When I saw that this month’s Flavor of the Month theme was “boozy,” I decided that I wanted to bake something sweet with an addition of rum. My first thought was buttered rum bread, but unfortunately that turned out to be a big fail, both in texture and in taste. So, I started over with a friend’s recommendation, which was tropical cupcakes with rum. The first thing that sprang to my mind was pina colada, so that’s exactly what I made. They were absolutely delicious! I loved the hint of pineapple in the cupcakes, and the rum frosting topped with shredded coconut helped me forget for a while that it’s 10 degrees and snowing outside. If you want to be transported to a tropical place for a while, try these today!

Continue reading »

I know, I know. I can’t seem to stop with the pomegranate. Since this is the first time I’ve eaten the actual fruit rather than just drinking the juice I buy at the store, I’ve been so excited to try new things with it. I just love the flavor! Sweet and tart, I could snack on the delicious seeds all day just by themselves. Pomegranate was perfect paired with chocolate in the mousse I made earlier this week, so I was thinking about going with chocolate again. But then I started thinking about cupcakes, and all I could think about was red velvet with a hint of pomegranate. So, I went for it. I only made 12 cupcakes though, since I wasn’t sure if they would be well-received or not. I took them to a party on Saturday, and the verdict? Everyone loved them. All but 2 were gone, both of which were devoured by my husband the next day!

Cake mix (makes 12 cupcakes):

• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 tsp red food color
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar

Vanilla bean-pomegranate buttercream frosting:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp milk
• 2 Tbsp pomegranate juice
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the vanilla and egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk and food coloring.

In a different bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

Add the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately, mixing until well-combined. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar.

Pour the batter into the cupcake liners.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and shortening. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar, half at a time. Add in the milk, pomegranate juice, and vanilla bean, and beat until well-combined.

Cool completely before frosting.

Happy Halloween! My final post for the #GreatHallowTweet bloghop also doubles as my post for this month’s Flavor of the Month, which is pumpkin. So, I give you these pumpkin cupcakes, all dressed up for Halloween! I took a tray of these to work on Thursday, and they were gone in an instant. You can make these for your Halloween party this weekend, get your kids to help you decorate them, or make them and hand them out to trick-or-treaters. And if you’re left with any, they’re perfect for breakfast the next day. Be safe, and enjoy the holiday!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup  sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes) with paper liners. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter.

Add in the eggs and beat until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frost with your favorite frosting (I used buttercream), and go crazy with the decorations!

After making cannoli last week, there was no way I could just leave it at that; they were too good. Plus, I had a bunch of filling left over that I didn’t want to go to waste. The first idea I had was to use it in cupcakes, and let me tell you, it was the right thing to do. I made a very simple vanilla bean frosting to top them off, and people raved about them and the frosting in particular. They were definitely a big hit! Here’s what you’ll need:

Dry ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups flour
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp Marsala wine
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 1 and 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line two muffin pans with cupcake wrappers. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

In a different, larger bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, vanilla, Marsala wine, and milk. Also note that I need new mixing bowls, as evidenced by the huge chip in the side (I have no idea how that happened!).

Add in the ricotta cheese, orange zest, and powdered sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into cupcake liners, 24 in total. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pans to a cooling rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Cream the butter and shortening together, and then add in the vanilla extract. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Mix in the milk, and then mix in the vanilla from the vanilla bean.

Frost the cupcakes once they have cooled completely, and top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Look at those lovely flecks of vanilla!

Hubby and I had a party to go to this past weekend, so I was trying to figure out what to bring. I was pretty sure I wanted to bring cupcakes, and I was definitely sure that they needed to contain chocolate. Then, I remembered the chocolate chip cookie dough brownies I made back in March, and how quickly they disappeared. I know you’re following me here. That’s right…chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. I also whipped up some chocolate ganache for the frosting. These are for the serious chocolate lover. Here is what you’ll need!

For the cake mix, I used Hershey’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake recipe:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dark cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

For the cookie dough mix, I used Hershey’s Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-2/3 cups chocolate chips

For the ganache:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Second, start making the cookie dough.  In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars, vanilla, and butter.

Beat until fluffy, then add the egg. Beat again until well-blended.

Mix together the flour and baking soda.

Pour into the egg mixture and beat.

Stir in the chocolate chips, and then set the cookie dough aside.

Next, make the cake batter. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Add in the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla, and beat.

Fill 24 cupcake liners 2/3 full of the cake batter. In each one, drop in a tablespoonful or so of the cookie batter. It doesn’t need to be perfect.

Bake the cupcakes about 30 minutes. They’re kind of fun to watch, because you can see the cake baking over the cookie dough. Or, maybe it’s not that fun, and I’m just weird like that. Anyway, check to make sure they’re done with a toothpick, and let them cool before removing them from the pan.

Make the ganache next. Melt the chocolate on medium heat using a double boiler. Then, add in the cream, mixing constantly until the mixture is well-combined. Remove the ganache from the heat and let it cool for about 45 minutes.

Now, remove the cupcakes from the pan…

…and dip the top of each one in the ganache. When I was done, I stuck them all in the refrigerator to firm up a bit, and then repeated this step for a double layer of ganache.

A chocolate lover’s heaven.