Faux-stess Cupcakes!

Sorry, I know I am late! Valentines day was nearly a month ago, but this is the first chance I have had to update. So Happy belated Valentines Day to the ones that did not get to enjoy these delicious treats! I made these to make others happy and I believe I succeeded! They were fun to make and watching people enjoy them is one of my favorite things in the world!! Try this recipe, you will not be disappointed! Thanks again to Annie's Eats! And thanks to my Mom for the cake decorating set for Christmas because without it I would have been without the right pastry tips that were extremely useful in the making of these cupcakes!

Happy Baking, friends! :)

Also, side note before I give the recipes: I did not use Annie's recipe for the cake, I used Hershey's, so that is the one I will post! Don't worry, it's only the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted! haha!



Here it is:

Hersey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare your cupcake tins.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

From Annie's blog here are the recipes for the filling and the frosting:

For the filling:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup Marshmallow Fluff (or marshmallow creme)
1 ½ tbsp. plus 1 tsp. heavy cream

For the frosting:
¼ cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened



To make the filling, in a medium bowl beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, Marshmallow Fluff and 1 ½ tablespoons of the heavy cream until fluffy. Reserve ½ cup of the mixture – transfer the rest to a pastry bag fitted with a ¼ – inch round tip. Beat the remaining 1 teaspoon of cream into the reserved ½ cup of filling, cover and reserve.
Gently insert the tip of the pastry bag about ½ – inch deep into the top of each cupcake and lightly squeeze in some of the filling.

To make the frosting, in a small saucepan heat cream over medium heat until steaming, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and dip the top of each cupcake to thoroughly coat. Spoon the reserved filling into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and pipe curlicues across the center of each cupcake. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 10 minutes to set the frosting.




Some notes:
Chocolate Ganache is no joke. Mine tasted great, but I wish it would have looked smoother. I also wish I had a trick to make it turn out better, but this is the first time I have ever made this, so it is what it is!

Like I said above, I have the pastry tips needed for these cupcakes. If you do not I suggest two things: 1. to insert filling try using an apple corer to take out part of the center of the cake and then pipe in the filling using a ziplock that you have filled with the frosting and then cut the tip off. It is not really the desirable method, but it could work! 2. To pipe on the white swirls (which you can write words in-like I did!) you can use the ziplock method as well. I would make sure the tip is smaller though! But, just so you know, if you are friends with me and live close by, I am willing to share-it's all in the name of cupcakes!! Also, sorry I never got a picture of the cupcake cut open--I think you all get it though, it is just like a Hostess Cupcake, but oh, so much better!

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy this choclatey-delight!

Until next time,
PernaCakes

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

First of all, Happy Holidays! I know they are over, but since I am behind on my blogs, humor me and lets go back to the week before Christmas! :)

One of the holiday favorites at Starbucks is the Peppermint Mocha (even though this drink is actually available all year long!) and I knew I had to make it into a cupcake! We usually top our PM's off with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, so when it came time to frost my cupcakes I wanted it to look just like our drink! So for the first time I used a pastry and a tip from the cake decorating set that I received for Christmas! I think they turned out fantastic and they taste even better!



The recipe for the cake calls for peppermint extract, but since I did not want peppermint to overpower your taste buds I decided to substitute the peppermint for vanilla extract. The peppermint extract is used in the frosting, and trust me, a little goes a long way!

There is coffee in this cake as well! It calls for a cup of strong brewed coffee and espresso powder (I finally bought some at Whole Foods!). For the cup of coffee I used our Christmas Blend VIA! This cake is even better than I thought it would be!



So before I say more here are the recipes! Happy Baking!

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
From Annie's Eats
Yield 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 tsp. peppermint extract (or you can switch this out for vanilla, which is what I did, to avoid an overpowering mint flavor)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs


Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir together. Combine the milk, coffee and peppermint extract in a liquid measuring cup.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the eggs one at a time. Alternately mix in the dry and liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
From Cake MIx Doctor
Yield 8 Servings

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (see the note under recipe!)

Directions:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract.
Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting lightens and is fluffy, 1 minute more.

A note about the frosting:
I made to batches of this frosting, but between the two I only used ONE 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. The flavor is super strong and I think that I used the perfect amount! If you decide to only make one batch (which is nowhere near enough for 24 cupcakes!) then I suggest 1/4 teaspoon only!

These cupcakes went over so well at work and I am glad because it was their Christmas gift! I want to make them again because the cake was so good, I'd like to try it with different frostings! :)

Have fun with it!


Until next time,
Perna Cakes

German Chocolate Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do is make cupcakes for people on their birthdays and this is where the plan for German Chocolate Cupcakes came from! My co-worker and amazing friend R.J. was celebrating his 24th Birthday so I asked questions about his favorite cake and/or candy bar. He said German Chocolate. It was new, it was different and I was excited to try it!

R.J. originally was going to give me a challenge, which was to make cupcakes that taste like cereal! I never would have had time for this, especially since it was the end of the semester, but I have to say that if there is a way to make delicious cupcakes that taste like cereal, I hope I am the one to discover it. I will have to save it for another time! Maybe for your 25th Arj! :)

It took a little searching for a recipe because German Chocolate is usually made in cake form. When I finally found a recipe that I thought sounded right, it was no surprise to me at all that it came from one of my Food Network faves Ina Garten. The chocolate cake incorporates coffee to deepen the flavor. I mean that cupcake is just plain yummy! I did not use Ina's frosting (which is actually the classic filling for German Chocolate) because I felt that it was too involved. I understand that I need to cook it on the stove, but the less steps the better! And the filling turned out awesome!

I realize that appearance wise these are not the prettiest cupcakes on the block, but I promise they are delicious! Even for semi-coconut haters, like me!

Also, this was the first time I got to use my new kitchen mixer! Here it is in the background! (It's not a kitchen aid, but it will do until I can get one)!




Here is the recipe and Happy Baking!

German Chocolate Cupcakes
From Ina Garten
Makes 14 cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature
2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 14 paper liners.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

3. Divide the batter between the cupcake pans. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

German Chocolate Frosting/Filling
From Teenie Cakes
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Pinch of salt

Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut, pecans, and salt until combined. Let cool to room temperature before using.



I love how easy the filling was to make, and much to my surprise when I frosted my cupcakes the filling did not slide off like I expected! It was the perfect consistency! I know that I did not do this, but if you want to get a little creative with it, you can cut off the top of the cupcake add a thin layer of filling and then replace the top and add more filling on top! This way it is like a mini German Chocolate Cake! Thats how Martha Stewart does it! :)

Enjoy!!

The PK cupcake with a Christmas twist!

Hi again!

I know it has been a while, but I have 3 new blogs to post! I got a new computer (a mac) and no longer had a way to download pictures. Now the problem is fixed! So here we go...

For PK Real Estate's Beachwalk holiday party they asked me to make one of my favorites: Red Velvet! I put cream cheese frosting which I dyed pink and topped these off with star shaped chocolate-covered shortbread cookies! So these look like the original PK Cupcake but with a holiday twist because I think they look a little bit like pink Christmas trees! They were a hit at the party!

I used the recipe from Annie's Eats and the cookie toppers are from Trader Joes!

Here is the recipe and as always Happy baking!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
From Annies Eats

Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:*
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.



I suggest making these for that someone special for Valentines day! I am excited to try making the Red Velvet Cheesecake that Annie has on her blog! Enjoy everyone! :)

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!!

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So I am happy to announce that these cupcakes turned out perfectly!! After the too "cake-y" Amaretto cupcakes I was a tad bit bummed out. These delightful pumpkin cupcakes totally cured that! And it's all thanks to Annie's Eats again!

I always believed that I was not a pumpkin fan, but these completely override that. I love them!



Here is the recipe, and as always Happy Baking!

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes
from Annie's Eats

Yield: about 24-30 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract (I prefer clear)
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full.
Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the vanilla extract.
Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.
Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.



I decorated these with candy corn pumpkins and used these adorable halloween themed cupcake papers (that I bought back in September! lol!).



I added a little something extra to the cake batter (something I learned from Grace, the cake specialist I have been interning with), but I am keeping it a secret! ;)

What did you all do for Halloween and what did you dress up as?? I dressed as my hero Tina Fey!!

Wild Amaretto Cupcakes

Okay, so I have to say these by far are my least favorite that I have ever made. Sad, I know. I got the recipe from Primrose Bakery's cookbook. This is another England based bakery and I am starting to think they like their cake, well, really cake-y. So, eventhough I am not entirely happy with how they turned out, I will still post the recipe and wish you the best! The recipe calls for two different kinds of flour, but I recommend only using all-purpose flour. Normal vanilla cupcake recipes that yield for 12 like this recipe only call for about 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, so you can play around with it. If I made these again I would not use the self-rising flour and put only 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose. The frosting is pretty sweet, but it upheld better than any frosting I have ever made. Plus, the cake lady I have been working with (which I will get to in another post) said the frosting was good!

Here is the recipe...Happy baking!

Amaretto Cupcakes
Recipe from: "Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery"

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 2% reduced fat milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Amaretto liqueur or almond extract

For the syrup:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Amaretto liqueur or Almond extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3 to 5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Sift the two flours together into a seperate bowl. Mix the milk and the Amaretto together. Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes -it should come out clean.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the syrup in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high until sugar melts completely (about 1 1/2 minutes); stir to combine. Alternatively heat over a low heat in a saucepan.

Remove cupcakes from the oven and leave in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack. While they are still warm, dip the tops of the cupcakes into the syrup for a couple of seconds. Return to the wire rack to cool completely.


For the frosting:

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup 2% reduced fat milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon Amaretto liqueur or almond extract (add a little more depending on taste)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract, and half the confectioners' sugar until smooth - this will take a few minutes using an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the confectioners' sugar to produce a buttercream of a creamy and smooth consistency.

Add the Amaretto and beat well. Taste the frosting and decide if you want to add more Amaretto.

Frost cupcakes! You can decorate with slivered almonds. (or make them wild like I did with animal print cupcake liners, bright pink frosting, and black sugar sprinkles!!)

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Old, mushy, brown bananas? Don't get mad, get glad! Make something with them! Banana bread is delicious, but I wanted something different so I went back to Annie's blog: Annie's Eats and found this inticing recipe---Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins!

I got my old bananas from work! They were headed for the trash, so I saved them and went on a search for something yummy! I could've made cupcakes, but since I am making another batch of cookies n cream cupcakes later in the week I decided to do muffins! Don't worry Starbucks Seacliff you will reap the rewards of these treats...Thanks for providing the main ingredient!!

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins:
(From Annie's Eats)

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2-1 tsp. espresso powder (depending on your taste)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the mashed bananas, sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, egg and mascarpone. Mix on medium speed until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Gently fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.


Some notes:
It calls for espresso powder but I used Starbucks VIA Italian Roast thinking there would not be a huge difference in flavor, but I can't taste the coffee flavor at all. Annie said she had this problem with hers as well and she used espresso powder, but if you want to taste it then I suggest: more of whatever coffee powder you use!

I used mini chocolate chips which gives you more chocolate, but I guess according to the recipe you can use regular sized chocolate chips, so you decide!

Finally, mascarpone cheese! A sweet Italian soft cheese that I have heard can be used in baking instead of butter?! I might try it! If you can't find mascarpone cheese at your grocery store you can use cream cheese!

Enjoy these, I hope yours have a little more coffee flavor, but either way you can't go wrong with banana and chocolate!!

Until next time,
Perna Cakes