Easter Cupcakes

Back to school, back to reality... Spring break is over and it's now time to finish spring quarter. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year though: flowers are starting to bloom, spring fruits are starting to appear, and the weather is slowly starting to get better. Easter not only marks the beginning of all of this, but makes you realize how close summer actually is!

After seeing so much Easter decorations and candies in the grocery store for weeks, I picked up what seems like my hundredth bag of Robin's Egg candies (I am obsessed!) and decided to incorporate them into my red velvet cupcakes. I used Ina Garten's red velvet cupcake recipe (found here), then after looking at Martha Stewart's genius Easter Cupcakes (found here), I colored some coconut shavings green and then toasted them. I applied the faux 'green grass' easily with a spoon, not in an orderly manner, and topped it with two or three Robin's Eggs. Voila! An adorable and delicious cupcake that is perfect for Easter!

Happy Easter!

xoxo, A

New Year's Eve Champagne Cupcakes

 {having a glass of champagne while waiting for the cupcakes to bake...}

{love the edible pearls!}

Happy New Year's Eve! These champagne cupcakes with sweet champagne buttercream frosting is the perfect sweet treat to bring to any New Year's party. Celebrate 2011 and bring in 2012 with these delicious and beautiful cupcakes.

I followed this recipe and it was very easy and straight forward. I made only mini cupcakes so I could bring a bunch to my New Year's party tonight; this recipe made about 50 mini cupcakes. Mini cupcakes are perfect for parties because they are so easy to eat. I also added a couple drops of red food coloring to make the batter pink to match the cupcake papers. Adding gold, silver or white edible pearls are a perfect topping to these fancy treats.

Enjoy the last day of 2011 and have fun bringing in 2012 tonight!


xoxo, A

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Browned Butter Frosting

SO, since it’s fall, that means… it’s time to bake everything with pumpkin! I’ve been testing out a few recipes that have pumpkin in them - pumpkin cookies with white chocolate chips, pumpkin pie with streusel topping and cinnamon sugar drizzle (my roommates and I made this one and it will definitely be posted soon), and now I wanted to try these Pumpkin Cupcakes by Martha Stewart. I chose to pair these pumpkin cupcakes with a Cinnamon Browned Butter frosting.

Here is the recipe:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 ground allspice
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
  
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Set aside.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and eggs. Add dry ingredients and whisk together. Add in pumpkin puree and whisk together.
  3. Divide batter into lined cupcake tins. Fill each about halfway. Bake about 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when touched. Let cool on a wire rack.

Here is the recipe for the Cinnamon Browned Butter frosting I found online:

• 1 C (8 oz) brown butter (melt butter completely over stove top until browned)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 C confectioners sugar
• 1/4 C whole milk or half and half. Add milk by tablespoon as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.
  
  1. Pour brown butter into mixing bowl with a standing mixer or hand mixer. Add cinnamon, vanilla and sugar. Beat together until it looks crumbly.
  2. Next, add the milk until your desired spreadable consistency is reached. 

Add the frosting to the cupcakes any way you like - I have the Mechanical Pastry Bag from Williams-Sonoma, which I use for frosting my cupcakes. It’s so easy and mess-free and it has tons of different tips to choose from. You can always spread the frosting with an off-set spatula or pipe with a plastic bag. Whatever you want!

I chose to decorate the cupcakes with fall decorations (thanks, Katie!) and little candy corn candies. I thought they add such a cute touch and make these cupcakes even more perfect for the fall season! Enjoy!

xoxo, A