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 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!

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 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!

Week 20. [Not Like London] Banoffee Cupcakes

I've been missing London, lately...and I ate a LOT of dessert there...I mean, A LOT. And one of my Sainsbury's faves was the Banoffee Dessert...yum!! So, when I saw this cupcake recipe, I thought HOORAY! And yet...not the same...because, well, there's no coffee...still pretty good, though!



Banoffee Cupcakes

Ingredients
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 4 chewey caramels, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat in butter and sugar together in a bowl until creamy, then beat in egg, a little at a time. Fold in the mashed banana, then sift the flour into the mixture and fold in, followed by the caramels.
3. Spoon the mixture into the paper liners and bake in the preheated oven for about 16 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To decorate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 3-4 tablespoons dulce de leche or caramel sauce
• 1 banana, sliced

To decorate, swirl the cream over each of the cupcakes, then drizzle with a spoonful of dulce the leche or caramel sauce and top with slice of banana.

** NOTE: Dulce de leche is a sweet caramel sauce from Argentina and it is available from larger supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can make it yourself. Put a sealed can of condensed milk in a saucepan, pour over boiling water to cover, and boil for 3 hours, adding more water as necessary so that the can is always covered. Remove from the pan and let cool completely before opening using a can opener. Stir well to make a smooth sauce before spooning over the cakes.


**Hannah's Hints**

* Ok, I'm too impatient to make dulce de leche, so I just used caramel in a jar from the store...delightful :-)

* Also, this deal with "heavy whipping cream" being good just after you whip it, is a large falsehood...it isn't terribly yummy. So I just used a small dollop and covered it with the caramel...much better.

* Bananas are ridiculous to keep "yummy" looking for more than like an hour once you've sliced them...that's ok, they're equally as yummy without. Or you could store the cupcakes and slice banana just as you get ready to serve them.

Week 19. Experiment: Find the best chocolate cupcake!

I was desperately scrambling for a chocolate cupcake...I wanted to find a REALLY good one for Alyssa's wedding and hadn't been having much luck. Then I found this cupcake...



One bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients
Makes 18 to 24.

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Thank goodness for Martha Stewart!! I've never been a big follower/fan of hers, but after tasting this cupcakes I'm re-thinking!

* The fact that this only uses one bowl is like a miracle sent from the baking Gods. One bowl means I can just re-fill when I'm attempting to make 150 of these babies...thank you thank you Cupcake Gods!

* They're delicious, moist, perfectly chocolate-y, not too sweety sweet. Perfect.

* Mission: Accomplished!

Week 18. Double Chocolate Cupcakes

I wasn't sure what to make this week, but I'm trying to find good chocolate cupcakes to make for Alyssa's wedding. This was a very interesting recipe... especially chilled.



Double Chocolate Cupcakes

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp milk
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 2/3 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Icing:

8 oz white chocolate, broken in pieces
2/3 cup low-fat cream cheese


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two 12-hole muffin pans with 18 paper liners. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs. Add the milk, then fold in the chocolate chips. Sift in the flour and cocoa, then fold into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners and smooth tops.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins or until well risen and springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make frosting, place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl, set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, and heat until melted. Let cool slightly. Place the cream cheese in a separate bowl and beat until softened, then beat in the slightly cooled chocolate.
When cupcakes are cooled, spread a little of the frosting over the top of each, then let chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These come out a little dense and don't rise a lot. They're not terribly sweet. But they'd be an interesting morning treat!

* The white chocolate topping is SO good because it hardens a little after you chill it. Yummmmm...

* These might have been less dense if I actually folded in the flour and cocoa, instead of mixing it. Haha, oh experimentation...

Week 17. Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Cupcakes

We had the UP picnic this week, and I wanted to make something festive and interesting. I've had this recipe all year- just waiting for the Kentucky Derby! I wish I'd had a cute little edible hats to decorate with.



Mint Julep Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup bourbon (or whiskey)
1/2 cup Creme de Menthe

Icing:

3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mint extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
milk

Directions:
Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350º F, and grease or line 30 cupcake cups.
Combine salt, baking powder, and 1 3/4 cups of the flour. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and extracts in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the milk and liquors to the batter, then the rest of the flour (1 cup). Mix as little as possible, just until the batter comes together. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool.
Icing
Combine the powdered sugar, salt, extracts and melted butter and beat until creamy. Gradually add milk until the texture is right for piping. When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread the icing on top. Garnish with cake sparkles or sprinkles, a straw (trimmed to size), and mint leaves.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Don't forget to add everything...it's kind of ridiculous when you're like "Wait, I never used the _____" So pay attention.

* This makes a ridiculous amount of icing, as per usual. It's good icing, though.

* If you only want to make a certain amount, you can easily put the rest of the batter in the fridge and make it at a later date!

* Use fresh mint as a garnish (or flourish, as a friend of mine used to call it). Mint is so fun! I love that you can eat things like plants and flowers.

Week 16. Light and Airy Springtime Strawberry Angel Food Cupcakes

For the aforementioned picnic, I also wanted to make dessert that was springy and delicious and easy to eat/clean up! And I thought, what is more light and fluffy and springtime-y than angel food? What a heavenly recipe...



Heavenly Angel Food Cupcakes

Ingredients
12 eggs
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar

Directions

Separate eggs; discard yolks or refrigerate for another use. Measure egg whites, adding or removing whites as needed to equal 1-1/2 cups. Place in a mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift confectioners' sugar and flour together three times; set aside. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Fold in flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert pan; cool completely before removing cake from pan.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
•One batch angel food cupcakes.
•1 to 2 pounds of strawberries, cleaned and hulled.
•1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
•1 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened
•1 12oz. container of cool whip
•1 tsp. of vanilla

Directions
1.Slice 1 cup of strawberries and add confectioners sugar. Mix well. Let stand at least a half hour to let berries "juice." Mash well after that time.
2.Cream softened cream cheese with mixer and add vanilla.
3.Add strawberry mixture and mix well on low speed. Last, fold in cool whip and mix well.
4.Frost Angel food cake putting excess frosting in the center hole of the cake.
5.Slice remaining strawberries and cover cake with the slices. If strawberries are small to medium in size they can be halved to cover the cake. You will need more than a pound to do it that way, but it makes for a prettier cake.
6.Chill for at least 1 hour.

**Hannah's Hints**

* This is actually a recipe for angel food cake, so the cupcakes end up smaller and more dense...almost like a little tea cake. It's so interesting and reaaaaaally good!

* The frosting recipe is fluffy and divine...you WILL love it.

* I made pretty little strawberry fans which I learned how to make at my roommate's Pampered Chef wedding shower...pretty adorable! This is another cupcake you will not be able to put down!

* There is absolutely no reason to use 12 eggs... separate the whites into a liquid measuring cup, and you probably won't use 12 eggs!

Week 15. Picnic Perfect Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

Carly, Caleb, my wonderful boy, Hanzy, SMB and his friend, and I all had a picnic a couple weeks ago! I wanted to make something delicious, but easy to eat at a picnic! Now, Macaroni and Cheese cupcakes sound pretty gross...but they are an amazing savory cupcake!



Mac & Cheese Cupcakes

Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes

8 ounces small elbow macaroni
Olive oil
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
2 cups sharp cheddar
Butter
Seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chives, snipped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cook the macaroni until tender. Drain, toss with a little bit of the oil, and set aside.
3. In a medium nonstick saucepan, whisk together the milk and cornstarch until well blended. Stirring often, bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Stir in the mustard, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.
5. Stir in the cheddar until it melts, then fold in the macaroni.
6. Butter two cupcake pans and coat with the bread crumbs. (Be sure to shake off the excess.)
7. Fold the chives into the macaroni mixture. Spoon the mixture into the pans and top with bread crumbs to taste.
8. Bake until golden on top, 15 to 25 minutes.

**Hannah's Hints**

* Make sure you butter the cupcake pans completely...it's scary not to use cupcake papers, but TRUST me... if you fully butter and bread crumb them, they'll slide out as easily as if you did! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

* When you cook the macaroni, make a decision. The directions on the box will give you al dente noodles...I care for mine mooshier!

* Don't be discouraged if you put the cheese sauce on the macaroni and it doesn't taste like yummy mac and cheese...when you add the chives, bread crumbs and bake them the taste all comes together...DEElish!

* You won't be able to stop eating these...definitely share!

Week 14. "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

April 8th was my wonderful Daddy's birthday, so I wanted to make a cupcake in honor of him! I know he loves white chocolate and raspberries and this classy-sounding recipe seemed like the perfect fit!



"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Filling:
8 ounces frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese
3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soymilk
6 ounces white chocolate, melted
12 fresh raspberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ËšF.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Slowly mix together melted chocolate and oil. Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full – my cupcakes overflowed, so err on the under-filled side here). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make filling, combine frozen raspberries with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until raspberries begin to break down. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing as much through as possible. Return strained mixture to heat once again. Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixture, and bring to a simmer. If mixture still seems thin, add more cornstarch as necessary. It will thicken more upon cooling. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Cut out small cones from tops of cupcakes (holes should be approximately 1/2″ across and 1/2″ deep), saving removed cake. Fill holes with raspberry filling, and replace cake on top.

To make frosting, beat butter or margarine and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until creamy. Melt white chocolate as before, and mix in vanilla seeds or extract. Add to frosting and mix well. Add extract and soy milk, and beat until fluffy (add more sugar and/or soymilk if you need it, until you get the right texture). Generously pipe or spread onto filled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a single fresh raspberry.

**Hannah's Hints**
* This is a crazy involved recipe. I NEED a sieve because a tea strainer just doesn't cut it. Yikes. But it does work...eventually...

* The frosting recipe is super duper sweet, so perhaps a little less than usual. Still yummy and white chocolate-y!

* Please top these with fresh raspberries...the bite with the raspberry, frosting, filling, and cake is the BEST!

* Also, instead of the coconut milk we just used all soy milk...it's nice and vegan too!

Week 13. "First Friday" Key Lime Cupcakes

This week I had the immense good fortune to be asked by Laurie, from Annie Laurie's to make cupcakes for their First Friday open house. I wanted to make something unique and Spring-y, to celebrate the beautiful weather of late and to show any potential customers *fingers crossed* that I don't just make your typical chocolate or vanilla cupcakes! It was really exciting to get paid for doing something I love!



"First Friday" Key Lime Cupcakes

CUPCAKES
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring
3/4 cup buttermilk

FROSTING
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

CUPCAKES
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

FROSTING
Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I omitted the green food coloring because you really couldn't see it after you mixed in all the flour unless you put a TON in.

* These are so interesting...for some reason after I took them out of the oven, they shrank away from the cupcake papers. They looked more like cute little tea cakes!

* The icing for this one recipe covered about 64 cupcakes, unless you really pile it on!

* I loooooooove my new zester! It makes life so much easier!


AND

I made cookies especially for Caleb because he was nice enough to video me and because I love him!


I'll post the recipe soon!

And wonderful boy bought be a gooooorgeous hyacinth (we named the flower stalks after the fairies from Sleeping Beauty!) and we made homemade pizzas!!



And finally, check out the wonderfully macabre art of my good friend, Lynn Graznak Saults!




images from www.surrealmacabreart.com

Week 9. "To Die For" Fudge Cupcakes

This recipe came from my murder mystery book that includes recipes...these cupcakes were eaten by the victim in the book!! I simply had to try them and decided to make them as a thank you to the AMAZING wardrobe and hair/makeup crews for Carousel! The syrup gives them an interesting and lovely aftertaste...I'd love to try them with lots of different flavored syrups! Yummm!



Fudge Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350ْ F, rack in middle position.

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce each)
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup raspberry syrup (the recipe called for Knott’s red raspberry, but I was only able to find a strawberry syrup, like for pancakes, and it turned out deliciously…so improvise!)
1 2/3 cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, room temp (1 stick)
1 ½ cups white sugar (not a misprint, you’ll use 1 ¾ cups sugar in all)
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk

Line muffin pans with cupcake papers. Microwave the chocolate, raspberry (or strawberry) syrup and ¼ cup sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for another minute. At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape. Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm. (You could also use a double boiler.)

Measure flour, mix in baking powder and salt, and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes) Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they’re thoroughly incorporated. Add approximately a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. When that’s all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk. When that’s incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of milk. Mix thoroughly.

Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it’s cool enough to add. (You don’t want to cook the eggs!) If it’s fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull your hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly.

Let the batter rest for 5 mins. Stir again by hand and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Fudge Frosting

2 cups chocolate chips (a 12-ounce package)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

If you use a double boiler for this frosting, it’s foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you’ll have to stir it constantly with a spatula to keep it from scorching (this is the method I used, and it worked great!)

Fill the bottom part of the double boiler with water. Make sure it doesn’t touch the underside of the top.

Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler, set it over the bottom and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately two minutes, stirring constantly until the frosting is shiny and spreading consistency. Make sure the cupcakes are cool before you frost them.

Give the frosting pan to your favorite person to scrape, they will love you even more.

**Hannah's Hints**

* I definitely suggest taste-testing as you go...especially the frosting...

* My sweet boy and I went grocery shopping for these ingredients, and when we couldn't find the raspberry syrup, we walked through the jam/syrup aisle to find a substitute. We wondered about preserves or jam, but decided it might be too thick. Still, it'd be a fun experiment, yeah?

I can't wait to try out more of the recipes from these wondiferous books! I shall post as I bake (now that I have lots of time!)

Week 8. "Soft and Sweet" Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Now, Boston Cream Pie is probably the most delicious thing in the world. At Slice of Pie, in Rolla, it's my first choice when the Mint Chip Ice Cream Pie isn't in season. Since it was the last week of Carousel, I wanted to do an especially meaningful and delicious cupcake...and naturally, Boston Cream Pie came to mind. Also, every time I think of Boston Cream Pie, I think of my friend Nick who introduced me to the wonders of this deliciously amazing pie.



Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
originally from www.marthastewart.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tins
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour standard muffin tins. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Warm milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat.

2.Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Beat in dry ingredients.

3.Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture to batter, and beat until smooth. Add vanilla. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each halfway. Bake cupcakes until light gold, about 15 minutes. Let cool in tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Let cool.

4.Using a serrated knife, cut each in half horizontally. Spread 1 tablespoon vanilla cream on each cupcake bottom. Sandwich with top. Spoon glaze over each, and serve immediately.

Vanilla Cream

2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.Whisk yolks until smooth. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add milk in a slow, steady stream. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes.

2.Pour 1/3 of milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thick, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla.

3.Pass vanilla cream through a fine sieve into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

2/3 cup heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1.Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and add chocolate and corn syrup. Let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and let cool, stirring often. Use immediately.

**Hannah's Hints**

* You have to make the vanilla cream first so that it can cool while you make the cake! Also, I had a minor disaster wherein I had 20 minutes before I had to leave and my cream had turned into gelatin instead of cream...I freaked out and made another batch and put it in the fridge, stirring it every 2 minutes or so...took it out 15 minutes later and put it on the cupcakes. It worked just fine, so it's not terribly important about the chilled thing...just cool it so it's not drippy!

* The vanilla cream recipe calls for you to pass it through a sieve, which may have been why mine was a mini disaster...if anyone makes it and is able to do this step, please let me know if it turns out better!

* You butter and flour cupcake pans for this instead of using cupcake papers so you get a pretty outside...however, this causes a huger mess to clean up in the end. Trust me, though, it's worth it to use a good amount of butter and flour so it doesn't stick.

* The ganache is delicious and fun to drizzle over the cupcakes...just make sure it's still warm.

* You could almost make a little more vanilla cream so that you have more to put on the cupcakes...the more yummy insides and toppings, the better. Duh.

Everyone in the cast enjoyed them! Super yummy, and I definitely recommend you make them! It's a fairly involved process and you get a lot of dishes dirty, but it's sooo worth it for the delicious and adorable final product!

PS This is from opening night of Carousel...shows for Hannah = curly hair = crazypants after-show hair

Week 6. Fresh and Healthy Banana Lime Cupcakes with Chai Icing

This week I wanted to make some cupcakes that were less sweety-sweet and more refreshingly fruity! And when I found this recipe, I knew I'd found it!



Fresh and Healthy Banana Lime Cupcakes

Source: Cupcake Fun

Ingredients:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• 1 teaspoon lime zest grated
• 3/4 cup sour cream

instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, lime juice, vanilla, banana and lime zest; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream; blend thoroughly but do not overmix. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack; remove and cool completely before decorating.

Chai 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

**Hannah's Hints**

* This original recipe didn't call for a specific type of icing, so I looked through what I had in my files...I love this chai icing, and it was a nice complement to the fruity freshness!

* Fresh limes are fantastic...but you'll probably only need one for this recipe. I bought 4...so now I have 3 limes waiting to be used in something else! They smell heavenly, and are really fun to juice...so find that little juicer and have some fun. Also, it's helpful to roll limes around on the table to get it warm and the juice flowing!

* As has been the case with most of my other recipes, if this batter happens to spill on your hand, you will probably want to spill some more...it's pretty darn delicious!

* In case you were wondering, my new mixer is heavenly!! It has so much power and looks very space-age...I'm in love!


* This batter smells absolutely delicious when you're mixing it...I was reminded of our family Christmas in Cabo a few years back!






* I had high hopes of spending Friday evening baking and crafting...that mostly happened! There are the shirts I made and the brilliant Valentine's made by Carly:



Hopefully more crafts and delicious cupcakes to come, next week the cupcakes will be part of my payment to Tim DePriest for transposing my music...he's my hero!

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!