Week 28 - Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Glaze

Ming’s version of the vanilla cupcake with strawberry filling and chocolate glaze looks adorable and delicious. Mine, on the other hand, I think looks more like the little bad-guy mushrooms from Super Mario. Bummer. But still pretty tasty.

This is my last cupcake to make for the club and, thankfully, things went pretty well. They went so well that I decided to get a little adventurous:  I made a double batch, and filled half with strawberry preserves and half with lemon filling (after baking). I dipped the strawberry preserve cupcakes in the chocolate glaze; I frosted the lemon-filled cupcakes with the lime frosting perfected by Abby. It’s my favorite frosting ever. The lemon filling was okay – mostly I just wanted to try out the filling attachment on my piping gun. Oh, kitchen gadgets!

The cupcake was alright. Not my favorite vanilla cupcake. I think maybe the cupcake from week 2 would’ve been better – I remember it being a little more moist.

But since this is my last cupcake, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned through this experience:

1.      If in doubt, sift it out: My last few cupcakes have turned out much better than my first attempts. I think this is partly because I started sifting all my dry ingredients together. Okay, so really I just force them through my colander because I don’t have a sifter. But, Christmas is only three months away. A girl can dream.

2.      Don’t just measure twice and cut once – calculate three times, measure twice, then cut once: I learned this the hard way after thinking I’d properly doubled all my ingredients. I wasted so much time and money on that mistake (seriously – a whole box of butter wasted! That stuff’s like $3 a box.). Maybe this doesn’t apply so much for people who are good at things like fractions or adding. But it’s a must for me.

3.      There’s a reason you make 12 cupcakes: Because they’re best when they’re shared. It’s been so much fun making cupcakes with everyone in this club and seeing their cupcake creations, and I’m so lucky to have worked and shared cupcakes with all of them.

And one last thing – I’m not sure how she does it, but Ming’s fillings always look so darn perfect in the cross-section view of the cupcake. I mean, every time the filling is just perfectly in the center. Whenever I try to fill a cupcake before baking, the filling always sinks to the bottom and looks kind of sad. If anyone figures out the trick to this, please let me know!  

Week 27: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Good day cupcake friends! We have reached the end of my personal cupcake journey. For my final cupcake, I made Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. And you totes heard me right, NO FILING! Woop Woop! In general, these cupcakes were Simple Simon compared to my first two endeavors. The only thing I had to worry about was obtaining Almond Meal, aka Almond Flour, aka expensive ground up nuts. Luckily, Hy-Vee's fancy-pants Health Market section had just what I was looking for!

Precious Baby Cupcake

These little precious babies were, by far, the simplest cupcakes I had made! Thanks for finally providing me with complete baking instructions Ming! The cupcakes were super straight forward, which makes this post a little boring…

V. Legal Cupcakes

The most exciting part of my Vanilla Almond Cupcakes was their random shapes and sizes! They were like magic bean cupcakes, each with an individual personality, just like the members of Cupcake Club! I have had an awesome time creating cupcakes! I hope you have had just as sweet of a time reading about my cupcake adventures! Thanks so much for reading! <3 Sarah

Week 26: Port Wine and Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

Week 25: Graham Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Key Lime cupcakes

Hello blog readers!  After a long hiatus, during which I got to sample soooooo many delicious cupcakes, it was finally my turn again!  And after a request from our cupcake president (?) I switched up my lineup and made the graham cracker cupcakes with key lime frosting this week.  And good thing, because it was 4th of July weekend.  And what's more American than key limes?  I mean, they're from Florida, right?  And last time I checked, Florida was in America.  Works for me. 

These cupcakes were really easy to make.  My 4 yr old had fun crushing graham crackers with me.  I just put them in a baggie and hacked away.  The rest of the ingredients were things that are normally in my kitchen, so nothing too exotic. The batter was delicious!  Once they were baked, there wasn't a strong graham flavor, but it was a perfect vehicle for the frosting. 

Oh, the frosting......it's awesome.  I actually made these cupcakes 3 times this weekend, so I made a double batch of frosting and probably used more powdered sugar than the recipe called for so it would be stiff enought to stay piped on.  I used bottled key lime juice and added some lime zest, too.  Yum.   



S'mores cupcake



The recipe made about exactly 12 cupcakes, and on 12 of them, I decided to mix it up a bit.  I made them into s'mores cupcakes.  I dipped the top of them in chocolate ganache and made a frosting out of butter, powdered sugar, and marshmallow fluff.  I served them to my family on the 4th so you'll just have to take my word for it that they were popular enough to not have any left to share w/ the cupcake club, so they must have been good this way, too! 

Week 24: Parsnip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Parsnips are one of my favorite tubers.  Yes, a person can have a favorite tuber.  They are wonderful roasted with carrots, drizzled with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Even better, they make a great puree as an alternative to mashed potatoes.  And, as I’m happy to discover, they also work in this delicious cupcake! 

Basically, this is a carrot cake cupcake where you switch the parsnip for the carrot.  I found the recipe pretty simple.  I varied a little from Ming’s instructions for mixing the ingredients.  I mix the wet ingredients separately from the dry, and I sift the flour, baking soda, and spices together.  I added the pineapple and parsnips to the batter last.  For people with the correct attachment for their food processor, grating the parsnips should be no trouble.  I cannot find my attachment, so I grated a LOT of parsnips by hand.  But the result was worth it.  These cupcakes stay very moist, thanks to the canola oil, parsnips, and pineapple in the batter.  And any cupcake is vastly improved with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. 

I hope other people will try out this recipe.  It’s a great conversation cupcake with a yummy taste to boot.  I’m keeping it in my repertoire.

Week 23: Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting

Hello Cupcake Lovers! It's time for another blog posting from me, Sarah! Yay! This time I made the Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filing and Meringue-esque Frosting. First, let me tell you that I was slow to jump on the cupcake wagon, such that I didn't sign-up for specific cupcakes; I just took them potluck, like my freshman roomie. Then, to make matters more complicated for the Amazing Kate (Founder of CC), I asked for cupcakes that didn't have chocolate. (I work with this weird-o who is "allergic" to chocolate). Kate was awesome and obliged. BUT GUESS WHAT, the allergy kid didn't even try these cupcakes! What!?!? I know!

Anyway, for this grand adventure I did not have to scour the globe looking for any unique ingredients, which my husband was very happy about.

The cupcake recipe looked easy enough, until I realized that there was Lemon Filing I made but it never goes into the cupcake. Hmmm….Ming! Why do you do this to me?!?!? I am not a pastry chef. I had no idea when or where to put the goo in. Sad. So, I made it up. I pretty much just followed her filing instructions from my first cupcake (even though that had "preserves" instead of "filing.").

I, again, made a test batch, since I had no idea what I was doing. They were yummy, but all of the filling disappeared into the cupcake batter! So on the next two batches—that's right, I said two—I tried different techniques…less cupcake, more goo…then ¾ full of cupcake, then I put the goo in. Every time it came out exactly the same! (for the most part – some of them were huge and had to be sacrificed to the neighbors.) They were also very dense and heavy, but they tasted yummy enough. I didn't take pictures so here is a creative interpretation of my cupcake and what Ming thinks my cupcake should have looked like.

Week 22: Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Week 21: Coffee Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

Armed with a kitchen full of ingredients, and still buzzing from the hours of romantic tension between Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy on display in X-Men: First Class,  I set about making the coffee cupcakes with the type of careless disregard and darn the rules attitude you'd expect from me.  And, as you would also expect from me, things went . . . slightly awry.  While making the first batch I combined the coffee/cocoa mixture, the buttermilk and baking soda, and the egg in a mixing bowl, then added the flour, salt, and sugar mixture in thirds.  The result was a perfectly passable cupcake, if a bit small and dense.

So, armed with the dual weapons of humility and experience, I once again set about making the cupcakes, this time following Ming's actual directions.  This time I added the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl first, then mixed in the coffee and cocoa until the mixture was a bit grainy but integrated.  Then added the egg and mixed until the mixture was smooth.  The buttermilk and baking soda are the last thing to go in, and they mix for only a bit.  Doing it this way allows the baking soda, which is producing CO2 in the acidic butter milk and produces a lighter, puffier batter, and thus a lighter and fluffier cupcake.

So, the icing.  It's pretty much tastes like Baileys.  If you really like Baileys as I do, this isn't a problem, but if you perhaps want to delay your children's adventure in the wonders of alcoholism, you can probably cut the Bailey's with heavy cream or just take the Baileys out all together and replace with heavy cream. My icing was not as runny as the picture.  I don't know why, but my process was creaming the butter in the mixing bowl, then adding the liquid ingredients, then adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time until it was integrated in.  It was a pretty light, normal icing.

Week 20: Coconut Sponge Cupcakes with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream

It was only a matter of time before a cupcaker was unable to successfully complete Ming’s recipe and be forced to make an entirely different recipe so as to not disappoint the fellow cupcakers. Well, if you haven’t guessed it by now, that cupcaker was me.

I dutifully followed the recipe, but there were so many places where things could go wrong, and evidently, something did. I needed to beat the egg whites and salt until there were soft peaks. Then add sugar and beat until there were stiff peaks. Then fold the stiff peaks gently into an egg yolk mixture.



I don’t know if I went wrong at the soft peak, stiff peak, or gently folding stage, but the cupcakes shriveled up a few minutes after I took them out of the oven. After splitting one open, it appeared as though the ingredients separated:  the bottom was a congealed glob of goo and the top was somewhat spongy. There was no way I’d serve these to anyone, and I unfortunately didn’t have the time or culinary resources in stock to go through the soft-peak, stiff-peak, gently-fold process again and risk another fail at any/all of those stages. So I claimed defeat and used Barefoot Contessa’s coconut cupcake recipe instead. The batter was absolutely delicious—I had no problem licking the bowl—and the cupcakes graciously didn’t shrivel into a congealed glob after I took them out of the oven. Instead they turned out plump and tasty.

The conquest wasn’t a complete fail:  I used Ming’s frosting recipe, which was very good. However, because it uses egg yolks, I’d be somewhat leery to make it for other people again. I’d hate to make someone sick.

All in all, if I were to make coconut cupcakes in the future, I’d probably choose the easier route again and stick with Barefoot Contessa’s recipe and leave Ming’s recipe for those with more culinary genius.

Week 19: Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting

Reader, I did it: I baked the heck out of these cupcakes. I mean, things went seriously well. After the disasters I've had before, this was a very welcome surprise.

I can't put my finger on what, exactly, made everything go right. Maybe it's that I stopped trying to multitask while in the kitchen (read: cook dinner and bake cupcakes at the same time, or read textbook and bake cupcakes at the same time, or bake cupcakes while waiting for nails to dry, etc). This time, I focused entirely on the cupcakes, measuring everything precisely and reading the instructions carefully before taking each step. From the baking time to the measurements, nothing went wrong. Everything was right on in the instructions.

Things went so well with the baking that I decided to get a little creative with the frosting. I made a double batch (about 30 cupcakes) and frosted half with the maple brown butter as Ming recommends, and half with lemon frosting. I topped the lemon frosted cakes with candied lemons. I thought I could save a step by cutting the lemon slices into quarters before candying them; don't. Put whole slices into the boiling water, then quarter them when they are done. It works much better, and looks a lot nicer.

I really preferred the lemon frosting on the blueberry cupcakes. Maybe it's because I'm nostalgic for blue and yellow (the colors of my high school, law school and wedding). But after this round of cupcake baking, I have to say: Ming, you make a mean blueberry cupcake!

Week 18: Sour Cream Apricot Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting and Toasted Almonds

Sarah's cute cupcakes pose with the equally adorable Strawberry Shortcake.

I am not ashamed to admit that for my first cupcake adventure I was über nervous. I have often been a sous chef in the kitchen, but never the head pastry chef! I started my cupcake party with a little bit too much of a lofty goal – to purchase as many local products as possible, specifically from the Topeka Farmer's Market. Let's say that I failed miserably, but did end up with some very nice soap. Ming's recipe called for Apricot Preserves, which cannot legally be sold at Farmer's Markets in Kansas. Dillon's, however, carried some very nice preserves from France. So I put on my beret and got to baking.

Due to my intense fear of screwing up the cupcakes, I made a test batch. Other than my kitchen being ridiculously messy and my personal inability to leave a single dirty dish on the counter for more than 5 minutes, the cupcakes were very successful! I delivered them to the neighbors I could find to make sure I wouldn't poison anyone to work. The great people of College Hill loved my cupcakes! (Thanks neighbors! I heart you!)

I got started on my next batch (a double batch –I'm an over achiever.). I think they turned out just as delicious. Ming provided a very understandable recipe for this go-around. I was very satisfied with my first cupcake adventure! 

Week17: Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Ganache

Week 16: Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting



Peeps eye Carrie B.'s tasty Guinness chocolate cupcakes.

Hi all!  Its Carrie again, and this week’s cupcake challenge was the Guinness chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  I was really excited to try baking with Guinness.  I’ve used Guinness before for savory stews and soups, but never for sweets.  Luckily, my husband is a huge fan of Guinness so he helped put away the Guinness I didn’t need for the recipe.  (Thanks, Travis!)

I thought this recipe was pretty easy, particularly in comparison to the filled cupcakes.  I used room temperature butter, cream cheese, and eggs rather than cold.  I read in my Bon Appetit magazine this weekend that room temperature makes all the difference.  I also sifted the dry ingredients together to avoid clumps before mixing with the wet ingredients.  Overall, the batter was thinner than the last cupcakes I made, and, therefore, a lot easier to pour into the cupcake pan.  Oddly, there was a difference in the cook time between the foil cupcake wrappers and the papers ones.  (The paper took longer.)  I have no idea why.

This Peep may have had one Guinness
(cupcake) too many.

Overall, I would definitely make these again.  The cake is not too sweet—almost like a dark chocolate—and you can’t really taste the Guinness.  And, once again, I’ll eat anything with cream cheese frosting on it, so load it up.  I played with the idea of adding a few big chocolate chips to the top of each cupcake as a garnish, but decided against it.  I thought I would stay pure to the recipe before adding my own things to it.  In the future, though, I might be throwing on some chips, or perhaps a raspberry to cut the sweetness of the frosting.  I don’t know, I’m just brainstorming.

I give these a big thumbs up. 

Week 15: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Week 14: Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

For my second cupcake attempt, I switched from fruit (lemon) to vegetables (carrot). And the time of year—Easter and spring—couldn’t have been more appropriate for cupcakes that contained bunnies’ favorite snack.

Bunnies love carrots; cupcake clubbers love Casey's carrot cupcakes.

All in all, things went really well. Although the recipe tells you to just mix all the ingredients together, I did mix the dry and moist ingredients separately, as I’ve seen other recipes call for. I was surprised at the addition of crushed pineapple, but since I’ve never made anything carrot-related before, I dumped it in.

I was also immensely grateful (no pun intended) that my sister gave me her nice oxo grater so that I could grate the carrots. Which, by the way, makes a huge mess.

After mixing everything together, I was concerned that the batter was too runny and would overflow, but the cupcakes proved me wrong and thankfully didn’t end up all over the bottom of my oven. I kept them in the oven about 10 minutes longer because they just didn’t seem done after 35 minutes. After I allowed the ingredients to come to room temperature, the cream cheese frosting was a breeze.



Grated carrots in the batter.



Pineapple, an unexpected ingredient.



Stay tuned for when I switch back to fruit and attempt the Coconut Sponge Cupcakes with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream Frosting—those sound pretty complicated!

Week 13: Sour Cream Fig Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrie B.'s cupcakes were so sweet, even the cupcake was smiling!

I was so curious to see how the sour cream and fig cupcakes would turn out.  


Result?  Delicious.  Process?  Tricky.  


The batter is extremely thick, probably due to the sour cream.  Ming suggests filling the cupcake pan 1/3 full, then putting a spoonful of fig preserves in, and then covering with more cupcake batter.  


The problem with this method is that the preserves sinks to the bottom of the cupcake rather than staying pretty in the center like her picture.  

Fig cupcake

But certainly doesn’t detract from the flavor, so I recommend the cupcake.  I doubled the recipe and got 22 cupcakes (I might have overfilled the cupcake pan on the first batch).  And, of course, cream cheese frosting is my favorite.  


If I made these again, rather than trying to have a fig center, I might just put some of the fig preserves in both the batter and the frosting.  I didn’t have any figs or candied ginger for garnish, so I garnished with the fig preserves.  It was such a pretty color—I think it worked. 

Week 12: Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

I'll save everyone a little suspense. The score is now Cupcakes: 2, Kate: 0.

An apple cupcake a day...would require a lot of baking!

My first attempt at making cupcakes for the club did not go perfectly. So I was really hoping to totally redeem myself with these apple cupcakes. I measured everything precisely, even checking my calculations for doubling the ingredients on my calculator. I had enough of each ingredient, without having to shop for anything special. My husband was a whiz at dicing the apples. This was going to be awesome.

The recipe said to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then add the apple chunks to the wet ingredients before mixing in the dry. I accidentally mixed the wet and dry ingredients before adding the apples. No matter—this wasn't going to break my stride.

Regardless of my error in ingredient order, the batter for these cupcakes was awesome. It smelled and tasted great—so much cinnamon and nutmeg. While I was mixing it up, I had an idea that the batter might be good just baked over apple slices; kind of like an apple cobbler/cake hybrid. This time, though, I stuck with the cupcake paradigm. I put the cupcakes in the oven and asked my husband to listen for the beep. Meanwhile, I went outside to do some gardening (which, I have to say, I am likewise semi-inept at).

Cupcakes gone wrong.

About 25 minutes later, my husband came outside. I asked him if the buzzer had gone off. He said it had, and then he hesitated. "The cupcakes," he said. "They just don't look…right." I asked if they'd burned. "No, they didn't burn. But they look kind of like—peanut brittle or something." Peanut brittle? How could my cupcakes look like peanut brittle? Surely he was mistaken.

He was right. The cupcakes had vacated their individual cups, spreading across the muffin tin in some kind of evil, baked-on blob. I mean this thing was baked on there. It was super tough to get off the muffin tins. I guess the cupcakes had overflowed their liners and baked onto the tin, but what was left in the liner had also fallen.

I started again, this time mixing the ingredients in the right order. I don't think that made a difference. But the cupcakes fell, again. I just don't know what I did wrong. My fellow cupcake clubbers—they're too nice, really—said it could have been because a storm front moved through the same time the cupcakes were baking.

Behind the scenes of a
cupcake photo shoot.

And I still had to make the frosting. I was worried about the frosting. I remembered the difficulty the maple brown butter frosting posed a few weeks ago. It turned out pretty well. I thought it might not set up right—after it cooled, it was still a little runny. But I put it in the fridge overnight, and it set up right. I don't normally like caramel, but it ended up being one of my favorite frostings.

Overall, I thought the cupcake was pretty good. I think I liked the batter better than the end product. I think it might work better as a cake or maybe as a muffin than as a cupcake. I'm sorry my cupcake posts always turn in to such a story. It's just that I am truly, apparently, incapable of making a cupcake, and have an inescapable compulsion to explain my efforts. But, I'm looking forward to my next attempt!

Week 11: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling

Kari's cream-filled cupcakes were a sweet treat,
but it was still sad to say goodbye.

I was really excited to make Cupcake #11, Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling, because I felt like it was the gourmet version of the classic Hostess cupcake. You know, the chocolate cupcake with the white swirls on top. In doing some research, I found out the popular Hostess cupcake is often referred to as "The Captain of Them All." A famous slogan has also attached to the famous cupcakes: "You get a big delight in every bite."

 I had a lot of fun making this cupcake, mostly because I had the assistance of my mom, who is a fabulous baker. The cake batter was thicker than most, so it was hard judging how much to put in each cupcake liner. While making these cupcakes, I learned a very important lesson in cupcake creation – don't fill the liners too full. The first batch I filled the liners too full and the cupcakes overflowed onto the cupcake pan. The part of the cake that overflowed stuck to the pan, so the cakes were impossible to remove without breaking off the top of the cupcake. The second batch turned out much better after I had a better idea of how much to fill the liners. The cake was moist and had just the right chocolate flavor. My family enjoyed eating all the broken cupcakes even without the cream filing and ganache.

A broken cupcake

The best part of these cupcakes, in my opinion, was the cream filling! And, it was really simple to make. The cake and cream filling was a perfect combination. The slogan is true, the cream filling put a "delight in every bite."  It was also easier than I thought to fill the cupcakes. I do suggest, though, waiting for the cupcakes to cool to begin filling them. It is easier to remove the inside of the cupcake after the cupcakes cooled.

The chocolate ganache also added to this cupcake. I was a tad nervous about making ganache for the first time but my mom and I worked it out. To make sure the ganache was the right consistency, we added a small amount of each ingredient, chocolate chips and half-and-half, instead of combining the entire amount all at once.  That seemed to work out well because the ganache turned out to be the right consistency and not too runny. I frosted the cupcakes with the ganache and let them refrigerate overnight so the ganache could cool. I waited until the following day, before adding a dollop of the remaining cream filling to the top of each cupcake so that the cream wouldn't melt into the ganache.  After sampling the finished product, I can definitely see how this flavor of cupcake has become the captain of all cupcakes.

As I said earlier, I was really excited to make this cupcake. On the other hand, I was a little sad because this was the last cupcake I was baking for the cupcake challenge due to relocation for my new job. In keeping with the tradition of my posts, this cupcake goes out to my friends at the COA. I will miss you. You brought much delight and enjoyment to the office. The place wouldn't have been the same without you. This cupcake also goes out to R.M.: thanks for being my #1 fan and supporting me in all my endeavors.

Week 10: Mango Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and Coconut

Jayne's mango cupcakes were a crowd favorite!

The taste of summer in a cupcake – awesome!  I'm Jayne, and I made the mango cupcake with buttercream frosting and coconut.  The batter is a bit runny, but it makes a moist cake. 

 One jar of mango wedges mashed with a hand potato masher makes enough puree for the recipe – 12 cupcakes. 

My warning about the buttercream frosting – make sure your husband and/or kids aren't around so you can lick the bowl – its scrumptious. 

My only snag was turning my back a minute too long while toasting the coconut in the oven – I had to do that step over. 

All in all, a delicious cupcake that I will make again in the summer months.

Week 9: Red Devil's Food Cupcake with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

The frosting was runny, but Kari's cupcakes were still delicious.

This week's cupcake, Red Devil's Food Cupcakes with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting, sounded really unique. For a not so experienced cupcake baker like myself, unique = complicated. I knew I would need some assistance, especially after reading the frosting recipe.

My late Grandma Jeanie was a marvelous cook/baker. One of the many things I miss about her is her delicious food. She always wore a blue apron when cooking/baking. I didn't really inherit Grandma Jeanie's cooking abilities. So, a few years ago for Christmas, my mom gave me Grandma Jeanie's blue apron with a note that said: "Wear this and whatever you make will be great." I knew with this cupcake, I needed to bring out Grandma's trusty blue apron.

The batter for this cupcake came together nicely. It was light, fluffy and moist. I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn't add any ingredients. It tasted good as is.

The fabled blue apron. 

The frosting, on the other hand, did not come together so nicely. The frosting called for chocolate, sour cream, and honey. Again, I followed the recipe exactly. However, the frosting was extremely runny. When I tried to put the frosting on the cupcake, the frosting refused to cooperate. Rather than staying on top of the cupcake, the frosting ran right off the top of the cupcake onto my kitchen table. After attempting to frost the first few cupcakes, there was more frosting on my kitchen table than on the cupcakes. I did what I always do when something goes wrong in the kitchen, I called my mom. She suggested adding some powdered sugar to the frosting to thicken it up. A pound of powdered sugar later and the frosting was still runny. At that point I decided not to add any more powdered sugar as I was fearful it would overcome the honey flavor of the frosting. I decided to let the frosting sit overnight to see if it would thicken. The frosting was still too runny the next day to frost the cupcakes. Instead of frosting the cupcakes, I took the cupcakes and a bowl of the frosting to the cupcake club meeting and let the group members put their own frosting on.

Most of the group seemed to like the taste of the frosting, even though it was so runny. The honey added a nice flavor, but I felt like the sweetness of the honey wasn't enough to overcome the bittersweet taste of the chocolate. The cake was delicious but if I were to make this cupcake again I would use a vanilla butter cream frosting or chocolate frosting.

This cupcake is for you, Grandma. <3

(A picture of Grandma Jeanie's apron is included in this post. I happen to know a male model and he kindly modeled the apron.)

Week 8: Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Marshmallow Frosting

We celebrated Mardi Gras with Carrie A.'s magical marshmallow cupcakes.

I was a little nervous about making this week's chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow mint frosting because I have never quite been able to master the fine art of making rice krispy treats (stop laughing, Abby). The marshmallow gets me every time. I either use too much or not enough and always end up with a sticky, gooey mess that doesn't taste right and ends up in the trash.



Inside the chocolate cupcake.



When I was measuring out the (very sticky) marshmallow cream for the frosting on these cupcakes, I started having flashbacks to my previous kitchen disasters and worried that I would become the laughingstock of the Cupcake Club. But my fears quickly subsided after I began mixing the marshmallow cream with the butter and mint flavoring-it lost its sticky consistency and became more smooth and frosting-like. I originally thought that I needed to frost the cupcakes while they were still a little warm so that I could get that cool drippy look that Ming had on her cupcake, but that was a mistake… it's definitely key to let the cupcakes cool completely and let the frosting sit for a little while, just like with any other frosting.

Overall, I think it was a marshmallow success!! And now that I have conquered the marshmallow, maybe it's time to give those rice krispy treats another try…

Week 7: Lemon Cupcakes with Jam Filling

There was nothing sour about Casey's
fantastic lemon cupcakes!

When life gives you lemons…make lemon cupcakes! With jam filling!

The first filled cupcakes made their debut in week 7. I had some trouble finding the cake flour at the grocery store. Some online sites reported that you can use a mixture of regular flour and cornstarch or less regular flour that has been sifted as substitutes for cake flour, but I was victorious in finding the box of cake flour and I didn't want to take a chance on screwing up the cupcakes.

The baking process went well. Like the other cupcakes, I found the cake to be very dense and spongy, but still very good. As I poured the ½ cup of lemon juice into the batter, I thought that the lemon would be overwhelming, but it was just right for my taste buds at least.

Inside the jam-filled cupcakes.

Then the most nerve racking part—carving out the hole for the filling. I used my Pampered Chef grapefruit knife to cut the hole out. The cuttings got a bit crumbly, especially when I put them back on, but the whipped cream masked the filling process' imperfections. Although not part of the instructions, I microwaved the jam to make it easier to pour into the holes. If I were to make the cupcakes again, I'd experiment with different flavors of jam:  strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc.

Once topped with the whipped cream and fresh strawberry, the cupcakes looked very summery—a perfect antidote for Kansas' cold, nasty February weather.



Week 6: Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting



Chelsey's cupcakes were so good,
they were bananas.

I chose these because I like banana bread, and I was intrigued by the frosting. As you can see  from my Cast of Characters photo, this used nice, simple ingredients that are usually in my pantry and fridge. I didn't have a lemon on hand and didn't want to go back to the store to buy one, so I omitted it. I figured that it was primarily invited to the party to prevent banana browning. The batter is super easy to make and comes together nicely.  



I've never baked anything at 275 degrees for an hour - I think of "low and slow" as a BBQ technique, not something for baked goods. But the cupcakes came out great and were nice and moist. I initially thought the step of freezing them for 30 minutes seemed unnecessarily fussy, but the cupcakes did seem to shrink a little after being in the freezer, and they were still moist even after being frozen. I think it probably was a necessary step.





Frosting in the making.



The frosting was good in theory. I like all of the component parts. But on the whole, I found it too buttery and too sweet.  The maple flavor isn't very distinct, so you get the sweet from the maple sugar but not enough maple flavor. The frosting made as directed is extremely runny, so I added powdered sugar. It would have been helpful to know that the frosting thickened up as it cooled, because by the time mine cooled it was like cement.

So, my take-away from this is that I would make the cupcakes again, although if I'm craving banana in super-carb form I'll just make banana bread. But I would use a cream cheese or even a chocolate frosting instead of the maple brown butter.



Cast of characters.

Baking the cupcakes "low and slow."