Churro Cupcakes

Although this post is a little late, it’s still very worth perusing just in case you get the hankering for the most delicious cupcake you will ever eat in your life.  Please read on…

Sometimes when it’s the 5th of May, you have to celebrate by making and eating Churro Cupcakes!  I’ve heard that Mexico doesn’t even really celebrate Cinco de Mayo like we do here in America.  Which is pretty funny.  But whatever.  As if anyone needs an excuse or a holiday to eat a cupcake that is impersonating as a churro.

Cinco de Mayo fell on a Monday this year, which just so happens to be our Family Dinner night, so I was able to make these delicious cupcakes for people that I love!  While there are a lot of steps in the recipe, they are all super easy so I wouldn’t hesitate to make these again!

Sugar, butter, caramel, cream cheese…you really can’t go wrong!  So stop whatever you’re doing and bake these NOW!  You won’t regret it!

Churro Cupcakes (recipe courtesy of Food Network)

Yields: 28 cupcakes

Ingredients – Cake Batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for brushing
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup whole milk

Ingredients – Filling:

2 cups sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature

Ingredients – Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 to 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

• For the cake batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixing speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until combined.

• Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

• For the filling: Combine the sugar and 1 tablespoon water into a medium bowl over medium-high heat. Constantly stir until the sugar dissolves into a liquid form. The sugar will dissolve and start to turn brown. Once the sugar and water have completely dissolved, add in the butter and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Let cool for 10 minutes. Refrigerate for 1 hour to let the caramel thicken before using.

• For the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. Add in the vanilla. Add in the powder sugar, 1 cup at a time, incorporating fully before next addition. Add milk as needed if the frosting is too thick. Place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

• Once the cupcakes have cooled, pull out the centers with a cupcake corer. Melt down the butter. Mix together some cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Using a rubber brush, brush the melted butter onto the cupcakes, then roll the tops of the cupcakes into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Fill the cupcakes with the caramel sauce. Frost cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, dust with more cinnamon and sugar. If you choose, drizzle the cupcakes with leftover caramel sauce.

 

Peach Cupcakes with Peach Buttercream

I really love planning a party!  I can find any excuse necessary to create a menu, pull out decorations, and make everything on my table match.  Don’t believe me?  Just last night I spent at least an hour considering throwing a FRIENDS party.  It’s only my all-time favorite tv show ever!

There is no good reason to throw a FRIENDS party.

There is no tv reunion happening.

The show has been in reruns for over a decade.

But I have friends!  And they’re great!  And I can’t think of any better reason to make Phoebe’s chocolate chip cookies, or Rachel’s Thanksgiving trifle (minus the beef sauteed with peas and onions).

But I digress…

I started planning Ivy’s first birthday party when she was 6 months old.  I couldn’t wait to throw her the sweetest, most beautiful, peachy party!  I spent months on Pinterest finding every peach idea possible and pinning every cute first birthday party photo idea I could find.  It was so much fun and worth every minute hour I spent. 🙂

I finally settled on these delicious peach cupcakes with peach buttercream, and I couldn’t have been more pleased!

Is it too early to start planning for her second birthday party? 😉

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Peach Cupcakes with Peach Buttercream

(www.cathlincooks.blogspot.com)

Cupcakes
2-2 ½ cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup sugar
1 cup fresh peach puree
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons vinegar

Buttercream
¾ cup butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup peach puree
Vanilla, to taste

Cake
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin, or lightly grease and flour a 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar into a bowl. In a measuring cup, mix together the peach puree, oil and vanilla. Add the peach mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. At this point, you may want to add some yellow and food colouring to achieve a peachier colour. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. The batter will foam slightly where the baking soda and vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 20 minutes if making cupcakes, or 25 to 30 minutes it making cake. Allow to cool before glazing or frosting.

Peach Buttercream
Whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Add peach puree and vanilla and beat again until smooth. You may want to add some yellow and red food colouring to achieve a peachier colour.
Can be piped or spread onto cakes.

Dreaming of a maple dance

I love, adore, and sometimes even crave maple.

A little piece of my heart died the day Starbucks decided to no longer carry their maple lattes.  And as a teenager working my first job in a doughnut shop, a maple long john (known in the Pacific Northwest as a maple bar) was my pastry of choice.

So when I came across this recipe for maple cupcakes topped with rich maple buttercream frosting, you bet your buttons I fired up the mixer and got down to business.

I was super interested to learn more about maple syrup and how exactly this sweet nectar made its first appearance.  According to Wikipedia (the world’s most reliable source) the process of making maple syrup was first done by the indigenous peoples living in the northeastern part of North America.  Aboriginals developed rituals surrounding their sugar making  in celebration of the Sugar Moon, which was the first full moon of Spring.  One of these rituals was a maple dance.  For the love of all things sweet, I don’t know exactly what a maple dance is, but I think I want to be a part of it. 🙂  They learned how to tap the maple trees to extract the sap that was eventually turned into maple syrup, and I don’t know about you, but I’m forever grateful.

I made these heavenly cupcakes for a dinner get together with all of our dearest friends and they were a hit!  At the end of the night our good friend Corey mentioned that he thought I should have topped them with a slice of bacon.  While I think the maple/bacon  trend is interesting, I also find it extremely weird.  I’m sure my distaste for these flavors mixed together hasn’t helped, but I just haven’t been able to jump on that band wagon.  However, Corey celebrated his birthday just a few weeks later, so these just happened to make an appearance on his doorstep…

Maple Cupcakes

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 cups pure maple syrup,, preferably Grade B
3 large eggs, room temp
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medum-high speed, cream butter until smooth. Add the maple syrup, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture, and beat well to combine. Beat in milk and vanilla until combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until glden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes for standard, 10 to 13 minutes for minis. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Maple Buttercream

For the buttercream, use whichever buttercream recipe you love and substitute Mapeline maple extract for the vanilla extract in the recipe!

Christmas Cocktails and lots of Cheer!

Some things you wait for all year long.  And this just happens to be one of them for me.

That’s me, right smack dab in the middle, beaming from ear to ear at the thought of having walked through another year with these people surrounding me.  Our annual Christmas Cocktail party hit #4 this year, and it’s one of my favorite events of the year!  So many of my favorite people in one place!  Eating good food, drinking lovely drinks, taking a much needed break from the busy Christmas season, and chatting and catching up on each others lives.

This was my date…

…so handsome is he, that I couldn’t take my eyes off of him…even for the picture. ♥

This year Christmas seems to have crept right up on me, and I didn’t have near the time to plan for this shindig as I usually do.  So Costco saved my dear life as I threw meatballs, cheese, crackers, candy, and dips into my cart.  I did, however, find the time to make these adorably delicious Christmas cupcakes!

I’m so sad to say that because of the overly busy season, and the fact that I haven’t felt top notch lately, I haven’t done near the baking that I so desperately wanted to.  But I found this recipe for Sugared Cranberry Vanilla Cupcakes weeks ago, and was determined to make them, no matter what!  I’m so thankful I was able to make them for this wonderful group of people!

It was a night full of fun, laughs, eating, drinking, and merriment to our heart’s content…and I’m already looking forward to Christmas Cocktails 2012!

#12 Champagne Cupcakes

I have to admit that I was a bit more excited for the photo opportunity with this celebratory cupcake than I was to actually make it.  But then I tasted the frosting and thought if it was actually possible to get a buzz off of champagne laced frosting…well then, that made me a little bit more excited than I was before.  I’ve been dying to try champagne cake and frosting for awhile now, but haven’t had a good event to make them for.  Now that I know how truly wonderful they are, an event may not be necessary in the future.

Here’s the things I’m celebrating today!

♥ Come October, I’m going to have a new adorable niece to love on!

♥ We’re leaving to go visit my parents in the great state of Texas in less than a week!

♥ The rodeo is coming to town, and please believe I will be there with all my friends in boots and curls!

♥ I have a few new sundresses that I’m dying to wear, and will finally get to while on vacation next week…where there is actual sunshine!

Who says you need a big event to celebrate!  I’m certain we could all find at least one thing to celebrate on any given day, justifying the act of eating one of these delights.  However, somebody should seriously hire me to make these for their wedding because they are simply stunning!

Champagne Cupcakes (recipe courtesy of Sugar and Charm)

Makes ~24 cupcakes

2 3/4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup champagne (sweet, not dry…look for moscato or asti)

6 egg whites

Champagne Buttercream:

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp champagne, room temperature

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with the champagne.
• In another large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then fold in remaining egg whites.  Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• To make the frosting cream sugar and butter with an electric mixer.  Mix on low until well blended and then on medium for another 2 minutes.  Add vanilla and champagne, beating on medium for another minute.  Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle with edible glitter if desired.

What I love about these buzzed cupcakes:  Easy, elegant, and simple…but absolutely makes a statement!

What I hate about these buzzed cupcakes:  You have to open an entire bottle of champagne to only use about a cup of it.  On second thought…shouldn’t be too much of a problem. 😉

A Cupcake Toast!

These red and white swirled candies make me think of Candyland, gingerbread houses, restaurants, my dad, and Christmas!  I really love peppermint!  It’s even better when combined with chocolate!  So this past week I made these…

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes with Vanilla Peppermint Frosting

for these wonderful girls…

This is my cheerleading team…minus 3.  Two were unable to come due to ridiculous amounts of sickness, and the other one moved to a new state and school two days before this.  They are seriously an absurdly wonderful group of girls.  Their lives are full of silliness, laughter, fun, a little bit of drama, and lots of energy!  And I feel completely blessed to be a part of it.  They are half way through their season AND it’s Christmas time, both very deserving of the above cupcake toast!

These delightful cups of cake need no excuse to be made, but if you need a few, use one of these:

• Christmas shopping is done…time to relax!
• Christmas shopping hasn’t started…you need something to get you going!
• There is an ungodly amount of snow outside, so no reason to go out anyway.
• You need a way to use up the bag of starlight mints great aunt Margie sent as your Christmas gift.
• The birth of Christ…hello!  Is there any better reason to eat cake? Gah.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

(Courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Makes 18

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, water, and peppermint extract, and beat with a mixer on low speed until smooth.
2. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in tins on wire racks for 10 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks, and let cool. Undecorated cupcakes will keep, covered, for 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months.
3. Spoon buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain tip. Pipe small mounds on tops of cupcakes. Flatten mounds with an offset spatula, then top with chocolate-mint leaves.

Vanilla-Peppermint Frosting

(Courtesy of Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar , sifted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp. milk

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the extracts and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air; it should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive!

What do you do to a tiger you meet?

You get down on your knees, you can’t pray on your feet!

You ask that mighty tiger for his mercy to give…

And maybe, just maybe…he’ll let you live!

Some might say that with a rad mom like this…

…I was destined to be a cheerleader myself.  And it appears that I started at a VERY early age.

Just kidding.  I was not happily cheering on my sister as she rode her super cool bike.  I was most definitely the maddest little girl on the planet at this moment as Sarah rode off with me in her dust.  But one thing is certain from this picture.  I have myself a set of lungs that really needed to be used constructively, and cheerleading was a great fit.  That stated, if you knew me around years 13-15, you would have been shocked to find that I was at all interested in being a cheerleader.  I was shy, quiet, reserved…let’s face it….I was pretty much a nerd.  I would post my freshman year picture on here, but it’s obnoxiously embarrassing, so I’ll spare myself the humiliation and let you imagine it.

I’m not certain why I thought cheerleading would be a good fit for me, but I tried out at the end of my freshman year of high school, made the varsity squad, and proceeded to make some of the best memories of my high school years.

I was a cheerleader for two years and gained great friends, lots of sports knowledge, a taste of competition, loads of confidence, 12 days without a voice from too much yelling, a healthy fear of being thrown in the air, a dad that cheered right along with us from the stands at nearly every game, a great understanding of car washing, a few dates, some pretty sweet moves, and really cool sparkly pom-poms.

It was by far one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life to date, because it brought me out of my shell and taught me how to be comfortable with who I am.  I loved it!

So when I had the opportunity to come in mid-way through this school year as the Mountain View High School varsity cheerleading coach, I was thrilled.  It was difficult to come in mid-year, following a very rough situation from the previous coach, but it was fun!  The girls finished strong, supporting the varsity basketball team all the way to the state final!  I put on a banquet this past week to celebrate their accomplishments, and it ended up being one of the sweetest memories for me.

Riley, Monica, Sandra, Rachel, Sasha, Raegan, Kaitlyn, Amanda, Montana, Kate, Katie, Brooke, Shawna, Angel, Monique, Johanna, and Kaylee put a smile on my face more times than I can count these past few months, and I feel blessed to have been a part of their cheerleading experience this year.  I made these kick butt cupcakes for them!

Chocolate cupcakes, sweet buttercream, and red and black sugar sprinkles.  Simple and sweet.  I cut out each individual “M” and “V” and it took a lifetime to do.  Bottom line?  Those girls are worth it.

*On a side note, I’ve been on cupcake overload for the past several weeks and I don’t want to make anymore until the wedding I’m doing in 4 weeks.  So if you’re as sick of reading about them as I am of making them, do not despair.  I will be seeking out other things to make until then!

Strawberry Crush

I have a crush on strawberries.  I absolutely, positively adore, cherish, and delight in a freshly picked strawberry.  But not just any strawberry.  I never really knew what a strawberry tasted like until I moved to Oregon.  And the people here are crazy about them!  An Oregon strawberry is a true deep red all the way through the berry!  And so sweet!  In the summer time Aaron and I love to head over to the valley and buy pounds of strawberries from the local farmers.  We bring them home and I make 1/2 pints of strawberry jam, fresh strawberry rhubarb pies, strawberry milkshakes, and whatever else I can think of to use them up while they last.  Just like most any produce in this area, the growing season is short, and while it’s here, Aaron and I like to celebrate!

Aaron’s mom, Diane, grew up in Salem, Oregon, and has many a story to tell about their time picking strawberries in the fields.  I love those stories.  But there is one that is my absolute favorite, and I actually heard it first from Aaron’s Uncle Steve.  Diane grew up the youngest of 6 children, all of them being boys but her!  Talk about rough!  The two closest to her age were Steve and Glenn.  Steve told us about how he and Diane would work all day to pick berries alongside Glenn and their mother.  It wasn’t easy work.  It was typically hot, and your back would start to ache from stooping to pick.  But while Steve and Diane worked and worked and worked to pick, every time they would look up, Glenn would be gazing off into the distance and not picking.  As Uncle Steve told this story, you could still hear the irritation in his voice!   And while Glenn would day dream, their mom would patiently pick twice as many strawberries to make sure and fill Glenn’s baskets as well.  Because that’s what a mom does.  It’s the funniest story for a couple of reasons.  One, I love how irritated both Steve and Diane sound when they talk about looking up to see their brother day dreaming and staring at the other workers.  It’s like they still feel it, and yet they smile when they tell the story.  And two, I love that Glenn was too busy creatively day dreaming to work.  Ever since the first telling of that story, we would always ask to hear it again when we would visit Uncle Steve.

Strawberry season is upon us!  While Oregon berries are several months away, Costco got their first shipment of them in a few weeks ago, and when I saw them I knew exactly what I wanted to use them for!

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for quite some time, and when I was asked to make something for Aaron’s class this past week, I jumped at the chance!  The smell of the chocolate AND the fresh strawberries was captivating.  And while I was washing, cutting, and making my Strawberry Meringue Buttercream, I was day dreaming…

Strawberry Crush Cupcakes

(Adadpted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes)

I can’t reveal my chocolate cake/cupcake recipe because it’s a family recipe that I don’t give out.  However, you can use any chocolate cake recipe you love, or even vanilla if you’d rather!

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

Makes about 5 cups

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries (8 oz), rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped

4 large egg whites

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temp

1. Puree strawberries in a  food processor.  Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm t the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until still (but not dry) peaks form.  Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Once all butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula and switch to the paddle attachment; continue beating on low speed until all air bubble are eliminated, about 2 minutes.  Add strawberries and beat until combined.  Stir with a flexible spatula until the frosting is smooth.  Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.  Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
4. Pipe onto cupcakes and garnish with a strawberry slice.

For the love of St. Patrick!

I’m not Irish, but I do love corned beef (believe it mom…my taste has changed since childhood), cabbage and potatoes are two of my all time favorite foods, there’s nothing like a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake this time of year, and brunettes look good in jewel tones (the color green in particular), so I’ll happily celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the best of them!  However, I am not a U2 fan, so they may not want me! 🙂

But in all seriousness, I think St. Patrick was worthy of having a day named after him.  At the age of 16 he was captured by Irish raiders and carried into slavery in Ireland for 6 years before he escaped and was reunited with his family.  He was called in a dream to bring Christianity to Ireland, so he returned to the country to establish the church.  He traveled all over the country baptizing and converting those he came in contact with, and using the shamrock to teach about the Trinity.  He was said to have baptized hundreds at a time and in many cases entire villages!  I have to admit that had I been in St. Patrick’s shoes, I’m not sure I would have wanted to return to a country that I associated with my years in slavery.  But he did, and Ireland is Catholic because of it.  He is famous for the following prayer:

Christ be with me,

Christ within me,

Christ behind me,

Christ before me,

Christ beside me,

Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ in quiet,

Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

So much comfort in those words.  To know that Christ is with me…always.

So…for the love of St. Patrick…I made these!