Strawberry Dream Cupcakes

Did you think I would only do one cupcake for my birthday?  Of course not!  Besides the amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, I also wanted to make Strawberry Dream Cupcakes.  Ages ago I had a cake by this name and loved it.  Surely I could find a cupcake recipe?

It actually was a lot harder to find than I thought it would be.  Most of the recipes call for a boxed mix and might use real strawberries, but jello or pudding mix is often involved.  No thanks.  I also wanted to avoid them tasting like muffins.  After a ridiculous amount of searching, I found a great Strawberry Dream Cake recipe at Cook's Country and used that to make cupcakes.  So easy, and their stuff is always amazing!

Of course, you can always turn a cake recipe into cupcakes, but I hadn't done it before, so it was a tiny bit of an experiment that went right in so many ways.  I brought the results to work and everyone loved them.  The frosting got lots of attention, and I must say that the fresh strawberry scent wafting around my desk all day wasn't a bad thing!

I will admit that I had a bit of a struggle with the frosting, which was my own fault.  A word of advice - don't overbeat it or you will have liquid frosting on your hands!  Luckily a few teaspoons of meringue powder and a night in the fridge fixed it.  The frosting should be refrigerated until used, so pipe it on at the last minute, if possible.

A yummy spring flavor!  This one has earned a spot in my cupcake arsenal, for sure.

The verdict: Really, really good.
The husband's thoughts: Tasty, and the frosting is amazing.
Changes for next time: None!
Difficulty: Easy, but a little putzy.  Cook's Country recipes always are, but they are always worth it!

Strawberry Dream Cupcakes
(from Cook's Country)
Makes 24 cupcakes

Cake
10 ounces frozen whole strawberries (2 cups)
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) cake flour
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

Frosting
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) confectioners' sugar
12 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces and softened
Reserved strawberry solids
Pinch salt
Fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin for decoration

For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins.

Transfer strawberries to bowl, cover, and microwave until strawberries are soft and have released their juice, about 5 minutes. Place in fine-mesh strainer set over small saucepan. Firmly press fruit dry (juice should measure at least 3/4 cup); reserve strawberry solids. Bring juice to boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk milk into juice until combined.

Whisk strawberry milk, egg whites, and vanilla in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add half of milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Give batter final stir by hand.

Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared cupcake liners and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans, and cool completely, about 2 hours. (Cooled cupcakes can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

For the frosting: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add reserved strawberry solids and salt and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Be careful to not overbeat!  Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Using a pastry or Ziploc bag, pipe frosting on top of cupcakes and top with a sliced strawberry.
(Cake can be refrigerated for 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Enjoy!
 

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I had intended on making these for Valentine's Day.  But there are so many sweets around the office that day, I thought I'd wait.  It certainly wasn't because I got lazy or anything.  Um....yeah.

Of course I decided to make these late at night because that's how I function.  They came together quickly, and it's always fun to assemble treats like this!

The recipe mentions using a small cookie scoop so the cakes are the same size and shape.  I don't own such a contraption, so I figured I'd pipe them to attempt to achieve the same effect.  (In our apartment, when in doubt, pipe it!)

I wasn't quite prepared for how many cakes the recipe makes, so I ended up using every sheet-pan-like-thing I had, including a pizza pan, and every flat space available (which isn't much, by the way).

The results were tasty, and my coworkers are enjoyed them immensely.  I may have spotted one of the finance guys coming back for thirds.  :-)

This weekend we were cat-sitting for our neighbors, so I left a little baggy of whoopie pies for our neighbors, to welcome them home.  I later found out the cats had completely shredded the bag to get at the whoopie pies.  So, apparently, kitties like them too...

I think that this recipe is a great base, and a lot of fun could be had with some slight tweaks.  I'd love to play around with the filling a bit more as it's a bit sweet for me (did I really just say that?)  Perhaps a little cinnamon in the filling?  Or some orange zest to brighten them up a bit?  If you find a fun combination, let me know!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
(from Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes 24 - 30 whoopie pies

Cakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice)

Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening and both sugars on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and the red food coloring and beat until just blended.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk to the batter and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining ½ cup buttermilk and beat until completely combined.

Using a spoon or pipe from a Ziploc bag, drop a tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling.  In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high; beat until creamy and smooth, about 4 minutes.

To assemble:  Pipe filling on flat side of a cake and top with another cake, flat side down.  Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling.

Storing: Assembled whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you need to stack layers, place a piece of wax paper between layers.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting

I've been plotting what to bake for my boss' birthday for weeks.  On a sidenote, her birthday happens to coincide with my work anniversary, and what better birthday present for her than me, right?  ;-)  Anyway, last year I made her THESE, which everyone loved.  This year I decided to go with an autumnal flavor - pumpkin!

I found a great pumpkin cupcake recipe that was light and not brick-like texture - great.  There was a maple cream cheese frosting recipe that went with it, and I'm sure that would be fine.  But I wanted to try something a little different.

I'm not really a huge cream cheese frosting fan, and I'm not sure why.  But after lots of searching, I just settled for a different type of cream cheese frosting - brown sugar.

The flavor was great, and it was creamy and not overly sweet.  It was a big hit at the office, and everyone was raving about the frosting.  Perfect!

Since it was a cream cheese frosting that softens up quite a bit, I made the frosting the night before, refrigerated it, and then piped it the morning of with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.  It worked well, and I'm glad to have another fantastic cupcake recipe to add to the ever-growing list!

Pumpkin Cupcakes 
(from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 17 to 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used far less as I don't like it super-spicy)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
(slightly adapted from Epicurious)
It makes more than you will need. Bummer, right?

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup (scant) at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Chill at least until firm enough to pipe, about 30 minutes.

Put frosting in large Ziploc bag or pastry bag to pipe on cupcakes. Pipe on and sprinkle cinnamon on top to finish.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cookie with a Cream Cheese Drizzle

Ah, the holidays.  What a perfect excuse to go on a baking frenzy and it's socially acceptable and not a personal affront to any health nuts.  (Personally, I'm all about healthy food too... but wonderful sweet treats are in a category all their own.)  I had grand plans (even possible delusions of grandeur) for my holiday baking this year as I love to bring in treats as my gifts to coworkers and mail them to family and friends.  I spotted a Red Velvet Cookie recipe that used a cake mix, and although I like to make stuff from scratch, I figured one cookie with some "assistance" out of the bazillion I had planned was acceptable!

After baking these, and tasting them, I thought they were tasty but a bit dry.  Hm, what to do.  Frosting would be great, but they're plenty sweet already with that cake mix.  What goes with Red Velvet?  Cream cheese!  Okay, a cream cheese glaze with a lessened amount of sugar so the cream cheese tang comes through and is reminiscent of the real cake.  I whipped it up, and drizzled it on through my "pastry bag" of a Ziploc bag.

The boyfriend's verdict?  "The glaze really pulls it all together."  Awesome!

Red Velvet Cookies with a Cream Cheese Glaze
(adapted from WhipperBerry)


1 box of Red Velvet cake mix
1 cup of all-purpose flour
2 sticks of softened butter
1 egg
2 cups of white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy. Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely. Add white chocolate chips, and mix for a minute or so until well combined. Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Cream Cheese Glaze
(adapted from Epicurious)

2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar (or to taste)
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat until smooth.  Spoon glaze into Ziploc bag, cut off tip, and drizzle over cookies.  The glaze will firm up a bit after sitting for a few hours.

Enjoy!