Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes

Now that it's Christmas, I'm back to my old baking ways. Or maybe that can be attributed to my lack of motivation to study for finals.

Either way, I am DONE with grad school for the semester and have an entire month to do nothing create my lesson plans for the spring semester. We have a party in both my classes today, since it's the last day of class before finals week. 

My contribution to the class party was not related to international languages or studies, as we are a multitude of international and foreign students. Instead, I had to go with the Christmas theme :)

Remember those mint chocolate chip cupcakes I made inspired by my favorite ice cream flavor? Well let's just say the only thing I love more is PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM. It's a tragedy such a flavor only exists from November to January. Try it if you haven't yet, you'll thank me later.

This ice cream essentially inspired my in-class treats this time around (I feel like I'm in elementary school again baking goodies for class parties, NOT grad school).

Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes (semi-homemade)

• 1 box of white cupcake mix
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1.5 T peppermint extract
• oil, eggs and water as stated on package directions
• vanilla frosting
• 5 candy canes, crushed

Essentially, I just made regular boxed cupcakes (lazy, I know, but it's finals week!) and then added my own vanilla and peppermint extract. Cook according to package directions. When they cooled, I frosted the cupcakes and then garnished with crushed candy canes.

I can't wait for the class party to try these little guys. I've been so good -- for once! ...Is it 3:00 yet!?!?!

P.S..... Based on my limited income and cholesterol/blood sugar related levels, I am seriously considering following a vegetarian or pescatarian diet as soon as I finish all the meat in my fridge. AKA when I return from Christmas break. How's that for dropping a bomb at the end of a post?! :)

WHAT?! She lives?!

Oh man, it's been sooooo long since I've blogged, watched tv, worked out, cooked, etc....

I'm up to my neck in full-time grad school, teaching French classes, MLB PLAYOFFS and working collegiate athletics. Oh and the non-stop revolving door of meeting new people :)

I love it. It's totally what's been missing in my life since moving to Arizona. But I did have a second of free time a few weeks ago. Of course I chose to spend my moment baking, this is me we're talking about here :)

The dish of experimental choice was Hefeweizen Cupcakes with Fresh-Squeezed Orange Cream Icing! ...semi from scratch! Although the "buttercream frosting" was extremely drippy and runny, it set nicely in the fridge for a crunchy top layer with a huge punch of orange zest.

Apologies for the tiny pictures, I'm a Mac user now so no more Windows Live Writer :(

For the cupcakes, it couldn't have been easier! I merely followed instructions for a box of white, vanilla cupcakes (egg whites, water, etc.) and subbed a cup of Shiner Hefeweizen for the water, and then added in a few tablespoons of orange zest. That was the difference-maker.

And here is a recipe I found for the orange zest buttercream. It didn't set for some reason on my end -- perhaps I can blame that on the 100+ degree weather -- but a quick pop in the fridge did the trick.

These cupcakes were absolutely delicious! Beer cupcakes complete me :)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Yes, you read that right.

No, it wasn’t my birthday… but it should have been.

I freakin’ LOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream. And it’s got to be the green kind, not the cop out white minty variety (you can tell I’ve had a lot of experience eating mint chip ice cream before). In fact, if it weren’t for the holiday peppermint candy cane ice cream, mint chip would be the very top of my list. Thank God that stuff can only be found two-to-three months out of the year.

But I digress… let’s get back to my obsession with mint chocolate chip!

For the past week or so, I searched and searched for a decent cupcake recipe. After the success I had tweaking base recipes with peanut butter and lemon cakes, the mint thing couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Yes it could. The major problem I encountered with every recipe was that they were all chocolate-based cakes with mint flavoring and green mint frosting.

What I really wanted was green cupcakes that looked exactly like little scoops of ice cream. So I took matters into my own hands:

You’re lying to yourself if you don’t think those look like ice cream cups :)

Eventually I found a base for mint cupcakes (from the Sprinkles cupcake bakery!) and added my own touch.

I present to you:

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

(yields 14 cupcakes)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, sifted

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 c skim milk

1 1/2 t peppermint extract

1/2 t vanilla extract

1/2 c (1 stick) butter

1 c sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 mini chocolate chips

green food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture and food coloring; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended. Finally, by hand, fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

For the frosting:

• 3 c powdered sugar
• 2/3 c cocoa
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/3 c milk

Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Melt butter. Add butter and vanilla to sifted mixture. Stir. Add milk to get desired spreading consistency. If more milk is required, add by tablespoon at a time. Can store up to 3 months in the freezer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There you have it! Mint chocolate chip cupcakes that taste EXACTLY like the ice cream – only better because they didn’t melt. Not like I’d let them sit around long enough to melt, please!

Other than that, I really can’t tell you how freakin’ good these were. You’re just going to have to make them yourselves :)

Just send me some in the mail… I “gave some of mine to friends and coworkers” and ate the other half of the batch myself in less than a week.

(P.S., I didn’t realize at the time, but I accidentally bought gluten free graham flour instead of whole wheat flour. So, there, these just so happen to be gluten free cupcakes too. And they still came out exactly like I’d hoped!)

Lemon Rosemary Cupcakes

Let’s take back anything I’ve ever said about cupcakes before. Ignore the chocolate stout and peanut butter bacon cupcakes.

These are literally the best tasting cupcakes I’ve made thus far (in my few weeks of experimenting with non-traditional cupcake flavors and frostings).

Don’t worry, I didn’t eat the rosemary sprig on top… that was just for decorative purposes :) The cupcakes were ridiculously easy to make; all I did was add to a standard box of yellow cake and instantly transformed regular cake to really delicious cupcakes!

LEMON ROSEMARY CUPCAKES WITH LEMON BUTTER CREAM

(Makes 12 cupcakes and enough frosting for 14)

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of yellow cake mix
• 1/3 c water
• 1/3 c lemon juice
• 1 T lemon extract
• 1/6 c vegetable oil (I just filled a 1/3 measuring cup up halfway)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c chopped rosemary

Butter cream frosting ingredients:

• 4 T butter (1/2 stick), softened
• 8 oz cream or mascarpone cheese (I went with cream cheese)
• 2 1/3 c powdered sugar
• 1 t lemon juice
• 1 t lemon extract
• yellow food coloring, as desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. While waiting, chop the rosemary into fine pieces. Next add all of the cupcake ingredients and mix until smooth.

Bake for 23 minutes, or until the tops start to get golden yellow.

For the frosting (taken from the recipe site): With a mixer, cream butter and mascarpone/cream cheese together until well incorporated and fluffy. Add lemon juice and lemon extract and 1 cup of sugar. Gradually add more sugar - you will need more sugar for it to be pipeable (stiffer) and less if you are just going to spread it on the cake. If you want your frosting yellow, add a few drops of food coloring as desired.

Garnish with rosemary!

These cupcakes were inspired by really tasty cookies my mom made a few years back. They were basically lemon cookies with lemon and rosemary mascarpone frosting sandwiched inside. If it weren’t for my travels in France and eating lavender and rose flavored ice creams, I don’t think I’d so openly embrace rosemary in sweets. Thank God I did, because it’s a really great addition to lemon-flavored treats!

Stumped with what to do, I called my mom and asked her what she thought I should do to the box of yellow cake (left over from the bacon cupcakes – with those, I had to add bacon and bacon grease and altered the oil/egg/water ratio than suggested on the box). Her solution was easy: replace the water with lemon juice! I thought that maybe 2/3 c of lemon juice would be a bit much in this case, so I opted to split the water and juice half-and-half. As usual, I licked every spoon before washing… you know, taste testing for quality… That’s when I figured to add a bit of the lemon extract I already had on had.

So look at that… one of my weekly goals this year was to get creative and think outside the “box” of cupcake mix. And I’ve done so THREE times already in two months! I’m way addicted to cupcakes and am thinking up at least three other flavor combinations to try next…

Birthday Bacon Cupcakes

Yes, you heard that right.

For my bf’s birthday on Monday, one of my friends joked I should take him to Denny’s for their bacon-fest. They even have bacon sundaes. She wasn’t joking – she knows how much that boy loves bacon.

Well, instead we had plans to go to Fogo de Chão, but I figured I’d finally attempt cooking dessert with bacon. Yes, I’m late to the party. If we’re being honest though, I never would have even considered making these if I hadn’t tasted the bacon French toast cupcakes with maple frosting my sister made for Easter. They were good, and I can’t believe I’m admitting that. So the scary factor of throwing bacon in cupcakes was gone. I rolled up my sleeves and knocked out a few of these babies:

Peanut Butter Bacon Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package bacon
• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/8 cup bacon grease
• 1/8 stick of butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 package yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/8 cup bacon grease and set aside to cool. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the bacon.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Beat the crunchy peanut butter, bacon grease and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the peanut butter mixture before adding the next. Pour in the cake mix alternately with the water, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in 2/3 of the chopped bacon (saving the rest to top the cupcakes after frosting); mixing just enough to evenly combine. Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pan, about 2/3 full.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c peanut butter (if piping, learn from my mistake: use creamy and not crunchy so you don’t clog it up)
• 1 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Frost cupcakes once cupcakes are completely cooled.

Then, top with bacon! Confession: I topped mine with bacon before baking, so they looked like little muffins. Not only is there bacon inside, but also on top of the cupcakes AND atop the frosting!

And enjoyed them with Cupcake wine… silly I know. But I’d do it again. If only I had more of that wine…

Tant pis. Oh well. Off to watch the French Open am I! And I also should start packing and/or cleaning my house. We’re driving back to California for Memorial Day Weekend in THREE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

Week 17: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Remember my deep love for all things cupcake?! Does it surprise you to learn I've never made a batch from scratch before?

Up until now, all my cupcake-making adventures involved pre-mixed boxes. Despite it being Monday, last week I finally rolled up my sleeves and made my own cupcakes from scratch.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes, that is.

(Side note, aren't these silicone cupcake holders my mom got me for Easter adorable?!)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c unsweetened cocoa
• 2 c sugar
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch fine salt
• 1 bottle stout beer
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 c sour cream (I subbed plain Greek yogurt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 12 to 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.

And the recipe on the website for the frosting calls for powdered sugar. That I did not have on hand, but I had heavy cream. So I scoured the Internet and came up with this recipe for Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting.

This was also the first time I've ever piped on frosting! Usually I'll just slather it on with a knife and make those messy peaks. But since buying piping bags in Sonoma last weekend, I figured this was as good as any time to start! Regardless, the messy look still shone through with my piped whipped cupcakes... Soooo, I really need to learn techniques. I tried to make flower petals instead of spiral frosting toppers, but they turned out heinous. Instead, I just swirled right on top haha. If you know of any websites/videos on how to pipe pretty designs, please send them my way :)

Now about the beer:

Yes there is an entire bottle of beer in my batter. Mixing it all together in my KitchenAid, you could DEFINITELY smell the stout. It reminded me of staying at a bar near closing and smelling the booze freshly spilled all over counters and floors ;) Ok, it was actually more of a pleasant aroma. And, interestingly enough, despite baking for 24 minutes, you can distinctly taste the beer in the cupcakes! It is interesting and very subtle, which I think makes for a delicious cupcake. Kind of reminds me of the time I dumped a whole lot of Bailey's into chocolate chip cookies....

Sensing a theme here? Seriously, try this. Or at least try alcoholic baked goods. It's kind of fun, in a childish-I-want-to-be-an-adult sort of way.

One final note. I found this recipe because I had all that stout on hand. Why?! Because I found alcoholic whipped cream at Total Wine and bought some when my sister was in town. My sister bought German Chocolate and I went with Amaretto. We honest-to-God tried whipped cream shots in our mouths, but this was too much. It literally tastes like taking shots. Stings the mouth, even.

I initially thought they'd be really good on top of a glass of stout. I've actually had whipped cream on top of a pumpkin beer before, in a restaurant, so this seemed similar. Upon contact with the beer, the alcoholic whipped cream curdled. Needless to say, I didn't finish it, at all. As unpleasant as that sounds, who knows, maybe it'll be decent on top of stout cupcakes...

Caketini Cupcakes!

It's no secret I have a raging sweet tooth. And it's no secret I freakin' looooove cupcakes -- who doesn't (see here and here for starters)?!

Why it took me eight months to learn there is an amazing cupcake bakery just around the corner is beyond me. I've tried two bakeries/coffee shops in my town on different occasions and have had mixed feelings. The all cupcake place was a flop. And the coffee shop whose owner won on Cupcake Wars had much better scones and drinks than its limited selection of 'cakes.

Now you understand why I haven't really been buying cupcakes like they're going out of style here. But now I'm not sure I can continue saying that.

Nestled on the outskirts of a cute outdoor mall sits family-owned Caketini. The cupcake display will draw you in and the flavors (and possibly Espresso bar) will keep you coming back! I'm not joking when I say this was one of the best, cupcakes I've sunk my teeth into in a very long time. It certainly takes the cake (ha) for the best tasting cupcakes in the area!

Alright so what is all this fuss about?! For starters, the Key Lime Pie cupcake. I was stuck between two flavors (that or the Orange Blossom) and the girl working the cash register told me I should hands down go for the Key Lime.

Bless her little heart.

For J.D. I picked up the Cookies 'n' Cream cupcake, which had a buttercream frosting that literally tasted like the inside of an Oreo cookie, with cookie crumbs and a simple chocolate cake.

Back to me. I mean, my cupcake.

Not only was I pleasantly surprised with the cake inside, but the frosting also blew me over. You see, it wasn't your typical flavored frosting with a boring chocolate/vanilla cake base. The actual cake tasted of lime, it was light and zesty and delicious.

And surprisingly green!

The buttercream frosting hid most of the tartiness. As J.D. pointed out, they played with the traditional meringue topping via the frosting and turned it into a tart but rich addition to adorn the cupcake. And let's not forget about the graham cracker lined "crust."

Perfection. But will I be going back for another $3.75 cupcake?!

With a menu full of hard decisions (see for yourself), including the best cupcake I may have ever tasted, you can bet my penny-pinching ass is coming back! :) Pardon my French.

After this life-changing experience, I think it's about time I get to working on baking gourmet cupcakes from scratch, and not out of a box...

Holy Update

So the problem with intense moving and sight-seeing over the past two weeks sans Internet is that I've got a motherload of photos and stories to update. I'm going to tackle it by city and hope this covers the void from the end of July to the beginning of August.

GOODBYE, STOCKTON

In attempt to empty out our pantry before moving, I tested out my first ever oats in a jar. It was alright, but I think I had too much peanut butter left in the jar. I guess I rushed it, you know, moving out and wanting to toss it and all. It was also WAY too hot to hold on to. I might try it again... in several months, since that's how long it'll take me to finish up a jar!

I ended up going with that chai oatmeal I've had a while, plus some of TJ's super berry mix of dried berries and crunched up some walnuts. Good, but too much PB for my taste.

In addition to cleaning out the cabinets there were several going away meals. I'm not going to say who, but a furry member of my household snuck some of my sushi. How rude!!! He gobbled up an entire pinwheel of caterpillar roll in one bite! We also went out with J.D.'s best friend from high school. He's Greek so naturally we dined at the nicest Greek restaurant in Stockton :)

The meal started out with endless baskets of pita bread. I went nuts on that and tzatziki and wound up with limited stomach space for the actual meal. I selected a crisp Sauvignon blanc to go with my meal.

Followed by a fresh Greek salad with a block of feta on top. Oh yeah and I also got all the boys' kalamata olives, which are kind of my favorite. I looove olives.

Next up came the main course, which ended up being two dinners and a lunch over the next two days. Score! I ordered the Mediterranean chicken with pesto, fresh veggies and pasta.

And then, just like that, after several days of intense packing/cleaning, I quit my job with no promise of future employment and left the condo while J.D. drove down to Arizona to begin his first week at his new job. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a week of unemployment at my parents' house in the Bay Area before he flew back up and we checked out of the condo and packed up a truck to move all our crap 12 hours south.

HOME, SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Since then I've been having mild panic attacks about finding work/insurance. Luckily, I've since been approved for insurance after comparing plans and applying at my parents' house.

During my week of "vacation" at home, I got to do a little sightseeing. Chic Runner posted about the most AMAZING cupcake shop after running the San Francisco Marathon. From seeing her tweets and post, I knew I HAD to visit before leaving the state of California -- the only state I've ever had permanent residence in -- for good! Enter SF's own American Cupcake. Heaven in your mouth. They sell individual cupcakes and also cupcake/wine pairing flights!!!

We made a girls' day of it with my sister's only day off work during the week, to include my mom and her friend! The place had an awesome ambiance on a cute little street with abundant shopping. It was a pain to get to though, taking BART instead of driving. We ended up walking about 2.5 miles or so both ways. It made for a long trek with typical blistery SF summer weather. Worlds away from the 100 degree heat in the Arizona desert. Either way, all WORTH IT for these cupcakes!!!

My sis and I were both curious about the Beer and Chocolate flight, so I decided to order it and split the Tunnel of Love wine flight with her. Mine came with a chocolate mint cupcake, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate coconut. And let me tell you something, these people really know how to pair their drinks!!! With the mint came a Japanese beer that went down smooth, the coconut was accompanied by my fav beer on the planet, hef, and the chocolate PB partnered with something I'd NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS see myself enjoying. Chocolate stout. OM#*@@%#G it was good! I really enjoyed how it complimented the heavy taste of both chocolate and PB but also the creamier notes. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think I could ever drink it as a drink. But it had nice tasting notes. I also let my sister have more than half of that one :)

Finishing up our halves, we swapped and I got to sample the wine flight. Aimee's came with a red hot cupcake, red velvet and simple chocolate. They went with a cab, bubbly and the epitome of summer (in my mind) rosé. I looooove chocolate and wine. All perfect pairings I had the indescribable pleasure of sampling :)

Our mom said "I'd like to try the Walk of Shame" (giggles) and from what I could tell, was pretty yummy! It came with a lemon cupcake I never got to taste because she woofed down all of hers very fast :) butterscotch and coconut cupcakes. They went with various wines and the butterscotch/merlot combo was pretty awesome!

My favorite after all was said and done?

Had to be the wines! :) Like father, like daughter. Which reminds me of a post for another day... my dad makes wine in his garage and has won medals for it!

HELLO, ARIZONA!

Eventually it had to end and I said goodbye to my family, packed up and met J.D. at the Sacramento Airport before driving back to Stockton to load the truck. We made the 12-hour trek out here to Arizona and little Woodstock was such a good boy and slept for most of it! Like his mama, he too suffered a minor injury. Sidenote: I'm seeing a sports therapist for my knee and will be sidelined from running for quite some time :( MAJOR BOO!!!! I have degenerative tissue below the kneecap and some sort of tendinitis below it. So massages, adjustments, stretches and kinesiotape will have to do for now. Woodstock also pushed his limits and jumped out of someone's arms while he was at home with me and thankfully didn't end up breaking anything!! He just suffered from a minor limp and took some pain meds, but no worries, the pooch loves running, digging and rolling around in his new grassy backyard.

Other than that, I've been spending an ungodly amount of time unpacking and getting lost in exploring my new city. We made it out to J.D.'s favorite restaurant of all time, another Guy Fieri feature on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Chino Bandito. Mexican, Chinese and Jamaican fare. But here's the kicker, you order your main meat selection (Chinese or Mexican) in a burrito, rice bowl or quesadilla! Then you get to pick beans and rice (fried, regular or Jamaican jerk). I went with a steak quesadilla seasoned with Chinese flavors, alongside jade chicken, white rice and black refried beans. Again, I sound like a broken record but holy yum!!!!!! It was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed J.D.'s orange chicken quesadilla :)

His

And hers.

Last but not least, the endless job search. I feel like I've been sending out a thousand applications, resumes and cover letters! If all else fails, I've secured several side jobs which should amount to something. I'm dressing the part for success and I do have an interview tomorrow! Something to look forward to :)

I hope someone hires me!!!!

To be continued.....

Also, don't forget you have until MONDAY, AUG. 16 to both enter my Gracie's Gear giveaway and also receive free shipping in my OpenSky shop with the code FREESHIPPING.

Have a good night.... I'm up way too late for a morning interview :)