Oreo Cupcakes

Our third cupcake for Chocolate Day is an Oreo Cupcake.  These are both appealing to look at and also to eat!!  Please enjoy them.

Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 pkg Oreos

Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut other wafers in half. Save 24 halves to place in the frosting. Crush the other wafer halves, also for garnishing.
Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour and set aside.
In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.
Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 stick butter at room temp
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
Once cupcakes have cooled completely, frost with cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos and place 1/2 of an Oreo on the frosting of each cupcake.

Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

The second type of cupcake made for Chocolate Day is Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling.  They are delicious!!

Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup buttermilk

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° and position 2 racks in the lower and middle third of the oven.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners. 

Put the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl.  Add the boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the buttermilk until combined.  In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 sticks of the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then beat in the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture.  Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full.  Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy.  Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip.  Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about 3/4 inch deep.  Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake, withdrawing it slowly as you squeeze; you will feel the cupcake expand slightly as you fill it.  Scrape any filling from the top of the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled. 

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer.  Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth.  Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes.  Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the pan.

Transfer the cupcakes to racks and let stand for 5 minutes.  Dip the tops of the cupcakes again and transfer them to racks.  Spoon the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter filling into the pastry bag and pipe tiny rosettes on the tops of the cupcakes.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Another great tradition that we have in my family is a holiday that we are surprised hasn’t been made a national holiday yet.  It is called Chocolate Day.  This holiday originated several years ago in my family.  The holiday is centered on pajamas, movies, and lots and lots of chocolate.  We all sit in our pajamas on the 26^th of December and eat chocolate all day.  It’s the best!  For this holiday I made three different types of cupcakes.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir together.  Combine the milk, coffee and peppermint extract in a liquid measuring cup.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugars.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the eggs one at a time.   Alternately mix in the dry and liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.   Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients:

 1 stick of butter at room temperature

about 3 peppermint sticks, finely crushed

3 cupas of confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Mix butter until soft then add in the milk and confectioners’ sugar.  Once thoroughly mixed add in the crushed candy cane.

I felt that the peppermint flavoring in the cupcake was too strong so I think that if the peppermint flavor was saved for the frosting and kept out of the cupcake then it would be a little less strong.

Swedish Coffee Cake

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!  The holidays are a time for families and traditions.  In my family we have a tradition that has been around since my mom was young.  My great Aunt Marge would make a Swedish coffee cake every Christmas Even to have on Christmas morning while opening gifts.  I have since taken over the job of coffee cake maker and it is delicious!!

Swedish Coffee Cake

Cake Batter:

½ cup of margarine (I use butter)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Topping:

½ cup of chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup sugar

Preheat you oven to 350 degree and grease a Bundt pan.  Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.  Then mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until they are well mixed.  Pour half of the batter into the Bundt pan and coat with half of the topping mixture.  Then pour the rest of the batter into the pan and finish with the topping. 

This cake will bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, be careful not to overcook it.

I hope you have had as wonderful a holiday season with your families as I have had with mine!!

Apple Pie :)

Merry Christmas! 

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dessert for the holidays (or any other time of the year) is apple pie.  Whether it’s traditional, caramel, crumble - you name it - it’s the first dessert on my plate! This year for Christmas Eve we are going to my aunt and uncles for dinner and our family is bringing dessert so I searched for a new apple pie recipe.  This break I’ve been particularly obsessed with my sister’s book, “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking,” and so far have enjoyed everything I’ve tried.  The recipe included is the Classic Apple Pie.  Although it is nothing crazy, I’ve found with apple pies sometimes less is more, the simplest of recipes turn out to be the best.  The recipe is as follows:

Classic Apple Pie from Baked

2 balls of Classic Pie Dough (recipe to follow)
½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
7 medium Granny Smith apples
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon whiskey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon raw sugar

Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap one of the balls of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Roll out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to a pie dish and carefully work it into the pie dish, folding any overhang under and crimping the edge as you go. Wrap and freeze the crust until firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 months.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the light brown sugar. Peel and core the Granny Smith apples, then cut them into 1/8-inch wedges.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Swirl the saucepan occasionally until the butter begins to brown. As soon as the butter is evenly browned, add half the apple wedges and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the apples are softened.

Add the remaining apples and the cornstarch/sugar mixture. Mix until the sugar has melted, then add the vanilla, whiskey, and cinnamon to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and thick. Do not overcool.

Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the remaining ball of chilled dough and roll out into a 12-inch round.

Pour the pie filling into the frozen pie crust, and top the second dough round. Trim the dough, leaving a ½-inch overhang. Crimp the edges together, brush with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Cut 3 steam vents into the pie crust.

Bake the pie until the filling bubbles and crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool the pie on a rack for 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 2 days

Classic Pie Dough 

yields: two balls of dough, enough for 2 (9-inch) single-crusted pies or 1 (9-inch) double-crusted pie

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup ice cold water

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together

Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss the cubes in the flour mixture to coat.  Put the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the pieces of butter are the size of hazelnuts. 

While pulsing in quick, 4-second bursts, drizzle the ice water into the food processor through the feed tube. 

As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, remove it from the food processor and divide it into two equal balls.  Flatten to a disk and wrap each disk first in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate the disks until firm, about 1 hour.  (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe.)

For the dough, as requested by my Dad, I used a little over 1/4 cup of ice cold vodka and the rest water.  What difference it makes, I’m not sure, but I find it better when I just listen to what my Dad says in the kitchen.  Also, I used light brown sugar to sprinkle on top of the crust at the end instead of raw sugar because I could not find any in our house.  Other than that I stuck the recipe pretty closely, although I found I had to use more apples than they called for.  I ended up using 11 granny smith apples because they were slightly smaller needed.  The aroma and taste from sautéing the apples in the sugar mixture, whiskey, vanilla and cinnamon was absolutely amazing.  The apples tasted great and I can’t wait to try some tonight.  

This break has been quite an adventure with cooking and baking as we are in our temporary house while my Dad builds our new house.  Below is a picture of the kitchen (note: there is no dishwasher ahhh) and please excuse the mess as I took the picture immediately after putting the pie in the oven.  There’s maybe 5 square feet of space between all the counters and about 1.5 feet of counter space.  While the kitchen is a mess to deal with, I could easily deal with waking up to the view from the living room every morning (pictured below)

Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I believe Liv will be posting sometime soon about the fabulous cupcakes she made the other day so look forward to that! And here's a picture o the finished pie! :) 

Brewer's Blondies

It's easy to say (and I think Olivia will agree with me here) that I spend more time in the kitchen during holiday breaks than anywhere else.  I'm not sure if that is considered a good or bad thing.  Although I have not blogged about all the creations, so far this break I have made gingerbread cookie with my friend, Ellie, chocolate chocolate chip cookies (adapted from a vegan recipe because I didn't have any eggs.. who knew ground flax seeds mixed with water = 1 egg), helped my sister a little with her fabulous banana pudding and am currently waiting to devour what Baked NYC likes to call 'Brewer's Blondies.'
It's an adaption from the classic blondies we all love, but instead includes malted milk powder and ground whoppers... what could be better? The recipe is as follows:

Brewer's Blondies
Adapted from Baked

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 3/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup malted milk balls (like Whoppers or Maltesers), coarsely chopped in a food processor
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and malted milk powder together.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until completely combined. Scrape down the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture in two batches until just combined. Add the malted milk balls, chocolate chips and walnuts and beat until just combined, about 10 seconds. The mixture will be thick. Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly.

Bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the blondie comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. These blondies taste delicious warm. Cut them into squares and serve with ice cream. They also taste great at room temperature. Once thoroughly cooled, cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

  I had to slightly adapt and use chocolate malted milk powder instead of original because it was out of stock at the store.. how that is possible, I don't know.  Either way, a little more chocolate can never hurt :) Also, a bad tendency of mine is too move to quick without reading the fine print, so I forgot to actually toast the walnuts, but I'm sure it won't affect the finished product that much.
Baked recommends, since most people won't eat all of the blondies right after cooling, keeping them covered in an airtight container and when serving to microwave them for 20-30 seconds and serving with ice cream.  Unfortunately, I haven't had dinner yet so I'm trying to withhold myself from indulging, but I will comment later on the finished outcome and any suggestions for those who try the recipe!

Happy Holidays, hope everyone enjoys some great holiday treats this break! :)

Gingerbread Snowflakes

A few days after Thanksgiving I woke up to see the first snowflakes of the season.  I am obsessed with snow and all things Christmas so this was extremely exciting for me.  Further what is better than sitting in front of a fire watching the snow outside while enjoying a cup of hot tea and a gingerbread cookie?  Well to answer my own question, nothing!!! I had seen a really pretty gingerbread cookie on marthastewart.com that I had been eager to try so I promptly found it and set to work. 

Ingredients

Makes 16 cookies

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
5. Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip. Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand 5 minutes; tap off excess sugar. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Store cookies between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

• 2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing
• 1 lemon, juiced

Directions

1. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar and lemon juice; beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar. The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I could not locate a 7 inch cookie cutter so I settled for the largest one I could find which I believe was about 4 inches in diameter.  It was actually the perfect size because I do not think that most people would want to eat a cookie much larger than that in one sitting.  With the smaller cutter I got approximately 40 cookies out of the dough.  I also found that putting the dough in the refrigerator made it too cold and difficult the roll out right after removing it.  If you refrigerate the dough and then let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before rolling it out the dough will be less apt to crack.  Be sure to adequately flour your workspace and utensils (rolling pin, cookie cutter, spatula, and hands).  I baked for exactly 12 minutes and then let them sit for 3 minutes on the pan.  Once the cookies were completely cool to the touch I began to decorate them.  If you make your royal icing and find that it does not have the usual sweet and delicious flavor of frosting fret not, it doesn’t taste like anything on the cookie!!  Make your icing and put it into the decorating bag, I recommend using a disposable one because it makes cleaning up much easier.  When piping onto the cookie the frosting is slightly difficult to squeeze out of the bag and takes some force.  Once you have your desired pattern it is time to coat in the decorating sugars.  I found that it was difficult to make the sugar stick to the icing by simply dumping them onto the cookie so I poured a substantial amount onto a plate and then placed the cookie face down into the sugar.  Voila you have a yummy snow day snack!!!

Cranberry Orange Scones

Happy Almost Thanksgiving Sprinklers!!!  In order to get warmed up for the largest day of cooking of the year I decided to make a Thanksgiving morning breakfast snack this evening in preparation for the festivities.  In my house it is common to eat an extremely small breakfast, essentially nothing throughout the day, and then stuff yourself when dinner rolls around at about 4 in the afternoon.  For the really small breakfast I made what turned out to be (unintentionally) really small scones.  My mom suggested using the unnecessarily large bag of Craisins she had purchased (I guess that’s what happens at Costco).  So with the object of using Craisins and making a breakfast treat I set out to find a good recipe.  I settled on one I found on the foodnetwork.com. 

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients

• 4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

I found that the scones did not rise at all and therefore I needed to start with a thicker piece of dough to cut the circle from.  The flavor was great but the texture was a bit dry.  Nothing that a great cup of coffee can’t fix!!  I’ll be back many times this week to report on the outrageous on goings of Thanksgiving!!  Since Ariel went to the most magical place on earth for the weekend I will be doing all the Thanksgiving updates from my family’s kitchen in Pittsburgh!!

Chocolate Malted Cupcakes

This past weekend it was the nineteenth birthday of my dear friend and sorority sister, Emily!  Seeing as she is an avid reader of I Tinkle Sprinkles I thought it absolutely necessary to bake for her!  She is an enormous fan of chocolate, as most of us are, and so my friend Sarah suggested a recipe she has made many times for her housemates!  (Ariel was unable to participate this weekend, I missed her dearly!!!)  Sarah found this recipe in the Martha Stewart’s Cupcake cookbook.

Chocolate Malted Cupcakes:

Makes roughly 28

2 1/4C All purpose flour
3/4 C Dutch process cocoa powdered
1/2 C Granulated sugar
3/4 C light brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 1/4 C Malted milk powder ( such as Carnations)
1 C vegetable oil
3 large eggs at room temp
1 C sour cream at room temp
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Method:
With oven preheated @ 350 Degrees F.

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda & salt. in another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until dissolve.
2. With mixer on Med- High, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filled half way. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester comes out clean or baked about 20 minutes.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Makes about 4 cups

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium-high. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

With the frosting completed, we decided that while the white was crisp and clean cut, Emily was more exciting than that and needed some color.  We used 2 drops of blue food coloring and 3 drops of pink food coloring to make a lovely shade of purple.  After having our desired color we attached a medium sized star-shape to a pastry bag and carefully piped the frosting onto the cupcakes.

The cupcakes were delicious and the malt powder made them extremely aerated.  They were fluffy and light, and made it possible to enjoy these rich and sweet flavors without feeling overwhelmed. 

I would recommend, and I think Emily would agree, that these are the perfect birthday cupcakes!!

Pumpkin of Cupcakes

Pumpkin of Cupcakes

Trick or Treat Sprinkles Fans!!!  Out of respect for the best holiday ever Ariel found an exciting task for us.  A pumpkin of cupcakes, yes you heard right, we actually made a giant pumpkin out of cupcakes.  This recipe was from Cup Cake Central which is sponsored by Reynolds Baking Cups. 

What you need:

For Cake:
48-52 cupcakes baked in Reynolds Orange Foil Baking Cups
2 packages (18.25 oz. each) yellow cake mix
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Water, oil and eggs (follow package directions)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract for cake

For Frosting:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract for frosting
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 packages (16 oz.each ) powdered sugar
Neon orange food coloring
Green food coloring
Optional:  orange sugar crystals

For Creating Centerpiece:
1 large platter or tray (at least 12 inches wide)
1 8” Styrofoam ball (purchase at your local craft store)
1 4×4x2″ Styrofoam block  (purchase at your local craft)
4 6″ wooden skewers
1 glue gun and glue sticks
48-52 wooden craft sticks
1 small paring knife

Instructions:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
PLACE Reynolds Baking Cups in muffin pans; set aside.
BEAT cake mixes, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, water, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on lw speed until moistened, about 30 seconds.  Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Spoon batter into baking cups.  If desired, each cake mix can be beaten separately just use half of pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in each.
BAKE 20 to 23 minutes.  Cool.
MIX cream cheese, maple syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended.
DIVIDE frosting, use food coloring to dye 1/2 cup green and the remaining frosting orange.
SET aside two cupcakes for stem.  PIPE or frost remaining cupcakes with orange frosting.  Sprinkle with orange sugar crystals,  if desired.  Very Important: Let frosting stand and harden at least 1 hour.

PREPARE CENTERPIECE:

1. Place Styrofoam block on a platter.  Use hot glue to glue block to platter.  Insert 4 wooden skewers in a square center of block.
2. Place Styrofoam ball on top of block, sliding ball onto skewers.  Use hot glue to secure in place, if necessary.
3. Starting at the bottom of the styrofoam ball, insert one wooden craft stick angled 45 degrees up.  Push stick deep into ball so that about 1/2 of it remains sticking out to hold cupcake.
4. Use a paring knife to make a thin slit into the bottom of the decorated cupcake.
5. Slide decorated cupcake onto wooden craft stick.
6. Repeat these steps, one row at a time.  Work your way all the way around the bottom of the ball to the top, placing the cupcakes as close together as you can get them.
7. Leave a 3-inch circle of open space at the top for the stem.  Remove baking cups from the 2 cupcakes that were set aside for stem.  Cut a thin slice from the top of each cupcake to create flat surfaces. 
8. Frost cut side of one cupcake with green frosting and press bottom of second cupcake on top of it.  Prepare stem by spreading a thin coating of green frosting over all sides of both cupcakes.
9. Spread a dollop of green frosting in open space at top of ball to serve as “glue” for the stem.  Place frosted green cupcakes upside down on frosting so flat bottom of one of the cupcakes makes the top of the stem.  Spread frosting over stem until completely covered.  Use a fork to make circular lines in the top of the stem and vertical lines on the sides, if desired.
10. Optional:  place additional cupcakes on platter around bottom of Pumpkin.

We took the easy route on this one (because it was going to be difficult to assemble the giant pumpkin) and used boxed cake mix.  We made two boxes of mix, one yellow and one chocolate.  We did not include pumpkin in our recipe because there were no cans of pumpkin to be found in Ann Arbor.  Apparently everyone had a similar idea to us.  We did make the frosting as it was stated in the recipe but we did not have food coloring so we used a food dye spray.  It was shimmery and perfect for our pumpkin. 

When assembling the pumpkin we found it difficult to attach the cupcakes without having them fall off.  Because we used paper cupcake liners instead of the tin ones recommended we noticed that the weight of thee hanging cupcake pulled away from the liner.  Luckily once they were packed onto the Styrofoam ball they held each other together.  Our finished product was not as tidy as the one on the Cup Cake Central website but it was still really cute and festive!!

Truffle Tarts with Raspberry

Hello Sprinkle Lovers!! We have quite a treat for you.  It seems that we have a birthday to celebrate every week, but I guess that’s what happens on a team of 40 girls.  Anyhow, happy 21^st Felice, we love you.  For this very special event we ventured to make our most intricate dessert yet.  ­­­­­Truffle Tarts with Raspberry, let me just tell you, these are DELICIOUS!  This beauty is a bit time consuming so leave yourself a while, or do what we did and make them the night before you need them.  Ariel found this recipe on www.foodnetwork.com and I quickly approved it as the treat of the night.  Make the truffle mixture first, seeing as it must sit for an hour before you can add them to the Oreo crust.

Dark Chocolate Truffles:

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup heavy cream

·         8 ounces good-quality (70 percent) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1 cup cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

In a saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for 1 hour at room temperature.  Make the Oreo crust at this time.

Oreo Crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (from Oreo cookies or chocolate wafers)
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 6 fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

Directions

Use a fork to mix together the chocolate wafer crumbs and butter. Spray the cups of a 6-muffin tin with a vegetable spray. Line the cups with strips of parchment or waxed paper, cut so that they are as wide as the diameter of each cup and long enough to overhang the sides (you'll need this overhang to remove the tarts). Use the bottom of a small glass to press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the muffin cups, building the sides up to only about 1 1/2 inches. Place a raspberry in the center of each crust.

At this time you should beat the chocolate at medium speed until it gets thick and light colored. With a pastry bag or small plastic bag with the corner snipped off, fill the tarts with the truffle mixture. Smooth the tops and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Instead of using parchment paper, we used the paper cupcake liners.  When you remove the liners it leaves a bumpy print on the crust which looks really cute.  Also, instead of making all of the tarts in a regular sized cupcake pan, we made several in the mini pan and cup the raspberries for the middle in half.  The tarts are very delicious, but extremely rich, so we would recommend making all of them in the mini sized pan.  We also chose not to smooth the top of the truffle before refrigerating it because we liked the way the swirled top looked.  Seriously though, you have to make these because I really cannot stress enough how good they are!!!