Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream, 03/02

Being that it's the first Wednesday in March, and, to me, March means spring (even if it is 65 outside), so I chose a fun, fruity cupcake for today, with a bright, spring-like cupcake wrapper! These lemon blueberry cupcakes are adapted from a recipe I found on the Internet. My main goal was to find a blueberry cupcake that wasn't just a white cupcake with blueberries thrown in--my foray into fruit cupcakes that tasted just like the muffin or bread version (see: Banana Caramel Cupcakes) made me gravitate toward something with puree instead of whole fruit. This recipe gave me the ingredients for the blueberry puree, which I added to (essentially) a yellow cupcake. I replaced one tsp of vanilla with a tsp of lemon extract and then stirred in the zest of 2 lemons along with the blueberry puree. To add my own "flair" (which is healthy), I used Egg Beaters, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 the sugar. The cupcakes are light and sweet, and not as close to blueberry muffins as the banana cupcakes were to their bread version, so I was satisfied. I think I might be able to keep this recipe and replace the blueberries with any type of fruit--strawberry, mango, etc. The frosting is a standard buttercream that I have made a million times, but with lemon extract and a touch of fresh lemon juice. Fun, fruity and festive for spring!!

Side note: I cannot remember the last time a batch of cupcakes got devoured like the did this week!

Caramel Banana Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream, 02/23

Like I mentioned, my new obsession with my cupcakes now is to find new and maybe unexpected combinations (I will NOT, however, be using bacon). I know this combo is not unexpected, but it's new and I got to play scientist a little with the mixture. I found a banana cupcake recipe that used brown sugar instead of white (Google it, I don't remember) and mixed that baby up. After filling the cupcake tin with batter, I dropped a dollop of caramel (homemade of course--see last post) in the middle in the hopes it would stand out after baking--it didn't. But whatever, I tried. The frostings are different based on what I had left over--a basic cream cheese, caramel buttercream or a whipped cream cream cheese frosting. After slicing a banana as garnish I drizzled a bit more of the caramel for effect and served them up. Now, my honest opinion/criticism is that this tasted like banana bread. I wanted a sweeter cupcake, but if you want a banana cupcake, just make banana bread--it's probably healthier anyway. But it was a recipe I had been wanting to try and a flavor I had not made yet, so it was not a total bust.

Brown Sugar Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream, 02/09

My challenge now is to find or create new recipes and combinations of cupcakes, frostings and additions. I have been looking up different ideas on Google and found this combination that intrigued me. I cannot, however, tell you where I found it--just google it :). The cupcakes are a brown sugar flavor, which is fun and caramel-y and toffee-y. I crushed up some toasted pecans (how expensive are they, by the way??) and mixed them in. Cupcake done. Now for the frosting. I REALLY wanted a caramel flavor, and so many called for heating this, boiling that, and to be honest, I did try heating the egg whites and sugar and I was not successful. SOMEONE needs a double boiler and a candy thermometer. So as I was making the base with powdered sugar and butter, I said "Forget this" (Cee-lo style, tho) and started making my own. Again, I couldn't tell you how I did it, but it is essentially a buttercream with caramel added to it. OH, but I DID make the caramel. Not too hard, but dangerous if you stop watching the boiling sugar. And then if the frosting is too runny as you add the caramel (1/4 cup maybe?), just add a little more sugar. Easy! I topped it off with a toasted pecan. I really adore these cupcakes--the flavor of the brown sugar is different and I love pecans!!

FUNFETTI Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting, GREEN BAY PACKERS THEME, 01/26

For Kelli's birthday, which was on a Saturday and a day before the Super Bowl (involving her favorite team, the Packers!!), I thought it would be awesome to combine two of her favorite things--Funfetti cupcakes and, of course, Green Bay. The cupcakes are just regular old Funfetti and the frosting is a canned vanilla dyed green for the field and yellow for the endzone. The yard makers are piped on with a tiny Wilton tip (I don't know the number, but it's the smallest circle). That was the easy part. The rest took me a bit of time to figure out logistically, but I do believe I was successful. The logos in the middle of the field and the endzone are white melting chocolate that I melted in a plastic bag, snipped off the tip, and piped on the correct shape on a piece of wax paper (I did sketch it out first). The goal posts are the same thing, except at the bottom, I made it come to a point so I could pierce the cupcake easier. Then, because no football field is complete without players, I used candy (I don't even know what they were called--you could also use M&Ms or jelly beans or Skittles) to create the formations (and YES they are real formations, I am not dumb).
Like her last birthday hoopla cupcakes, I had nightmares about this design not working, but it came together successfully. And now, if I ever find a reason to like MY team enough again (I miss you Uncle Pete!!) I can easily make this for a tailgate. Someday...