Tag Archives: cupcakes

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

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Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

A few weeks ago my husband turned the big 4-0! We had a family party for him and I wanted the dessert to be something that he would remember. Now my husband likes soda as much as the next guy, but he LOVES Dr. Pepper! What a great way to incorporate one of his favorite things into the dessert. The Dr. Pepper makes the cupcakes moist and yummy!

DR. PEPPER CUPCAKES

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper
  • 2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
  • 3 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Dr. Pepper, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and mix on low speed. Add half of the liquid and continue to mix. Repeat until all of the dry and liquid ingredients are combined (the last addition should be the dry ingredients), scraping down the bowl as needed.

Put batter in liners in a muffin tin. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

  • 5 Tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don’t form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it’s best to go by texture.

Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. (about 4 minutes) Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.

It’s Lucy Jane’s Birthday!

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It’s THEE Lucy Jane’s Birthday today! She is turning 3. She is happy and social and oh so girly! When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, without hesitation she answered, “strawberry cupcakes.” So Lucy and I spent the afternoon making her birthday strawberry cupcakes. (She loves to bake like her momma.)

Here is what we came up with:

I used my Vanilla Cupcake recipe and topped it off with a strawberry frosting and fresh strawberries on top. We just finished devouring them and they are so delish! The strawberry frosting tastes just like strawberries ‘n’ cream ice cream. This is a definite must for a good old fashioned summertime treat! (which starts here in AZ in about 2 months!)

Strawberry Frosting

  • 2 sticks butter, slightly softened
  • 6-8 fresh, large strawberries (puree’d)
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • fresh strawberries (for garnish)

Cream butter in mixer for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and milk. Mix until combined. Then add strawberry puree and add the remaining powdered sugar. Mix well.

Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

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Here is another secret Shannon recipe! The first time I had these cupcakes Shannon made them for my son’s birthday. Amazing! This is the last chocolate cupcake recipe you will ever need. They are moist and full of flavor! I made these for a little get together last night and decided I was going to stray from the chocolate frosting that these little gems are usually topped with. I also made them mini, because wouldn’t it be honest to say that to eat a whole cupcake is a big commitment? Basically, it’s a large piece of a cake. That’s a lot of calories! And I don’t know about you, but sometimes that first bite makes you look like a stinkin’ pig. You have to get the frosting and the cake together in that bite and sometimes it takes a big old, wide open mouth bite! It’s not very attractive, to say the least. With the mini’s you can take a bite or two and still look dainty and sweet. And you know for a surety you will finish it! The pictures are of my mini’s from the party and the 2 different kinds of frostings I made. So, consider yourself lucky. I will give you all 3 frosting recipes!! (My favorite still happens to be the chocolate frosting, but sometimes we have to be able to think outside the box, right?) So the top picture is a simple vanilla buttercream frosting and the second picture is a peanut butter frosting. Yum!!

Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 (16 ounce) package light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt semi-sweet chips in a microwave safe bowl at high for 30 seconds intervals until melted. (about 1 1/2 minutes total time) Make sure to stir after every 30 second interval. Set aside.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed in a mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Add the melted chocolate, beating until just blended.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with cour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Beat on low speed until just blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 cup of hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Add vanilla.

Place 36 cupcake liners in muffin tins, spoon batter evenly into cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (If you are making mini cupcakes, this recipe will yield about 95 mini cupcakes. Bake for 8-10 minutes) Remove cupcakes from tins and cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • 2 sticks butter (room temp)
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat the butter for 4 minutes in a mixer. (set your timer!! 4 minutes happens to be a long time) Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the milk. Beat until all sugar is incorporated and smooth. (I will beat my frosting at medium high for a few minutes) Then add the sugar one cup at a time, using milk to thin, until the desired consistency is reached.

Classic Chocolate Frosting

  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk

Melt in a small saucepan the butter and chocolate. Pour melted mixture in mixer and add 3 cups of the powdered sugar and half of the milk. Beat until all sugar is incorporated. Then add sugar and milk until frosting is desired consistency.

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 5 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Beat the peanut butter and butter together until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and whip at medium high until combined. (I like my frosting light and fluffy, so I tend to mix my frostings A LOT!!)