.  

For the frosting, we made a white chocolate cream cheese frosting.  Since peppermint bark has chocolate on the bottom and white chocolate on top, a white chocolate frosting seemed to go perfectly!  I also think that the white chocolate cream cheese frosting balanced off the intense chocolate flavor of the brownies.  After frosting the cupcakes, we sprinkled extra crushed candy canes on top.  

The cupcakes were a hit, and don't they look cute in their little cupcake village?

I still have a few more Christmas recipes to share with you this week, along with a recap of my annual Christmas cookie exchange.  Merry Christmas Week! 

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

8 regular sized candy canes, crushed 

For the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

4 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 bag (11 oz.) white chocolate chips

6 regular sized candy canes, crushed finely

Directions:

For the brownies:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  

Heat the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a pot of barely simmering water.  Stir occasionally until melted.  After melted, remove from heat, add sugar, and whisk until smooth using an electric mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until each is incorporated.  Add vanilla, and beat for about a minute longer.  Gradually add the flour, beating until combined, and then add the crushed candy canes.

Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling about two-thirds full.  Bake, rotating halfway through, for about 20 minutes.  Transfer pan to wire rack and allow to cool completely before removing cupcakes and frosting.

For the frosting:

Place the white chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pot of barely simmering water.  Stir occasionally until melted.  After melted, remove from heat, set aside, and allow to cool for 15 minutes or until bowl no longer feels warm to the touch.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl using an electric mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until combined and creamy.  Add the vanilla extract, salt, and confectioner's sugar, and beat until creamy.  Gradually add in the cooled white chocolate.  Beat until combined and smooth.  Frost cupcakes, and sprinkle crushed candy canes over the frosted cupcakes.

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, Frosting was a Simply Sweet Justice Original

Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing

Hi, guys!

(Yahoo!  I finally a recipe that doesn't involve drinking fruits and veggies.)

It has been an exciting past few weeks with a trip to Austria and Italy and my sister's wedding.  I have a special wedding post coming soon!

I told one of my best friends that I would make him a birthday dessert, and he requested carrot cake.  Now, last time I made carrot cake, I left the leftover cake on the counter while I ran down to get something from the basement.  When I came back upstairs, my dog Rudy was standing up on the counter working his way around the cake for the cream cheese frosting, ignoring the cake.  Clearly, he's learned from all my baking that frosting is the most important part of a cake.   So, I decided I needed to twist up the carrot cake, in hopes of deterring Rudy. :)

Enter Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing!

These cupcakes are flavored with orange juice, so they come out a little sweeter and more moist than most carrot cakes.  Mascarpone cheese is a little softer and more creamy that cream cheese, and it makes a divine buttercream frosting.  Normally, buttercream frosting made from just butter can be almost a little too rich and sweet for my liking, so adding cream (whether whipped cream or a cream cheese) helps mellow the richness from the butter.  The mascarpone made for one creamy buttercream that didn't taste like you were eating a stick of sweet butter.

These cupcakes were a nice spring twist on the usual carrot cake, and Rudy did not get any leftover cupcakes.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weeks leading up to summer!

(PS: Sorry for the not-so-great picture.  As luck would have it, I misplaced my pastry bag so no pretty frosting design, and then I couldn't find my Nikon camera charger (which resulted in the iPhone picture!)  Naturally, I found the pastry bag and the camera charger shortly after.)

Carrot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing
Yields 10 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 small orange, zested
2 large eggs
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
7 tbsp. orange juice

For the icing:
6 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
4 oz. cold mascarpone
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and line a cupcake pan with 10 paper liners.

In a bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, maple syrup, and orange zest until pale and creamy.  Beat in the eggs once at a time, and stir in the carrots.  Stir half of the flour mixture into the batter, and then add the orange juice.  Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by orange juice.  Mix until smooth.

Spread the batter in the liners in the pan, and bake until the cupcakes are risen and golden, about 20-25 minutes.  After the cupcakes are finished baking, transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool.

For the icing, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and mascarpone until blended.  When the cupcakes are cool, first and garnish with toppings, if desired.

Source: Williams-Sonoma

Banana Cupcakes with Maple Vanilla Buttercream

Truth be told, this is essentially a recipe for banana bread with frosting but in cupcake form.  

As I started writing this, I thought, "Do I call these mini frosted banana breads?  Or, would mini banana cakes be better?  Banana bread cupcakes?"

Then, I had more questions for myself. What is the difference between banana bread and banana cake?   

Do "sweet breads" really count as breads?  How do cupcakes and muffins differ?  

Clearly, I was doing the analytical attorney thing here.

My quick and dirty semi-"black law" answer:  Bread is made in a loaf pan, and cake is made in a cake pan.  Cupcakes have frosting, and muffins lack frosting.

Moving on.  ;)

This banana treat is inspired by Flour Bakery in Boston.  I first read about this bakery in Runners' World.  The owner of the bakery is a runner and said that she ran 15 marathons by "strict training and banana bread."  Hey, you go girl!

This is a great recipe because it is the perfect amount of sweetness and moistness.  For a healthy twist, you could substitute apple sauce for half of the butter.  Maple buttercream sounded like a perfect pairing to the banana.  (After all, maple syrup goes well with banana pancakes, right?)

My thoughtful godmother sent me these darling cupcake liners that look like flowers.  Aren't they cute? I added just a dollop of frosting because I wanted to show off the cute cupcake liners.

Enjoy this frosted whimsey banana bread in cupcake form.

Banana Cupcakes with Maple Vanilla Buttercream

Yields 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 bananas, very ripped, mashed

2 tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

For the buttercream:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 tbsp. pure maple syrup

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Directions:

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line cupcake pans with liners.

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl, and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter, until lightly and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.  Next, add the eggs and mix until combined.  Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla.  Fold in the dry ingredients.  

Divide the batter evenly amount lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full.  Bake, and rotate cupcake pans halfway through, for about 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted to the centers comes out clean.  Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a mixing bowl), add the butter and confectioners' sugar, and beat until fluffy. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, milk, and salt.  Continue to beat until smooth and creamy.  

Use immediately, or store covered for up to two days.

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Flour Bakery in Boston, frosting a Simply Sweet Justice Original

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Never underestimate the power of a cupcake.  I love yoga and recently read about how many activities can help get you in that "zen zone," be in the moment, relieve stress, and just induce a very similar feeling to being on the yoga mat.  For me, making cupcakes is one of these activities.  I'm able to stop my mind chatter and just be.  "Cupcake yoga" is an experience of mindfulness for me.

Cupcakes are powerful.  If you give a person a cupcake, that person's day gets better.  Eating cupcakes just make people happy.  The combinations of cupcakes and frostings are infinite, so there are infinite ways to make days great and people happy. :)  Now that is sweet.

So, let's talk devil's food.  Angels most certainly like chocolate, but the density of devil's food cake is much different than angel food cake.

Devil's food cake is moister and airier than other chocolate cakes.  The sour cream adds moistness, and the baking soda also helps to increase the moistness and makes the cake airy.  Devil's food uses cocoa powder for the flavor, where most other chocolate cakes uses actual melted chocolate.  Additionally, hot water is often used as a main liquid in the devil cake.  Other chocolate cakes often uses milk instead.

The caramel frosting is easy to make because you do not need to pull out a candy thermometer.  The frosting tasted better the next day because the flavor had a chance to richen.

To decorate the cupcakes, I just placed a large chocolate chip upside down on the cupcake.  Can you really go wrong with more chocolate on a cupcake?

Make these divine devil food cupcakes soon!

PS: Random tidbit: did you know that Cupcake Vineyards makes a devil's food vodka?

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Yields 32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

For the frosting:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. dark corn syrup
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the granulated sugar , and stir.  Remove from heat, and pour into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the mixture on medium-w speed for about 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until each is incorporated.  Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.  Next, add vanilla, cocoa mixture, and continue to beat until combined.  Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream.   Beat until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full.  Bake, and rotate cupcake pans halfway through, for about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted to the centers comes out clean.  Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugars, and continue to beat on low speed for about two minutes.  Next, add the milk, syrup, and vanilla.  Continue to beat until smooth and creamy, for about 5 minutes.  Use immediately, or store covered for up to 2 days.

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes; Caramel Buttercream adapted from Magnolia Bakery

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Cupcakes make any day better.  Back in elementary school, remember the excitement when someone's mom brought in a foil-lined tray full of cupcakes for a birthday?  Something so small and simple made a boring school day very happy.  

Even now, despite the economy, cupcake businesses are doing phenomenally well.  Most towns have cupcake bakeries, and people will wait in long lines to enjoy these guiltless indulgences, which are a walk down memory lane of childhood.  In tough economic times, people will cut back on spending, but they will buy little items that make them feel good.  Sweet, delicious, and inexpensive cupcakes provide that gratification and "luxury."  It reminds me of Starbucks: even when money is tight, people still get their Starbucks drinks, and this movie clip provides a humorous explanation.

So, it turns out that cupcakes have actually been taking the cake for over 200 years.  The very first mention of a cupcake goes back to a 1796 recipe with a notation of "a cake to be baked in small cups" in American Cookery.  In 1828, Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats used the term "cupcake."  

Who doesn't love cupcakes?  They come in one size, so you've got portion control; none of this nonsense of "give me that tiny sliver of cake….wait, that's too big!"  They are portable, and I recommend a cupcake triple-decker tour bus or cupcake saucer for transport.  Most importantly, cupcakes are open to infinite decorating strategies.   They are decadent because you can get cake, frosting, and even a filling all at the same time.  

Vanilla is always the classic, simple flavor for anything.  It never hurts to have a classic vanilla cupcake and fabulous vanilla frosting in your recipe repertoire.  This recipe comes from the Magnolia Bakery in New York.  The bakery was featured in Sex and the City, and at one point, they had a "Carrie" cupcake, a vanilla cupcake with pink vanilla frosting and a daisy.  Out of all the bakeries in New York, if Magnolia made the cut for the Sex and the City ladies, you know it must be good!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
(Yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk (skim milk is fine)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Food coloring, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  In a small bowl, combine and sift the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the sugar gradually and beat until the mixture becomes fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating between the milk and vanilla. Beat the ingredients until they are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Carefully spoon the batter (use an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup) into the cupcake liners. The cupcake liners should be about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the cupcakes come out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make the vanilla buttercream frosting, place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the powdered sugar, followed by the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of the mixer, beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 to 5 minutes). Gradually add the remaining sugar (1 cup at a time), beating well until the icing is thick enough to be of a good spreading consistency. If desired, add some food coloring and mix throughly. Frost cupcakes, add sprinkles, and enjoy this reminder of how sweet life truly is!

Note:  For the vanilla buttercream, use the icing at room temperature because it will set if chilled. It can be stored in an airtight container for about three days.

Source: Cupcake history from Food Timeline; Adapted from Allysa Torrey and Jennifer Appel's Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

"Icing on the cake" is a bonus, right?  Well, "filling in the cupcake" takes a cupcake to a whole new level.

This is a very decadent cupcake.  The cupcake tastes like a brownie with peanut butter filling. We could stop right there and call it a day, or we could keep going.  Let's keep going.

The cupcake is then frosted with peanut butter frosting, and the entire cupcake is then dipped into a chocolate ganache.  It's peanut butter and chocolate inside and out.

Yes, I concede: this cupcake is more complicated because it involves making cupcakes, a filling, a frosting, and a ganache.  But, I promise you, once you take a taste, you'll realize that it was worth it!

My cupcake corer came in very handy for adding a filling to the cupcake.  Essentially, it hollows out a perfect hole in the center of the cupcake, and you can then add a filling in.  I added the peanut butter filling in with a pastry bag, but you could use a spoon to get the filling in there.  As I mention below, instead of making the filling, you could even just substitute a mini peanut butter cup, too.

Enjoy these dangerous, yet delicious, cupcakes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
(Yields 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the peanut butter filling:*

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the peanut butter frosting:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup milk or half-and-half

For the chocolate ganache:

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Put butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl over (not in) a pan of simmering water, and stir until melted.  Remove from heat, and lead cool slightly.  Whisk granulated sugar into cooled chocolate mixture.  Add eggs, and whisk until mixture becomes smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour mixture, stir until well incorporated.  Spoon 1/4 cup of batter into each lined cup.  Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in center comes out with only a few moist crumbs, about 40 minutes.  Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before inserting peanut-butter filling.

To make the filling, stir together all ingredients until smooth. Use preferred method to fill cupcakes.  Method Suggestions: (1) Use a small paring knife to cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake.  Add filling to the cupcake.  (2) Use cupcake corer to add filling.

To make the frosting, mix the confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and milk in a stand-mixer.  Once combined and creamy, transfer frosting to a pastry bag.  Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.  Chill cupcakes in fridge until frosting is completely firm, about 1 hour.

After cupcakes have chilled, make the chocolate ganache.  Place the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl over (not in) a pan of simmering water.  Whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth.  Transfer to a large mug.

Holding the cupcake by the bottom, carefully dip in chocolate to submerge all of the frosting.  Pull up and allow the excess chocolate to drop off for a few seconds before turning the cupcake right side up.  Transfer to cooling rack and repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Allow chocolate to set and buttercream to soften before serving.

* You can skip the filling.  As an alternative, you could also use a peanut butter cup, too!

Source: Cupcake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes; Peanut butter filling slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes; Peanut butter frosting recipe slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour; Chocolate ganache recipe adapted from Serious Eats.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

For many years, I think that the "bleeding armadillo" red velvet cake featured in the movie Steel Magnolias turned me away from red velvet.   Remember the scene where Shirley MacLaine violently sliced off the armadillo rear end for Tom Skerritt?  Classic.  

Over the last few years, red velvet desserts have become very popular.  About a year ago, I decided to give it a taste, and my sister and I made red velvet cupcakes from a Sprinkles Cupcakes mix.  Well, since then, red velvet cupcakes have now become my favorite cupcake of all time!

Red velvet is a tender, moist, and fluffy textured cake with a mild chocolate flavor.  The reddish brown color of the cake was originally from a reaction of the cocoa powder with the acidic buttermilk; however, red food coloring is generally added to increase the red color.  In order to mask the color before the cake is cut, and to then enhance the redness once it is cut, red velvet is traditionally complemented with a very thick white frosting.

Recently on a business trip, I visited Sprinkles Cupcakes for the first time.  Before my visit, I went on a long run, and the red velvet cupcake made the run totally worth it.  In fact, I ran--and went back--the next day for another cupcake.  Yes, I will run for cupcakes.  If you ever happen to visit a city with a Sprinkles Cupcakes, please stop and try one of their cupcakes.  On the Sprinkles page on Facebook, they even give out daily "codewords" for free cupcakes.  

Until you can try a Sprinkles red velvet cupcake, please give this recipe a try, because it is pretty close to the Sprinkles version.

"The Real McCoy" - Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(Yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 oz. red food coloring

4 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:*

8 oz. cream cheese, cold

1/2 cup butter, cold

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. sour cream

16 oz. confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar for five minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add sour cream, buttermilk, food coloring, and vanilla.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed until blended; do not overbeat.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  After the cupcakes have finished baking, allow the cupcakes to cool in pans for at least 10 minutes.  Then, remove from pans and allow cupcakes to finish cooling on wire racks.  

To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese, butter, salt, and sour cream on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low, and gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until incorporated. Do not overmix the frosting because then the frosting will have too much air.  Ideally, the frosting should have a creamy, dense texture, similar to that of ice cream.

Frost and decorate the cooled cupcakes as desired.  

* Note: If you really like frosting, you may want to increase the quantities by 50%.  Having too much frosting is never a bad thing in my book!


Source: Inspired by Sprinkle Cupcakes and adapted from Carrot Top Mom