Failure...well, semi-failure

Ok, here's the deal. I got really caught up during the run of Once on this Island. I was busy, you know, singing, dancing, crying, kissing and dying. It's whatever.
Obviously, I have failed at blogging....boooo. BUT I have kept up with the baking of the cupcakes!! Yay! So I just need to blog about them!
Thank goodness for Thanksgiving...just one of the many things to be thankful for!

Soooo...



...and I will blog all of those awesome cupcake recipes ASAP!

image from weheartit

Week 35. Sugar- Free Chocolate Cupcakes (for Joe Mason)

I always like to show my appreciate for the people who make my life easier...unfortunately, they're all on diets! So, I asked our accompanist what kind of cupcakes I could make that he would eat. He said "Sugar free!" And so my long journey begaaaaaan...found this one on recipegirl.com



Sugar- Free Chocolate Cupcakes

½ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ cup boiling water
1½ cups sifted cake flour (sift, then measure)
1 cup Splenda Sugar for Baking
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tin with cupcake papers.

2. Combine cocoa and boiling water, whisking until blended and smooth; set aside.

3. Combine flour, splenda, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and mix w/ electric mixer until mixture is crumbly.

4. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, cocoa mixture and vanilla. Add 1/3 of the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Beat on low speed w/ electric mixer until blended. Beat at medium speed for an additional 30 seconds until mixture is smooth (scrape down sides of bowl, as needed). Repeat two more times, until all egg mixture has been added.

5. Scoop batter into prepared tins. Fill 10 cupcakes for a fuller cupcake, or 12 for smaller cupcakes.

6. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 10 to 12


SUGAR- FREE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled (can use the Baker’s or Ghirardelli 1-ounce squares)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 Tbs granulated splenda (6 of the little packets)
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp chocolate extract (optional)


1. Melt the chocolate over low heat and then pour into a mixer bowl, let cool slightly.

2. Slowly whisk the cream into the cooled, melted chocolate. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed and add the butter, splenda, cocoa powder, and extracts. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

3. The frosting at this point will be quite thin and easy to spread. If you wish to pipe it on in a decorative pattern, place it in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to thicken it up a bit before putting into a piping bag.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are surprisingly good! I'm not a huge fan of baking with Splenda and stuff, but these really turned out good! Not sweet, but that nice, slightly bitter-y chocolate! YUM!

* Joe said they were wonderful and that he ate two on our dinner break. Also, he left the rest on his daughters' Tinker Bell plate for them to eat when they got home. Awww, sharing cupcake love with the family!

* If you are reading this and have any unusual requests for cupcakes like this, then let me know!! I'm always up for a challenge!

Week 34. Nectarine Cupcakes

Carly brought me this delicious looking recipe...I think her mom tore it out of the Martha Stewart magazine. And I had been craving a fresh fruit cupcake!



Nectarine Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 medium nectarines, peeled, halved, pitted, and finely chopped (1 1/4 cups)

FOR THE TOPPING
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 medium nectarine, halved, pitted, and very thinly sliced

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cupcakes: Sift together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir together milk and vanilla.
2.Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating twice with milk mixture.
3.Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Fill each with 1 tablespoon batter, 1 heaping tablespoon chopped nectarines, and an additional 2 tablespoons batter. Bake until edges begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool in tin.
4.Make the topping: Whisk together cream, sour cream, and sugar to medium peaks. Top cupcakes with a dollop of cream and nectarine slices.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I actually used my Snickerdoodle icing for this because, well, it's the best!

* My favorite part of this recipe was actually the fresh nectarine slice on top! Oh delicious!!

Week 33. Happy Birthday, Caleb! Pop Rocks Cupcakes

It was Caleb's surprise birthday party this week and I wanted to make him a super duper awesome special cupcake. My dad suggested Pop Rocks and I took up the challenge!




Pop Rocks Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup boiling water
1 egg
1 cup sour milk (To sour your milk, add one tsp. lemon juice or vinegar to milk (low-fat will work fine) and stir. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes.)
1 tsp. (heaping) baking soda
3 cups flour (leveled with a knife to be exact)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup Pop Rocks

Mix the candy into the softened butter. Cream butter (with or without Pop Rocks) and brown sugar. Add boiling water, soured milk, egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour and baking soda, mixing well again. Spoon into lined cupcake pans and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Set cupcakes on a wire rack to cool, and when they have cooled completely frost and decorate. (See below for frosting recipe.)Yields 18 cupcakes.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat softened butter on medium high speed until creamy. Reduce speed of mixer and gradually add confectioner's sugar, beating until a pale, fluffy frosting forms. Add vanilla and beat until frosting is smooth.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, so these only kind of worked...the pop rocks started popping the minute I added them to the butter. And continued to. But apparently there was still some pop when they were eaten.

* I waited till the very last minute to put the pop rocks on the top, and that was good. I actually bought dollar store pop rocks, so there were 3 or 4 different flavors. Exciting!

Week 32. Really Fruit-y Cupcakes

I've had this recipe in my binder for a while...basically just waiting until I got a blender! And then it worked really awkwardly..but I just did what I could.



Really Fruit-y Cupcakes

4 oz frozen fruit (I used raspberries)
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
3 squares of white chocolate

Puree raspberries in a blender and press through a sieve to remove seeds. Beat egg and sugar until white and foamy. Add raspberry puree and flour and mix on lowest speed for a few seconds to incorporate.
Grease and flour cupcake pan and pour batter in. Or use cupcake cups. Place one square of chocolate on top of each cupcake and press it inside with a toothpick.
Bake in a preheated oven on 200 degrees CELSIUS for about 7-8 mins.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, this is the most awkward recipe ever. YES, it was all in metric making it very difficult to switch over.

* I put too many raspberries in because I approximated, but it was ok. Aaaand...I didn't put it through a sieve because I didn't care about seeds in the cupcakes.

* YES, this recipe does yield 3 cupcakes. Silly. I managed to get 4. But I chopped up the white chocolate squares so they weren't so big.

* These were surprisingly good, considering the craziness of them- very potent. Yum.

* I used the Snickerdoodle icing for these...because I love it:-)

I have no excuse. I'm just lazy.

It's been weeks since I've blogged. I promise I've kept up with the baking of cupcakes...but I'm certainly behind on my blogging. However, now that I've caught up I would like to present a few examples of things I might have been doing instead of blogging these past three weeks.


Mom and I went to Conway, Arkansas to visit one of our foreign exchange girls. In Little Rock, we went to Orange Leaf FroYo... I am obsessed. I had four kinds of froyou with amaaazing toppings. My favorites were gummi bears and fruity pebbles!


The boy had his birthday and I made his rainbow cake which he asked for. It was wonky at first, but once we cut into it, we loved it. Beautiful and delicious.


Playing with this sweet guy. I miss Duke when I'm in Cape, so I like to play with him lots when I'm at home.


Going vintage shopping. A lot. I have many new dresses and these lovely pink glasses!


I dyed my hair pink!! I'm in love with it. Totally depressed I only get to have it for two weeks! Who says I can't audition with pink hair?


Made these dough-knots...yuuuuuummm. I tried to make them again in Cape, but didn't watch them and ended up burning them. Wa waaaaa. Oh well, they're easy enough to make again.


Introduced the boy to bison jerky from Nature Girls health food store. Now, before I was a vegetarian, I used to walk to this little cafe from my Dad's store and get bison jerky. Like, every day. I miss it, sorta. It smelled and looked exactly the same- but worry not, I did not taste it again.

Week 31. Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

I've had my eye on a few nutella cupcake recipes lately...so I thought while I was home I would utilize my parent's resources (let them buy the ingredients... thanks, Mom!) This recipe looked easy and yummy, so I went for it. Nutella is yummsters.



Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

10 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325°. Lined muffin pans with muffin/cupcake paper liners.
Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together.

Do this until light and creamy. About 2 minutes or so.

Add one egg at a time.

Beat the mixture after each egg.

Add vanilla, then the flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to mix everything together until well incorporated.

The mixture would be sort of lumpy like it would be hard to pour. Don’t worry, that’s how it should be. As long as it’s not hard as rocks of course.

Use an ice cream scooper to fill up the cups with the batter. About 3/4 full.

Top each batter with 1/2 tsp of nutella.

Use a toothpick or a satay skewer to swirl the nutella in with the batter.

Make sure a little bit of the batter comes on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve cool or a slightly warm.

**Hannah's Hints**

* It is fun to lick the nutella off of whatever you use to scoop it.

* If I made these again, I'd made sure the nutella gets swirled in through the whole cupcake, mostly because I looooved the tops of the cupcakes. But the bottoms didn't thrill me. SO...be a better swirler than me and you will get great satisfaction from your nutella cupcakes.

* Eat the rest of the nutella...I repeat, DO NOT WASTE GOOD NUTELLA. Eat it on toast. Eat it with fruit. Eat it with vegetables. Eat it with a fox. Eat it in a box. Seriously...don't let it just sit there. Nutella must be eaten.

Week 30. Best Ever Vegan Cupcakes aka Crazy Cake

This week, I wanted to make a cupcake that my cousins Adam and Joe could enjoy. It had been a long time since I've seen them...and I wanted them to think I was cool. Joe is allergic to everything, so I know he is denied a lot of yummy treats. And SO vegan cupcakes with carob chips made in a no nut factory! (See pictures below if you want to see the most adorable, most smartest little boys EVER!)



Vegan Cupcakes aka Crazy Cake
Recipe from Barbara Johnson

1 ½ cup flour
3 TB cocoa
½ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
4 TB oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB vinegar
1 cup water

Combine dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients over and beat well. Sprinkle on chocolate chips or mix them into the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes in a greased and floured 8 x 8 pan, or in 12 lined cupcake tins.

**Hannah's Hints**

* First of all, I know "most smartest" is not correct grammar. I was quoting Drop Dead Gorgeous which is a hilarious movie. See it if you have not. You will thank me. As I thanked Chris White who introduced it to me.

* In AP US History my junior year of high school, my teacher constantly made fun of me for being a vegetarian. Like, every day. So the last week of school, I brought these cupcakes for the class. After they tasted it, I revealed that it was vegan and he immediately apologized for making fun of me!

* I did one batch of these with chocolate/carob chips on top, and another with them mixed in. I would suggest mixed in because then you get yummy chips in each bite!

* These are so ridiculously easy...please, try to bake these. If you're like, "I can't bake, cupcakes are hard! All of these recipes are too involved!" MAKE THESE...you take the dry stuff and mix it with the wet stuff. Amazingly un-involved.

* When we served the first cupcakes, I forgot to take a picture. So, I suggested a posed picture. Naturally, Joe took this as an invitation for another cupcake. Adam is older and declined because he was full. But Joe was too excited about these cupcakes I made just for him. Who can blame him?

Week 29. "Rise and Shine" Orange Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

I wanted something healthy this week...and to use up all the yummy fruit I bought, as well as the orange juice I had! These looked super great. And guess what? Pretty healthy too!



Orange Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) orange juice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preparation
Make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and egg white until well combined. With mixer on low, beat in half of flour mixture. Beat in 6 Tbsp. orange juice, then add remaining flour mixture and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gently fold in chopped strawberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each until almost full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.

Make glaze: In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. orange juice until smooth. If glaze is too thick, stir in additional juice, making sure to add only 1 tsp. at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Glaze should be loose enough to spread easily on cupcakes, but not so thin that it drips.

Remove cupcakes from pan and top evenly with glaze. Let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour. Garnish each cupcake with a strawberry half, if desired.

**Hannah's Hints**

* My first attempt at a glaze was a large failure...as you can tell from the picture, it didn't work. At all. It just was really soupy and got everywhere. Rude.

* Maybe next time I would put the orange juice and confectioners sugar in alternately so that I could figure out a better texture for the glaze.

* These had a more dense texture than most cupcakes, but they were still good. Not terribly sweet, which I like...and which was made up by the incredibly sweety-sweet glaze since I was desperately attempting to make it thicker by adding large amounts of confectioners sugar. Ha.

* Refigerate definitely because there are strawberries. And they are actually better just a little chilled, though you'll need them to thaw a bit or else they'll be really dense.

* Yummy for a healthy muffin-like snack...but not the best cupcake you'll ever make.

Week 28. "Delicously Classic" Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Snickerdoodles are some of my mom's favorite cookies...she taught me to love them when I once thought I was a "just chocolate" girl. And these cupcakes sounded delightful...how can you lose with a classic favorite?



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablesppon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tablesppon cinnamon. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl if needed. Beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until done, about 20 mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temp, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar (I used about 2 1/2 cups)

In a medium bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time). Beat until smooth and creamy.
Frost the cupcakes, then use a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar to dust the top.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are probably my very favorite cupcakes I've ever made. They taste like snickerdoodle cookies, except in cupcake form. Just delicious and moist and wondiferous!

* These cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted, keep at room temp until ready to serve.

* The icing is what really makes it the best, so be generous with it! I'll definitely be using it again! (As I stated above, I only used 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar because I don't like so much sugary sweetness...but it's still sweet enough!)

* These are so ridiculously easy that I think everyone should make them! Go...do it!

Superfun Bonus Update

Here's what I've been up to lately!

Chamomile Cookie log!


Chamomile cookies...light and sweet, good for tea time! Although I felt like a drug dealer cutting open chamomile teabags haha!


Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies!!


No Bake Cookies! My very favorite cookies ever because they're delicous and soooo easy! And with the help of my new favorite scooper (which I stole from my parent's house) everything is so much easier now!


LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ME TO POST THESE RECIPES!

I've been spending the summer dying my hair! This was step 2 in the process of becoming blonde, and the next picture is step 3!


My heart was broken...when my heart measuring cup snapped in three!! Boooo...


The wonderful boy and I have been together for 5 months, so he got me these gorgeous flowers. Oh, how I smile :-D


I love using my old vanilla bottles for itty bitty flowers... tres vintage!


Yeah, it's been a pretty fun summer!

Week 27. "Because they're in season" Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I keep hearing about everyone getting their fresh peaches and I wanted in on the action! I just love fruit when it's in season and I think fruit in dessert is the smartest thing ever!



Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of nutmeg

6 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt

2 medium peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped small-sh



For the frosting:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp. vanilla



Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides and bottom after added. Then add the vanilla, and gently mix in the buttermilk/ sour cream/ yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop onto the cooled cupcakes.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are pretty darn good, the chunks of peaches make a good surprise!

* Speaking of surprises...you should store these in the fridge...because you will get an unpleasant surprise if you let them sit out a couple days...ew...

* I accidentally forgot to put the vanilla in the frosting, but it was still delicious! So, don't worry about it...but let me know if it's like way amazing if it has the vanilla in it.

* Also, I used buttermilk when the option is given...it calls for exactly one of those little mini cartons. Yay for convenience!

Week 26. "4th of July" Cherry Coffee Cake Muffins

For this week, I thought I should make something red, white, and blue...but that's so typical. Boooooring. So, I decided to honor the break from tradition that the 4th of July symbolizes. America decided to break from British rule and so I decided to break from my cupcake rule this week...so I made muffins! YAY!



I'm sorry I can't figure out how to make this recipe appear...blogger is being strange! But follow this link and you'll find this gorgeously cute recipe (hopefully!)


**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, here's the deal. I don't make up any of my cupcakes...at least not so far. So I'm totally not ashamed to put this recipe up in its original form. Also, is it not THE cutest thing you've ever seen!!?? How can you resist making these!?

* These are super delicious. Though, the cherries I had were huge and I could only fit three in each cup. That melty gush of cherry is simply divoon!

* When you taste these...please please pleaaaase remember that they are muffins, not cupcakes. Which is why they aren't crazy sweet. But they're some darn good muffins!!


* Back to cupcakes next week!

Week 25. "Ridiculously Amazing" Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Wow...I'm behind. Darn. That's ok, I'll just make two different kinds of cupcakes for the 4th of July :-) I was intrigued by the idea of a blue velvet cupcake, thinking it would be like red velvet...you know, a little chocolate-y. But no. It was crazy blueberry-full. Don't tell my sister, I used the rest of her blueberries... ps. I converted these measurements from metric, crazytown.



Blue Velvet Cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, blended
extra blueberries for cupcakes and decoration
4 tsp blue food colouring (obviously the more the blue-er)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk or natural yoghurt
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature)
4 1/2 oz cream cheese, cold

a 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with cupcake cases

Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F (Gas 3).
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on a medium speed with an electric whisk until light and fluffy and well mixed.
Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix together blended blueberries, blue food colouring and vanilla extract.
Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until everything is combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).
Turn the mixer down to a slow speed and add half the buttermilk (or natural yoghurt). Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added.
Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth even mixture.
Turn the mixer down to low speed and add salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the cases until 2/3 full. Drop in 2-3 blueberries per cupcake and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to slightly cool in the tray before removing to wire cooling rack to cool completely.
When cupcakes are cool, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top.

Cream cheese frosting:

Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric mixer. on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.
Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Looking back at this recipe, I totally didn't follow it. Oops. Didn't sift the powdered sugar for the icing. But it was still delicious. Also, used regular instead of caster sugar. Eh. No one knew.

* Also, a lot of these measurements were approximate. Haha, that's ok.

* The white wine vinegar smells icky when it goes in, but it bubbles with the baking soda and it's like science...yessss. And, it cooks out.

* Also, I had mom blend the blueberries. Aaaaaaand I forgot to tell her how much to measure out first. So there were probably a lot more blueberries than it called for. But just put a TON of blue food coloring and you'll never know the difference.

* When you put the blueberries in to bake on the top, it looks like a crazy blue alien creature. I love it. I love when cupcakes have eyes!!

Week 24. "We Picked Blueberries" Lemony Blueberry Cupcakes

When we went home, the lovely boy and I agreed to wake up at the wee hours of the morning to go pick fresh, delicious blueberries! This is the tradition I missed the MOST when I was in London last year. They are beautiful, and BIG...my bag only held the most delicous and amazing blueberries- I'm picky. So, of course, I wanted to make lots of things with them!



Lemony Blueberry Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
10 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Frosting:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Fresh blueberries (optional)


Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 12 decorative paper muffin cup liners into muffin cups.

To prepare cupcakes, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Measure 1 tablespoon flour; level with a knife. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine melted butter and egg in another large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk, milk, and 1 teaspoon rind to butter mixture; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Toss blueberries with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon rind, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar (do not overbeat). Stir in juice. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes; garnish with blueberries, if desired. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Lemons and blueberries. What could be healthier? Yes, this IS a health-food cupcake.

* It's awkward to mix everything with the whisk, so if it gets too thick to whisk anymore, don't feel guilty about using the mixer. I did it.

* Yummy, these are good! I believe my mom said, "Definitely my second favorite, next to Champagne Pear Cupcakes" which means a LOT.

* It's hard to keep the blueberries on top...it's ok if they fall off because people will eat them too fast to notice they're lopsided.

It's summer and I have too much time...

...but I only made one today. I've actually had this account for a full year. These make me happy.
Hover over the picture to see the name of the set!

Find me on Polyvore

www.polyvore.com

Week 23. Tony Awards Rainbow Cupcakes

For the Tony's party, we wanted to make themed food...unfortunately, we were lazy and/or uncreative. All we could come up with was rainbow...we love gay people! So, there ya go...



Rainbow Cupcakes

3/4 cup Self-Rising Flour
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 tbs Milk
Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow Food Coloring


Start by pre-heating your oven to 395 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, use whisk to beat sugar into butter until creamy and fluffy. The mixture should be light in color.

Slowly stir in eggs and flour, making sure each is thouroughly stirred in. Mix in Vanilla.

Stir in milk 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each tablespoon is added.

Divide mixture evenly into each of the smaller bowls.


Add food coloring in this manner:
Bowl 1- 8 drops red
Bowl 2- 8 drops yellow, 4 drops red
Bowl 3- 8 drops yellow
Bowl 4- 8 drops green
Bowl 5- 8 drops blue
Bowl 6- 8 drops blue, 4 drops red

Mix well until colors are evenly distributed.
Colors are as follows:
Bowl 1- Red
Bowl 2- Orange
Bowl 3- Yellow
Bowl 4- Green
Bowl 5- Blue
Bowl 6- Purple.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups. Starting with purple, spoon batter evenly into each of the muffin cups, spreadng slightly. Continue, layering, with blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, then red.


Bake for 20 minutes at 395 degrees.

Makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes.



For cream cheese frosting:

8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix cream cheese and butter. Mix in vanilla. Slowly add confectioner's sugar.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are so yummy! Carly said that all the colors taste different and blue is the best...but supposedly they are all supposed to be just vanilla-tasting. Just like blue M&M's taste the best...

* I bought blue raspberry, watermelon, and yellow sprinkles to put on top. They were yummmm and added a fun little pop to the vanilla taste.

* Although Carly and I were terribly hateful during the Tony's this year (we were so disappointed that the Tony voters chose Scarlett Johannson and Catherine Zeta-Jones...did you SEE that performance of "Send in the Clowns"???), we loved these cupcakes as much as we loved Sean Hayes and his bits with Kristin Chenoweth, as well as Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane.

* Other people might recognize thse as "clown vomit"...ew. I dislike the words vomit and barf. "Throw-up" would be better. Anyway, rainbow is the best. Make these.

* We didn't follow the color scheme that the recipe called for...we were much more creative and it was lots of fun!

SURPRISE DATE!!

Last night, I got to hang out with my lovely lady friends! Went to Mollie's and had a terrific Lavender Lady... housemade lavender vodka, lemoncello, elderflower liqeur, sprite with a powder sugar rim. Yum-o!

When I came home, I asked my wonderful boy if we could go out for breakfast this morning... I was thinking, I don't know, Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans or something. But this morning we left around 10 or 10:30 and he had me close my eyes for about 10 minutes. When I opened my eyes, what did I see but signs for Illinois!



I had no idea where we were going...then we came to Longbranch Coffeehouse and Vegetarian Cafe. Ooooooh boy was it good!! Everything was vegetarian or vegan and all the drinks looked amazing!


I had the Puerto Rican Beans and Rice and fakin' bacon with an iced Chai! Spicy sauce, super deelish, and too too healthy!


He had a fabulous Harvest Wrap and blueberry basil tea...yum!


Yay! I was happy...so yum food.


Sillypants!

Then...we did some vintage shopping and went to QQ Bubble Tea...and we ordered amaaaaazing bubble tea from the most adorable Taiwanese woman in the world. I had banana and sour plum. He had strawberry and sour plum. And bubbles!!!




Here's one of the fabulous shirts I told him he should buy...getting ready for work, my handsome man.


Saw this fun old Dairy Queen sign... and some other crazy silly things on the road!




Rocking out to Avril...


Such a wonderful surprise date with my Latin lover...