Giving Thanks - Cupcake Style

I used to HATE Thanksgiving.  I was always thankful - don't get me wrong.  I just didn't enjoy the holiday.  Most of my family wasn't in the area, so we never had a big family gathering around the table.  It was me, sissy and mom.  A great group of ladies, but not really what I really had in mind for Thanksgiving.

Then, we had the idea to host Thanksgiving at our house - and all of my negative Nancy feelings about the holiday went right out the window.  Husbo's family are all in the area, and my family - without any super strong Thanksgiving traditions - were willing to travel.  So four years ago, we had our first Thanksgiving and have had it at our house ever since.  I'm not sure why I had a change of heart, but I don't question it, since it was a change for good.  Each year the group has been just a little different, but it's always family.  I love laying the table out, trying to figure out how everyone will fit the night before; making name cards and seating arrangements; helping husbo manage cooking times of all of his yummy dishes; and making cranberry sauce that I never eat because I prefer the stuff in the can.

Last year's Thanksgiving was especially special as we announced to our family that we were expecting our little cupcake, Amaya.  We had gift bags for everyone on the table, with sonogram pictures and t-shirts.  And this year, our little cupcake was stuffing her face with yams.  It was a very cool full circle moment.  Life is full of those, huh?

So, in the spirit of giving thanks and of the month of pumpkins, squash and all things quintessentially fall - I did a twist on last month's pumpkin cupcakes.  Same recipe, but with these sweet additions...

For the cake - toss about 2 cups of chocolate chips (dark, milk, bittersweet - pick your poison) in some flour.  The batter isn't thick enough to hold them up, and so if you don't coat 'em in flour they will all sink to be bottom - still good, but not really what you're going for!  Remove the excess flour (I put them through a sieve) and stir them in.  Be careful not to over stir our your cakes will be flat!

Then, for the frosting - add a dollop of pumpkin puree to it (or to taste).  It's got just enough pumpkin in there to amp it up a bit and really put you in the holiday spirit.

Mummies and Ghouls and Spiders, Oh My!

Don't you just love the fall?  The colors, the clothes (man do I love me some boots and a cozy sweater!), the holidays and traditions...I love it all.  I also like the next couple of months because when I bake cupcakes for my class, it is easy to make themed decorations, starting with Halloween.

It was my daughter's very first Halloween, and one of my students got her the most appropriate and perfect costume (in addition to the owl her dad and I had already gotten)...a cupcake!  Now is this not the cutest little cupcake you have ever seen? >>  Next year I"m thinking round 2 with this costume...

I had two things to bake cupcakes for this month - one was my daughter's Halloween play date and the other was my normal baking for my class' birthdays.  I had big dreams of using fondant because of a cool idea I saw on Pinterest...but then the reality of mommyhood and lack of free time kicked me in the butt, and I "just" did frosting.  I'm still super pleased with the results, though, and based on the "no cupcake left behind" - my students thought they were pretty good, too!

For this, I turned to my trusty (and crusty) Martha Stewart book for this tried and true recipe...

Pumpkin - Brown Butter Cupcakes

3/4 cup butter (@ room temperature)
1 2/3 cup all purpose flower
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg  (I use more than this - I LOVE nutmeg, especially fresh)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated shugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325.

In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Swirl occasionally, until butter turns golden brown.  Skim foam from top and remove from heat.  Pour into bowl to stop the cooking - leave the crusty sediment in the saucepan.  Let it cool.

Whisk together flour, powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.  In the bowl of your electric mixer, whisk puree, both sugars, eggs and brown butter mixture (after it's cooled).  Mix until just combined - don't overdo it or you're headed for flat top cupcakes!

Divide batter evenly and bake - rotating 1/2 way through.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a test stick comes out cleanly!

Top with cream cheese frosting and enjoy!!!  So, so good, my friends!

Mudsliding into 30

I rang in my 30th, a little bit late, but in high style.  We threw a cupcake and champagne party where guests were asked to bring a bottle of bubbly or some cupcakes from their favorite spot (or their own kitchen!)  It was QUITE a successful night.  Lots of bubbly was imbibed and many sweet cupcakes were enjoyed.  

I, of course, had to whip something up for the occasion - so I went to my Pinterest board for some inspiration!  I have had lots of successes with the recipes I have found on there, and these Mudslide Cupcakes were no exception!  Lots of dishes - but worth it!  The cake is a kahlua chocolate and the frosting is a swirl of kahlua and bailey's buttercreams!  It was a bit challenging to achieve the swirl (even for my froster, my husbo Mike!)  Loved the overall taste and look, though!   

Cookie Dough Heaven - A.K.A. The Best Cupcake I Have Ever Made!!

Yikes - it's been a while.  I know.  But, I had a baby, and that kind of takes up some time!  Not to say I haven't been sampling cupcakes - I have.  But I haven't been writing about it!  I have not, however, baked a single thing since my last update in May...sad.  But, this weekend, on the eve of returning to glorious Fremont High School to begin my 7th year of teaching, I tied on my favorite apron, and pulled up a Pinterest recipe that made my mouth WATER!!

As I have posted before, I make cupcakes for my students (only 1 class, actually) once a month.  I have had a class of students for the last four years - we have had lots of highs and lows together, and this year is their senior year.  So, of course, the first cupcakes have to be that much more special than they have been all the other years!  This recipe seemed like a good way to bid farewell to a glorious summer, filled with trips, relaxation and most importantly, the birth of my amazing daughter.  And also a sweet ringing in of a new year - one that will surely be full of adventures both at school and at home.

On Pinterest, the poster said that she decided on French Vanilla cupcakes so as not to be too overly sweet.  WHAT?  How is that even possible?  I followed the OG recipe and went cookie dough - top to bottom: Frosting, Inside Stash and Cake.   And the result? These are the best cupcakes I have EVER made.  Ever.

They are so good, in fact, that I am making them for two events I have coming up this weekend!



The recipe can be found here - lots of dishes and lots of steps, but so worth it.  (And the batter and frosting are yummy too!!)

Buzzzzzzed - Trying to Make it to Tax Day

My wonderful husband, is a CPA.  So every year, from mid January to mid April, I become a "tax widow."  Meaning that my husband leaves for work the same time I do (around 6:30) and gets home between 9:00 and 10:00 - enough time for a cocktail and then bed time.  Except this year, it was longer.  His "season" was unseasonably long, lasting from December through this past week.  It was pretty horrific.  But, the good news is, he's back!  Thank goodness - I miss the guy a lot when he's not around and our poor dog, Taiko, is beside himself with joy every night when Mike comes home.  He will not leave Mike's side for a second.

Many of the wives at the firm where my husband works, send baked goods to keep morale up and keep the CPAs on permanent sugar highs.  And I have tried to do my duty as well - sending in small batches of cupcakes here and there.  But during their last week, I decided to do something special, to keep them all wide awake in order to maximize productivity.

Yummmm - look at all of those coffee grounds....zzzziiing!!!

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes
From - Pink Parsley


Makes 18 cupcakes

Cupcakes

3/4 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
1.5 cups sugar
3 eggs - room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbs dark roast coffee grounds
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup milk/buttermilk
2 tbs coffee liqueur or milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line your pans with your favorite liners.

In a stand mixer bowl, beat the butter at medium speed with paddle attachment for 30 seconds (until fluffy).  Add the sugar slowly, and beat until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and coffee grounds.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine brewed coffee, milk and liqueur.

Alternately add the flour and liquid mixture, starting and ending with the flour.  Mix on low and beat until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly and bake for 18-22 minutes or until your toothpick/cake tester comes out clean as a whistle!

Frosting

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (softened)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split & scraped or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 tbs instant espresso powder (or to taste) dissolved into 2 tsp boiling water
Pinch of salt

Combine egg whites and sugar in clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer.  Place over a pot of simmering water and heat - whisking constantly.  Sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should reach 160 degrees.

Attach bowl to mixer (with whisk attachment) and, starting at low and working to med-high, beat until the bottom of the bowl cools to room temperature and the egg whites are thick and glossy.  They should form soft peaks.

Continue whisking and add the butter, a few cubes at a time until all incorporated.  Continue mixing until the frosting comes together.  Switch to paddle and over medium speed, add vanilla, vanilla bean, coffee mixture and salt.  Adjust flavorings to taste.  Frost baby!

Cookies and Creamy Deliciousness!

Things have been super crazy at the Fujii house since Christmas!  Things are always busy around that time, as they are for all of us.  But now that I have finally had a chance to breath and reset, I am back in my baking groove, and with some new tools, I might add!

Check out the awesome mixing bowl Mr. Cupcake got me for Christmas!  (The bowl - we already had the mixer!)

My student, Emma, also treated me to a lifetime supply of cupcake liners!  (Okay, this will last me until summer...)  I love love LOVE all of the different colors and have to make sure I have a rainbow happening before I stick my goodies in the oven.

I don't have Oreo's often, but dang, they are GOOD!!!

I have been diving into the world of Pinterest lately - have you tried it?  It's very addictive.  There are wonderful ideas and recipes on there, and that is where I got the inspiration for this cupcake....the cookies and cream....Originally from Annie's Good Eats!




I have definitely made this before, with my wonderful mandros.....but I didn't document the experience properly, and I wanted to try out this new recipe.  They turned out pretty dang good!  I would definitely make these again.  AND, I think I have found the best recipe for cream cheese frosting yet.  Move over Martha!

If I remember, we actually screwed this batch up...but it's a cute picture!

Ingredients:

Cake
24 Oreo Halves (cream filling attached)
Really, you will use an ENTIRE bag of oreos for this recipe - especially if you eat a few in the baking process.  Like me!
2.25 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter - room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites - room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Frosting
20 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped
(I used a combination of the top halves left from the cake part, in addition to some whole cookies.  It's great to have the filling in the cupcake bites too!)
8 oz. cream cheese - room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter - room temperature
1 tbsp. vanill extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar (really just do this to taste.  I used way less, but I like to taste the cream cheese)
2 tbsp. heavy cream (I'm pretty sure this is what made the frosting so wonderfully perfect)
Oreo Cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves (I wasn't kidding about needing the whole damned bag)

This made about 18 good sized cupcakes for me.

Love the rainbow of liners!  Thanks, Emma!!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Get out your favorite colorful cupcake liners and line 'em up!  Put the oreo halves (with the cream filling) filling side up.  One in each liner.





In a medium bowl combine your dry ingredients (flour, powder and salt).  Stir so that it's all mixed evenly.

         

Featuring my new whisk!  Thanks, Santa!

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine your butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy (which takes about 2-3 minutes).  Beat in the egg whites - one at a time!  Don't get hasty!  Then add your vanilla.

Scale back your speed to low and add 1/2 of the dry ingredients.  Mix until just incorporated - don't overdo it!  Add your milk until combined and then the rest of your dry ingredients.  Stir in those yummy chopped Oreos until they are evenly incorporated.  If, in your expert opinion, you need more Oreos - add more Oreos.   Don't over mix 'em.

Nom nom nom!

Divide batter evenly into each liner.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer (having more than one bowl REALLY comes in handy here -then you don't have to do dishes in between!)  Blend on medium'high until smooth.  Add vanilla and then sugar until smooth.  Then the heavy cream until incorporated.  Then jazz it up to medium high and whip for 4 minutes.  This frosting is perfection.  Put on your favorite piping tip and go to town!

Garnish with Oreo halves and crushed cookies.  Eat and be merry.

An Apple A Day...

In the spirit of going back to school, I decided to make these lovely creations for my AVID class for their birthday celebration!

The cake was Martha Stewart's Apple Spice Cupcake recipe.  So delish and so moist!

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

2 c all purpose floud
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter @ room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs @ room temperature
1 1/2 c unsweetened apple sauce

Preheat to 350 F and line your cupcake tin with your favorite liners!

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in a medium mixing bowl.

In an electric mixing bowl (fitted with whisk attachment) cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed.  Switch to low and add applesauce and then flour - beat until just combined.

Fill tins to 3/4 with batter and bake for 20 minutes!

I then topped them with red and green fondant, and stuck a pretzel stick right in the middle (as the stem).  Then, a little green leaf, and we had a full fledged apple!  I coated the top of the cupcakes with a very light layer of cream cheese frosting, so that fondant would stick!

This is the first time I have made something with fondant for my AVID students, and they were pretty excited!  They took some of their own pictures :)  They then used them as brain food to study - I love those kids!

You can see the red and green varieties!  An apple a day keep these students ready to learn!

Humming Right Along...Hummingbird Cupcakes

I have always believed that baked goods can (and should) brighten a person's day.  When I was growing up, my mom would lead us in baking copious amounts of Christmas goodies for our friends and neighbors.  We would wrap them up in cute or pretty boxes and people were always glad to receive them.  More recently, one of my students has begun delivering sweet treats to me.  She and her mom bake frequently - everything from cupcakes to blondies to lemon bars....and I sample them all!  Every time she shares her baking adventures with me, it is like the cherry on top of my day.

I was in a giving type of mood last week, and decided to whip up a batch of something new - Hummingbird Cupcakes.  Hummingbird cake, a Southern tradition, reportedly got its name because people would hum while baking it.  What a happy sounding cake!  Perfect to wrap up and gift to others.

Hummingbird Cupcakes


3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (though I like to put in a bit more...)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large ones)
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut


Top with Cream Cheese Frosting!!!


8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into pieces at room temperature
1 pound of confectioners' sugar, sifted


The thing about this frosting is, it's really about your taste buds.  If you like it more cream cheesy, add less butter, or the same amount of butter but more cream cheese.  The powdered sugar is what gives it a workable consistency, so you could add more than the pound if you feel that the frosting is still too thick for your liking.  


Then, put it all in a cute little box (I like mine with polka dots - from Michael's)...

Add a hand written note to pull it all together!

Life is but a Dream(sicle)

Last weekend, my wonderful Mother-In-Law, Sandy, celebrated her upcoming retirement.  She has been working at the same place for close to forty years!  Her colleagues threw her a celebratory bash, and requested a special batch of cupcakes.  I was more than happy to oblige!  Mike and I thought long and hard about which flavor to make her.  She likes chocolate, but that is so unoriginal - it's been done. We wanted something more festive and fun - kind of like my Mother-In-Law!  So we finally decided on Orange Creamsicle cakes, topped with homemade marshmallow and orange buttercream frosting.  Sound good?  They were, my friends.  They were.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcake

Recipe from Home is Where the Holmans Are (blogspot)

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter room temperature

2 tablespoons of citrus olive oil (you can make your own by putting some orange and lemon peels/zest in some olive oil - that's what we did!)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

2 eggs

Zest of 1 orange

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

It took a lot of oranges...Good thing I'm so strong :)

Combine butter, sugar and oil on high until light and fluffy!  Add eggs and vanilla and mix for another minute.  This is where things start to smell fruity!  Stir in your orange zest.

Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix thoroughly so you spread out all ingredients equally.  Then, mix your remaining wet ingredients (OJ and cream).  Beat in dry ingredients in 3 batches - alternate with 2 batches of the wet.  Stir until just combined.  Don't overdo it!                                                                  

Line your cupcake tray with your favorite liners.  Scoop in until 3/4 full, bake for 20 minutes at 350 or until your cupcake tester comes out without a crumb!

                                          

                              

                              

After your cakes have cooled off, use an apple corer to punch out the center.  You will fill this little spot with the marshmallow filling (see below).

                           

                           

I love this because you get these little bite size samples.  Look closely and you can see the zest!

Marshmallow Filling

Ingredients

8 egg whites, room temperature (ever wondering what to do with the yolks?  One or two are a great treat for your canine sous chef.  Taiko loves 'em)

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons vanilla

                                    

Put a solid dollop of this yummy stuff on there!

                                    

Orange Buttercream

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature

1/8 cup of freshly squeezed OJ

Zest of 1 orange

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter on medium until it is light and fluffy.  Add orange juice, vanilla  and zest and mix until combined.  Add powdered sugar until it is the consistancy you want.  

*I might consider adding a dollop of orange food coloring to brighten this up a bit.  Ours wasn't as bright of an orange as we were hoping for!

                                      

   

We stuck a popsicle stick in there for the cute factor!

Campfire Cupcakes

Every Labor Day, for the last seven years, my boyfriend, then fiance and now husband, have gone with our friends on a camping trip.  More often than not, we pitch our tents on the "shores" of Lake Shasta, where we enjoy a few unadulterated days of campfires, swimming, boating and eating good food with great company.  Over the years, our group has grown and changed, adding dogs, kids, boyfriends/girlfriends and husbands and wives.  It is something that the Fujii clan looks forward to every year.

This year, I thought it would be fun to trying and capture some of that camping magic in a cupcake.  To me, there is nothing that is more quintessentially camping, than the taste of s'mores.  Actually, I should say that there is nothing edible that is more so - the smell of deet, sunscreen and dirt all scream camping, but I would prefer not to take a bite out of any of those flavors...  I knew that the flavor existed in the cupcake world, as I have sampled it at Kara's before.  One of my besties has also tried the flavor, but with a little twist in that she made a grahm cracker cupcake (in leu of chocolate.)  But I wanted to try it out on my own!  I searched around for a recipe that looked like it might work (and not involve too many steps...or dishes...)  I stumbled upon a great new blog that had a ton of great cupcake recipes that I will definitely be trying!!!  Margarita cupcake, anyone?  Yes please!!

What follows is an account of my s'mores baking adventure!!

Pulled out the polka dot liners for this one, and my trusted cupcake spatula!  Another bridal shower gift!

Grinding up the butter + grahm crackers...things are already looking good.

1 tablespoon in each cup, and then pound it down with a shot glass.  We have plenty of those! Makes a perfect crust   for many things!

I liked this part - adding marshmallows and chocolate chips before you even put the batter in!

They are a bit more flat than I like, but there were a lot of wet ingredients....I guess it's all about taste!

 The frosting took a LOT of eggs (8 egg whites, to be exact).  I should have whipped it for longer so that it was a bit more stiff, but it was still nice and glossy!

We are without a kitchen torch, so my husband brought up his jumbo one from the garage!  I was not allowed to handle it because chances are good that I would light something on fire...

But he enjoyed the job, and did great I might add!

 The next day I brought about 1/2 of my loot to school to share.  Our camping group was small and I didn't want to be "forced" to eat too many :)  I enlisted the help of two of my fabulous students, Saatchi and Emma.

Excuse the blurriness - the light wasn't right and my hand was shaky!

This looks like a s'more to me!!

These lovely ladies are members of the clean wrapper club :)  

I definitely recommend trying, eating and enjoying this summertime/anytime treat!