Happy Birthday Ariel: Shirley Temple Cupcakes!

Admit it. You love Shirley temples. Sprite (or 7up), grenadine, and maraschino cherries. Such simple, syrupy awesomeness. All in honor of Ariel.

Ariel is one of my best friends. Always funny, energetic, and easy to talk to. We cause chaos where ever we go. Shirley temples are one of her favorite things, so these cupcakes were made for her.

I made a batch of Shirley temple cupcakes for Ariel last year and they tasted good but the look and texture wasn't right. They were a little orange and didn't rise. Also, the wrappers fell off. Very strange.

So this year is a redo. And the are awesome.

Shirley Temple Cupcakes, take 2

1 box white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
          the mix calls for 3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 1/3 cups water (I used Sprite)
To the Sprite I added ~1 T of cherry flavoring (I found it at Walmart next to the almond extract) and some red food coloring.
I also diced up ~1/2 cup of maraschino cherries, dusted them with flour (so they wouldn't sink) and mixed them into the batter for an extra cherry punch

Mix and bake (350 degrees, ~18-20 mins)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
~3-4 cups powdered sugar
a few drops of cherry flavoring
several T of sprite and grenadine

Mix together and frost the cupcakes!

Very sweet, very girly, very yummy

They were a hit with Molly too!

Me and the birthday girl!

Red Velvet Cupcakes for Trudy

So today my future Mother-in-Law, Trudy, is coming to town to visit, help me find a wedding dress, and do other wedding-related planning. She requested that I make the red velvet cupcakes that I had made for Karin's birthday for her visit.


Only one problem... when I made the cupcakes the first time, I forgot to save the recipe that I used. So I searched around a bit and found something that seemed fairly close to what I used before. You'd be amazed at all the variations in Red Velvet there are out there. I eventually found I used a recipe from Food Network (usually a good source). Here it is...

Fabulous Red Velvet Cake

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand

Ingredients

·         1 cup vegetable shortening

·         2 eggs

·         1 1/2 cups sugar

·         1 teaspoon cocoa powder

·         2 ounces red food coloring

·         2 1/2 cups cake flour

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup buttermilk

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon vinegar

·         White frosting, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over parchment. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Invert the cakes from the pans.

 So, this is the cake recipe I used (it talks about making a layered cake, I made cupcakes - same temp, ~23 minutes for normal sized cups, makes about 18 full cupcakes), but as I was finishing up, I found the recipe I used for Karin's cupcakes... which is here (also from Food Network):

Ingredients

·         Vegetable oil for the pans

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 1/2 cups sugar

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon fine salt

·         1 teaspoon cocoa powder

·         1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

·         1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

·         2 large eggs, at room temperature

·         2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)

·         1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

·         Crushed pecans, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

·         1 pound cream cheese, softened

·         4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

·         2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Yield: enough to frost a 3 layer (9-inch) cake

This is the frosting recipe I used, but I halved it (had plenty for all 18 cupcakes, but I don't go frosting crazy like some people) and I used 1/3 fat cream cheese (I have my limits). The frosting was nice, light, and sweet, but not too sweet. 

Enjoy!

 

Yeah, a little Christmas-y with the green wrappers, but whatever. It does make a stark contrast with the red cake and white frosting though.

S'mores Cupcakes, Per request

Aunt Terry requested the recipe for the s'mores cupcakes so here it is:

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Yields: ~24 Cupcakes

Found at Martha Stewart, with notes by: Amy Hansen

For the cake: (Can use a box chocolate cake… that’s what I did!)

2 cups and 2 tbsn. sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup and 1 tbsn. cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk (MS suggests 2%)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup of boiling water

For crust:

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, about 20 squares

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

9 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips

For the marshmallow frosting: 

4 large egg whites

1 cup of sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners and set aside. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and mix together. In a large bowl mix the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry, making sure everything is well incorporated. Next add the boiling water and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Stir until well combined. Add 1 tbsn. of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake cup and pack them in using the bottom of a small cup. Next, sprinkle 2 tsp. of the chocolate chips into each cup and then bake for about 5 minutes or until the graham crackers are golden. Remove from the oven and then fill them 3/4 full with the cake batter. Return to the oven and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the frosting, place the whites, sugar and tartar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and the eggs are warm to the touch. Transfer the bowl back to the machine and whisk, starting on low speed then eventually moving to high speed. Whisk until glossy peaks form, about 5 - 7 minutes. Add vanilla, mix until combined. Now frost your cupcakes! You can spoon the mixture on or use any tip you like. You can also either broil the cupcakes to toast the marshmallow or use a blow torch. (I broiled them, on high, as I watched carefully. I found I got a nice golden color that way.) Enjoy!