Strawberry cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting- YUMMO!

This is the recipe for the strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that I made for my friends baby shower. These were so delicious. I was worried that despite all of the fresh strawberries added to the batter that the strawberry flavor wouldn't come through. Though it was subtle, for me it was just the right amount and these were delicious! They were a definite crowd pleaser. I got the baby idea from Wilton's website. Aren't they cute!

Strawberry cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Martha Stewart recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/3 c. whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 sugar or honey
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 c. whole milk, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c.sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
Place strawberries and honey or sugar in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 2/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; 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; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

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.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(from Ina Garten)
Ingredients:
2 pkgs. (16 oz. total) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 lb. powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cream cheese and butter thoroughly. Add sifted powdered sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Last Saturday we headed down to see my dad, his wife and my two youngest brothers. It was my brother Jarom's 18th birthday on April 6th and he told me that for his birthday he wanted me to make him my Australian Sausage Rolls and some cheesecake. Of course I was happy to oblige and after cooking and baking all morning we made the trip down to Spanish Fork. We had fun eating and visiting and my dad's wife Cheryl made us a lovely meal.

My food assignment was dessert. Knowing my dad has always been a lover of carrot cake I was excited to make these Carrot Cake Cupcakes for him. I thought they looked so cute and they were really tasty too.

I also found these easy to make and rather forgiving. After I had placed them in the oven I was reading over the recipe and realized I had sifted and not whisked the flour mixture. Uh oh. Panic set in and I was worried that they wouldn't turn out. Thankfully they did and they seemed totally unscathed.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Martha Stewart Everyday Baking


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (from about 4 medium carrots)
For the Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside.
2.In another large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture mixing until well combined. Divide among muffin tin. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
3.Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. To frost: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners' sugar

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I came across a great blog. This blog is all about cupcakes (http://howtoeatacupcake.net/. It has so many different flavors of cupcakes that I saved a bunch to try when I had some time. This is the first one I have tried.

These were really tasty. I think I may have used a little too much apple (if there is such a thing) so next time will think about using a little less, but really you can't go wrong when you pair a flavorful cake, baked apples and a syrupy caramel frosting. I really enjoyed these.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.

Makes 16-18

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium sized tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped small (about 2 cups)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl beat together the brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Beat until blended. Stir in apples.
5. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 3/4 full (I did about 1/2) with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine were done at about 18 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan.

Caramel Topping

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan over medium heat bring the brown sugar, butter, and cream to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer (about medium-low) and continue stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Pour the warm caramel topping over cupcakes. (***I HIGHLY ADVISE LETTING THE CARAMEL COOL AND THICKEN BEFORE TOPPING THE CUPCAKES!!*** Otherwise you'll just get a thin, runny mess and hardly any caramel on each cupcake. I let mine cool in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.)


I had a little helper, who when I turned my back for a second worked out how to take the lid off the baking powder. He had a measuring spoon in one hand and the baking powder in another. Hmmmmm. Notice his mouth full of apples.

Buttermilk Banana Muffins

On Tuesday while I was home with a sick toddler and a busted back I decided to do something with the bananas on my bench that were quickly ripening and the buttermilk in my fridge which was close to expiring. The end result was a tasty muffin that I think I would definitely make again. I loved these warm with a little butter but knew that by the time my husband came home and tried one that they would no longer be warm. I tend to like things on the plainer and not so sweet side whereas my hubby has quite the sweet tooth. I ended up making some cream cheese frosting to go on top which just added to this yummy muffin.

Banana-Buttermilk Muffins
From Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup mashed ripe banana
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted the nuts as I didn't have any on hand)

Directions

1-Preheat oven to 375°F.
2-Spray 12 regular muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.
3-In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
4-In separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mashed banana, oil, egg and vanilla.
5-Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
6-Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about three-fourths full.
7-Sprinkle tops evenly with nuts.
8-Bake until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
9-Allow to cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting

On the third Sunday of every month we get together as a Family for Sunday dinner at my in-laws house. Each month the three of us older sisters have a food assignment which rotates (salad, rolls, dessert). This month it was my turn to make dessert. I made these YUMMY Chocolate Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting. I knew I wanted to try this recipe for the cookies and cream frosting so I just had to find a recipe for a good homemade chocolate cupcake. I found this recipe on http://www.stephanieskitchen.com/ Stephanie’s blog always has yummy treats so I knew I could trust her recipe. It did not disappoint. I also liked that these cupcakes had a different method that I had ever seen before. They were fun to make.

I did run into some issues when piping my frosting though- my fault entirely. I didn't have a big enough tip (I used a round 12 tip) and I found that pieces of Oreo would occasionally clog my tip. I definitely need to use a bigger tip next time. All things considering I think they turned out quite cute. My son was sick on Sunday so I had to miss out on family dinner. I was bummed that I didn't get to see everyone enjoy these.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and add to creamed mixture. Blend in flour. Blend cocoa and boiling water, to make a thick paste.
Combine chocolate mixture with creamed ingredients. Pour into cupcake papers that have been placed in muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Makes approximately 18 cupcakes.
Adapted from Cooks.com


Cookies & Cream Frosting
http://phemomenon.blogspot.com/
5 oz cream cheese, softened
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
5 Oreo cookies, processed to crumbs

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and beat on low to incorporate. Once mixed together, turn speed to high and beat approximately 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the cookie crumbs on low and just mix in lightly. Pipe as desired and sprinkle with additional cookie crumbs if desired.



My Gabe gets so excited when I break out my hand mixer because he knows that his mum can't resist giving into him and letting him lick the beaters. I did it when I was a kid, it's fun to let my little guy do it now. He certainly approved if you can't tell by the look on his face.

Yummy Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcakes

Last night as part of our Young Women’s activity we had a nice dinner and enjoyed some dessert together. I was responsible for making the dessert. One of my young women has issues with gluten and so is on a gluten free diet. I found this recipe for Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcakes a while back. We went to this same girl’s house for dinner once and I made this recipe then to take for dessert. She loved it so much, that I thought I'd make it for her again. The rest of the girls and leaders enjoyed these too. If you have a friend or a loved one who also has issues with gluten I guarantee that they will love this sweet treat!

Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcakes
www.recipezaar.com

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup icing sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Directions

1-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-muffin pan.
2-In a large bowl cream butter and sugar, using electric mixer.
3-Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
4-In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and baking powder together and add slowly to the creamed mixture. (If added too quickly, it will fly about the kitchen.).
5-Mix until well blended.
6-Fill the greased muffin tins half full.
7-Bake for 15 minutes. (Test with a toothpick, after 15 minutes, even if the top looks shiny).
8-Remove from the pan while still warm. (They will look like little cupcakes.But trust me they will taste just like little shortcakes).

9-Serve topped with strawberries, and whipped cream.


Sorry again for the poor photo quality. Lighting was bad and I used my hubby's camera on his phone to take them.