Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

It's been so long since I've posted a cupcake recipe! I can't believe it! Though I am still obsessed with cupcakes and love them with all my heart, it has been hard to find motivation to make them at home when I work with them everyday at work. But I saw these guys for St. Patty's day and have always wanted to make them...I actually wanted to make them last year but made these thin mint cupcakes instead...but these Irish car bombs...

I finally made them!

I found this recipe thanks to the Brown Eyed Baker...her blog is amazing and has so many things I want to try. She was right in her post where she claims these cupcakes are "boozy". You can definitely taste the alcohol...which is why these are fabulous!

Irish car bombs (the dangerous drinks) have a special place in my heart. Everytime I get together with my mom's side of the family, it is tradition that we have an Irish Car bomb race. I am lucky enough to have the funnest family with the coolest aunts and funnest cousins...

We don't get together too often but we try. Everytime we have one of these races, I try...I really do but there's no competition when my lovely cousin Tiffany is involved. That girl dominates these drinks...I'm not kidding. She puts the boys to shame everytime. What makes this so amazing is she is tiny...I mean super tiny...like 5 nothing tall and 100 nothing pounds tiny. And even Shawn who is 6'4" and I dunno 180 pounds(?) couldn't even compete...she killed him...

Sorry to out you like this Shawn...I'll make it up to you with an Irish car bomb cupcake. ;)

So anyways, these cupcakes are dedicated to the McKenny fam...most of all my cousin Tiffany whom I miss dearly!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
From Browneyedbaker.com

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

End of Summer: Lemon Blossoms

A few weeks back some friends and I went to Lake Cumberland for a weekend to squeeze the last out of the summer we could. It is maybe a 4-5 hour drive from Columbus so I made some goodies for the trip. One thing I made were these lemon blossoms. I saw the episode where Paula Deen made them a long time ago and finally got a chance to make them. I enjoyed them and popped more than my share of them in my mouth when nobody was looking :) These were really easy to make. The only thing was the recipe mentions pouring the batter and this batter is definitely not pourable, it's way too thick. No worries though, I changed the recipe accordingly! Oh yeah, and while I'm not a fan of using boxed cake mixes (those of you who feel the same way, look away now!) but it made these a lot easier and quicker which I needed because I made another yummy dessert with them (post coming soon!)

Lemon Blossoms
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

Cake:
18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Spoon a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

**On Another note, Saturday (October 9) was my birthday. I turned 23 (yipee...slight sarcasm here). I actually had a good birthday weekend. Friday, me and some of my best girlfriends went to the mall so I could spoil myself a little bit then caught up over dinner where I taught them some fun sign language signs. Saturday I had to work but I walked into the bakery and there was a big cupcake balloon at the cash register for me. We had maybe 4 or 5 weddings and made over 700 cupcakes. It was fun though, good thing I love what I do, even if it isn't always done well (:/) After that I went on a quick run to burn off some of my huge breakfast. My boss brought in pumpkin bagels with pumpkin cream cheese. It was delish! She kind of rocks I know.

 Saturday evening my mom and her boyfriend came up and took me out to dinner in at Easystreet Cafe in German Village with my aunt and uncle. I had the best gyro I have ever had in my life and tried baklava for the first time. I was also fortunate enough to enjoy a chocolate martini (yummmmm). Speaking of German Village eats, I plan to do a post dedicated to all the great spots, I've been to 3 so far and they are all fabulous. Saturday night I went out to the bar in a cute little dress with close friends and enjoyed drinks and dancing.

Sunday, I was in bad half the day nursing my hangover but Shawn was sweet enough to wait it out because I really really wanted to go to a pumpkin patch and get some pumpkins to carve. I was in heaven, being there reminded me of being a kid again.

After that we went out to Thurmans in German Village known for their long waits and gourmet burgers. It was featured on Man vs. Food so you know it's good. I think me and Shawn are going to go there all the time and become big fatties. I don't care, it's so worth it. The wait didn't bother us because we just took Kirby on a walk around Shiller Park which is so beautiful in the fall. Kirby made some new friends. After dinner we headed over to Easystreet to get pumpkin cheesecake to go.

For my birthday Shawn showed me he actually does listen to me! Who would have thought?! I was telling him how I saw the cutest Ohio State hoodie for dogs and how I wanted it for Kirby so bad. I was also bumming about losing one of my pearl earrings and have mentioned more than once how I need a trip to Victorias Secret. He covered all those and even spent the whole day yesterday with me taking me to the pumpkin patch and taking Kirby on a walk with me. I'm a lucky girl, don't I know it :)

THE BUCKEYES BECAME THE #1 TEAM ON MY BIRTHDAY! GO BUCKS!

Homemade Funfetti Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

These are some of my favorite cupcakes to make! I love the concept of cupcakes that look like ice cream. My mom and cousin had a birthday in early august so I wanted to make them something summery since summer is coming to an end, and what better than ice cream cone cupcakes? When I think Ice cream cones I think sprinkles and when I think of sprinkles I think of my all-time favorite cake...funfetti! I don't know what it is about white cake with sprinkles in it but funfetti rubs me the right way. As you all know by now, I'm  not a huge fan of baking out of a box so I searched for a good homemade funfetti recipe and found one from Lovin' From the Oven. I recently discovered her blog and love it because she bakes a lot of my favorite things and things that I would LOOOOVE to make. These turned out just like the box mix. I love the use of fat free plain yogurt, gives it an interesting texture and tang.

Homemade Funfetti Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Cake and Frosting from Lovintheoven.com

Ingredients:

Funfetti cake: (this fills about 18 cake cones)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 XL egg whites
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup plain nonfat yogurt
a handful of rainbow sprinkles

Cream Cheese Frosting:
About 1/3 cup and 3 T of softened butter
10 oz cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Mix together in a bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together melted butter and sugar until combined. Add egg whites and beat until mixture is smooth and light. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the yogurt.

Gently fold in sprinkles, if using. Scoop batter about 3/4 of the way in your cake cones (you can put bake them in a cupcake pan or tin.

Bake for 25 minutes, until cupcakes are barely golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with a couple of loose crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in tins.

Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:
Beat butter and cream cheese together until well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Gradually incorporate the powdered sugar into the batter. Beat until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if necessary to get the desired consistency.

Pipe onto cupcakes using rounded tip or ziplock bag with corner cut and top with cherry and/or rainbow jimmies

Golden Graham Cupcakes

Believe it or not I actually have a cupcake post! Boy I've missed it...but my waistline has not...I'm still not having much luck in that department...but thats a whole other story. It was Shawn's roomates birthday. He loved my Thin Mint Cupcakes and requested some for his birthday (as I happily obliged). Then he changed his mind to Golden Grahams. I knew I could work with that so I was excited for another "Dame Good Creation". I just used a golden cupcake recipe as a base and incorporated Golden Grahams any way I could...You don't even want to know the damage I did to my body with these guys. The marshmallow frosting was just heaven in a spoon...multiple spoons...

Golden Graham Cupcakes

A golden cupcake with Golden Graham crumbs baked in, topped with marshmallow frosting and a Golden Graham treat then dusted with Golden Graham crumbs.

makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

Golden Cupcakes
Adapted from "Crazy About Cupcakes" by Krystina Castella

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Golden Graham crumbs (grind cereal in blender or food processor)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with the electric mixer on medium speed until fuffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg yolks. Beat well. Add the vanilla. Mix.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, golden graham crumbs, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well.
With clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
With a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean.

Marshmallow Frosting (makes about 5 cups)
from "Cupcakes" by Shelly Kaldunski

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large, clean, heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch, about 2 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Using an electic mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mixture until it is very warm and soft (but not dry) peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the mixer to low and add the marshmallows and vanilla. Continue beating until te marshmallows are melted and the frosting is completely smooth, about 2 minutes more. Use right away.

Golden Graham Treats
Adapted from Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats, and Fruity Pebble Treats

Ingredients:

1.5 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/2 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows or 4 cups mini marshmallows
3 cups Golden Graham cereal

Directions:

Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat
Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted
Remove from heat
Add Golden Grahams and stir until well coated.
Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into a small pan coated with cooking spray.
Allow to cool

"Think Pink" Cupakes

A friend of a friend was nice enough to think of me for her sisters graduation party. She asked me to make some cupcakes even though I'm still learning and gaining experience. I happily agreed as I need practice and any excuse to bake for someone other than myself. After messaging back and forth we decided on something pink, unique and girlie. I origionally wanted to do a 2-tone pink and white frosting with hot pink bows and little mini edible pearls. As it turns out, this baking experience was one of those where everything went wrong. I couldn't find the edible pearls or even those silver balls I have often seen at the grocery stores. Then, the 2-tone was too subtle to even notice and then finally, not all of the bows were turning out right. So I kept a couple bows and finished with topping off each cupcake with a hot pink rosette, crystal sugar and piping pearly white balls on each cupcake to kind of look like pearls.

The cake for these are strawberry. I used the strawberry cupcake recipe I had posted before. I also wanted to try something different and see if there was something even BETTER out there. After googling "best strawberry cupcakes" I came across this intiguing recipe on goodthingscatered.blogspot.com. I loved the way these tasted, but was not too into how they looked. They were a little too brown for strawberry cupcakes if you ask me. Which sucked for me because I had plans to layer the colors of the cupcake in 3 so that the bottom was a dark pink and the top was light pink, but food coloring did not have a pretty or significant effect in this batter. To add to the theme of "everything going wrong" I burnt a whole batch of 18 because I was too busy frosting to hear the timer go off...so I had to make a last minute late night trip to the grocery store...lovely!

At the end of all this, I was content with the cupcakes. They weren't exactly what I wanted and I hope they liked them for the effort haha! I definitely learned a lot from this cupcake experience which is ALWAYS a plus!

Angie's Famous Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar (or a little less)
2 eggs
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. chopped strawberries
1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. strawberry liquor
1/2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.
Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.
In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time until combined.
Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.
Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Fold in berries.
Fill cupcake pans 3/4 way.
Bake for 20 minutes.

For frosting, put berries, liquor, and juice in saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.
Let cool then blend until smooth.
In bowl of mixer mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.
Add sugar, then vanilla.
Add berry puree until smooth.
Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

PS: I didn't use this frosting for the cupcakes because I needed something that would hold its shape...but it sounds delicious so I tossed it in for anyone to try...I just may have to myself. Instead I used the basic buttercream frosting I posted before, but added 8 oz of softened cream cheese and a tiny bit of whipping cream for some slight softness until it came to a consistency I was happy with.

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

I am a huge huge huge Sex and The City fan! I have seen every episode countless times and just adore everything about the show. Needless to say I had to do something special for the new movie premier. I wanted to host an intimate cocktail party with my closest girlfriends. Four laides dressed up drinking Cosmos and enjoying cupcakes like the movie! :) Anyway, I came across these cosmopolitan cupcakes at intotheoven.com and just knew they would be perfect. These are definitely different and not for everybody. I personally enjoyed them, especially the frosting. I garnished mine with lime wedges and cocktail stirrirs :) I also added lime green food coloring to the frosting because it felt right...

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes with Lime-Cointreau Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup frozen cranberry juice concentrate or cranberry punch concentrate, thawed
zest of 1 lime
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
2 drops red food colouring (optional, if you would like a stronger reddish tint in the cake)

Directions:

Allow all ingredients to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin pans with cupcake papers.

With a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs 1 at a time and beat until well combined.

Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Combine buttermilk, thawed concentrate, zest, and cranberries in a separate bowl.
Add in 1 cup each of the dry and wet mixtures alternately, beating on low until the whole mixture is well combined.

Fill cups with batter two-thirds full. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes
spring back in the middle when touched lightly. Cool for 10 minutes in pan.

For glaze:

1/4 cup thawed cranberry juice concentrate
1/4 cup vodka

 Brush with cranberry/vodka glaze when cupcakes are still slightly warm.

When cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with lime-cointreau buttercream:

Lime-Cointreau Buttercream

1/2 c butter
4 c confectioner’s sugar
3 T Cointreau
juice from 1 large lime

Mix all ingredients on high speed until fluffy. Double this recipe if you are doing a lot of piping or have more than 2 dozen cupcakes.

Garnish with: (optional)
Dusting of Lime zest
Dried cranberries

Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes

A friend of mine has been requesting for me to make him muffins. I knew his birthday was coming up so I was waiting. While I do like muffins and will bake them from time to time, cupcakes are much more birthday-appropriate! So I searched for a happy medium and found one. These lemon poppyseed cupcakes are amazing. The glaze itself I think makes it. I found the recipe from my book "Cupcakes" by Shelly Kaldunski. I replaced the sour cream with greek yogurt because it was all I had and just crossed my fingers, they turned out beautifully!

Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt)
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on high-speed, beat the sugar and the butter together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, lemon zest and lemon extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream (or yogurt) and beat until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until golden-brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

In a bowl whisk together the confectioners sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth; the glaze should be spreadable. If it seems too thick, whisk in additional lemon juice a few drops at a time; if it seems too thin, whisk in additional sugar one teaspoon at a time. Use right away.

Spoon the glaze over cupcakes (I dipped them) and serve.