Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

I made these for a friend who was in the hospital. I wanted to give her a break from the hospital food and to say thanks to the doctors and nurses that took such amazing care of my friend here. If you have never had to be hospitalized in a country that is not your own, well it can be frightening and they took good care of her so I was seriously thankful. So I came across these and I knew that I had to make them and it was a blast sharing some of our culture with the Belgians. I heard I was popular after she handed them all out =P I used a different frosting than the original recipe here. Feel free to experiment and find what you like.





Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
Source: Bakerella

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup hot water
24 Oreos, plus more for crumbs

Frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-6 Tablespoons milk
2 or more teaspoons Oreo cookie crumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line tray with 12 baking cups.
Place one whole cookie in each cup or break apart at least 12 cookies and place the broken pieces into each cup.
Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl using a wire whisk.
Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk and mix well until thoroughly combined. Add the hot water and mix until combined.
Transfer the batter (it will be very liquid) to a large measuring cup and then pour batter into each baking cup so it’s about three quarters full. You should have a little left over.
Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Frosting:
Beat the shortening in a mixer until smooth.
Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the powdered sugar in three additions, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add a Tablespoon of milk at a time and mix together until you achieve the consistency you like.
Add the cookie crumbs and mix until completely combined.

As the French say Bon Appetit.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Funfetti Cupcakes

So really who does not sprinkles! They are fun & are the life of the party and lots of fun to decorate with. They however are not fun when the decide to bounce out the bowl you dump them in to decorate the cupcakes with. Everyone loved the final results and my son (little helper dude) couldn't even wait for them to be iced he decided to clean the batter bowl and scraper attachment thingamajig.



See look how fun they look just in the batter. I wanted to seriously just take a handful and down em right there.



I loved how swirly they looked in the batter. I didn't have any cutesy decorated cupcake liners so I had to use plain Jane ones but with these cupcakes I am kind of glad because they may have been too bold if you get my meaning.



Seriously?!?! Wow, they just are beautiful. Yes it takes someone who loves food to appreciate the artistic value of them. HAHA.



Little man was in to big a hurry to wait for the final product.



Our Lab Daisy was also curious as to what this amazing smell was. Not sure if she got a taste in or not. I am thinking no because Conner was not keen on sharing his batter.



Aww look how cute! I loved how they came out. They are a more dense kind of cupcake but so good. The icing was also superb. This is my new favorite buttercream. I usually do the really pretty swirlies but decided on something much more fun for these babies. As the French say here in Belgium Bon Appetit.

Home made Funfetti Cupcakes- How Sweet Eats

Ingredients

makes 12 cupcakes ( I doubled this)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles + more for top of frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in assorted sprinkles.

Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool, then frost.