CUPCAKE DISASTERS

Recently, I have been fiddling around with a few cupcake recipes and though they have been deemed unworthy of posting or sharing with friends, I find myself eating one every single night after dinner. Just because. And, I mean, how will I know what to change if I don't eat enough to figure it out? It's quite the existential crisis. 

But on the other hand, if I don't want to share them with other people, why am I constantly eating a reminder of my disappointment? Well, we won't address my emotional eating habits today.

Onward to failure!

First was margarita cupcakes (in honor of Cinco de Cuatro). The batter was neither lime-y or sweet enough and I got a little tequila-happy with the cream cheese frosting. On the plus side, I was rocking a pretty fun buzz most nights of the week. 

Next I decided to bake strawberry cupcakes on a whim because something fruity sounded nice and obviously I couldn't just, you know, eat fruit. The actual cupcake lacked a strong strawberry punch, though it was incredibly moist (moist). For whatever bizarre reason, I decided to add chopped up strawberry chunks to the buttercream frosting which was fine the first night, but cut to a few nights later and it wasn't nearly as appealing to my eyes or taste buds. Ended up throwing over half the batch away.

Most recently I made two batches of red velvet cupcakes for my dad's birthday and Mother's Day. The cupcakes were a home run. I really knocked it out of the park, you guys--a most perfect shade of deep red, the tops bouncy to the touch, it was truly a thing of beauty.

But wait. These are cupcake disasters. 

The cream cheese frosting was runny. Like, diarrhea runny. So there I was with 21 (because I ate too much batter to make 24) perfect cupcakes and delicious, but poopy, frosting. Thanks to Zach's ingenuity, we served the cupcakes in bowls and spooned frosting on top. 

So clearly I am no expert baker. The plus side to all of this is that the recipes I do publish on my blog have gone through extensive taste-testing to ensure quality. It's all for you. 

And now unrelated to everything I have been discussing, here is an outfit I wore recently. More specifically, here are my most prized boots which took me no less than a month to settle on. 

I was in a very sour mood on the day these photos were taken.

shirt | gap (similar fit) // jacket | jcpenney (stolen from zach) // jeans | urban outfitters // boots | hunter // necklace | thrifted

DO YOU WANT S'MORE CHATA CUPCAKES?

Zach is not a dessert kind of guy. It's one of his few flaws, which straddles red flag territory and often creates a rift in our marriage. I'm all like, "I MUST HAVE SOMETHING SWEET OR ELSE I'LL DIE," and he's all like, "meh." Or, even more insulting, he'll pull the, "I'll just have a couple bites of yours," stunt. Um. No. You won't.

But every once in a while he has a craving for delicious baked goods, and what kind of wife would I be not to honor these requests? And so, Do You Want S'more Chata Cupcakes were born into the world. 

For Zach. 

Definitely not for my own greedy purposes. Nope. 

Ingredients for Do You Want S'more Chata Cupcakes:

1 stick unsalted butter
2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tbs RumChata
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Ingredients for OMG RumChata marshmallow frosting:

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
7 oz (one container) marshmallow creme
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbs RumChata
1 tsp cinnamon

Let's do this:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees // Grab a medium bowl and whisk the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt) // Melt butter and semi-sweet baking chocolate together (let it hang out and cool off a bit) // Grab a large bowl and whisk wet ingredients and sugar together (eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla) // Stir in the butter and chocolate mixture // Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating between the two (bit of the dry, bit of the b-milk, bit of the dry, bit of the b-milk) // Once the ingredients are just combined, fold in the chocolate chips // Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full of the beautiful batter // Stick the pan in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, cupcakes are done when a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out cleanly // Let the cupcakes chill out in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack // FROSTING TIME! Beat the softened butter for 2 -3 minutes // Slowly add marshmallow creme, powdered sugar, RumChata and cinnamon while mixer is still running // Continue mixing the frosting for another 3 - 5 minutes until it is fluffy and delightful // Once cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe or hand frost each cupcake // Garnish with chocolate chips and graham crackers, or nothing // Try not to eat all of them, or do and let me watch

Tips + things I learned:

Don't want to wait until your eggs are room temp? No prob. Set those puppies in a bowl of warm water for 5 - 10 minutes and you're good to go. 
I couldn't really taste the RumChata in the cupcake batter, so maybe you'll just want to sip on that portion instead of adding it to the mix. Or you could add it for funsies and also drink a glass of the stuff. 
The graham cracker garnish will soften by the next day, which didn't bother me, but I just thought you should know.

Full disclosure: the chocolate cupcake recipe was adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

BOOZY BOURBON SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES

Bourbon and I have a somewhat sordid past. 

Only a few close friends know the intimate details of the evening that is now referred to as that one time I attempted to drink as much whiskey as Zach (& failed). But suffice it to say, the toilet and I were cozied up like two lovers in the corner booth of a dark bar. It should also be noted that this was the night I discovered Zach has a blessedly strong stomach. 

Anyway, who wants dessert? 

Ingredients for bourbon snickerdoodle cupcakes:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar (1 cup for batter, 1/2 cup for sprinkling)
1 stick melted unsalted butter
1 egg
1/3 cup greek yogurt
3/4 cup milk
3 tbs mid-shelf bourbon

Ingredients for bourbon buttercream frosting:

1 1/2 sticks room temperature, unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbs cinnamon 
1 pinch salt
2 - 3 tbs mid-shelf bourbon (depending on how frisky you're feeling)

Let's do this:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees // Grab a medium bowl and toss in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) // Grab a large bowl and whisk the melted butter and cup of sugar // Stir the egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla and bourbon // Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until combined and lumps have disappeared // Grab a small bowl and mix together the cinnamon and remaining sugar // Plop approximately one dollop of the batter into each cupcake liner // Sprinkle a generous portion of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top // Plop an additional dollop of the batter into each cupcake liner (should be about 2/3 full) // Sprinkle more cinnamon-sugar on top of each cupcake (don't be shy!) // Stick those babes in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, cupcakes are done when a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out cleanly // Let the cupcakes chill out in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack // While that's happening, beat the softened butter for 2 - 3 minutes // Slowly add powdered sugar, heavy cream, cinnamon, salt and bourbon while mixer is sill running // Continue mixing the frosting for 3 - 5 minutes // Once cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe or hand frost each cupcake and finish by sprinkling more cinnamon-sugar on top (there will likely be leftover frosting, which makes a great breakfast or post-work out snack)

Tips + Things I learned:

I accidentally added the wet ingredients to the dry--don't do that. Remember, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. 
Be generous with the cinnamon-sugar sprinkled between the layers of batter.
To create a homemade piping bag: spoon frosting into a large freezer bag, diagonally cut off a small corner of the bag, ta-da! The art of frosting cupcakes can be frustrating, so be patient.
The original frosting recipe called for two sticks of butter, but after making and eating a lot of the frosting (via squirting it from the bag into my mouth) I decided it could have used a bit less. The above recipe has been amended with this suggestion.

Full disclosure: this recipe was adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

A MUFFIN BY ANY OTHER NAME

"A muffin so delicious it may as well be a cupcake." That was the original tagline for this post, which I wrote several hours before tackling my first baking project for the blog. I clearly had some real pie-in-the-sky hopes for this venture. The older, wiser me looks back at young, naive Lindsey and thinks, "Aw... that's cute. You can remove those rose colored glasses now." No one mentions how laborious it is to start and stop a recipe for photo ops--whisk in one hand, camera in the other, cat mistaking the camera strap as a toy...

In the end these muffins turned out to be pretty tasty, though definitely not the cupcake in disguise I was expecting. I probably just need to bake some dang cupcakes. 

Ingredients for blueberry lemon cream cheese not dessert but breakfast muffins (BLCCNDBBM for short):

2 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup milk 
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 lemon for zest and juice
1 cup fresh blueberries + 1 handful for sprinkling on top and snacking
1/4 cup old fashioned oats for sprinkling

Ingredients for slap-your-mother cream cheese goodness:

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature (don't you dare touch that cream cheese until it is legitimately room temp)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar 

Let's do the damn thing: 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees // Grab a medium bowl and toss in the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices) // Grab a large bowl and whisk the wet ingredients together (honey, milk, eggs, oil, vanilla, ricotta cheese, lemon zest + juice) // Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients (try not to over-mix otherwise you will ruin everything) // Add in those blueberries! // Use an electric mixer to cream the slap-your-mother cream cheese goodness // Gently fold about half of the mixture into the muffin mix // taste test that stuff, but don't get salmonella poisoning (optional) // Fill each muffin liner about 2/3 full, leaving room for more of the cream cheese mixture // Dollop the remaining cream cheese mixture on top of each muffin and gently press down // Sprinkle oats and a few extra blueberries on top for good measure // Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, muffins are done when a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out cleanly // Let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack // Eat at least one while it's hot enough to burn your mouth because you don't have enough patience to wait

Tips + Things I learned: 

I have a mild, but healthy addiction to lemony treats. If made again, I would definitely use more lemon zest and juice.
The types of flour and sugar used can be mixed up. I was running low on granulated sugar, so I substituted portions with honey and brown sugar.
Once the liners are full of batter, tap the bottom of the tin on a flat surface to get some of the air bubbles out. My mom taught me this trick ages ago and I swear by it.

Coming soon...cupcakes! 

Full disclosure: this recipe was heavily adapted from Frugal Foodie Mama