Pickle Cupcakes

Pickle...whaaaah? Cupcakes! Yes, I said pickle cupcakes. Cassandra sent me the recipe and of course my first thought was "well that's disgusting" but the recipe got really good reviews, only makes 12, and I had all the ingredients on hand so I made them...and they are most definitely not disgusting!

I asked everyone to guess what flavor they were tasting and no one got it - there were lots of people thinking some kind of fruit, or coconut, someone said aloe vera...after I said pickle it was decided that  you could actually taste the pickle and only one person said she hated them. Others were ok with them, and a few really liked them. So you decide if you want to surprise people with pickle cupcakes! Even if you don't, keep this frosting recipe on hand - it's unanimously a winner. In fact, the one person who hated the cupcakes kept sticking her fingers in the frosting, so she didn't in fact "hate" the whole cupcake hahaha! It's cream cheese buttercream with bourbon - delicious!


The recipe says to bake 20-25 minutes, I pulled mine out at 18 and wish I would have checked them sooner - they are a tiny bit on the dry side. They also turned out pretty dense and heavy, I like the flavor but not 100% sure about the texture - if I'm going to eat cake I like the fluffy whipped creamy melt in your mouth kind.

The recipe doesn't say if it's dill or sweet pickles, I went by the reviews and did dill but made sure mine didn't have garlic or other flavors - cuz that sounds bad. I also didn't garnish the frosting with a slice of pickle as recommended - cuz that also sounds bad.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup pickle juice
• 1/4 cup chopped pickles

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar (note: I added more to make it thicker)
• 3 Tablespoons bourbon  (note: I added all of like the recipe said but it made the frosting too thin, add 2 Tablespoons and see if you need more)
• pinch of salt
• pickle slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350'. Put 12 cupcake liners in a regular sized cupcake pan. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until combined. Add sour cream and pickle juice, and beat until evenly mixed. Then stir in the flour mixture and chopped pickles until just combined.

3. Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners, about 1/4 cup each. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes (note: that was too long - I did 18 minutes and even that was a couple minutes too long). Let cool completely.

4.Meanwhile, make the frosting: in a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, bourbon and salt, beat until smooth. 

5. Spread or pipe frosting onto each cupcake, garnish with a pickle slice if you want.

Makes 12 cupcakes - click here for original source of recipe

3.27.18: Easter bird nest cake

3.27.17: K-cup blue birds

3.27.16: 2 Easter/spring flower arrangement ideas




Happy moment ~ see my helper under the drawers? 

Island Cupcakes

One of Dave's ukulele groups celebrated their 17th anniversary last Saturday and they had a potluck - in fact they were so excited about having the potluck they decided to not even bother playing their ukes... they just ate instead hahaha. Gotta love it, that made me laugh - my kind of ukulele group!

I made a cross between my pina colada cupcakes and the coconut cream cupcakes that are still Dave's all time favorites. I've posted a different recipe in the past for pina colada cupcakes but that isn't how I've been doing them now - I've simplified by adding pre-made pina colada mix.

For the cake: I doctored a yellow cake mix by adding an additional egg, substituted pina colada mix for the water and replaced the oil with butter. Bake according to package directions. I made 12 large cupcakes and 24 mini ones (with enough batter left over to make a small 3" cake on the side).

For the filling: Stir together one small package of coconut cream pudding with 3/4 cup water and set aside. Whipping about 1/2 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding and put in a piping bag fitted with a big open tip. Set aside until the cakes are baked and cooled completely.

For the frosting: Beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter until fluffy. Add 3.5-4 cups of powdered sugar (add small amounts at a time or the powdered sugar goes flying out of the bowl), a teaspoon of vanilla, pinch of salt, and 3 tablespoons of pina colada mix. Beat until fluffy and the right consistency to frost the cupcakes, add additional pina colada mix if needed.

To assemble: once the cakes are cooled - for the regular size cupcakes I cut a small circle out of the top and piped some of the filling into the hole, then replace the circle of cake that was removed. You want enough filling so it'll be obvious that it's there but not so much that you end up creating a volcano effect with filling bursting out the cupcake. For the mini cupcakes I inserted the frosting tip right into the top of the cake and squeezed some filling right into the cake without making a little hole first. Once you have them all filled, frost with the pina colada buttercream frosting - sometimes I pipe it on with a decorative tip but this time I just frosted them with a pastry knife and added sprinkles and island-y little paper umbrellas.

oops, this is what happens if you pipe in too much filling!

Check out yesterday's post about transporting a single cupcake, if there are any leftover that is!


3.13.18: shamrock sun catcher
3.13.17: shamrock butterflies and paper garland (why did I post two that day? hmmm...)
3.13.16: crock pot corned beef (yep, I'll be doing it this way next Sunday!)

Happy moment ~ grocery cashier gave me a free bag instead of making me pay for it - he said, and I quote, "you don't have to buy one - you're very pleasant and I'm going to reward you" LOL! 

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Made these for my niece's birthday (she's not a traditional cake or frosting lover, and usually requests pineapple upside down cake - click here for the bundt cake I made her last year); used my normal recipe but turned them into little mini cakes. So easy, pretty, moist - they transport really well, and having them mini makes it seem like you aren't eating as much (unless you eat 3 of them, ahem Macey).

Pineapple Upside Down cake recipe:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple rings, juice reserved 
• 16 stemless maraschino cherries
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 small box instant vanilla pudding (omit if you use cake mix that has pudding already in it)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• milk

Preheat oven to 350'. Thoroughly spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray making sure to coat every surface. Drain pineapple juice into a 1 cup measuring bowl and add enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid.

To make in a bundt pan: While the oven is warming up I put the stick of butter (cut up into chunks) in the bottom of the bundt pan and stick in oven to melt. Once it melts remove from oven and evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over top. Arrange 16 1/2 slices of pineapple around the bundt pan, and put a cherry between the slices.

Mix together the cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, oil, and reserved pineapple juice/milk. Spoon on top of the arranged pineapple slices and cherries. Bake for approx 40 minutes until the cake is done. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving dish.

To make in a 13x9 cake pan: melt the butter and sugar as above, then arrange whole pineapple rings evenly over top, put a cherry in the center of pineapple, and adjust the time according to the package directions.

To make cupcakes: I melted the butter in a small bowl in the microwave then stirred in the brown sugar until incorporated. Then spoon a little more than a teaspoon into each cupcake mold that I sprayed first with non-stick backing spray. For the top ones I cut pineapple rings into quarters and put them in the bottom of the cupcake tin around cherries, for the bottom one I used crushed pineapple with one cherry in the center. The crushed pineapple look better (in my opinion) but they taste the same so do what you want. After I filled up 24 cupcake spaces I used the remaining batter and pineapple to make 2 small 5" cakes.

These take about as much time to bake as regular cupcakes, check them at about 15 minutes and add on time accordingly.

PS:  I made the 5" cakes in little springform pans that leaked butter all over my oven (hello rolling smoke out of the oven when I opened the door!), put them on a rimmed cookie sheet if you make them like that! The cupcakes didn't do that thank goodness.

11.2.2016: mini pumpkin whoopie pies

Banana Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

I don't love bananas so quite often they start to get too ripe before we can eat them - so, like probably most everyone, I cut them in chunks and freeze them for smoothies or baking. Well I organized the freezer the other day and came across more than one bag of chopped up bananas...is there such thing as a 'nana hoarder? If so I might fall under that category. So I googled for things to make with bananas and found this recipe that for some reason sounded good to me - I say for 'some reason' because not only do I not love bananas, I'm also not a fan of marshmallow. So why I decided to make this I'm not exactly sure but I will tell you that they are fantabulous. They taste a lot like banana bread with cream cheese frosting (no, there's no cream cheese in the recipe - but it tastes like that!), the filling and frosting is really sweet but the cupcakes aren't, so it's a nice balance. The only thing I changed from the instructions is that I didn't cut out a circle in the top of each cupcake; I filled a decorating bag and attached a long narrow frosting tip that I jammed into the top of each cupcake and squeezed lightly until I could see the top of the cupcake rise up a little bit - don't keep squeezing or it's like a volcano and the whole top cracks apart (hmmmm, ask me how I know?) and threatens to blow.

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• FILLING:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups marshmallow creme
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• Additional confectioners' sugar

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners. 
• 2. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
• 3. Fill prepared cups two-thirds full. Bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
• 4. For filling, in a large bowl, beat butter, marshmallow creme and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Using a sharp knife, cut a 1-in. circle, 1 in. deep, in top of each cupcake. Carefully remove cut portion and set aside. Fill cavity with about 1 teaspoon filling. Replace tops, pressing down lightly. Dollop or pipe remaining filling over tops. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar.

Click here for the original recipe source, I found it at tasteofhome.com

one year ago: spider mum paper flowers
two years ago: Jen's Coco Lopez recipe

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Swirled Frosting

Here's the last Halloween cupcakes of the 3 different ones I made this week - click here for mummies and here for candy corn - these aren't as decorated but still turned out good and weren't hard to do. This technique is perfect for when you want cupcakes to look "done" but you don't want to do so much decorating.

I started with a doctored up devil's food cake mix - replace the water with milk, and add an extra egg, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a handful of mini chocolate chips. Bake as directed.

For this pretty orange and white swirled frosting I made a batch of vanilla buttercream (beat one stick of butter, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, and a few tablespoons of cream or milk in a big bowl with a mixer), dye half of it orange. In a large piping bag fitted with a open star type decorating tip spread either color around the inside edges of the bag (see the picture) leaving the center as open as possible. I did this with a decorating knife and sort of smeared the frosting around the inside of the bag. Then add the other color to the middle of the bag, twist the top of bag and squeeze frosting out until the second color starts to come thru (otherwise you are just getting the color that is around the edges without the second color). Then hold the bag straight up and starting in the center of the cupcake make a ruffled swirly flower by spiraling the frosting toward the outside edge. I then sprinkled some with halloween sprinkles and others with orange sanding sugar. This is much easier than I'm making it sound! It's hard to see the two colors in my pictures but you do in real life :)

one year ago: pumpkin spice soap

two years ago: tissue paper flowers

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Dave had his ukulele group meeting over the weekend (the cupcakes I made one year ago for the groups yearly anniversary were my very first blog post! click here to read that one and see how pretty those cupcakes turned out) and to celebrate another year of the group going strong he asked me to make cupcakes again - actually he asked me to make the coconut cream cupcakes that I made for his birthday again (click here for that post, really they are fantastic!) but I told him that I'd rather experiment with something new. I asked if coconut pineapple would be ok with him - like a pina colada - and he agreed.

Cupcakes:

• yellow cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 8 oz crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Mix and bake according to directions on the box.

Frosting:

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2-3 Tablespoons whipping cream (or as much as needed to get the consistency you want)
• pinch of salt

Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until smooth, slowly add the powdered sugar and other ingredients - using just a little cream at a time until it's right, beat until smooth and fluffy.

I put the frosting in a decorating bag fitted with a round # tip. Pipe the frosting out in a spiral, starting in the middle and going around. For some I rolled the edges in shredded coconut, some I decorated with sprinkles, and some I left plain. Top however many of them you want with a well drained maraschino cherry. So pretty.

Note: Dave said these were a huge hit, once again he didn't bring any home and I always feel like that's a good sign except I didn't get to try one to see how it turned out! He thought they were moist and liked them, except "not as much as the coconut cream" ;). Oh no, I've spoiled him from liking any other cupcake better then those haha!!

Coconut Cream Filled Cupcakes

We had a joint birthday dinner for Dave and Ray and they both like different kinds of cake - so I had the thought to split one batch of cupcakes in half and do something different for each guy. I used a boxed white cake mix but replaced the water and oil with milk and melted butter, and added an additional egg - then I filled 12 lined cupcake tins with the batter for Ray's half and baked as directed. To the remaining batter I added a big handful of shredded coconut and a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract (I would have used more but that's all that was left in the bottle! After they baked I ran to the store for more so I could add to the frosting) then filled 12 lined cupcake tins and baked those as directed. Note: I usually bake them for less time than the box suggests, I pulled these out at 15 minutes and they were perfect.

After they cooled I frosted Ray's with fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles. Dave's were a little more complicated but not difficult. I removed a little cake from the cupcakes creating a hole, then squeezed in the filling (see below). Smooth the tops, spread with frosting, then pat coconut all over the tops covering completely. I actually got a "best ever" thumbs up from Dave and everyone else at the table (except the ones that don't like coconut, they don't count haha).

The waitress looked at both containers of cupcakes and asked where I bought them - awwwww, that was nice - I was holding the chocolate ones and asked if she'd like one, she said "are the other ones coconut? Because coconut is my favorite" hahaha, so we gave her one of each :). Cute.

Coconut Cream Filled Cupcakes Directions:

-Add shredded coconut and extract to the batter before baking.
-Make filling: mix together 1 box of coconut cream pudding and 3/4 cup whole milk, whisk for a couple minutes and refrigerate until set.
-Whip a small container of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add half to the pudding.
-Put the filling in a quart sized baggie and snip one corner.
-Remove some cake from the top of each cupcake, squeeze filling into each hole. Smooth the top.
-Frost with buttercream frosting and then cover the tops with shredded coconut. Refrigerate.

Coconut Buttercream Frosting:
-1 stick soft unsalted butter
-4 cups confectioners sugar
-1 teaspoon coconut extract
-pinch of coarse salt
-milk (a couple tablespoons, add a little at
a time until you get the right consistency)

cream the butter until smooth, add the
remaining ingredients and beat until smooth
and fluffy. For this cake I added a big scoop
of cool whip, gently folding to combine
with the frosting. 

note: to make chocolate buttercream frosting replace the coconut extract with vanilla and add 2/3 cup cocoa powder

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Here is the other cupcake that I made at my nieces' request (in addition to the Rolo cupcakes I posted earlier, click here to see them) - I would never have made these if she didn't send me the recipe and beg, it didn't sound good to me at all. Doesn't it just sound dry to have a cookie in the middle of your cupcake? Well I'm glad I made them - they are good! You freeze cookie dough balls for a couple hours until they are hard, then drop them onto the cupcake batter and bake. Since the cookie dough is frozen first it doesn't bake all the way, so it's still soft cookie dough inside the cupcake! How clever, and delish!

I used a yellow cake mix; instead of using oil though I replaced it with melted butter and added a dash of vanilla to give it a little more "homemade" taste. Frosted with traditional buttercream, then topped with chocolate sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. Oh, and I didn't make the cookie dough like the recipe, I used a tube of premade cookie dough - truthfully I had my doubts about how this cupcake would turn out and didn't want to waste homemade cookie dough on it! But the store bought dough worked great and saved me some time - I will do it that way in the future. Click here for the recipe.

drop frozen cookie dough balls onto the cupcake batter

yum!

cookie dough and rolo cupcakes.