Week 5. "Snowed In!" Basic Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing

To be perfectly honest, I made these because I got snowed in...and I had all of the ingredients in my cupboard! Convenient, yeah?



Yellow Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 11⁄2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup 1% lowfat milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 22⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 regular-size (21⁄2-in.-diam) muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Beat butter, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with mixer on high speed 1 minute or until well blended. Add eggs; beat 2 minutes or until fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in milk and vanilla (batter may look curdled), then flour just until blended. Spoon batter into lined muffin cups, filling each 2⁄3 full.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in centers of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes before removing from pan to rack.

4. Repeat with remaining batter. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting and decorating.Note: Since the recipe makes 24 cupcakes, if you have two 12-cup regular-size muffin pans you can prepare them both as the recipe directs and bake them side by side on the middle rack of your oven.

Basic Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
In a large bowl, combine butter and cocoa; beat until well mixed. Add in the milk, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more milk if you want a thinner consistency.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, I'd hate to lead anyone astray...these are not the most exciting cupcakes in the world. But, I didn't have time to go to the store for anything else...so, deal with it.

* I had a bit of a crisis in the middle of making these...it's been building up for a while and it finally happened...my hand mixer died on me. Basically wouldn't mix anything. Ruuuude. So I'm in the market for a new one...once my car doesn't go ice skating every time I try to drive, I shall be shopping around. (Which makes me real excited because I'm a HUGE dork about kitchenware...can you tell by my amazing vintage paisley tablecloth?)

Well, enjoy the snow...even if you don't enjoy these cupcakes!

Week 4. "Stay healthy, we're back at school!" Grapefruit Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chai Icing

I am sad to say that the main reason I chose to make these cupcakes is because I was feeling poor, and I only had to buy two ingredients to make these since I already had most of them. However, these cupcakes had a fabulous zip of an after-taste! AND got the Zach Wachter seal of approval! They were also an amazing, refreshing break from sweet-y, chocolate-y cupcakes. (Also, I magically had all of the ingredients for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies in my cupboard...so I made them to give those chocolate-lovers a fix! Also called Heaven Cookies, they are a crowd-pleaser...I'll post that recipe soon!)



"Stay healthy, we're back at school!" Grapefruit Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chai Icing
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup reduced fat margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg white
1/2 cup 1% buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 100% pink grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon pink grapefruit zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Ingredients for Icing
1 8-ounce package of non-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat margarine and sugar with an electric mixer.

Beat in egg. Combine lemon extract, juice, zest, and buttermilk in a small bowl. Add half the buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed. Add half the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Repeat with remaining buttermilk and flour mixture. Divide batter evenly into the prepared cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back when the tops are pressed or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pan an cool completely on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, beat ingredients for icing until smooth. Once the cupcakes are cool, use a small spatula or butter knife to ice them. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
original recipe by skinnychef.com

**Hannah's Hints**

* Carly and I didn't have a zester, so instead she used a peeler and then chopped up the peelings...and they were delightful! They give a nice zing when you hit them in the cupcake. So fear not, if you are sans zester!

* For the first time, you can probably skip tasting the batter...the whole she-bang with icing and all is perfect.

* Grapefruit and buttermilk are both high in nutrition, and create a tender and refreshing texture. Hooray for healthy AND delicious!

Week 3. "I need energy for rehearsal!" Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream Icing

This week, I knew I had to make something that would be fairly quick...rehearsal all day, every day makes a Saturday off a haven of cupcake love. I wanted to make something that my fellow actors would enjoy, and also be energized by.

Now, oatmeal and chocolate together is genius if you ask me...it's probably my very favorite combination ever. You can feel healthy, but still have the delicious chocolate that is essential for all those lovely endorphins!

"I need energy for rehearsal!" Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream Icing

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients
7/8 cup boiling water
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup chocolate chips (mini would work best)

Frosting:
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers.
Pour boiling water over oatmeal. Let stand for 10 minutes until absorbed. Add margarine and stir until melted. Add brown sugar, white sugar, and eggs. Mix well.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Add to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in most of chocolate chips, saving approximately 1/4 cup.
Distribute 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle a few remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 2 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on rack.
For frosting, in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Transfer to the clean bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes. Raise speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.



**Hannah's Hints**

* This recipe calls for the use of an electric mixer. To my great dismay, I do not currently own one (though I have my eye on a gorgeous seafoam green machine for my future kitchen!) So, I had to use my regular hand mixer. I wasn't about to stand there for 15 minutes, so I pretty much went by sight and when it got fairly "icing" looking, I added the butter and stuck it in the fridge for a bit. It worked like a dream! But I can imagine it would be much better with the use of the electric mixer.

* As with my other recipes, I don't necessarily condone eating batter that has raw eggs in it...but ooooooooooooooooooh my goodness. This is one batter that you will want to accidentally spill on your hand...delightful!

* As my sous-chef Carly discovered, brown sugar doesn't "sprinkle"...I asked her to garnish with it to make the buttercream taste less buttery, and she says it doesn't so much sprinkle as clump. That's ok...it's still yummy!

If you are one of my fellow actors in Carousel, you will see these (plus some cookies) at rehearsal on Sunday!

Week 2. "Happy Birthday, Mom!" Chocolate-covered Cherry Cupcakes

Well, these cupcakes were an adventure...suffice to say that these taste MUCH better than they look (thank goodness!)



"Happy Birthday, Mom!" Chocolate-covered Cherry Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup butter, softened (5 Tbsp plus 1 tsp)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 (1 5/8 ounce) hershey milk chocolate candy bars, each broken in 12 squares
• 12 maraschino cherries, without stems,patted dry with paper towels

FROSTING
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Garnish
• 1 hershey milk chocolate candy bar, melted
• stemmed maraschino cherry, patted dry

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Line 12 regular-size (2 1/2-in. diameter) muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
3. Whisk flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl until blended; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a mixer on high speed 2 minutes or until well blended.
5. Add egg and vanilla; beat 2 minutes or until fluffy.
6. Reduce mixer speed to low; beat in milk (batter will look curdled), then the flour mixture just until blended.
7. Spoon evenly into lined muffin cups Place a square of chocolate in center of each cupcake.
8. Top with a cherry and another square of chocolate.
9. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until a pick inserted off center comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes before removing from pan to rack to cool com-pletely (cupcakes will sink in center).
11. Frosting: Beat cream cheese, but-ter and cherry juice in a medium bowl with mixer on high speed until blend-ed and smooth.
12. Reduce speed to low; beat in confectioners' sugar.
13. Refriger-ate 15 minutes or until firm enough to spread.
14. Frost cupcakes.
15. To garnish: Top each cupcake with 1 or 2 cherries.
16. Melt chocolate bar and scrape into a ziptop bag.
17. Cut a tip off a corner of bag; drizzle chocolate over half or all the cupcakes.
18. Cover and refrigerate until serving or up to 1 day.


**Hannah's Hints**

* Only fill the trays HALF-WAY or less...I didn't know how much they'd rise and they spilled over and caused difficulty getting them out...the edges fell off. So don't fill them too much.

* It's a little awkward to try to balance the cherry and chocolate sandwich in the unbaked cupcake, so push it down, but not far enough to hit the bottom or else it may stick to the paper in the end.

* This recipe makes EXACTLY enough for 12 cupcakes. And the frosting is just about enough, too! So, that's nice!

* I didn't do any garnish because I make cupcakes not to look pretty, but to taste delicious! I wish I could make pretty cupcakes like these for my mom...



...but she chose these to be made especially for her birthday!

She said they were yummy!


Next week I'll be in my kitchen...less space, but MINE! And I have lots of baking goodies from Christmas, so I'm super excited! Getting into Carousel rehearsal will cause lots of cupcake inspiration, I'm sure!

Resolutions

Well, my attempt to make this a "just cupcakes" blog was undermined by the fact that I kept finding adorable things I wanted to post!

So, New Year's is about resolutions. And let's be honest...



I want to write more of these...



I want to be like these beautiful people...




I want to have many photo shoots with my model sister...


(We are even prettier now!)

(ps This isn't us, but I want cute "sister" pictures like it)

And I have accepted myself for this fact, but I should probably wear this sign on my back haha...


all photos via weheartit

I hope the first full week of 2010 is going brilliantly! What are your resolutions/ thoughts for the new year?

Love love love,
HB

Week 1. Pear-fectly Bubbly New Year's Eve Cupcakes

First cupcakes! I wanted to do something festive and (hopefully) delicious...and I think I succeeded! Enjoy my hints and DO make the recipe...it is simply divine!

Pear-fectly Bubbly New Year's Eve Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
2 3/4 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 firm-ish but ripe pears (the original recipe called to grate them, but I peeled, cored and chopped them and they made the cupcake deliciously moist!)
1 cup champagne

Frosting:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
2 tbsp champagne (you may want to add more...I didn't measure, just did it by look but make sure it's not runny)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl sift flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In mixer (or large bowl), cream butter and sugar until well mixed and airy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is full incorporated before adding next.
5. Slowly add in flour mixture - I do it 1/3 at a time - making sure it is fully incorporated.
6. Stir in vanilla and champagne.
7. Stir in pears.
8. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
9. Scoop an even amount of dough into each cup - I filled them to about 1/4 of an inch from the top). You should have enough for about 24 cupcakes.
10. Bake for about 16 minutes. Start checking at about 12 minutes, BUT my oven at home took around 22 minutes. So keep checking at doing them for two minutes more until they look golden.
11. While cupcakes are baking, make frosting. Mix cream cheese and butter together. Add champagne and powdered sugar and whip until smooth. You can add more powdered sugar if desired.
12. Remove cupcakes from oven and cool in tins for 2 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.
13. When cupcakes are completely cooled, top with frosting.




**Hannah's Hints**
The hardest part of this recipe: Finding the sifter! Because really, who uses sifters anymore? You can't wash them, so they just sit flour-y in the cupboard. Ours was smooshed in the back...and then hand cramps occurred from sifting for so long. It's hard...I suggest having a sous chef (aka a helper) to take over when your hands start aching.

Softening butter and cream cheese may sound silly, but DO IT! Seriously, it's so helpful and exciting when it works well. I suggest letting them sit out for a couple hours. You don't want them melted, just soft.
Now...if you forget to do this (like I always do), you can moosh them with your hands OR (as I discovered this time) put them on the heat vent for about 10 minutes when warm air is coming out. Again, NOT melted. I suggest not doing the heat vent thing...but it is exciting to discover new ways to do things, yeah?

You will be tempted to eat the batter and frosting...because it smells DIVINE and tastes even better. The batter has raw egg in it, so I don't encourage it...but if you happen to spill some on your hand...I mean, I'm not dead yet ;-) However, I always have SO much extra icing, I definitely suggest finishing it off with pretzels or something...yummmm. This recipe is DIVINE!

**My FAVORITE thing about this recipe is that I took it to Hermann New Year's Party...Zach Wachter has long been a hater of cupcakes, cakes, and chocolate. (Which is just strange if you ask me...) But we forced him to try one and he LOVED it! WE CONVERTED HIM TO A CUPCAKE LOVER!! Personal triumph is the sweetest :-D

original recipe from YumSugar