Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Vanilla Frosting

I decided to make cupcakes this weekend.  I decided I’d been baking too much with chocolate (and peanut butter!) lately.  The weather was beautiful and I had some fresh blueberries on hand, so I decided to try lemon cupcakes with blueberry frosting.  It sounded nice and light and spring-like!  This recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s old vanilla cupcake recipe.

First I got together my ingredients, preheated the oven and lined a cupcake pan.

I creamed softened butter with white sugar, then added eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together bread flour, baking powder and salt, then slowly added to the butter mixture, alternating it with buttermilk.  After that I zested (is that a word?) the outer skin of 1 large lemon and added that to the mixture then made sure it was all mixed together!

 I should add that I had never used a zester before and didn't realize how sharp it was!  My poor fingers are all scraped up after using it.

I poured into the cupcake pan and put into the oven to bake.

I baked these for 19 minutes; they probably could have come out a minute earlier.  But boy did the lemon smell delicious!

While the cupcakes were cooling, I got to work on the frosting.  I chopped up ½ c blueberries, 1tsp sugar and 1 tbsp water in a food processor and set aside. 

In a large bowl, I creamed butter and vanilla then slowly added confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time.  I then added ¼ c milk and the blueberries.

I decorated the cupcakes with my Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro. 

These are a great treat for spring/summer, and the sweetness of the blueberry was a great complement to the lemon cake. 

I also had to show off this fun new gadget.  My mom picked this up for me - its an individual cupcake carrier - for when you get that lunchtime craving!  Isn't it cute?  I wish I knew where she picked it up because this would be a great gift item.

Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes

1/2c unsalted butter, softened

2/3 c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

1 ½ c bread flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ c buttermilk

·         Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan

·         In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. 

·         Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well

·         Add vanilla and mix well

·         In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

·         Slowly add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture

·         Zest the outer layer of one large lemon and add to batter

·         Mix well and pour into cupcake liners

·         Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Blueberry Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1c unsalted butter, softened

5-6c confectioners sugar

¼ c milk

2 tsp vanilla

½ c blueberries

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp water

·         In a food processor, combine blueberries, granulated sugar and water and set aside

·         In a large bowl, cream butter and slowly add confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time

·         Slowly add vanilla, milk and blueberries

·         Mix until fluffy

Decorate as you wish and enjoy!

Cupcake Camp

Last week I attended Cupcake Camp  - it was held at the Somerville Armory.  You can learn more about it here.  I first heard of Cupcake Camp a few years ago on Cupcakes Take The Cake, and I missed last year’s in Boston so I was really excited when I saw on Twitter that it was going to be held in Boston again this year!  I made my Thin Mint Cupcakes again, and did a mix of mini and regular size.  Big thanks to my friend Whitney for helping me bake/decorate the cupcakes AND set up at Cupcake Camp!

A little blurry - oops :)

Yum :)  Did I say THANK YOU to Whitney for helping decorate?!

King Arthur Flour was a sponsor and had a special booth set up with demonstrations – I can’t wait to try these mint chip ice cream cone cupcakes!

All the decorations are fondant!

Next time, I would probably make all minis – most people (myself included!) seemed drawn to the minis – more cupcakes, less stomachaches!  Plus then more people could try them – I ended up cutting the ‘regular’ size cupcakes into quarters anyway.

Another thanks to Whitney for this nifty sign ;)

I would also make more cupcakes!  Mine were gone within a half hour, sad L

Overall, this was a great time and it was wonderful to meet some fellow bakers and get some more cupcake ideas!  Some of the 'amateur' cupcakes were presented so well and tasted so good, I couldn't believe they weren't professionals.  I mostly tasted the 'amateur' cupcakes since I'd been to most of the bakeries that were there.  The sugar hangover the next day was well worth it.  I couldn't believe how packed it was, I left around 8:15 (the event went from 7-9) and the line was still around the block!

Below are some pictures I took while I was wandering around before the doors opened  – I tried to get the cupcake/baker’s names in the photos when I could, but feel free to let me know in the comments if you see yours here and want a call-out.  The lighting wasn’t the best at the Armory, so my apologies for some of the poor pictures!

These hamburger cupcakes were adorable!

I can't eat almonds so unfortunately couldn't try these, but I loved the frosting on them - so pretty!

These were fantastic - and presented so well!

These were gone before I could try one :(

I loved these adorable little honeybees

Whole Foods' Easter-themed cupcakes

Some of the amateur cupcakes were presented SO well, I couldn't believe they weren't professionals!

Yum!

setting up the 'professionals' section

Beantown Baker's cookie dough cupcakes - one of my favorites of the night!

These girls were next to me - I loved these cupcakes!

The creamsicle cupcakes (2nd tier from the top) were to.die.for.

Loved this sweet cupcake bouquet - I think this was C-Cups?

YUM

These were from an amateur baker - how beautiful!

So there are a lot of random things that are fairly common foods to make that I have never even attempted to bake/cook.  I decided to record them on here – my goal is to attempt all of these before my (gulp) 26th birthday, which is in early September – so approximately 6 months.  Hopefully having them here for all the world to see will give me extra incentive to actually try all these and not just resort to my tried & true recipes!

Without further ado, here are my top Foods To Make Before I Enter My Late-Mid Twenties.

The Baked Goods (aka the majority of this list)

·         Fudge - I know, the simplest thing ever – or so I’ve heard

·         Pillow Cookies - essentially a brownie stuffed into a cookie.  I’ll have to save this for a diet-busting day

·         S’mores Cupcakes – I love s’mores. I love cupcakes. These should make me ecstatic (which means “like, really really happy” as Deena from Jersey Shore taught us last night)

·         Popovers – I’ve tried Jordan’s popovers in Bar Harbor.  I don’t expect mine to be nearly this good.

·         Layer Cake – I’ve never made one of these from scratch.  I tend to stick to smaller, more manageable treats.

·         Bread – I’d like to try honey wheat, but any (non-dessert) bread will do!

·         Soft Pretzels – from SCRATCH (sorry Crate & Barrel, I loved your kit but it’s time for me to put on my big girl pants and venture into the great world of pretzel-making on my own!)

·         Angel Food Cake – one of my favorite desserts when I was younger; I’ve always used the store-bought variety (I know, boo! hiss!)

·         Shortbread – I LOVE shortbread, but have never attempted it.  I once tried butter cookies and they were nothing short of a DISASTER; I think it scared me off all similar recipes.

·         Cappuccino Cupcakes – a special request from my boyfriend, who is a weirdo and doesn’t like sweets, and usually just humors me by having a bite or two of my baked goods. 

·         Cake Pops – I love Bakerella’s website; and love looking at all the images of these cute pops.  But I’ve always been too afraid/lazy to make them.

·         Whoopie Pies - normal sized ones this time. 

The “Real Food”

·         Beef Stew – nice n’ hearty; I better make this before the weather warms up!

·         Roast Chicken – yup.

·         Soup – any soup. I’ve only ever used the canned variety.  I’d like to conquer this; or at least attempt it.

·         Macaroni and Cheese – the possibilities are endless.. truffle oil, bacon, spinach, oh my!

Obviously I’ll record my successes (and failures!) here.  Godspeed to me!

It's that time of year...

Girl Scout Cookie Time!  Like most of America, my absolute favorite is the Thin Mint (don't worry Peanut Butter Patties, I love you too).  So when the boxes I ordered from my co-worker's daughter arrived last Friday, I was very excited!

I decided to try and make some thin mint cupcakes.  I couldn't find a recipe that I really liked/ had the ingredients on hand for, so I decided to (gulp) try making up my own!  This was a first for me, as I usually stay pretty close to a recipe, especially with something I haven't tried before.

First, I crushed up a sleeve of Thin Mints in my handy-dandy food processor.

(don't worry little cookies, I have better things in store for you!)



I processed these until they were just teensy little crumbs, then combined them with cocoa powder and some hot chocolate.

Yep, hot chocolate!  I whisked this into the cocoa powder and crushed thin mints, then put it into the fridge to cool.

In the meantime, I mixed up some bread flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and set that aside.

Once the chocolate mixture cooled (approx 20 minutes), I took it out and added some vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and white vinegar.  I whisked it all together then mixed in the dry ingredients.  At this point, the cake part was done and ready to bake! 

I popped these in the oven and while they were baking, I whipped up a 'Thin Mint Buttercream' frosting.  I mixed together butter, heavy cream, the rest of the crushed thin mints and vanilla (recipes below).

Once the cupcakes cooled, I decided to use this Wilton Decorating Tool for the frosting.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it - I know I froze the other sleeve of cookies to make these again before next year!  You could also substitute in other cookies - grasshoppers, oreos, etc.

I was really happy with how my first foray into straying from recipes went - the cake was very moist, and the frosting was light and not too sweet.  My only regret is not baking more than 12 ;)

The Sweetest Times' Thin Mint Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2/3c chopped Thin Mints
1/3c cocoa powder
3/4c hot chocolate
3/4c bread flour
1c sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp baking powder
6tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
5tsp vanilla extract
2tsp white vinegar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1c heavy cream, room temperature
3c confectionary sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with 12 baking cups.

Ground up one sleeve of Thin Mints in a food processor.

In a large bowl, combine 1/3C of Thin Mints with 1/3C Cocoa Powder and 3/4C of hot cocoa.
Whisk together and set in fridge to cool completely (approximately 20 minutes).

In a small bowl, combine 3/4c bread flour, 1c sugar, 1/2tsp salt and 1/2tsp baking powder.
Whisk together and set aside.

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, remove from the fridge and add 6tbsp vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 2tsp white vinegar.  Once this is combined, slowly add in the dry ingredients.

Pour into muffin pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Thin Mint Frosting:
Cream 1 stick unsalted butter (softened) and 1c heavy whipping cream (room temperature).  Once mixed, add 1/3c of Thin Mints and 3 tsp vanilla extract.  Slowly add in the powdered sugar (amount may vary depending on desired thickness).

Spread onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to make something festive (and use some pink cupcake wrappers I've had sitting around).  Now I normally try to bake everything from scratch, but my mom had picked me up an adorable Red Velvet Cupcake Kit and I decided to use it (plus, I was in a bit of a hurry!).

Isn't it cute?  And it was so much simpler than baking from scratch... all you needed was 3 ingredients for the cake:  Oil, Water and 1 egg.

See?  Easy!

And boy was it RED!  The cupcakes took about 25 minutes to bake, so while they were in the oven I made the cream cheese frosting - which was super easy, the kit had a frosting pack and you just needed to add butter, milk and cream cheese.  It was a little thin (with a VERY strong cream cheese flavor), so I added some confectionary sugar to thicken it and make it a little sweeter.

Once the cakes had cooled, I got to decorating.  Nothing fancy - I just added some pink sanding sugar to the tops and that was it.  I would have liked to do more decorating, but as I said - I was in a hurry.

Overall, these were pretty good, especially coming from a mix.  But they were no match for homemade cupcakes.  Next time, I'd probably use a mix again if I was in a hurry, but I'd make the frosting from scratch.

Happy Valentine's Day!