Tag Archives: cupcakes

Mocha Mornings

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Oh, coffee. How you fuel me.

I never really thought of myself a big coffee drinker. But really, I can’t function without it, even though I don’t drink that much of it. I rarely even finish the two cups I make every morning. But still, just the smell, the quick taste of it, gets me going.

Recently, (and I’ve been strangely over excited about this) I’ve been making my own iced coffee. First, I bought a pitcher and some colorful tumblers (of course, the outfit always comes first). You can double brew the coffee and keep it in the fridge for a few days. I even made some coffee ice cubes so my iced coffee doesn’t get watered down. Add a big splash of skim milk and I’m ready to start the hot summer day!

Anyway…getting to the sweet stuff…. I’ve been looking for a new frosting for my go-to one bowl chocolate cupcakes. Inspired by my coffee love, I whipped up this mocha beauty.

Truly, these are cupcakes for breakfast.  :)

Mocha Frosting

  • 8oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • Chocolate (I used leftover Easter candy) to grate and decorate

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The Humble Cupcake

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Gosh, don’t you just love the comfort of a peanut butter and banana sandwich? They remind me of my dad….one of his favorite foods that I often shared with him when I was little. There’s a creaminess and a stickiness that’s just so simple and delightful.

So I made it into a cupcake… banana cake (one of my favorite bases) with a fluffy peanut butter cream cheese frosting. But I couldn’t stop there. Before frosting the cupcakes, I topped the cakes with a little swirl of nutella. But, of course!

These are a little decadent, but the banana and the peanut butter keep them humble. Something I really love about these cupcakes. They’re totally unpretentious.

One Bowl Banana Cupcakes

  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2-1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line enough muffin tins with paper liners for 30 cupcakes.
  2. Mix the ingredients in the order listed in a large bowl, starting with the wet ingredients and moving to the dry ones.
  3. Bake for twenty minutes, rotating the pan mid-way.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  1. Beat the cream cheese and the butter together.
  2. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and continue to mix well.
  3. Slowly add the sugar and beat until incorporated.
  4. Pipe on to cupcakes.
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Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

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Happy almost springtime!

I’ve been so busy recently that I really haven’t had much time to spend in my kitchen. With spring on the way, it’s time to get back to cooking with fresh veggies and baking some sweet new treats.

I’ve actually never baked anything lemon before and I’ve been wanting to try it. These lemon cupcakes were actually inspired by some cupcake wrappers and decorations I had. The liners on these cupcakes are actually yellow with little white polka dots, but of course after baking you can’t even tell. And then there are the daisy toppers. How cute, right? So I wanted to bake something that felt and tasted like spring and ended up with these raspberry-filled lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. So delicious!

The lemon flavor is so fresh (just don’t pull a Nikki and zest your thumb while you’re zesting the lemons) and the frosting is so creamy and tart. I really love this flavor combination, which is saying a lot for me when chocolate isn’t involved. The cupcakes got great compliments from my co-workers – someone even said it was better than a Georgetown Cupcake!

Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

(Cake adapted from Martha Stewart)

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • Zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • Seedless raspberry jam
  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
  3. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla. Alternate by adding some flour mixture, then some buttermilk, then some lemon juice. Repeat in 3 batches until fully incorporated.
  4. Fill cupcake cups half way with the batter. Spoon about a teaspoon of raspberry jam in the center of each cup and press it down into the batter. Cover the jam with the remaining batter.
  5. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating pans half-way, until cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 block of 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • A few drops of yellow food coloring
  1. With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese.
  2. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each incorporation.
  3. Blend in lemon juice and add food coloring.
  4. Pipe on to cupcakes and decorate!

A view from the inside! The surprise raspberry filling is a perfect flavor addition to the fresh lemon.

Happy spring!

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Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

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Obviously, this post is a little late. Oops!

Valentine’s Day night I got very sick for a few weeks so forgive me. (I was really excited for it too, do you remember?) I did want to post this sweet little raspberry cupcake recipe though so, enjoy…

This cupcake is so light and fresh. The recipe uses fresh raspberries, which add a wonderful sweetness and fun color. I topped these with my cream cheese frosting…with the two together the cupcake tasted like raspberry cheesecake. Perfect! Topped with some fun sprinkles and candies, these were a great non-chocolate V-Day dessert. But they’ll work anytime in early spring too, (or whenever you can find fresh berries) if you want to try them out now.

Raspberry Cupcakes (from Martha Stewart)

  • 2  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 2  1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1  1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1  1/4 cups whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2  1/4 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 containers (6 ounces each) raspberries, 1 container pureed, 1 container coarsely chopped
  • Gel-paste food coloring, in Tulip Red
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups. (Mine actually made more than this…)
  2. Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar in a slow, steady stream, and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl, and beat until smooth.
  3. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in pureed and chopped raspberries and a small drop of food coloring.
  4. Divide batter among baking cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes, and let cool completely.

My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth
  2. Add the vanilla extract
  3. Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated
  4. Stick your finger into the bowl and lick away
  5. Just kidding… maybe… spread on cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

And the whole (maybe a little over the top) Valentine’s Day table…

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