Did Someone Say Party?! With Cupcakes?!?

There’s just something about things blooming, birds chirping, and tank tops that makes me want to write out fancy invitations and say, let’s celebrate!!

Maybe it’s the the non-stop celebrations around this time, i.e. Valentines Day, St. Patty’s Day, Easter, Spring Break (yes, I consider this a holiday)…but even though I didn’t rise from any graves or invent green beer, I’m all about creating a holiday of my very own.

Any excuse I can create to bake sh*t, and get a group of my favorite people into a small room to eat, drink and be merry, I’ll take it.

So if you’re anti-holiday, consider this fun idea an excuse to step away from studying for a minute or an hour (or 24 of ‘em), and chill out, bake, drink mimosas, lick the beaters…etc.

Yes ladies, it’s cupcake time. The whole ritual of baking is calming and though scones are delicious, I prefer my tea/champagne with a cupcake. Why? Because they are God’s gift to man, so enjoy them.

Here are some of my FAV recipes:

Chai Cupcake

3 tbs condensed milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 black tea teabags

1/4 tsp ground clove

2 cardamom pods, crushed

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp black pepper

½ cup boiling water

2/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup sugar

30g / 1 oz butter, melted

2 eggs, separated

1 cup plain [all-purpose] flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine condensed milk, tea bags, cinnamon, ground clove, cardamom, ginger, pepper and boiling water. Set aside.

2.Preheat oven to 180 (350). 3. Line a 2 capacity muffin tray with cupcake liners.

4. Combine yogurt and baking soda; stir until baking soda combined. Set aside

5. Combine sugar, melted butter and egg yolk. Beat at high speed for 1 minute.

6. Strain the tea mixture.

7. Add the tea, yogurt, flour and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.

8. In a separate bowl, beat salt and egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. 9. Fold egg whites into the batter. Make sure there are no streaks in the batter.

10. Evenly divide the batter into the cupcake liners.

11. Bake 20 minutes or toothpick comes out clean.

12. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

with:

Honey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

125g / ½ cup butter

125g / 4 oz cream cheese

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tbs honey

1 – 2 tbs milk

2 cups icing [powdered] sugar

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes.

3. Add the honey and cinnamon and gradually add the icing sugar while mixer is running.

4. Add the milk and more icing sugar until you get the desired consistency.

Courtesy of Couture Cupcakes.

Pistachio Cupcakes

36 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

2-3/4 cups cake flour

1-1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup grape seed oil (or vegetable oil)

8 egg yolks (approximately 6 ounces)

1/2 cup water

4 ounces pistachio cream (approximately 1/3 cup)

10 egg whites (approximately 10 ounces)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of a standing mixer.

2. In a medium bowl, combine oil, egg yolks, water, and pistachio cream. Stir to combine.

3. On a low setting, start to beat the dry mixture and slowly add the wet. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until pistachio cream is incorporated.

4. Transfer mixture to another bowl. Wash and dry mixer bowl.

5. Whip egg whites with whip attachment on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer on medium speed, add cream of tarter and slowly add sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

6. Scoop a cupful of the stiff egg whites into the batter and stir to combine. This should lighten up the batter.

7. Transfer the egg whites to the batter and gently fold until there are no more streaks of egg white.

8. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip: Cake flour is a must for chiffon. All-purpose won’t give you the same delicate texture.

Rose Petal Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 cup rose petal jelly

1. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. Add 3-4 cups of sifted powdered sugar and jelly, beat until combined.

3. Add more powdered sugar as needed to get to whatever consistency/sweetness you wish to achieve.

Courtesy of Cupcake Bakeshop

Crème Brûlée Cupcakes

Makes about 24 cupcakes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons caramel syrup (ice cream topping)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in dry ingredients and milk. Add caramel syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

4. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold whites into batter.

5. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

BROWN SUGAR SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

1 cup light brown sugar

4 egg whites

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Put sugar, egg whites and salt into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees). Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes total.

Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and continue beating 1 minute to reduce air bubbles

Courtesy of How to eat a Cupcake

So, if you plan on devouring all 20-30 of these, by all means DO. However, when a friend calls you and offers cupcakes and good company, it’s pretty hard to turn down. SHARE, ENJOY, BAKE AWAY!

Any other recipes you’d like to see??