The Winner Is: Cinnamon Swirl Cupcake

This was the first cupcake featured in Cupcake Spotlight, so it does feel right that it is the winner.

2 c. cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 c. whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon; set aside.  In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, and eggs.  Add milk and vanilla.  Slowly add the dry ingredients. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with paper cups.  Fill each cup about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 to 21 minutes.  Test with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it's done.  Allow to cool.

Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. powder sugar
1 tsp.vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients, until smooth and fluffy.

Caramel Drizzle

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 c. powder sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt

Melt butter until light brown and add sugar. Stir until dissolved and just comes to a bubble.  Remove from heat, add milk, powder sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Whisk until smooth.  Allow to cool a bit, drizzle over frosted cupcakes.

Happy 200th Post!!!!

Today is my 200th post on My Little Blogspot.  I have enjoyed the last year and a half sharing recipes, tips, and ideas. 

Seeing I never put the Cupcake Spotlight recipes in the index, I decided to post one of them.  I will let my followers vote and decide which one will be featured.  What better way to celebrate than with cupcakes??

cinnamon cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and caramel drizzle

flowers in bloom

applesauce cupcakes

pumpkin cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting and candied orange peel



black forest cupcakes

vanilla snowball cupcakes with vanilla mascarpone frosting

chocolate oreo cupcakes

rainbow cupcakes with marshmallow frosting

banana cake with caramel buttercream

carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting



chocolate chip cookie cups with buttercream

Vegan Chocolate Cupcake

I received the Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook for my birthday.  I started thumbing through and saw about a dozen recipes I wanted to try.  One recipe in particular caught my eye, vegan chocolate cupcake. 

I have to admit I have some preconceived notions regarding a vegan diet.  It is very strict as far as not consuming any animal products at all.  As for baking, not to have eggs, milk, yogurt, sour cream, seemed a little strange.  However, I put my reservations aside and gave it a try.  The recipe only makes a dozen cupcakes and I figured if they were awful, it wasn't much of an investment.

I was so pleasantly surprised.  The cupcakes are moist and chocolaty.  In fact, it will be my go to recipe for chocolate cake.  The ultimate test was my husbands reaction.  He loved them and couldn't believe it when I told him they were vegan.  Go ahead and give it a try, they really are yummy.

recipe (Divvies Bakery found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)

1 1/2 c. cake flour
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. white distilled vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. water
confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.  In a large bowl ift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and set aside.  In another bowl (preferably one with a pour spout) mix water, oil, vinegar, vanilla until well combined.  Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until smooth.  Divide batter evenly among the cups about 3/4 full.  (Batter will be very thin, pouring from a bowl with a spout makes this easier.)  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.  Dust with powder sugar and cocoa before serving.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

linking to these parties

Cupcake Spotlight! (May)

This month's cupcake was inspired by one person, my mom.  I decided to make her favorite cake because of Mother's Day.  Unfortunately, she lives too far away to enjoy it, but it's the thought that counts, right?  So what is my mom's favorite cake???? 

Carrot cake.  I spiced up the classic cream cheese frosting with cinnamon.  I also made half of the cupcakes with walnuts and raisins, and the other half without.  They are both equally delicious, and you can suit everyone's taste.

Happy April

THERE WILL BE NO CUPCAKE SPOTLIGHT FOR APRIL!!!!!! April Fool's!!!! 

I don't have any particular reasoning behind this month's flavor.  I wanted to do a scratch cake and settled on my mother-in-law's banana cake. I added my own twist on the frosting and made a caramel butter cream.  The decoration is really simple with some Easter candy.  I tinted the frosting green, to resemble grass with the eggs nestled in it. Perhaps like the Easter Bunny would leave hidden.  A really cute touch would be to tint coconut green and apply it to the frosting for a more realistic grass look.

Even if you don't decorate it for Easter, this cake and frosting recipe is yummy and can be made for any occasion.  Have a Happy April Fool's Day.

Cupcake Spotlight!!! (February 2011)

February conjures thoughts of romance and love.  All we see in the stores is red and pink decorations, hearts, and bunches of flowers.  I love Valentine's Day, especially now that I have children.  They are my special Valentines who I adore so much.  However, I can't forget the Valentine who gave me those two wonderful boys, Jay.

So, for this month's cupcake I decided to do a flavor he would enjoy.  This cupcake is inspired from his favorite ice cream flavor, cookies and cream.  I am also featuring a new cupcake "wrapper" this month.  These wrappers are only decorative and are applied after baking.  They add elegance and pizazz to any occasion. 

You can purchase the cupcake wrappers from a fellow blogger at Home and Holiday Keepsakes.  She makes them for numerous holidays and events.  I ordered several designs and I am happy with them all.  Click here for the recipe.

Linking to these parties.

Cupcake Spotlight (January 2011)

Sorry this edition is late, but I was out of town and my parents do not have a computer.  So a little late, but I think worth it.  My husband took this batch into work and had a completely unbiased party taste them, and the verdict was: DELICIOUS!!!  

I wanted a cupcake that had a simple flavor to remind me of the clean crisp winter air of January.  I decided on a vanilla bean cupcake with vanilla mascarpone frosting. I made both regular and mini sizes this month.  I also frosted them two ways....a piping bag for a light touch and an ice cream scoop to resemble a snow ball.  Both of these versions could easily be topped with coconut or clear sugar crystals for a more winter appearance.

Next month's cupcake is in the works....any requests???? I am also working with a talented blogger who makes decorative cupcake sleeves.  I am hoping it will be spectacular!  Have a blessed started to the new year :o)

Linking to these wonderful parties.

Cupcake Party

Thursday was a day of celebration.  What better way to celebrate a 3 year old's birthday than with cupcakes. We had a complete birthday bash with cupcake tableware, decorations, and a giant cupcake birthday cake!

The cake was simple. I used the Wilton cupcake pan, just the bottom portion for the cake.  Then I piped the wrapper with a large round tip, and decorated the top with a large shell tip.  I used blue and yellow frosting together in a piping bag, to give an ombre look to the top.

For the table, I ordered a simple cupcake theme tablecloth, plates, and napkins.  As for the decorations, I found a coordinating cupcake birthday banner, cupcake hanging swirls, and cupcake die cuts for the windows.  Everything coordinated in blue, lime green and yellow. 

Overall I say we had a very happy birthday boy. He received a Melissa and Doug cupcake decorating set, remote control car, a pillow pet, and clothes.  He really loves the shirt his big brother got him, Cookie Monster :o)

Cupcake of the Month for November

It's November 1st and the latest edition of Cupcake Spotlight!  I can not take credit for this recipe, as it was told to me years ago. I can take credit for the frosting and garnish combination with the cupcake.  So for a little history on the cake portion. I was at a craft show about four years ago, and while having a conversation with customer, we got on the subject of baking.  She had recently lost a lot of weight, but confessed her love of sweets.  She told me to make a simple cake, just take one package of spice cake mix and add one can of pumpkin puree, mix and bake according to package instructions for a bundt.  A couple of weeks later I did.  The recipe is delicious and super moist.  I liked that fact it had no egg or oil, making it heart healthy as well.

Over the years I have shared this recipe with a slew of people.  Friends have tried it and added powder sugar to the top or a cream cheese drizzle.  I even had one person add chocolate chips and said it fabulous.  I decided to make it into cupcakes topped with an orange cream cheese frosting, garnished with a candied orange peel.  This recipe is easy and a big crowd pleaser.  Go ahead and try it for Thanksgiving instead of the traditional pumpkin pie, it will be a hit!

Linking to these parties.

Cupcake Spotlight the October Edition

I have to admit this month's cupcake original cake recipe was nixed halfway through the process. I wanted the cake to have an apple taste, so I made a scratch yellow cake and added apple pie spice. What I wound up with was a typical spice cake, not the flavor combination I was looking for. So after much deliberating, I decided to try another cake about a week ago.  In that one I used a boxed yellow cake mix, and added applesaue and apple cider. The outcome was an apple cake that was moist and had a true apple taste, success!

I kept the same frosting and came up with a cute Halloween inspired idea. My inspiration for this one was Adam, and his favorite Halloween candy....candy corn. This decoration, is simple to make, and requires just a few extra minutes when frosting. So, check out the cupcake spotlight page for the full recipe and tips. Remember, the recipe is only up for the month of October.

Sneak Peak:  If you like pumpkin then don't miss November's cupcake!

September's Cupcake Star

Well are you ready for September's cupcake???? Here it is: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cakes with Mum Inspired Decoration.  The real star of this sweet treat is the flower design top. I love fall, with all the colored leaves and crisp air. I love the fall so much, I even got married in September. (My wedding cake featured a leaf motif and all the flowers were in autumn hues.)  So I decided to make a cupcake that was very simple to make and would make an impression, but reminded me of the famous fall flower: the mum. These cupcakes would be perfect for a fall bake sale. The technique is very simple and once you learn it, change up the colors to pastels for a baby shower or do red for Christmas.

Now remember the recipe will only be featured on Cupcake Spotlight for the month of September!  Return next week for Wholesome Wednesday!


see the parties I have linked to here

My New Obsession: CUPCAKES! (recipe featured on cupcake spotlight)

It seems like the world is being taken over by cupcakes, and I am on board with that.  Lately, there are new shows  and bakeries popping up featuring just cupcakes. I enjoy watching Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and DC Cupcakes on TLC. The obsession of cupcakes doesn't stop in our family with me, Brandon is hooked on them as well. For the last year or so, if you ask him what his favorite food is, he responds "cupcakes".  He would forgo any other food and eat them 24/7.  In fact, when we are at the grocery store, I have to zoom by the bakery department at mach speed to prevent the shouting of, CUPCAKES!!

So, I decided to give cupcakes their due props on My Little Blogspot. I will feature a cupcake of the month. Now, I'm not talking the generic chocolate or vanilla cupcakes with canned frosting. While there is nothing wrong with that in a pinch, I wanted these cupcakes to be a little extra special.  The first feature is a cinnamon scented cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and topped off with a cinnamon caramel drizzle.  Are your taste buds tempted???? The recipe will be featured throughout the month of August on the page simply named Cupcake Spotlight! Check it out and give them a try, I promise you will not be disappointed.