Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!  I’m writing this post from my hotel room in NYC.  I landed in NYC today and spent the day walking the streets of this amazing city and tasting some amazing treats (more of that coming soon).  I’m actually here for work and will be spending the next few days walking the Toy Show.  Excited to see the new and exciting toys, but I have mixed feelings about being here since I’ll be away from the three people I love most of all on Valentine’s Day.  I hate being away from them and especially on a day like tomorrow.  When thinking of it makes me sad.  They don’t understand what tomorrow is, but I do.  When trying to think of the best gift to leave for the girls to open tomorrow I came across the amazing Hallmark Recordable Books.  Have you heard about these?  The best thing ever!  You can personalize and read the pages of a book to a little one and they can flip through each page and hear your voice reading to them.  I read a book to the girls every night and it’s something that I look forward to so when I saw these books I fell in love.  Last night I sat down and recorded my voice reading the book to them… and yes, I tried my best to hold back a tear at the end when I recorded my closing to the girls.  I can’t wait to hear what they think tomorrow night when they open it.

Now let’s talk about these little treats.  We all love Bakerella (I actually adore her) and this recipe was inspired by her.  I actually made these last Valentine’s Day and didn’t get a chance to post them so I knew this year I couldn’t forget.  I prefer to make each step by scratch but you can make these easier and use your favorite box of red velvet cake or can cream cheese.  I just prefer the real stuff.  These take several steps and time but in the end they are so worth it.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!  Enjoy!

Valentine Red Velvet Cupbites

Print Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 recipe for red velvet cake (see below)

1 recipe for cream cheese frosting (see below)

Red Chocolate Melts

White Chocolate Melts

Large Red Heart Sprinkles

For Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted

2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cups organic cane sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar, coconut oil, vegetable oil, and applesauce until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

Add batter to prepared pan. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) organic Neufchatel cheese, room temperature

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth; beat in vanilla.  Top each cupcake with 2 tbsp of frosting and spread to cover.  You can also pipe the frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes.

Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 3 days in airtight container; bring to room temperature before serving.

To Make Cupbite:

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. You can use a food processor to help in crumbling. (The texture should be fine/fluffy)

Using a large spoon, mix the half the cream cheese frosting into the crumbled cake. Add more of the cream cheese frosting until the  

Roll mixture into quarter size balls (make sure they are smaller in diameter than that of your candy mold) and lay on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Chill in the freezer for a few minutes, until they are slightly firm, not frozen.

Melt red chocolate per directions on package.

Using a spoon or squeeze bottle, fill each mold cavity with a small amount of red chocolate. Just enough to fill the cavity, go ahead and place one of your rolled balls into it. Carefully push it down until the force causes the chocolate to push up and fill in around the sides of the ball. You may have to experiment with a couple to get the right amount. Stop pushing once the chocolate reaches the top edge.

Place the mold tray filled with cupcakes in the freezer for just a few minutes to let the chocolate set. Remove and then gently pull up on the cake ball top to release from candy mold.

Melt white chocolate melts per package instructions.

Now, holding the bottom of the cupcake, dip the top in the white melted chocolate.

Decorate the top with heart sprinkle.

Recipe Adapted and Inspired by Bakerella

I’m going to keep this post a little short today because it has been a very long weekend that I would like to care to forget.  The whole house was sick this weekend and it actually started back last Wednesday when one of the munchkins caught a stomach bug.  Of course once one catches it you know the other will catch it within hours.  Wednesday at lunch time I picked both the girls up from school and by Thursday morning it just started to go downhill.  Needless to say the whole weekend was not fun!  We had two very sick little girls on our hands with middle of the night wake ups and early morning rises and not with the most pleasant of things…which I will spare you the details.  On Friday night I started to feel a little funky and not myself.  I just ignored it and thought it was due to lack of sleep and my skin, my clothes, and the whole house smelling of sickness.  It wasn’t until I finally broke down and took my temperature Friday night that I then realized I was right behind the little ones with this stomach bug.  But I had to ignore that as I had two sick little girls that needed me more.  So the temperature of 100 to 101.7 (since Friday) had to be forgotten!!  It was a very long weekend and I certainly do not wish it on any parent with little ones.  I’m still amazed of the bugs that go around at school.  I’m taking the girls back to school tomorrow, their first day back since last Wednesday and I have my fingers and toes crossed this is the last of the sicknesses for at least this year.  They have until Friday and school is out for the holidays.  Please, please, please let me have healthy kids for the holidays.  That’s all I ask….please….

Luckily these cupcakes were made before this very crazy weekend because I did not spend anytime in my kitchen this weekend.  Food was something no one really wanted and I had no desire to even think of.  Which only means this week will be a little short on posts…sorry.  I promise to make it up to you.  With the holiday season in full swing chocolate and peppermint are a match made in heaven.  I thought combining the two into a cupcake would be even more heavenly.  I hope you would agree too.  Enjoy and I’ll be back as soon as I can get back to my healthy cooking state.  Which I hope is soon because I’m starting to miss my kitchen.

Have a great week!! 

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Print Recipe

Cupcakes:

2 cups sugar

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 regular size candy canes, crushed

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

For cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins (or one mini cupcake tin) with cupcake liners; set aside.

 Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.

 In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, vanilla and peppermint extract. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.

 Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.  Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.  If you make the mini size cupcakes I would bake them 12 to 15 minutes, but again test with a cake tester to make sure they are done.  Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting:

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low.  Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 3 days in an airtight container; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

To finish, fill a pastry bag fitted with a open star tip and pipe frosting onto each cupcake, working from the outside in and finishing with a peak.  Sprinkle with crushed peppermint and mini chocolate chips (if using).

Makes 24 regular size cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes.

Frosting Source: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book

One last thing, as you all know I am a guest blogger for Smithfield.com and they recently launched an amazing new program through their Facebook page.  Now through New Year’s Smithfield is donating one serving of food to their partner food banks for every person that likes them on Facebook.  Please help in supporting this amazing cause by heading over to Smithfield’s Facebook page and pressing that little like button.  Thanks a bunch everyone!!!

Today I’m over on Smithfield sharing with you a fall time favorite cupcake in my house,  Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.  It’s packed with all those fall time ingredients you think of when the first leaf drops from the trees.  If you aren’t in the mood for fall right now then you have to make these cupcakes and I’m sure it will get you in the mood. 

Head on over to Smithfield for the recipe and enjoy!

And have a fabulous weekend!!!

A few weeks ago I received a comment from Katherine Ann who wrote me a wonderful note asking me for a little favor.  You see, her dad is a lover of Cap’n Crunch cereal!  So much so that every year her and her sister get him a box for Christmas.  Due to his love of Cap’n Crunch, she asked me for an idea for using the cereal in a recipe so she could make for her dad for Father’s Day.  What a nice daughter! 

Here is Katherine’s note from a few weeks ago:

I knew I couldn’t let Katherine or her dad down so I took on the challenge to come up with the perfect recipe.  It took a couple weeks to decide what to make but in the end I decided on these cookie cupcakes.  If Katherine’s dad is anything like mine (and my husband) cookies and cupcakes are a favorite so why not combine the two?  Then I topped them with vanilla ice cream which added a little more.  Now I have to honestly say I haven’t had Cap’n Crunch cereal since I was a little girl.  When my husband saw the box he was like a little kid again and couldn’t wait for me to not only make these but to also have a bowl.  He was my test taster too and he approved so I’m hoping these will get the same approval from Katherine’s Dad.

Cap’n Crunch Cookie Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

Print Recipe

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 packed cup light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup Cap’n Crunch cereal, crushed

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed.  Beat in vanilla.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk, and beating until combined.  Stir in Cap’n Crunch cereal and white chocolate chips (if using) by hand.

Fill each cup with batter.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden and cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Transfer tins to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Once cupcakes are cool, top each cupcake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and top with additional Cap’n Crunch cereal.  Serve and enjoy!

This recipe was a lot of fun to make and thank you Katherine for asking me to come up with a recipe for your dad.  I hope your dad loves these cookie cupcakes this coming Sunday for Father’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your day with your family.  Yesterday we made these Roasted Banana Cupcakes and I wanted to share with you all and send wishes for Mother’s Day.  Have a fabulous day!!

The adorable cupcake signs came from Kim at Tom Kat Studio.  Earlier this week she offered to her readers a free printable Mother’s Day signs….she is so awesome!! 

Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

(adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcake Cookbook)

Print Recipe

For Roasted Banana’s:

3 to 4 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking power

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

For Frosting:

2 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.  In a baking pan, add banana’s and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Place butter pieces evenly over banana’s.  Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes until banana’s are golden and bubbly.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly before mashing bananas.

Reduce oven heat to 350.  Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Add roasted bananas, and beat to combine.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream (or yogurt), and beating until just combined after each.  Beat in vanilla.

In another mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together egg whites to form soft peaks; fold one-third whites into batter to lighten.  Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting:

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat all ingredients until smooth.  Use immediately, or refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container; before using, bring to room temperature and beat until smooth.

Note: I used a star tip on the frosting and working from the outside in made stars and lifted up to make them seem like flowers.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!

Next Page »