S'mores Cupcakes

from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. My niece Taylor and I whipped up these babies last night. We had a lot of doubt in the beginning but, I think they turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

3⁄4 C. Brown Sugar
1⁄2 C. Canola Oil
2 T. Molasses
1⁄4 C. Soy Yogurt
1 1⁄4 C. Soymilk
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 C. All-Purpose Flour
1 t. Baking Powder
1⁄2 t. Baking Soda
1⁄2 t. Cinnamon, ground
1⁄4 t. Salt
1⁄2 C. Graham Cracker Crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350¾. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Mix brown sugar, oil, molasses, yogurt, soymilk and vanilla in a large bowl.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a separate bowl and mix. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix it up.

4. Add dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition.

5. Fill cupcake liners full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.


Quick Melty Ganache
3 T. Soy Creamer or Soymilk
1/3 C. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Heat soy creamer in a small saucepan over medium heat til just about to simmer. Remove from heat; add chocolate chips and stir til chocolate is completely melted and creamer is incorporated. Set aside and allow to cool for 10 minutes. With a spatula scoop into a prepared pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip chopped off, or drizzle haphazardly with fork. Quick Melty Ganache will set when fully cooled.

I made a plain old buttercream (margarine + confectioner's sugar + vanilla) for the icing. Surprisingly, these cupcakes did remind me of marshmallow campfire goodness and also ...gingerbread. I think we'll go lighter on the molasses next time. Or, even better yet make the chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crumbs and these toppings. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my first recipe from VCTOTW. Taylor ate two, so I'd say she approved!

Burger Brigade

Burger cupcakes! How cute are these? I made them as a belated birthday cake for Mr. K. (I know, shame on me). He also got a job at the University today so there was cause to celebrate!

I have to thank Smiley Sweets for the inspiration. Google "hamburger cupcakes" and you'll see all kinds of variations. I think these would be fun for a vegetarian barbecue/cook out or a spongebob themed birthday -krabby patties anyone?

I used Amy Sedaris' vanilla cupcake recipe, which can be found in her fabulous book: I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence and here, for the "buns." A basic buttercream recipe for the frostings and a chocolate cake mix for the "patties." I think Amy's recipe turned out fine, but I was hoping for a more "golden" finish. I snuck some mint extract in the "lettuce" for some extra flavor. I took a cue from Smiley Sweets and squirted just a bit of orange juice on top so the sesame seeds would stick. She also used coconut as the lettuce but, no one in this house likes coconut so I used frosting and food coloring instead.

I also used my brand spankin' new Whoopie Pie pan which made the cuppies come out perfectly for stacking. I love this pan. It was definitely a great splurge. I pretty much hyperventilate every time I enter a Williams-Sonoma. Besides the flurpillions of variations on Whoopie Pies and burger cupcakes I can see making muffies with this pan, too. No cupcake papers required.
Speaking of W-S, check out these star wars cookie cutters and pancake molds. Honestly, I'm not even that much of a star wars geek but, I am a sucker for this kind of thing.

And here's Mr. K enjoying his burger cupcake!

strawberry muffies

Today's baking adventures - I'm pretty darn proud of these pretty babies, especially since they began as a disaster. These started out as angel cupcakes with a vanilla custard filling. It seems that I cannot make angel cake cupcakes - the things just don't turn out right. (I tried, twice, I promise!) The custard was okay, but didn't thrill me.
I had some strawberry cake mix that I prepared. I had these muffin top baking papers lying around for awhile. (Ok, I thought the brown papers would look cute with the pink cake) After baking, they sort of reminded me of little tarts. A little buttercream icing and fresh strawberries and you have some delicious strawberry muffies! Yum. In the future, it might be fun to use cream cheese icing or mint leaves for garnish!

p.s.

How much do I want these "teacupcakes" cupcake molds from Perpetual Kid?

They're silicone (and phthalate-free plastic!), so you can back your babycakes right in the molds. Yes, please.

martha vs. food network

Easter Sunday + MIL's birthday = two batches of cupcakes. I made the first batch using a martha stewart recipe and a fun decorating kit I got from work. This was also my first experience using frosting bags and tips. I'm completely addicted. It's simple but, makes gorgeous cupcakes!


MS's recipe fell a little flat (literally) -easily covered with frosting but, a little disappointing nonetheless. Probably an error on my end. Luckily it didn't affect the taste!

In the second batch, I had to make some adjustments to the recipe. Pastry flour seems to be difficult to find around here. The cupcakes were more like bread than cakes. This combined with the walnuts probably explains why I was told the cupcakes tasted "healthy." Hm. I haven't decided whether that's a good thing or not. Picky Mr. K approved so, I would use either of these recipes again. Enjoy the photos/cupcake porn!