Breakfast in a Cupcake!

Lately all I have been hearing about is this new craze – THE Maple-Bacon Cupcake! Maybe it’s not so new to all of you but, it was to me!

My co-workers have requested cupcakes from me on various occasions and I thought what better way to somewhat cure a case of the Monday’s by surprising everyone with these incredibly scrumptious creations? So last night on my drive home from work I decided to stop by the grocery store and pick up some bacon –  it was time for me to bake (AND taste) these delectable treats for the first time ever!

I spent a little bit of time googling the recipe that caused me to salivate the most and came across the perfect one (in my opinion). The following recipe was taken from Oprah’s Website.

The MAPLE-BACON Cupcake ….or as I like to call it the Breakfast Cupcake!

Makes Roughly 24 Cupcakes

For cupcakes:

• 1/2 pound thick cut bacon (about 8 to 10 strips)
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar   *I used: 1 cup of brown sugar* – more than enough!
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. maple extract (found in the spice aisle)
• Maple syrup, to garnish

For cinnamon buttercream:

• 16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature – *I doubled the butter*
• 3 cups powdered sugar (a little less than 1 pound) – *I used 2.5 cups*
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375F and place between 8-10 pieces of bacon on a sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown. Set aside 2 pieces and dice the rest.

2. Lower heat to 350°F and place 24 liners into cupcake pans.

3. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about.

4. Add in the eggs to butter mixture 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the dry ingredients and milk in alternating batches – mix well. Add vanilla and maple extracts and diced bacon, and mix on medium speed until completely blended.

5. Spoon batter into cupcake pans. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. While the cakes are in the oven you can work on your cinnamon buttercream. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar until it reaches your desired sweetness. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Sprinkle in the cinnamon.

7. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely and frost them with the buttercream. Dice up the saved pieces of bacon and garnish the tops of the cupcakes. I also used a little bit of pure maple syrup to drizzle on top of the bacon pieces – it’s a nice touch!

Delicious!!

 Enjoy!!!!!

– Iris

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Flavoured Cupcakes!

Yesterday I spent the earlier part of my afternoon in search of new blogs to read which is exactly when I came across A Gastronome’s Closet  and her Double Lemon Cupcake recipe. I have been meaning to try out a lemon cupcake recipe for quite some time now, and this blog gave me the inspiration to do so (Thank you for the inspiration fellow blogger!)! If you love lemon-flavoured-anything then you will understand the longing that I had for the cupcakes when I saw the pictures that were posted on her blog. So without further ado let’s get on with the recipe!

Lemon Butterfly Cupcakes

*Recipe taken from ‘The Cupcake: Life’s Better With a Cupcake”*

You will need:

– scant 1 cup self-rising flour

– 1/2 tsp baking powder

– 1/2 cup butter, softened

– generous 1/2 cup superfine sugar

– finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

– 2 tbsp milk

– 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice (this was my own addition)

Frosting
– 2/3 cup cream cheese

– 6 tbsp unsalted butter

– 2 1/4 cups icing sugar

– 2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and blend together with a spatula. (I usually use an electric mixer for this part)
2. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

*Preheat oven to 375°f/190°c. This recipe called for 12 cupcakes – I like to make mine puffy and large and it turned out to be enough for 8.*

I like to organize my main ingredients out on the counter prior to starting so that I am not scrambling to figure out where all of the ingredients are – saves lots of time!

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Add the butter, superfine sugar, lemon rind, milk, and lemon juice into a mixing bowl. Gradually add each egg into the bowl beating it lightly. Add in the flour and baking powder in two additions and beat together until smooth.

Voila! You have your batter!

Spoon the batter into the paper liners. I like to use an ice cream scoop, it allows the batter to completely come out of the scoop without any additional scraping. Now plop these lovely things into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins, or until risen, golden and firm to touch.

I think they’re ready! Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely prior to decorating.

I’m a sucker for cream cheese frosting on any kind of cupcake, and that’s exactly the kind that I decided to do. The recipe in the book included buttercream icing, but I opted for the other one! Enjoy the finished product.

Drool….

Do you guys like lemons as much as I do? Try the recipe out and let me know what you think of it!

Happy Baking!

Iris

Revelry

Red Velvet so far has to be one of our most requested cupcakes, and I sure don’t mind because it’s definitely one of my own favourites to bake (and eat!). Like the Marble cupcake from the previous post, the Red Velvet (or the Red Velvie as I like to call them) is also a very simple and easy to follow recipe. You get exactly out of it what you put into it. For those individuals curious about baking cupcakes who have never really attempted them – I would recommend starting out with these because they are so simple and have just the right amount of sweetness! Here is the recipe that we have been using quite frequently to achieve these fabulous creations.

Red Velvets

*Recipe taken from ‘The Cupcake: Life’s Better With a Cupcake”*

You will need:

– generous 1 cup all purpose flour

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

– 1/2 cup butter, softened, or soft margarine

– scant 3/4 cup superfine sugar

– 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten

– 1/2 cup buttermilk

– 1 tsp vanilla extract

– 1 tbsp red food colouring liquid

1. Preheat oven to 350°f/180°c. Place 12 paper liners into a muffin pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and cocoa.
3. Place the butter and superfine sugar in a separate large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in the egg and half of the flour batter.
5. Beat in the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and red food colouring liquid.
6. Fold in the remaining flour batter.
7. Spoon the batter into the paper liners and bake the cupcakes for 15-20 mins, or until risen and firm to the touch. Cool prior to icing.

*Make sure not to overload on cocoa otherwise your cupcakes will sink and create a bowl-like formation within the pan*

Frosting

– 2/3 cup cream cheese

– 6 tbsp unsalted butter

– 2 1/4 cups icing sugar

1. Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and blend together with a spatula. (I usually use an electric mixer for this part)
2. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

We’d love to see your outcome of this recipe or our previous recipes, or even any other of your faves that you’ve baked before. Send us your link to your delicious creations so we can see what you’ve been up to!

Happy Baking!

Iris 

Light Dawns on Marblehead

The marble cupcake is probably one of the most basic cupcake recipes, but don’t be fooled – basic does not mean bland or boring by any means! It is a classic combination of rich chocolatey goodness and vanilla – top it off with a delicious cream cheese icing (or an icing of your choice) and you’re golden!

Marble Cupcakes 

*Recipe taken from ‘The Cupcake: Life’s Better With a Cupcake”*

You will need:

– Generous 1 1/3 cups self rising flour

– 3/4 cup butter, softened

– generous 3/4 cup superfine sugar

– 3 eggs lightly beaten

– 2 tbsp milk

– 2oz/55g semisweet chocolate, melted

– 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°f/180°c. Place 21 liners into shallow muffin pans.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the butter, superfine sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract and beat together with an electric mixer until smooth.

3. Divide the batter between two bowls. Add the melted chocolate to one of the bowls and stir until well mixed. Place alternate teaspoonfuls of the two batters into the paper liners.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 mins, or until risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

*Baking time will vary depending on your oven*

Happy baking and eating!