Happy 30th Birthday Mark!

Today is my brother-in-law's Mark's 30th birthday and although he is not here, we still are able to celebrate him and the man that he was and is. We have our happy birthday sign hanging on the mantle and cupcakes ready to eat.

Yesterday, Thad and many of Mark's family, friends and comrades walked 30 miles in honor of his birthday. It was so neat to see these men walking together, the whole way taking each step in honor of Mark. There were 5 rest stops and one of the stops was at the Forester residence. In honor of Mark's birthday I was in charge of making cupcakes for the walkers to eat. What a sight to see, all of the 35 walkers holding cupcakes and singing happy birthday to Mark.

I wanted to make the best cupcakes I could for Mark and I have found that the best yellow cake cupcake I can find is a dressed up yellow cake mix. Now I am not one for cake mixes and was raised to believe that in some way I was committing a sin using a boxed anything but in this case I feel that it is okay to do so. What dresses up this cake mix you ask? Yogurt/sour cream and pudding mix. Take my word on this one, I have looked long and hard for the most moist and light yellow cupcake recipe and this one is it. So give these a try and take my word for it.

Dressed Up Yellow Cake Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix (I use Betty Crocker)
1 package (3.4 oz) Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used yogurt)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Begin by setting the oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" cake rounds and set aside. Combine the cake mix, jello, eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, water and rum extract. For mixing instructions follow the back of the cake box. Once completely mixed, I like to use an ice cream scooper to dish my batter into the cupcake pan to make a uniform cupcakes. I Fill the cupcakes about three-fourths full. Place cupcakes in the oven, letting them bake for about 13-20 minutes. Mine are usually perfect at 15 minutes.

Once done baking, take out of oven, remove from cupcake pan and cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, start making this delicious buttermilk frosting....

Peggle's Buttermilk Frosting
1/3 cup butter (I usually overshoot on this measurement, more butter never hurts)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
*I add 1-2 tablespoons more of milk to give it a creamier consistency.

This frosting is the best. So easy. Just mix all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.

Once frosting is made and cupcakes are cooled, frost cupcakes with Peggle's Buttermilk frosting and then voila, you have the most moist and delicate cupcake in town.

Mark today we are missing you more than ever but we also know that you are not far from us. Love you Markie Mark and happy 30th birthday.

Cheers!

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes w/ Strawberry Frosting.....

There are many places that I day dream about visiting, sadly it is the not the historical monuments or incredible shopping I dream about......its the food. I am a self proclaimed foodie who grew up in a house where food was good and always made from scratch. We traveled a lot and tried some amazing food and I feel like that is where I developed my love for all things delicious. I still think about the Patisserie in the little quaint downtown of St. Cloud, France in which we lived. You could get every beautiful french pastry you could have dreamed of there and the care in which was put into each baked good was exquisite. Since then I love little quaint bakeries. There are so many bakeries that I want to visit someday. To name a few Magnolia Bakery in NYC, Miette in San Francisco, Georgetown Cupcake in DC and Baked in Brooklyn...and many many more.

So to add to my dream bakeries to visit is Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, California. I remember hearing about them for the first time from my mom. She told me how good they were and that people order them from all over the world. It is rumored that they were one of the very first Cupcake bakeries.

On Oprah's official website she featured Candace Nelson, the owner and founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, showing how to make their famous Strawberry Cupcakes. I was instantly intrigued and had recently told Thad that in my food daydreams I envision a strawberry cupcake with strawberry icing, since whenever spring starts to creep up I want to bake with berries and a strawberry cupcake sounded so light, fresh and spring-y. So all the stars aligned and it was just meant to be that I came across this recipe, plus felt pretty cool having the recipe for a Sprinkles Cupcake.


Sprinkles Cupcakes' Strawberry Cupcake
2/3 cup fresh or frozen whole strawberries (thawed if frozen)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk , room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg whites , room temperature

Start off by preheating the oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree. Add a few more strawberries if necessary, or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another small bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

Turning the mixer to low, slowly add half the flour mixture, mixing until just blended. Add the milk mixture, also mixing until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended. You want to be sure to not over mix because if you mix it too much it will be a dry, harder cupcake. So be sure to not over mix.

Using an ice cream scooper or a spoon, evenly divide batter among prepared muffin cups (they should be about 2/3 full). Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes (my cupcakes took 15 minutes due to a fast oven, but be sure to watch them closely). Once done baking, transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.


Sprinkles Cupcakes' Strawberry Frosting
1/2 cup frozen whole strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not over mix, or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

These cupcakes were a treat. They were moist, light and the flavor was subtle but just enough to give you a little taste of strawberry. A spring time recipe that I will be making again soon. Until we meet in person Sprinkles Cupcakes, these will have to do.

Bon Appetit!

Yummiest Chocolate Cupcake Ever..........

We all know that cupcakes are all the craze right now. There are cupcake shops popping up all over the place and something so classic as a cupcake has become the newest coolest baked good. I think that everyone needs in their recipe arsenal a good chocolate cupcake recipe and a good vanilla cupcake recipe. I have been looking for both for some time now and my chocolate cupcakes I just stumbled upon.

I am not sure if you remember when I had my first official catering job. It was for Thad's work and they wanted me to make alabama cupcakes (here is the link). For the chocolate cupcakes I made Surprised Filled Cupcakes. For this cupcake there is a cream cheese filling that goes in them and they are very good. When I was making these cupcakes for the catering job, I ran out of the filling and had some chocolate batter left over and so I made some plain chcoclate cupcakes with the extra batter. Thad had one of the plain chocolate cupcakes and raved about how moist and good they were. I had a taste and agreed. And in that moment, our favorite chocolate cupcake was discovered.

This recipe does not have eggs in it so it is a denser more moist cupcake. It is the perfect consistency for a perfect chocolate cupcake and a must make.

Chocolate Cupcake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups water

Start off by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees. Get out a 12 cup cupcake pan and place 12 cupcake liners in the pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix. Then add the next 4 liquid ingredients....vinegar, vanilla, oil and water, mixing until barely combined. Once all ingredients are added, mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Once completely mixed, I like to use an ice cream scooper to dish my batter into the cupcake pan to make a uniform cupcakes. I Fill the cupcakes about three-fourths full. Place cupcakes in the oven, letting them bake for about 13-20 minutes. Mine are usually perfect at 15 minutes.

Once removed from the oven, place on cooling rack and let cool completely. These cupcakes can stand alone in taste without frosting but if you want to dress them up, you can top them off with a delish chocolate frosting. Click here for chocolate frosting recipe

These cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser and oh so good.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes and Bama Football......

Living in the South, Football is like a religion, life is planned around football, wedding dates are set according to if there is a home game or away game and everything else is put on hold each Saturdays to take part in game day festivities. When I first moved here I amazed by the magic and energy that is here during football season. To just walk into a grocery store was to see everyone dressed head to toe in crimson red and hounds tooth. And when I attended my first game day on the Alabama campus I was in awe by the tents and spreads people had. They had tables full of yummy foods, flat screen TVs and all the comforts of home.

So for the Bama vs. Penn State game I was asked by Thad's work, who was having a tent out on the quad and were having some clients come into town for the game, to make 100 Alabama cupcakes and 100 brownies. It was my first official catering job.

I made two kinds of cupcakes, I made the Surprise Filled Cupcakes (chocolate and cream cheese) with a butter cream chocolate frosting and vanilla cupcake with a strawberry filling and a whipped butter cream frosting. As garnish I made over 200 scripted A's, both red and white out of royal icing. From this experience I learned the hard way that royal icing does not hold up in 100 degree weather but if you were having a party indoors they would do just fine.


For the chocolate cupcakes I made the Surprise Filled Cupcakes which were made bt my mom growing up. These are rich with the dense chocolate cake, cream cheese and semi-sweet chocolate chips and a creamy chocolate frosting to finish it off, plus it looks so pretty.

Surprise Filled Cupcakes

Start off by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and line two twelve cup cupcake pans with cupcake holders, set aside.

Surprise filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 eggs
pinch of salt
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the filling use a small bowl and mix the softened cream cheese, the sugar, egg, pinch of salt and chocolate chips. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside.

Chocolate Cupcake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons coco
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups water

Start off by combining the first 5 ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer(flour, sugar, coco, baking soda and salt), set aside. Once combined, gradually add the next 4 liquid ingredients (vinegar, vanilla, oil and water), mixing until barely combined. Once all ingredients are added mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.


Once completely mixed, I like to use an ice cream scooper to dish my batter into the cupcake pan. I Fill the cupcakes about half-way full, then drop in a 1/2 tablespoon of the surprise filling into each cupcake. Place in oven letting bake for about 13-20 minutes. Mine are usually perfect at 15 minutes.

Once removed from the oven, place on cooling rack and let cool completely. These surprise cupcakes can stand alone in taste without frosting but if you want to dress them up, you can start on the chocolate frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. Click here for chocolate frosting recipe

These cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser and are delish!

For the vanilla Cupcake, I used a recipe from Magnolia which is a world famous bakery in New York City and my neighbor Becky a while back let me borrow her Magnolia's Cookbook and I loved their vanilla cupcake recipe. This recipe with the strawberry filling and the whipped butter cream frosting, you feel like you are eating strawberry short cake to go. So yum.


Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Begin by preheating oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 cup cupcake pans with cupcake holders. Set aside.

Start off by combining the flours in a small bowl, mix and set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl cream the butter until smooth and fluffy on medium speed. Then slowly add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add each egg one at a time, mixing between each addition. Next add the dry ingredients, in three parts alternating with the milk and then vanilla. Beat well but make sure to not over mix. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl before scooping them out into the cupcake pan.

Note that this batter will be a thicker batter. Using the handy ice cream, fill the cupcake holder to 2/3 to 3/4 full. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. My were done at 17 minutes and I just used a small butter knife and once it came out clean I knew they were done.

Once done remove from oven and let cool completely. While cooling you can start on the frosting and the filling.

For the filling I used a Strawberry filling and boy was it good.

Strawberry Filling
2 cups hulled Strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup whipping cream

Start off by measuring out two cups of strawberries (I bought frozen strawberries and just let them unthaw)in a small bowl. Add sugar and let stand. Then measure out 1tablespoon gelatin and place in a small bowl; add 2 tablespoons cold water to gelatin and let the gelatin soften. Then add 3 tablespoons boiling water to gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Then stir the dissolved gelatin into strawberries and let cool.

While strawberry mixture is cooling, whip a 1/2 cup of whipping cream until it is stiff. Check Strawberry mixture and when the consistency is like a heavy syrup, then fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. When all ingredients are combined and mixed, place in refrigerator to chill and set.

Once completely chilled and the cupcakes are cooled I cut out a dime to a penny size hole and piped the strawberry filling into the hole.

Lastly once the cupcakes have been filled it is time to make the frosting. Since this combo has a strawberry shortcake feel, I thought nothing would be better then a light fluffly butter cream frosting to top it all off. To see this recipe click here.

These cupcakes work best when made the night before and sit in the refrigerator to allow the filling and frosting to harden.

Both these cupcakes are great recipes and are fun for any event and any occasion. And are so delicious.

Bon Appetit!

Southern Humingbird Cupcakes

My husband informed me yesterday that the boys at work were having a potluck which meant I needed to bake something for it. I was excited because there was a cupcake recipe that I had been wanting to try and had even already bought the ingredients for it. I came across the this particular recipe the other day when I was perusing my favorite baking blogs and seeing what new recipes were being featured. On one of my fav blogs called Bake or Break there was a cupcake recipe that caught my eye...a Hummingbird cake.

For those of you who may have not ever heard of a Hummingbird cake, it is a southern cake and one that is a staple here in the south. I did a little research on it and the first recipe "published" was in Southern Living in 1978 and was referenced as a traditional southern recipe.


So I decided that since I am now a resident of the South, married to a true Southerner and have a potluck to cook for some Southerners, I would try this recipe. It was easy to make and they were so good. I loved the interesting combo of the pineapple, bananas and cinnamon, plus the cream cheese frosting was literally icing on the cake. In the end the Hummingbird Cupcakes really lived up to their reputation.

Hummingbird Cupcake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
chopped pecans or sanding sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour regular cupcake pans. Set aside.

Start off by combining in a large bowl the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon (I used my stand mixer for this recipe). Next making sure the eggs have been beaten well, add the eggs, then the oil to the dry mixture. Turning my stand mixer on low, mix the batter slowly making sure you mix it until it is barely moistened. Lastly, stir in the vanilla, pineapples, pecans, and bananas until it is mixed well.

Pour the batter into prepared pans, filling them up a little over halfway. Bake for 15-25minutes (depending on your oven, mine cooked in about 16 minutes) until a toothpick or butter knife is inserted in the center comes out clean. Remember to watch them closely because nobody wants a dry cupcake.

Let the cupcakes cool in pan for a few minutes before removing and placing the cupcakes on a cooling rack. Let them cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling start on the easy cream cheese frosting......

Cream cheese frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, softened (about 1 1/2 cubes cream cheese)
1 cup butter, softened
1.5 pounds confectioners sugar, sifted
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer), make sure that both the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature, combining the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Then on high, beat the frosting for about 4-5 minutes. This makes the frosting smooth and fluffy. Then place the frosting in the refrigerator, so that it is easier to work with.


Once all cupcakes are cooked you can either use a butter knife and frost or I used a frosting bag and with a fancy tip and piped on the frosting. As garnish you can either use pecans as a garnish or leave them plane.

Makes about 36 regular-sized cupcakes.

This unique combo is a southern treat that you will want to make over and over again. So enjoy!

Lemon Curd Poppy Seed Mini Cupcakes

My mother-in-law Pat put me in charge of making something for a Tea she was hosting (A Tea is like a bridal shower in the West). Of course I was up for the challenge and love doing this sort of thing. I tossed and turned over what I was going to make and finally I decided to essentially make the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with lemon curd but alter the recipe to make mini cupcakes. I made 200 cupcakes, filled them with lemon curd and topped them with a whipping cream frosting. I even ordered pink cupcake holders to go with Emily's(the bride-to-be)colors. The process was a lot of fun, the finished product turned out fantastic and the cupcakes were like a little bit of heaven in your mouth.

So here is how I made these light and delicate treats.....


For this recipe I made the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake batter, click here for the recipe. I simply made the recipe and distributed the batter evenly in the mini-cupcake pan. I filled each cup a little under two-thirds full; baking at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (depending on your oven), making sure they did not over cook. One batch of the batter makes about 100 mini-cupcakes.



Next for the filling, I made lemon curd, click here for the recipe. Once the lemon curd is made let it cool, then place in the refrigerator until completely chilled.



Using a pear knife cut a small and thin round hole in each cupcake. You want to have the hole go down as far as possible without making a hold in the bottom of the cupcake, to prevent the filling from linking out the bottom of the cupcake.


After the holes are made, take an icing bag, fill it with chilled lemon curd and using a standard round tip, lightly and carefully fill each hole with the lemon curd until the curd is even with the top of the muffin.


Meanwhile, this is what Thad did all day Saturday while Pat and I were inside cooking.....which I can't really blame him for doing(We were at Pat and Ray's house)


Lastly, for the frosting, I used a Butter Cream Frosting that I found at Tidymom and loved the creamy texture of this frosting, especially with this lemony cupcake. See the recipe below. Make sure that before you pipe the frosting onto the cupcake you chill the frosting for at least 30 minutes. Also another tip my mother-in-law taught me was to not put too much frosting into the icing bag at one time because as you hold the bag your hand will warm the icing making it hard to work with.



Here are the cupcakes all ready to take to the Tea.

Butter Cream Frosting
1 cup real butter (not margarine) *room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/4 - 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer) thoroughly cream butter and shortening . Beat in the vanilla, mixing well. Add sugar, one cup at a time, stopping after each cup to scrape down the sides; mix until blended. When the sugar is completely beaten in and the sides of the bowl are scraped down, add the whipping cream, beating at the highest speed until super fluffy, for one to two minutes. Because of the whipping cream in this recipe it works best when chilled slightly but not too long. This is a great and light frosting, probably one of the best I have found.

So I hope you enjoy this great light dessert which is perfect for a bite size treat.

Bon Appetit!