Key Lime Cupcakes

Tags

buttercream, cupcakes, curd, dessert, key lime, key lime curd

Citrus isn’t very seasonal right now, but some times you just have to mix things up! One of my good friends got married about a month and a half, and I was fortunate enough to be a bridesmaid. I was also asked to make cupcakes for the rehearsal dinner, which would be about 40 people. When deciding on cupcake flavors, I had to take into consideration the fact that the she doesn’t  like chocolate! Yes, it may be due to her slight allergy, but still! 🙂Thus the joys of Pinterest! I was able to have her look at my cupcake board and see if anything jumped out at her. She picked out the key lime cupcakes I had pinned, but I wasn’t a big fan of the actual recipe so I took the concept and ran with it! Vanilla cupcakes infused with key lime zest, a tart kick of key lime curd, all topped off with a sweet vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Everyone loved them! I even tried to make them look fancier and wedding appropriate by attempting to pipe a rose on top. 🙂 With the encroaching cooler weather, if you ever need a bright, delicious kick to remind you of summer, give these a try! Or they’d make a great weekend treat 😉One Year Ago: Italian Meatloaf

Key Lime Cupcakes
Note: Regular limes fan be used if key limes are unavailable.

Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ tablespoons key lime zest, about 10 key limes
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Key Lime Curd:
⅓ cup freshly-squeezed key lime juice
⅓ cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Vanilla Buttercream:
1 cup granulated sugar
4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
26 tablespoons (3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the curd: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the key lime juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt. Place the daucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Add the butter cubes and whisk until butter is melted and incorporated. Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Curd can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and key lime zest, using your fingers to really work the zest into the sugar. Add the butter and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients; beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20 to 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the buttercream: Set a heatproof mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F, or all sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on low speed for 2 minutes, gradually increasing to high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form and mixing bowl is cool to the touch. With the mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add a couple tablespoons of butter at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium-high speed until thick and smooth. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the vanilla; beat on low speed for 2 minutes to incorporate the vanilla and eliminate air bubbles. Spoon frosting into pastry bag fitted with large decorating tip.

To assemble cupcakes: Using an apple corer or a paring knife, cut out a well in the center of each cupcake; discard the cores. Fill each well with about 1 tablespoon of key lime curd; frost with vanilla buttercream. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator and bring to room temp before serving.

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride, curd adapted from David Lebovitz, buttercream adapted from Martha Stewart

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Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes

Tags

chocolate, cupcake, sour cream, strawberry

I know I’ve been gone for a while… again… In my defense, I’ve had no internet or computer for the last week, which makes it a little hard to do posts! 🙂 To make it up to you, I’m going to share some amazing cupcakes! Cupcakes make everything better, right? I totally thought I was being brilliant when I thought these up, that these somehow must be something that no one has ever made. Of course, I was wrong… It seems virtually impossible to make something that no one has made before, nowadays! But, in my defense, I do think these are different than most of the other chocolate-dipped strawberry cupcakes out there. Or maybe I’m just being hopeful!

I took a chocolate cupcake, filled it with some macerated strawberries, topped it with a strawberry buttercream, then finished it off with some chocolate ganache to truly epitomize a chocolate dipped strawberry. The components really melded wonderfully to mimic the flavors of the strawberry treats. And everyone loved them, which is always a good thing! 🙂

An interesting little story about when I made these… Whenever I’ve made Swiss meringue buttercream, I’ve never had a problem with the whole curdling effect and whatnot. And every time I make it, I think that to myself and hope that I don’t manage to jinx myself. Well, this time I did. I tried all the tricks that people use to help bring the frosting together again, and nothing seemed to be working. So I cheated, and it somehow worked! Which made me very happy with myself, that my frosting didn’t end up as a total epic fail, especially since I didn’t have enough strawberries to try again. So my personal trick, if all other attempts to fix a curdled buttercream fail, try adding some powdered sugar. A little bit at a time, beating for a while after each addition and crossing your fingers that it will come together. 🙂 But I’m thinking this was just a weird fluke as to why I had a problem, because this strawberry buttercream recipe has been used so many times by so many different people with such wonderful success. Maybe I was just having an off day.

So if you’re looking for a fun treat to serve at a fancy party, or as a way to say I love you to a special someone, or even just to make for fun like I did, please don’t hesitate to give these awesome cupcakes a try!!Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream

Strawberry Filling:
1¼ to 1½ cups strawberries, finely chopped
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Strawberry Buttercream:
1½ cups fresh strawberries (8 ounces), pureed
4 large egg whites
1¼ cups sugar
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Chocolate Ganache:
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into very small pieces
½ cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla

To make the strawberry filling: In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and the sugar; toss to fully coat the strawberries. Set aside and allow to macerate while the cupcakes bake.

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth; set aside and let cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly mix in the vanilla extract then the cocoa mixture, beating until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating until just combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the strawberry buttercream: Set a heatproof mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F, or all sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on low speed for 2 minutes, gradually increasing to high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form and mixing bowl is cool to the touch. With the mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add a couple tablespoons of butter at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium-high speed until thick and smooth. Add the strawberry puree and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on low speed for 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Spoon frosting into pastry bag fitted with large decorating tip.

To make the chocolate ganache: In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until very hot, but not boiling; remove from heat. Place chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth and thoroughly combined; stir in the honey and vanilla. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it smooth; don’t let it sit too long or the ganache will harden.

To assemble the cupcakes: Using an apple corer or a paring knife, cut out a well in the center of each cupcake; discard the cores. Fill each well with about 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling. Frost with strawberry buttercream then pour a spoonful of chocolate ganache over the frosting to finish the cupcakes. Refrigerate the cupcakes until the ganache has set. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator and bring to room temp before serving.

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart, frosting adapted from Annie’s Eats, ganache adapted from My Baking Addiction

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Tags

St. Patrick's Day

Hi all! Just wanted to wish you a Happy St. Patty’s Day 🙂 And share with you a recipe that is perfect for this fun Irish holiday! This is actually the very first post I ever made on my blog, so sorry that this isn’t anything new! But like usual, I’m behind on my holiday baking… so this will have to do for now, until I get my St. Patty’s Day treats baked up. By the way, I’m totally bummed because I couldn’t find festive sprinkles at Target this year. They always have holiday sprinkles! But maybe I was just too late, because all I saw was Easter stuff… oh well, there’s always next year I guess. So anyways, if you’re looking for a delicious, alcoholic baked goodie to celebrate, check out these Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream. Delicious chocolate cupcakes brushed with Irish cream liqueur, topped with an Irish cream buttercream. You can even add Guinness to the cake batter, in place of water, to make them extra festive! Nothing says happy St. Patrick’s Day like some Irish alcohols!!!

Oreo Cupcakes

Tags

buttercream, chocolate, cupcake, oreo, Swiss meringue

Who loves making cupcakes just for the sake of making cupcakes? I do!! They’re just so yummy and fun to make! And there are so many different flavor combos to try. If I waited for special occasions to make cupcakes, I wouldn’t make them nearly as often as I’d like. Which means my friends and coworkers wouldn’t get to enjoy them, either! 🙂I’ve made these cupcakes a few times now, and have loved them every single time. Maybe I just love Oreos too much… but Oreos blended into frosting is just soooo good! And if you haven’t tried Swiss meringue buttercream yet, I highly recommend you try it, and soon. It’s creamy, light and fluffy, not overly sweet, and just oh so amazing. Placing an Oreo at the bottom of each cupcake adds a little extra surprise that everyone seemed to love! This devils food cupcake has also become my go-to chocolate cupcake. It’s the perfect texture and flavor. Now I just need to find a go-to vanilla cupcake! 🙂Oreo Cupcakes
Yield: 32 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
32 Oreo cookies
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream

Oreo buttercream:
24 Oreo cookies
5 egg whites
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 sticks butter, at room temperature

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Place an Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth; set aside and let cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly mix in the vanilla extract then the cocoa mixture, beating until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating until just combined.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Oreo buttercream: In the work bowl of a food processor attached with the steel blade, blend the Oreo cookies until fine crumbs form; set aside.

Set a heatproof mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 140 degrees F, or all sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on low speed for 2 minutes, gradually increasing to high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form and mixing bowl is cool to the touch. With the mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add a couple tablespoons of butter at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium-high speed until thick and smooth. Add the Oreo crumbs and beat until fully incorporated. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on low speed for 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Spoon frosting into pastry bag fittind with large decorating tip. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart cupcakes and frosting

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Tags

caramel, cupcake, dessert, dulce de leche

Dulce de leche is essentially caramel, but it literally translates to “sweet of milk.” It seems really easy to make yourself, though I have failed on multiple occasions, and I really don’t know why. You’r basically cooking sweetened condensed milk until it thickens and carmelizes… doesn’t sound so bad, right? If you are interested in trying to make your own, check out Bakers Royale post, and I wish you more luck that I had with it!These cupcakes are one of those recipes that I’ve had intentions to make sooner, but for one reason or another, it has been delayed. The first time I wanted to make these was a few months ago. I wanted to be cool and make my own dulce de leche, since it seemed so easy. Yet somehow I failed, and without any cans of dulce de leche laying around, the cupcakes had to be put on hold. Then another time I had saved some egg whites, and realized I had the perfect number to turn into a delicious swiss meringue buttercream, but ran out of time and ended up having to quickly freeze the egg whites before they went bad. Finally, I was determined. I had the egg whites, I had the dulce de leche, and one way or another these cupcakes were being made! And so I did. And everyone was able to taste the greatness! The cupcakes did seem a little dry and crumbly, though still delicious. I think I might have over baked them.

But the frosting… Absolutely divine! It reminded me of why I love swiss meringue buttercream and made me question why I don’t make it more often. If you’ve never had swiss meringue buttercream, I must say that you are missing out. Please, make some for yourself, and soon!! It is the smoothest, most creamy, decadent frosting that there is, and adding dulce de leche to it just makes it that much more incredible.Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1⅓ cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup dulce de leche
4 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup canola oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

Swiss Meringue buttercream:
4 egg whites
1¼ cups granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1½ (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup dulce de leche
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with 24 paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the dulce de leche and beat another minute, until thoroughly incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the oil and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the dry ingredients, beating each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin to finish cooling on the rack. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the buttercream: In the metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a large hat-proof bowl if using a hand-held mixer), combine the egg whites, sugar, and salt. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.

Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment; beat the egg white mixture on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the bottom of the mixing bowl is cool to the touch, about 8 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the buttercream is thick and smooth, 3-5 minutes; it may seem to curdle but keep mixing and it will come together. Add the dulce de leche and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Frost cupcakes as desired, drizzling with any extra dulce de leche.

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles