Ghostly Chocolate Cupcakes.. Mummies, Ghosts and Bones Oh MY!

• To make the ghosts, use a large round frosting tip. Hold tip close to cake and squeeze until desired size is achieved, release a bit and squeeze again creating another "level," release again a bit, squeeze and pull up to create point. Use gel or mini chocolate chips to create eyes.
• To create mummies, use the leaf tip and draw lines back and forth over the cupcake leaving room for the eyes. Use thin small candy discs for the eyes or colored icing. I used green gel with a dot of black gel but the green was not intense enough to show up really well.
• The "mound" of bones would have been really great if I had coated the frosting in oreo cookies to create a mound of bones in dirt but I was out of oreos! If you try this, be sure to link me to a picture. I would love to see how it comes out!

Chocolate Cupcakes (from Joyofbaking.com)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water
• 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls.

Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcakes.. A fall favorite!

These are my favorite cupcakes thus far and I am not even a big fan of cheesecake! The melding of cupcake and cheesecake is perfect. The cupcakes came out super moist with a beautiful orange color and are super easy to make. I used the mixer only for the cheesecake and whisked the pumpkin cupcake with a hand whisk. This recipe does not require butter.

Try this recipe with Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting (here)!

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
   

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.
   

3. Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

Let cream cheese cool to room temperature (the fastest way to do this is slice into pieces)

Mix cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Beat in 1 egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup oil and 1 tsp vanilla

Whisk in flour mixture (2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 cups flour)

Fill cupcake liners with pumpkin batter 1/2 full then layer cream cheese then more pumpkin batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until springy.

Frosted with Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting! It was delicious and the perfect compliment to the cupcakes! The Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes are also wonderful without any frosting.

Side Note: I used the EZ Cracker Egg Cracker to break the eggs and to also separate the whites from the yolks. I thought this thing was a gimmick but it is awesome! It cracks open eggs perfectly!

Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting

Tip:

• If you do not have a pastry bag for frosting the cupcakes, use a large freezer bag and cut a small hole in the corner. I actually prefer this method so I can toss the bag afterwards. You can use frosting tips with the bag or depending on the hole size, pipe out different amounts of frosting.
• When adding a fat (butter or shortening) to a meringue frosting, the mixture will often curdle. Continue mixing until the frosting becomes smooth and is completely mixed.
  

I have gotten many rave reviews about this frosting! I was a little unsure about it in the beginning as I am not a Meringue Frosting lover but the frosting has a warmth that brings to mind Candied Sweet Potatoes, Warm Apple Pies and all things fall and is sure to be a fast favorite!

Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 4 egg whites
  
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• Simmering water
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Using the electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fill a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top. Whisk the mixture until it registers 160° on an instant-read thermometer. (Without a thermometer, whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved and is not grainy)
   

2. Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 6. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag; pipe large rosettes on top of the cupcakes.

Beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Over a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top and whisk until 160 degrees (or sugar is completely dissolved)

Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes.

Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Frost!

I frosted Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcakes with the Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting using the leaf frosting tip. I lightly sprinkled cinnamon on top as a finishing touch.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with a Gingersnap Cookie Crust

Tips:

• Use aluminum foil cupcake liners for cheesecake cupcakes so your cheesecake does not soak through the paper liner and make a mess.

I have officially been bitten by the "Fall" bug! Last weekend we went apple picking. The leaves were turning and the apples were bright and delicious. It was so exciting to pick apples fresh from the trees and see an actual real pumpkin patch! So exciting in fact, I wanted to carry over the fall theme to my kitchen with Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes! These were delicious, although I undercooked them a bit.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cheesecake:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin spice

For the crust:

2 cups finely ground gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine gingersnap cookies and sugar in bowl; add melted butter and mix until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom of each cupcake liner, about 1 tbsp. Set aside.

2. In a stand mixer with a flat beater, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time.

3. Add pumpkin and pumpkin spice to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Fill the cupcake liners almost full. Bake in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.


Make sure you don't forget anything by gathering up all of your ingredients beforehand!














I used the Magic Bullet to finally ground the gingersnaps as I do not have a blender. A blender is preferable but the Magic Bullet will work in a pinch. To get 2 cups of crumbs, I filled the Magic Bullet roughly 2 1/2 times with whole cookies.


I should have mixed the brown sugar and gingersnaps together before adding the melted butter but instead I melted the butter, then added the brown sugar to the hot butter while I continued to grind the gingersnaps. I ended up with caramelized sugar. It may sound great but the crust was a bit too chewy!









































































Use aluminum foil liners when baking cheesecake cupcakes. The moisture will seep through paper liners as seen in the corner cupcake holder. I baked all the cupcakes in foil liners except the corner one and I was left with a bit of a mess when I took the cupcake with the wrapper out.

Taste Testing Cupcakes from State to State!

I have always enjoyed baking but really caught the baking from scratch bug when I lived in France. Going to the store to pick up a box mix of brownies or Red Velvet Cake was never an option nor did cans of Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting line the grocery store shelves. If I wanted something sweet and rich, I had to learn to make it on my own. Since then I have gone back and forth trying to come up with the best cupcakes to my liking along with a frosting that is not too sweet and not too buttery. I began to wonder, what does a good cupcake taste like? What, according to the loyal fans of various cupcake bakeries, is the perfect cupcake?

What I found as I traveled around Gulf Port, Mississippi, Bossier City, Louisiana and New York City, New York is there is no constant, there is no standard recipe that everyone goes crazy for. Some people like it sweet, some people like it dry, some people like it filled, some people like it big, some like it tiny and some only like it because it has a famous name.

Frostings: Gourmet Filled Cupcakes
These cupcakes were actually very tasty. They looked more decadent than most cupcakes I have run across, with mounds of frosting and little extras. They took standard chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and made them outrageous with fillings and toppings. Pretty smart tactic! You never have to worry about your cupcake not quite tasting right if you only perfect two cupcakes.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes: The base of this cupcake actually tasted like one of those spongy short cakes.
White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes: With a plain vanilla base, this was probably my favorite. The cupcake was lightly filled with a raspberry filling with a white chocolate frosting. The only drawback, I wish there had been more raspberry with each bite!
Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes: Vanilla Cupcake base with small chunks of apple filling and a cinnamon butter cream frosting and caramel drizzled on top. I loved the cinnamon butter cream frosting!
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes: Chocolate Cupcake with Mint butter cream filling and Mint butter cream frosting, topped with chocolate chips.

The frostings on top of the cupcakes are really what made the cupcakes the "flavors" they are. Without the frosting, they really are just vanilla or chocolate cupcakes but I guess they can get away with it with a name like Frostings.

Buttercups Cupcakes
Ah, Buttercups! Every time I log on to Facebook one or ten of my friends is talking about the yummy cupcakes they experienced that day from Buttercups. The cupcakes are not anything special, they are not filled with fillings or decorated with a massive amount of frosting but they are good,.. so good in fact, Katie Holmes couldn't get enough of them when filming her movie Mad Money in Louisiana.

Vanilla Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with Buttercream frosting. For me, the cupcakes are a bit sweet and not quite as moist as I would like.
Wedding Cake Cupcake: I could not quite differientiate between the wedding cake and vanilla cupcake except the butter cream frosting had a bit of almond extract added to it. This was not my favorite.
Chocolate Cupcake: I am not a huge fan of Buttercups because they are a bit too sweet for me. In fact, we saved the chocolate cupcake for later because after splitting two cupcakes, I was in sugar overdrive. The Chocolate, however, was great! It was very moist inside and the buttercream frosting complimented it beautifully.

Buttercups is not a cupcake bakery I would frequent very often except for the "coolness" factor since it is such a hit with all of my friends. However, every once in a while, it would be great for a sweet treat. As I said before, cupcakes are obviously a very personal thing! Obviously Katie Holmes loved them, ordering over 500 dozen during her stay in Louisiana but they are just not right for me.

Magnolia Bakery
Magnolia Bakery is well known through out the US from Sex and the City and just about every other person who loves cupcakes! I have been baking their Vanilla Cupcake for a while now with a few tweaks of my own but I have always loved their original recipe and was very excited to get to try the cupcake at their actual bakery.

Vanilla Cupcake: The Vanilla Cupcake lived up to its hype. I loved it... not quite as good as mine of course (wink and a smile) but it was very good. I was actually shocked. All the hyped up cupcakes always seem to fail in my eyes and this one was actually good.
Red Velvet Cupcake: And I thought only people in the south knew how to do a good red velvet! The red was actually red and it was gorgeous! The cupcake was not quite as good as I had hoped but it was a good cupcake.
Chocolate Cupcake: The chocolate cupcake was good but not nearly as good as I expected. I would buy it again because I love chocolate but it needed a bit richer chocolate.

All in all, Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes were good cupcakes but my favorite was the Vanilla Cupcake. It gave me those night warm, fuzzy feelings. I cannot wait to eat them again!