cupcake challenge ::: week 18 ~ london olympics

last week the london 2012 olympic games started. hurray!

we have been enjoying watching the amazing athletes compete along with the special events that have been broadcasted.  the opening ceremony was spectacular.  we were all slightly disappointed that the doctor and tardis didn't make an appearance.  apparently we were not alone...

we are not amused.

but we got over our disappointment quickly with the lighting of the beautiful olympic cauldron.

there are more pictures of the lighting of the cauldron here that y'all should check out.

now onto this week's cupcake challenge ...london olympics.  i found this cupcake decorating set a while back.

i made a box mix devils food cake and my chocolate butter cream frosting.

chocolate butter cream frosting
1 cup butter at room temperature
4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder

cream butter, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder.  slowly mix in by alternating powdered sugar and milk.  you may not use all the milk or powdered sugar depending on the texture you would like.

cupcake challenge ::: week 15 ~ a little nutty

what's y'all's favourite kinda nutty butter?  around here it is nutella.  i haven't had a kid come over who doesn't like it.  well there was this one.... but that was because he wouldn't try it.  eventually he did and now it is his favourite.

this week's challenge is a little nutty... make cupcakes with your favourite nutty butter. 

nutella cupcakes
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup nutella + a little more to frost if y'all want
1/4 cup milk

preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350*F

place paper liners in the muffin tins. this makes up 18 to 24 depending on how full y'all fill the liners. i filled them 2/3 full and got 18.  i should have filled them a little less than 2/3 full, they kinda overflowed a bit.

mix flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy and add eggs on at a time mixing well after each egg.  mix in the nutella. then alternately mix in the flour mixture and milk.

bake for 22 - 25 minutes.  cool before frosting.

the first pan i baked came out a little dark around the edges so i turned the toaster oven down to 325*F for the next 2 and they came out perfect.

these cupcakes bake up flat.

now if any of y'all aren't a little nutty and are just a plain nut go ahead and make cupcakes with nuts.

my brother jcub told me the other day he just didn't want to turn the oven on to bake cupcakes because of the crazy heat. i told him i understand and haven't used my oven to bake cupcakes since march.  my little secret.... i'm using my toaster oven.  using the toaster oven takes a little longer to get the job done seeing as i can only bake 6 cupcakes at a time.  but it keeps some of the heat out of the kitchen. 

cupcake challenge ::: week 12 ~ father's day

sunday is father's day.  i made up some cupcakes in honor of my father and my hubby who both like chocolate. 

my dad has always liked this chocolate cake called crazy cake. it was a popular cake made during the great depression, dust bowl and ww2 because it needs no eggs, milk, or butter.  this is the first cake i remember making on my own when i was a child. 

crazy cake
3 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup veggie oil
2 tablespoon distilled vinegar
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup cold water

sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. make three wells. fill one with oil, one with vinegar, and one with vanilla and water and stir with fork.  don't over mix this cake. it can have some lumps in it.

bake at 350 *F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

crazy cupcakes
to make crazy cupcakes i mixed up the cake and scooped batter into cupcake liners filling them 3/4 full and baked for about 22 minutes.

frost with your favorite icing. 

my dad likes whipped topping on his crazy cake......

my hubby likes chocolate frosting...

dutch chocolate butter cream frosting

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1 lb powdered sugar

1/2 cup dutch chocolate powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

about 3 tablespoons buttermilk

cream butter, half of the powdered sugar, and chocolate powder till light and fluffy.  add vanilla, 1 tablespoons milk and a third of the powdered sugar. alternate milk and sugar. 

cupcake challenge ::: week 11 ~ flag day

sunday starts national flag week and the 14th is flag day.  to start off the celebration a little early we made flag themed cupcakes.

i used a french vanilla boxed cupcake mix and added red, white, and blue sprinkles.

vanilla butter cream frosting

1 cup butter at room temperature

2 lb powdered sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

about 6 tablespoons milk

red and blue food dye

cream butter and half of the powdered sugar till light and fluffy.  add vanilla, 2 tablespoons milk and a third of the powdered sugar. alternate milk and sugar.  be careful with the milk if y'all are adding food dye.  it needs to be a little thicker at this point.  separate the frosting into 3 bowls and add red to one bowl and blue to another. 

it is better to make the frosting ahead of time and let it sit for a bit.  the red looks pink at first and will darken up sitting a couple hours in the fridge.  remember to take it out, let it come to almost room temperature, and mix it up again before frosting the cupcakes.

we tried a a dye spray on a few cupcakes to see how it would work.  my girlies said it looks better in the picture then on the real cupcakes. then my oldest said 'maybe the picture is air brushed' hahaha an airbrushed spray dye picture..... teen humor :)

i love how we ended up with a few faces and union jacks in the batch.

cupcake challenge ::: week 10 ~ blueberries

it's blueberry picking time and we are using blueberries in lots of yummy treats.  if y'all are local, head on over to college run farms and pick some blueberries to make these yummy cupcakes.  you might be able to hunt down the last of the strawberries while you are there.  if y'all aren't local check out your local farms, farmers market, or grocery and get a hold of some blueberries because they are in season.

blueberries and cream cupcakes
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup light cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mushed blueberries (extra blueberries to put on top)

preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with cupcake papers.

mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

with an electric mixer;  cream butter, vanilla, and sugar till fluffy.  add eggs mixing well after each egg.  alternate dry and wet ingredients adding them to the sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg mix.

gently fold in 3/4 cup of mashed blueberries.

fill cupcake papers 3/4 full and bake for about 25 minutes.

blueberry whipped cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mashed blueberries

with an electric mixer; beat the cream, sugar, vanilla, and blueberries until it is stiff.

frost cupcakes and top with blueberries.

cupcake challenge ::: week 4 ~ chocolate



Though not the devils food cupcakes with chocolate mousse buttercream frosting I mentioned on Monday.  I looked for a recipe that was the same as the one in  Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey to give all y'all a recipe link.  But didn't have much luck.  Though I found this recipe.  No, I didn't make those cupcakes either.  I need to get to the store to pick up sour cream and keep getting sidetracked by the beach; every day this week.  Can you see where my priorities are? 

Last night I raided my pantry for a box cake mix.  I found a Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix and a 4oz box of chocolate fudge instant pudding.  I added the pudding mix to the cake mix and followed the box instructions for the cake.   Except for substituting softened butter for the oil and adding 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to the mix. 

I needed to add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.  Checking their doneness by the spring back method rather than inserting a toothpick.  Because the chocolate chips will make the toothpick come out dirty.

I made a basic chocolate buttercream frosting that my mom taught me to make around age 12 without measuring ingredients. So it ends up a little different each time but basically the same. This recipe will work.  I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate and heavy cream instead of the milk.  After frosting the cupcakes I dipped them into a bowl filled with chocolate sprinkles.

better than chicken soup

When I have a cold, chicken soup isn't what I'm craving.  I want something spicy hot to clear my head.  I chopped up veggies from our garden and made some pico de gallo.  My oldest girlie and hubby are the only ones who will eat the pico de gallo I make when I have a cold because I like it HOT.  To kept my head from being stuffy.  

pico de gallo

2 parts tomatoes

2 parts tomatillos

1 part red onion

1 part green onion

1 part hot peppers (1/2 of it jalapenos)

1/2 part cilantro

1/4 part garlic

lime and salt to taste

sometimes I add 1 part sweet peppers

chop it all up and mix it up.

It's good on tacos, chili, ham sandwiches, and straight out of a bowl with chips or with a spoon.  Just to name a few ways I enjoyed it this week.