Chocolate Cupcake Challenge

Each batch of cupcakes ends up looking crazier than the last, but I can't resist a cupcake challenge!  This one was to make three different kinds of chocolate cupcakes for a friend's birthday.  I started with an identical chocolate base for each - a moist and easy recipe containing rich Ghiradelli cocoa and a splash of buttermilk.  The frostings all started out the same as well, as my bff (best frosting friend) Swiss meringue buttercream.  I didn't really have much direction on how much flavoring to add to each because of the unusual ingredient ratios, so we just went by taste.  Luckily two of my neighbors smelled the cupcakes and came up to help (thanks, Michelle and Mandy! ;) ) The vanilla frosting was flavored by the contents of a vanilla bean, the strawberry frosting contains freshly pureed strawberries, and the chocolate frosting was made by adding melted semisweet chocolate to the bowl until the mixture tasted right.  We chose the fillings to correlate with the frostings and ended up with:

chocolate cupcake / Nutella filling / chocolate frosting / crushed cocoa almonds / mini marshmallow halves

chocolate cupcake / strawberry filling / strawberry frosting / chocolate sprinkles / strawberry pieces

chocolate cupcake / raspberry filling / vanilla bean frosting / chocolate shavings / raspberries

Of course these were mini cupcakes, because minis are cuter, and because it is easier for people to try multiple flavors when each cake is just a nibble.  I varied the heights of the piped frosting by flavor so that once the toppings were applied, the finished products were roughly the same height for some sense of uniformity.
Until the next cupcake challenge...

Birthday Mini Cupcakes

Happy birthday, Mini!  These were so much fun to make.  I took them to work for a dear friend's birthday - her nickname is actually Mini, so of course I chose miniature cupcakes for her.  Upon interrogation, she voted down chocolate, citrus, or mint flavor involvement.  Berries were still in the game, and the bright, juicy raspberries at the grocery store this week made my decision.  A plain vanilla cupcake base contains homemade raspberry filling (pureed raspberries and a little sugar heated slowly and then cooled to set).  The tops are where we got creative - I made a batch of Swiss meringue buttercream, very lightly flavored vanilla, which was split into two bowls.  One received the seeds of a vanilla bean, and the other received the remaining strained raspberry puree.  I piped the frosting on with a small star tip.  The outer decorations were again designed and applied by my lovely friend Michelle.  So we ended up with vanilla cupcakes with raspberry filling, topped with vanilla bean or raspberry-vanilla frosting, adorned with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings or rainbow sprinkles!  The three dozen I presented were gone within an hour among a fairly health-conscious assembly of physicians, and more importantly, the birthday girl enjoyed them.  I think I'll be making these again!

Tigers Cupcakes

Geaux Tigers!  These were made for the LSU/Alabama championship game a few weeks ago (the outcome of which is irrelevant on a cake blog.)  They are double chocolate cupcakes with a raspberry filling, topped with almond Swiss meringue buttercream.  The cupcakes are made with both cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the batter - a touch of brewed coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor, and can barely be detected in the finished product.  I like simple fillings this best, and this one is made by bringing pureed raspberries and a little sugar to a brief boil, then letting the mixture sit for a few minutes to thicken while it cools.  It ends up about the consistency of jam, but less gelatinous.  The almond frosting took a little bit of thought - I needed a flavor that would play well with chocolate and raspberry, but be light enough in color that it could be decorated purple and yellow.  Brown chocolate and pink raspberry frosting were out, and the almond ended up adding a good balance to the other flavors.  My much-more-artistic-than-me friend Michelle added purple cake sparkles and yellow sprinkles in whimsical designs for the finishing touch.

Margarita Mini Cupcakes

(A continuation of the cupcakes for 21+ series.) When one of your bosses throws a margarita party, you can't show up without...margarita cupcakes!  I couldn't resist experimenting with tequila and lime juice in these minis.  The little cakes contain some of each, as does the frosting, which is an American buttercream.  Next time I make these, I will use more tequila in the frosting - the lime flavor carries so well that it covers the other.  These were indeed tasty little morsels, though, and disappeared quickly!

Tiramisu Mini Cupcakes

These Italian-inspired confections were crafted for a late summer potluck.  They take some time to put together, but the finished product always seems well-appreciated.  The recipe is Martha Stewart's - she even has a video on their assembly!  The base is a vanilla bean cupcake.  I love working with vanilla beans (though I had never even seen one until a few years ago); they just feel like a step up from plain vanilla extract.  After cooling, the cupcakes are pierced with a fork so the espresso/marsala wine mixture that is brushed on soaks in well.  In addition to that excellent tiramisu flavor, the liquid adds a delicious amount of moisture to the cupcakes.  The topping is a blend of whipped heavy cream and mascarpone cheese - light, fluffy, and slightly tangy - finished with a sprinkle of cocoa powder.  Yum!  These are fun cupcakes for the 21+ crowd.

Homemade cheesecake with blueberry topping

It has been quite a while since I've posted, but I've certainly been baking plenty!  More pictures, less words... :) (remember to click for a better view!)

 

An after-dinner treat, this was made for some summer weekend guests.  Simple graham cracker crust, vanilla cheesecake.  The substitution of some mascarpone for cream cheese in the batter makes the cake smoother and adds a little tang to the flavor!  The blueberry topping consists of fresh blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar heated slowly until the juices start to run.

Lavender Cream/Citrus Cream Cheese Minis

 

A wonderfully light summertime treat - these are a perfect contribution to potlucks, barbecues, and the like.  I used this recipe.

I have only made these as mini-cupcakes, and I suspect they work best that way.  The cream-to-cake ratio is perfect, and their cloudlike texture is complemented well by their delicate size.  

The base is a plain vanilla cupcake, a nice frame for the other flavors.  

The filling is a delicious, light, lavender-infused cream.  Tiny dried lavender flowers are heated in a simple syrup of sugar and water until their sweet perfume fragrances the air.  Then the flowers are strained and discarded, and the flavored syrup is drizzled slowly into freshly whipped cream.  When people hear that these are lavender cream cupcakes, they tend to make the easy assumption that the lavender cream is the purple stuff on top...alas, the airy lavender cream is actually white in color, with a dollop tucked within each little cake.  This is one cupcake in which I save the caps of the middles to cover the filling.  With a heavier filling, I feel confident that the frosting and the filling will stay separate as they should, but with a filling as light as this one, it seems that it would just float away without a cake cap to hold it down.  I still recommend eating the rest of the middles though.

Topping these confections is citrus cream cheese, tinted lavender, which is confusing but pretty.  The citrus flavor can come from any combination of orange, lemon, and lime juice and zest.  I use all three fruits when I make these cupcakes.  Sprinkled over the frosting of my cupcakes is additional citrus zest - the bright orange, yellow, and green look striking on a pale purple background.  In the original recipe, she recommends sprinkling additional dried lavender flowers over the cakes.  I prefer the brighter colors and subtle effect of the zested fruit, and feel that citrus zest is more familiar and likely to be eaten than shriveled lavender flowers.  Fresh lavender flowers, on the other hand, would be just lovely.  Perhaps next time!