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! :)