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!!