Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

These cupcakes were inspired by my favorite fall treat from Starbucks - the pumpkin spice latte. And to get in the mood to bake them, I stopped for a grande cup of heaven on my way home today...hey, everyone needs a muse! And mine definitely got me in the mood to bake some pumpkin cake. If I had one of these cupcakes while drinking the latte, my head would probably explode as both are equally delicious and an excellent fall treat!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes w. Cinnamon Frosting

Cupcake Recipe:

2 1/4 C Flour
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 C Butter, softened
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 C Buttermilk
1 Can Pumpkin Puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.
Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt, baking powder and baking soda - set aside.
Beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and fully blend. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
Alternately add the buttermilk and the flour mixture until completely blended.
Pour into the cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cool in pans for about 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.


Icing Recipe:

8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 C Butter, softened
3-4 C Confectioners Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Cinnamon

Beat butter and cream cheese for about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Gradually add the confectioners sugar until fully incorporated.

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Apple Cider Cupcakes

One of my favorite things about fall is hot cider and a recent request led me to a new recipe for Apple Cider Cupcakes. These were delicious - even warm out of the oven with no icing. But, I would highly suggest the icing as well! The combo of this cake and icing provides a solid 1-2 punch of autumn and makes me want to snuggle in a blanket on the couch with a good book and a mug of cider...or another cider cupcake. I was requested to make cupcakes for a baby shower so I've included a pic of the Apple Cider cupcake as well as my favorite red velvet and very vanilla cupcakes that were sent. Since the shower order was only for a dozen each I took the rest in to work and they were gone in a flash. I'm so glad my coworkers indulge their sweet teeth! :)

Apple Cider Cupcakes w. Apple Cider Frosting

Cupcake Recipe:

1 Box Spice Cake Mix
1 1/3 C Apple Cider
1/3 C Apple Sauce
2 Egg Whites
2 Eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.
Blend all ingredients until moistened. Beat on Medium speed for about 2 minutes and pour into pan(s).
Bake for 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let sit about 5 mins in pans and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.


Icing Recipe:

1/2 C Butter, softened
8oz Cream Cheese, softened
2-4 Tbsp Apple Cider
1 tsp Cinnamon
3-4 C Powdered Sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese for about 5 minutes. Add the apple cider and cinnamon. Gradually blend in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated.

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So, I've avoided baking for the last two weeks due to being sick and not wanting to spread the wealth. In my downtime however, I did find some pics I thought were worth sharing. I get really excited for fall because not only is it time for orchards, pumpkin patches and some of my favorite holidays but there are so many amazing ingredients that are in season and fresh (there's an amazing pumpkin roll I'll be posting soon enough and is to die for!). These pics are from my insane holiday antics...what else am I going to do for those I love most but BAKE?! I typically spend at least an entire day baking treats to give my family, friends and coworkers. This past year I ended up with 2 batches each of chocolate fudge, red velvet cookies, crackle cookies, no bake cookies and oatmeal raising cookies, 4 batches of chocolate chip cookies, a bags worth of pretzel/M&M thingies & over 300 buckeyes. In the past I've also done homemade thin mints, chocolate dipped pretzels and some other odds and ends but I decided last year to stick mostly with the classic cookies and add in some new faves. How do I get through the long day, you may ask? Some coffee, lots of snacking and LOTS of music! Let me tell you...the house smells like heaven and it is an absolute joy when everything is done and ready to hand out. This tradition started with my mom and my aunts - every year sometime before Christmas, my mom and aunts would get together at our house and bake, bake, bake, bake, BAKE! I still remember helping to roll the buckeyes and thinking that the bottom of the bowl would never appear. Now, my sister and I both carry out this tradition with our own twists added - her in California and me in Indy. I'm pretty sure our friends and coworkers have quit questioning our sanity and just go with it nowadays...

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Andes Mint Cupcakes

These cupcakes taste just like their miniature candy counterpart, the Andes Mint. Oh, happy day! I did have a laugh with these because I was telling someone what flavor these were just as someone else got to the middle of theirs and exclaimed, "is there chocolate ganache in this?!". And because it was early in the morning and I had not had my coffee yet, I had completely spaced it and was slightly confused for a split second. Then, of course, I had to run and get my own because I had totally forgotten about the chocolate ganache (those two words combined are heaven to me). Needless to say, these will not disappoint if you are a chocolate mint fan as they are delicious through and through!

Andes Mint Cupcakes

Cupcake Recipe:

1 C Cocoa
2 C Boiled Water
1 C Butter, softened
2 C Sugar
4 Large Eggs
2 3/4 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cocoa and boiling water in a large heatproof bowl or measuring cup and set aside to cool completely.
2. Beat butter in a mixer until creamy then gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
3. Combine flour, soda, powder and salt & add to butter mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-10 mins and then move to wire rack to completely cool before icing.

Chocolate Ganache Recipe for Filling:

1 C Whipping Cream
8oz (ish) Semisweet Chocolate, chopped (or chips)

1. Cook cream in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan over medium heat. Stir often as not to burn. Just as it begins to steam - NOT boil - remove from heat.
2. Place chocolate in a glass bowl and pour cream over the chocolate. Allow to sit until the chocolate melts a little, then whisk to your heart's content - or until the mixture is well blended. This will thicken as it cools; I suggest starting this while your cakes are baking and then placing it in the fridge for about 10-15 mins before filling the cooled cupcakes.


Icing Recipe:

1/2 C Butter, softened
1/4 C Whipping Cream
1 tsp Peppermint Extract
Pinch of Salt
Green Food Coloring (anywhere from 3-6 drops)

1. Beat butter, cream, extract and salt at medium speed until creamy.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar until blended and beat at high speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy.
3. Stir in the coloring a few drops at a time until desired shade of green is achieved.

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Black Tie Beauties

Even baking divas like myself occasionally fall victim to indecisiveness in the kitchen...okay, especially this baking diva. There are just SO many options when it comes to flavors and blends and toppings! I chose to make these lovely little confections for all the other baked good lovers that have a hard time deciding between a chocolate or vanilla fix. It's the perfect blend of both flavors and honestly just hit the spot. I, unfortunately, have not mastered the marbled effect for the cake yet so any tips on that would be much appreciated. I tested using a toothpick versus the end of a fork on these and both methods ended in a more stacked look. It didn't really affect the flavor, but the aesthetic value is 70% of what I love about cupcakes so I'd like to get it down pat. I did however score the marbled icing look on the first try and I'll take that as a win this time!

Marbled Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcake Recipe:
Mix the below batters in cupcake tins and marble the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5-10 mins and move to wire rack to finish cooling before icing.

Chocolate Batter:
1/2 C Cocoa
1 C Boiling Water
1/2 C Butter, softened
1 C Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 2/5 C Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

1. Combine cocoa and boiling water in a large heatproof bowl or measuring cup and set aside to cool completely.
2. Beat butter in a mixer until creamy then gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
3. Combine flour, soda, powder and salt & add to butter mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture.

Vanilla Batter:
1/4 C Butter, softened
1/2 C Shortening
1 C Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 2/5 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1/2 C Buttermilk
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Almond Extract

1. Beat butter and shortening at med speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour, powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in extracts.

Icing Recipe:
Fill a piping bag with 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla frostings (listed below). Don't twist your hand while you're icing the cakes and you'll keep the "2-face effect" as my son calls it.

Chocolate Icing:
1/2 C Butter, softened
1/4 C Cocoa
1/4 C Whipping Cream
Pinch of Salt
3-4 C Powdered Sugar

Beat butter, coca, cream and salt until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until blended. Beat at high speed or until creamy.


Vanilla Icing:
1/2 C Butter, softened
3 Tbsp Whipping Cream
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
3-4 C Powdered Sugar

Beat butter, cream, vanilla and salt until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until blended. Beat at high speed or until creamy.

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Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Do you remember when you were a kid and you were enticed by that amazing aroma and warm gooey pudding? These cupcakes pay homage to the wonderful dessert that is Banana Pudding (if only I had thought to sprinkle 'Nilla Wafers on top!). This is going to be one of my top 3 faves so far for a few reasons. I FINALLY figured out why my cakes were coming out a little dense (yay), they have lots of fruit so I can claim they're somewhat healthy, they remind me of one of my favorite childhood desserts & to put it simply, they taste divine! While these babes are baking, the aroma is heavenly. I typically don't taste test before serving, but I could not resist these and was NOT disappointed...I do believe giggling may have been involved upon first bite. Anywho, if I haven't made my stance clear yet, I would highly recommend these so enjoy!

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

This recipe is adapted from Big Book of Cupcakes

Cupcake Recipe:

1 1/2 C Mashed Bananas (I believe I used 4-5 and just used a ziploc bag to mash)
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 C Butter, softened
2 C Sugar
3 Large Eggs
3 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 C Buttermilk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with liners OR thoroughly grease the pans.
Combine Bananas and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until JUST until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and reserved banana mixture.
Fill cupcake pans 2/3 the way full and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes and remove to wire racks to cool completely.


Once Cupcakes are cooled completely, fill each cupcake (generously) with Banana Curd.

Banana Curd:
4 Large Ripe Bananas, mashed (again, with the ziploc trick)
4 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
4 Large Eggs


Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens to a pudding texture. DO NOT BOIL! Cool completely (I made this while the cakes were baking and let it cool in the fridge while they cooled on the racks).


Finally, top the whole shabang off with some fresh whipped cream and a banana slice.
My personal favorite recipe for fresh whipped cream is below - you will want to make extra for snack time later... :)

Take 1 C heavy whipping cream and beat in stand mixer on med-high speed until almost stiff. Add 1 tsp vanilla and about 1/4 C Sugar and beat until peaks form. Voila!

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Devil's Food Cake w. Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

Mmmmmmmmm...wait for it...mmmmmm! A moist cake with a ridiculous icing rich enough to make any chocoholic swoon. The icing is a blend between a buttercream and a mousse so it lends a smooth finishing touch to this classic cake. I do think this recipe would be better presented as a cake, but it was delicious enough as cupcakes that I'll be adding it to my cake repertoire.

Devil's Food Cake w. Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

This recipe is adapted from "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey" by Jill O'Connor

Devil's Food Cake Recipe:

1/3 C Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder

4oz Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate

1 C Boiling Water

2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 C Buttermilk

1/2 C (1 Stick) Butter, @ Room Temp

1/2 C Vegetable Oil

1 C Packed Dark Brown Sugar

1 C Sugar

3 Large Eggs, @ Room Temp

2 1/4 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/flour two 9" cake pans or line 2 cupcake tins.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder and chocolate. Pour in teh boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool, then stir in the buttermilk.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer set at Med speed, beat the butter and oil together until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the chocolate-buttermilk mixture to the batter, ending with the flour mixture.

Divide between the pans evenly and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

6 Large Eggs

1 1/2 C Sugar

2 Tbsp Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

1 1/2 Lbs (6 sticks) Cold Butter

8-12 oz Semisweet Chocolate, Melted

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and cocoa powder in a metal bowl of a stand mixer.

Fill a large pan with water and bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Place the mixing bowl in the simmering water and whisk the egg mixture constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick, fluffy and very hot (3-4 minutes). Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temp of the mixture; it should be between 120-140 degrees F.

Remove the bowl from the simmering water and, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at med-high speed until they are tripled in volume and form soft peaks and the bottom of the bowl is completely cool to the touch (about 10 mins). Beat in the vanilla and salt.

While the eggs are mixing, unwrap the butter and place in ziploc bags. Pound the butter until it is soft and malleable but still cool.

With the mixer speed still on Med-High, add the butter (approximately 2 Tbsp at a time) to the egg mixture, beating in each addition until it's incorporated. Don't start to panic if the buttercream seems too liquidy or looks curdled. As you beat in the butter it will almost magically coming into a smooth & creamy frosting. Hold your breath and keep blending!

When the buttercream is smooth and glossy (it will remain SUPER glossy, too) with a subtle brown tint form the cocoa powder, turn off the mixer and carefully fold in about 2/3 of the melted chocolate. Taste the buttercream and add as much of the remaining melted chocolate as you like for an even richer, denser buttercream.

Of course, I ended up adding all of it and then-some since I started off with about 15oz chocolate for my batch... :)

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Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

In keeping with this week's roll of reminiscing and looking back on people and places I've connected with in my life, I thought the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes would be a good addition tonight. In the last week I've done everything from visit Mammoth Cave to watching some good ol' WWE with my brother to picking up my guitar again. Needless to say it's been quite some time since I've revisited any of those things and it's been a blast to do so! It's also been a hot minute since I've had some Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. This used to be one of my favorite cereals when I was a kid...well, this and Cookie Crisp, which especially now as an adult I'm having some issues with validating that choice. But C'est la vie, we live and learn. ;)
These cupcakes were a delicious dive into my childhood. The cake is dense, but moist and has just a hint of cinnamon. The icing has little bits of the CTC cereal and is even topped off with some cereal crumbs. The only change I might make in the future is to use a full on butter recipe for the icing and not a cream cheese/butter blend; I think it was a bit too rich this way, but delicious nonetheless!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

This recipe is adapted from 2 different recipes I found and includes my little spins thrown in. (fromaway.com and yourcupofcake.com) Makes 12 cupcakes. Enjoy!

Cupcake Recipe:

1 3/4 Cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 C 2% milk

A splash of orange extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 C sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Mix milk and both extracts in a small bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, blend the butter, eggs and sugar for about 3-5 minutes or until combined WELL.

Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the batter, starting with the flour and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl at least once. Do this until batter is fully incorporated and mix on medium-high speed for another 3 minutes.

Divvy up the batter evenly between the liners in your pan and bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. My liners were only about halfway full but these baked into some beautifully domed cupcakes and anything more would have overflowed into the oven.

Icing Recipe:

8 ounces cream cheese (1 pkg), room temperature

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

3-4 C powdered sugar

About 1 1/3 C Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal that has been finely crushed using a food processor

Additional crushed and whole cereal bits, for garnish

In a stand mixer on medium speed, blend the butter and cream cheese. Slowly add the powdered sugar (I say slowly because powdered sugar can be an evil menace and will explode, be inhaled, be ingested, etc.). Mix in the vanilla and crushed cereal until everything is blended nicely.

Top your fully cooled cupcakes with the icing and garnish with cereal crumbs and/or whole cereal bits.

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Dark Chocolate Cake w. Peanut Butter Icing

I've some MAJOR catching up to do on here! I figured a good place to start would be with a new post for a delicious cupcake recipe I found. If a Reese's peanut butter cup had a love child with a rich cake, this would be it. The cake itself is moist and very chocolaty & the icing is definitely unique (and extremely peanut butter-y). I did make the mistake of putting some of the leftover icing on some freshly made chocolate chip cookies and *good lawd* it was delicious. I'll definitely be adding this one to my recipe collection!

Dark Chocolate Cake & Peanut Butter Icing

Makes 12 cupcakes

8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter

2oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 C Dutch-processed cocoa powder

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/c tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C (4 ounces) sour cream

Preheat to 350 degrees F and line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.

Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.

Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is smooth and thick.

Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake about 18-20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes in pan until cool enough to handle and then move to a wire rack to continue cooling before icing.

Peanut Butter Icing

1 C confectioners’ sugar

1 C creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 C heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

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Champagne Cupcakes: Recipe Coming SOON!

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Chocolate Cupcakes: Recipe Coming SOON!

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Citrus Cupcakes (new & improved): Recipe Coming SOON!

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Very Vanilla Cupcakes

I'm not sure why I've been avoiding the basics for so long, but before today I have never made a (from scratch) classic vanilla or classic chocolate cake. How on earth has this happened?! Well, to fix this problem right away, I've made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting. I have discovered one of the most amazing secret ingredients known to (wo)man - Vanilla Bean Paste. It's much more intense than vanilla extract, but I was looking for a vanilla cake that would stand out from the norm so I am A-OK with that. I incorporated it into both my cake and the icing but depending on your personal preference, it may not be something you're interested in. I was told by someone whose taste buds I trust whole-heartedly that it tasted like vanilla bean ice cream...that being one of my go-to ice cream flavors, I will pass this recipe on with no hesitation!

Vanilla Cupcakes:

3 C Flour

1 C (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

2 C Sugar

4 Large Eggs, at room temp

1 C Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix the milk and vanilla in a small bowl (I just used my measuring cup) and set aside as well.

In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture (about 3 parts each). With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Remove the mixer bowl and scrape the sides with a spatula & stir to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool in tins for about 15 minutes, remove and cool completely before icing.

Frosting:

1 C (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

5-6 C Confectioners' Sugar (I probably used more like 4 or so C)

2 tsp Vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. In about 3 parts, add the powdered sugar until well blended. You'll need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times during this process. Mix vanilla into the frosting and ice the cakes!

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Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream

A recipe that combines anything red velvet, brownies or white chocolate is a friend of mine. Add a Ghirardelli twist and I'm in a state of absolute bliss! Instead of making these in an 8x8 pans, I made individual brownies in a cupcake tin. The edges were crispy but the insides were perfect, so if you're a corner brownie kind of guy/gal I would suggest making (and eating) the smaller servings. You'll notice a lot of my recipes are made for easy sharing and that's because I like to keep things simple for my amazing group of taste-testers at work & home. No dishes to clean up, no long lines to wait in, no messy knife to cut with that someone blindly left in the middle of the cake pan...you know, just easy. However, any recipe listed so far can also easily be made into a standard cake size as well. These red velvet brownies would be fabulous made either way! Oh, and the icing is a definite keeper for ANY cake that white chocolate could work for. Just be sure not to overheat the white chocolate when you're melting it as it will burn quickly.

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream

For the brownies:

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz red food coloring (yes, a whole bottle)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, slowly stir together the cocoa powder, food coloring, and vanilla into a thick paste until no lumps of cocoa remain. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer off, add in the cocoa mixture, then turn the mixer to medium and beat the two mixtures together until they are one uniform color. Mix the flour and salt together and slowly add to the main mix on medium-low speed, just until combined. Do not overmix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir up the batter with a rubber spatula once or twice just to ensure all of the flour has incorporated from the sides of the bowl and there isn’t anything stuck on the bottom of the bowl. You’ll want one uniformly colored batter (velvety Red, of course).

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the brownies. Allow brownies to completely cool in the pan on a baking rack before frosting.

For the white chocolate buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 oz good-quality white chocolate (not chips), melted

In a stand mixer, cream butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time; allow the sugar to mix in before adding the next 1/2 cup. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the melted white chocolate and beat on medium speed until incorporated.

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A Lil Bit of Everything = Delicious

These are amazingly simple yet so delicious. The part that takes the longest is unwrapping all the Reese's - they should really sell these in bulk and unwrapped. What would really be delicious is to make bite-size versions of these in a mini-muffin tin. They're extremely rich and although I had no problem eating one (or two...), they would be best shared in mini form in my opinion.

Brownie Cookie Surprise

Makes 24 standard cupcake sized goodies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Smoosh one square of break apart refigerated chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of each well.

Please Reese cup upside down on top of cookie dough.

Top with a spoonful of (prepared by the box) fudge brownie mix.

Bake for 18 minutes, let cool slightly, then flip out onto a plate to finish cooling.

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White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Sometimes things just don't turn out exactly how we would like them to. Even in those instances, there is always something positive to take away. In this instance, I had a case of screwy-recipe-itis. So, I didn't really like the recipe for these too much as the cake was too dense/sticky, the filling was nixed due to texture issues and I completely re-did the icing recipe. The positive spin I am taking on these is that I thought they turned out kind of pretty and I just can't resist sharing the things I find pretty in life!

Hopefully I'll find a good recipe for these (or create my own) and will post an update, of course.

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Let Them Have Cake (& Time to Eat It, Too)

Here's a quickie recipe if you ever need something light and heavenly but don't have a lot of time for baking. I cheated a little on this one and took the super quick route... I bought one of the angel food cakes from Marsh. But SSHHH, that can be our little secret! I think this took me about 15-20 minutes total to make, which includes prepping the strawberries. The fresh fruit and light cake not only provides a beautiful presentation but also makes this a perfect summer treat.

Angel Lush Cake

1 Can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple, in juice, undrained

1 Pkg. (1.5 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

1 C Thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping

1 Pkg. (10 oz.) round angel food cake, cut horizontally into 3 layers

1 Pkg. fresh strawberries, blueblerries, or any other fresh fruit you deem necessary

Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix in medium bowl with whisk until well blended.

Stir in COOL WHIP.

Stack cake layers on plate, filling layers and topping with pudding mixture.

Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with berries just before serving. (I think we made it about 30 minutes before we had to dig in and it was still good to go!)

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