Spiced Vanilla Apple Cupcakes with Vanilla Cinnamon Caramel Frosting

Wow, what a mouthful!  And trust me, you are going to want to have a mouth FULL of these!  A while back I made some caramel apple cupcakes, and they turned out good, but I knew they could be better.  After running out of desserts in our house yet again I decided today was the day to play around and see what I could come up with.

Some of the ingredients I used today might not have been my first choice, but I was trying to stick to things I had on hand.  For example, the confetti cake lol…. I would likely use plain white/vanilla next time.  I might also throw in more than the 15 caramels I had on hand, or perhaps even throw in some caramel syrup to really bring the flavor up front and center in the frosting.  Really though, even with the things used everything turned out great, and if I had those things on hand again I would use them in a heartbeat.

These cupcakes don’t rise a whole lot because of the density from the apples  so I recommend filling them fairly full.  When added the cinnamon to the frosting start with a little and add in small increments until you reach your desired amount.  If you are like me and want to save a bit of time, or enjoy a bit of texture in your cupcakes you can leave the apples unpeeled, however I find kids prefer them peeled.  Also, I know most apple desserts call for granny smith apples, but I used some firm golden delicious today and they worked very well, so don’t be afraid to use your apple of choice for this.

Servings : 24 cupcakes                 Time to make : 35-40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 box cake mix (confetti or white)
• water, eggs according to box directions
• 1/3 cup applesauce (or however much oil the recipe calls for on box)
• 1 1/2-2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 apples, diced 
• 1 can vanilla frosting
• 15-20 caramels
• 1 T. butter
• cinnamon to taste

Directions :

1. Mix cake mix, water, eggs, and applesauce in a large bowl until moist.  Continue on medium speed for 2 minutes.
2. Add cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, mixing well.
3. Fold in apple pieces.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake according to box directions.
5. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
6. To make frosting : melt the caramels and butter in a glass bowl in microwave slowly, stirring every 10-15 seconds until smooth.  Set aside and allow to cool a bit.  Once cooled fold into the frosting until smooth.  Add cinnamon to taste.
7. Fill a piping bag, cut a small hole in the end, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.  Then sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon on top.

Day 97 : Cupcake Poppers

These are another “simple” treat, and one my 4 year old went NUTS for.  I will admit, they are a HASSLE, and I wanted to quit many times before I was done… but the fact that he went on and on about them for a good half hour or more saying they were the best dessert ever and how they were so beautiful made it worth the trouble.

You can use liquid food coloring for these, but I suggest the gel colors because you will get more vibrant colors.  A 7 oz. container of the marshmallow creme is about the right amount so just use that.  As for the bottoms of the cupcakes, I threw them into a dish and sort of carefully broke them up to make a crumble of the various colors of cake and threw a bit of the frosting on top… then the boys dug in with their spoons lol.

I was in a bit of a hurry tonight, so mine don’t look really great.  That and I had to use a silicon mini muffin pan which I HATE because everything always ends up sticking to it…. but with a bit more time and patience these really look do adorable and would be the perfect treat for a birthday party, or baby shower.

 

Cupcake Poppers

Serve : about 30 Poppers          Time to make : 72 minutes or so

Ingredients :

• 1 box of white cake (betty crocker’s super moist)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• food colors…. gel or liquids (5 colors)
• 1 1/2 cup marshmallow creme
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup powder sugar

Directions :

1. Mix cake batter according to package directions.  Divide into 5 separate bowls.
2. Mix in your color to the vibrancy you want.
3. Spoon by the Tablespoon into greased mini muffin cups and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make frosting beat marshmallow creme and butter until creamy, then mix in the powder sugar until nice and creamy like frosting.
6. Cut the bottoms off the cupcakes and pipe a bit of frosting between two tops and gently press together.  Use bottoms somewhere else.

 

Day 75 : Chocolate-Espresso Cupcakes

I am a bit late with these since it’s now three days past, but it had been my intention to make these for my birthday on Monday.  Since we were out of the house I just didn’t have the time.  I am the only person who will eat these in our house because Jeff absolutely hates coffee…. that’s partially why I chose them lol.  Anyway, I save a lot of dessert recipes that call for coffee because they sound SO good to me, but rarely get the chance to make them.  I figured cupcakes would be the perfect thing for the occasion.  I kept a few and will just send the rest with Jeff to work so I don’t have to feel TOO guilty lol.

I do think these were good, but I can see room for improvement too.  I thought the frosting was really good, but the cake part was just a bit bland and dry.  I like a really moist and chocolaty cake and I am sure there are other cake recipes I could use and just add a bit of espresso to in order to achieve the perfect mix with the frosting from this recipe.  The measurements were spot on for both the cake mix and the frosting, both of which I halved for today.  I got 12 cupcakes exactly and had just enough frosting to generously frost all 12.  I can’t stand it when a recipe has a lot of extra because I never know what to do with it, and can’t just throw it away lol.  I took the liberty of adding a few chocolate sprinkles on top just for aesthetic reasons, but they are optional of course.  I used plain instant coffee for this, but I might even try something like hazelnut mocha powder next time to see how that turns out.

 

Chocolate-Espresso Cupcakes

Serves : 24            Time to make : 40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 (4 oz.) bittersweet baking bar, chopped
• 2 tsp. instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream

Frosting

• 5 T. heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp. instant epsresso powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 5 cups confectioners sugar

Directions :

1. In a double boiler combine butter, cocoa powder, baking bar, and espresso powder.  Heat over a low boil until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 and line your muffin pans.
3. With an electric mixer cream the eggs and sugar together until fluffy.
4. In a seperate bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, & baking soda.  Slowly add to the butter and egg mixture and blend to combine.
5. Next blend in the cooled chocolate until smooth.
6. Stir in  the sour cream with a spoon.
7. Fill muffin cups and bake 12-14 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before frosting.
8. To make frosting, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy like a thick frosting.  Either pipe or spread onto your cooled cupcakes.

 

Day 32 : Greek Salad

Happy Groundhog Day everyone!  I could not be happier for the early spring prediction!  I am SO over this cold and snow lol.

Today I wanted to keep things a little lighter after our pizza night last night.  There is a local restaurant that serves this awesome greek salad and I wanted to see if I could find a similar salad to make at home since it’s not often we go out with two little ones these days.  This salad comes pretty close to matching the one from the restaurant, but is a bit different.  The one they serve doesn’t have the cucumbers and green peppers, and has roasted garlic, but I like the extra crunch they add and of course I could always throw in some roasted garlic if I had the time.  The dressing is really nice, and I can see making it just to have around for side salads even.

The only change I made was to add some chicken to make it more of a meal.  I used a greek seasoning blend recipe to create my own, but you could use any store bought variety you liked or even just wing it on the seasonings.  I think for personal tastes I would leave out the tomatoes next time or maybe use some grape tomatoes.  Make sure to plan ahead for this one so the dressing has time to blend all the flavors really well.

And since it was my niece’s 3rd birthday today I decided we’d make some cupcakes!  Too bad she lives hundreds of miles away lol.  Anyway, I just did boxed funfetti cake and canned frosting but I did add my own little touch and threw in some orange extract to the batter.  YUM!  I took pics just for fun.

Greek Salad

Serves : 4                 Time to make : 10 minutes

Ingredients :

Dressing

• 1 cup olive oil (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 whole large lemon, juice of (about 3-4 tablespoons, make certain that the lemon is at room temperature before squeezing)
• 2 -4 teaspoons dried oregano (start with 2 teaspoons)
• 3 teaspoons fresh minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)

Salad

• 1 large romaine lettuce, chopped (or use 2 small)
• 2 -3 plum tomates, cut in wedges (use Roma tomatoes)
• 1 English cucumber (peeled, seeded and chopped)
• 1 red onion, cut in slices
• 1 green bell pepper (seeded and cut into rings or sliced) (optional)
• 1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled (or to taste)