Cupcake Poppers

"Cupcakes Make Everything Better" - That's the t-shirt Sweet Cheeks gave me for Christmas last year.  I wore it on my way home from Houston and the TSA agents couldn't agree more.  Sit back and think on that for a moment.  Is there anything cupcakes couldn't make better, even if it's just a little bit?  I am drawing a monumental blank. 

When we decided on what to do for Easter, colorful cupcakes came up.  The idea of making poppers (basically two small cupcakes with icing in the center) seemed even better because they just looked fun.  I was mentally planning my shopping list when I thought that flavored poppers would be even better.  So off to the store I went, and I picked up preserves that coordinated with the colors I planned: raspberry for pink, blueberry for blue, blackberry for purple, and yellow... well they don't really make lemon preserves (at least not in my neck of the woods), so I settled on lemon extract. *I would like to take a moment to warn you that when you use lemon extract, or extract of any kind, that is past the expiration date, they tend to become less extract and more flavored rubbing alcohol. 

My sister came home after I had finished up and she told me that she grabbed one and got really excited when it was flavored like the color.  She said she had to try them all.  I have to agree, you can't just eat one and they are the perfect size for a quick snack.  Then again, if you are like me, one becomes three and then you're no longer hungry for lunch.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and that they brighten up your Easter baskets!

Babycakes

CUPCAKES

YOU WILL NEED:

1 c. (2 sticks) softened butter

2 c. granulated sugar

4 room temp. eggs (soak cold eggs in bowl of warm water for a few minutes to warm them up)

1 1/2 c. self-rising flour

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

food coloring of your choice

PREPARATIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat the butter until it is fluffy. Add the sugar gradually and mix until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.  

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the two flours. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to butter mixture. 

4. In another separate bowl, combine vanilla and milk. Pour 1/2 of milk mixture into butter mixture.  Add another 1/3 of the flour and mix well.  Pour in the remaining milk and vanilla and beat completely.  Finally add the last of the flour mixture and beat until completely incorporated.

5. If you'll be using more than one color, separate the mixture into as many bowls as there are colors. Add the desired amount of food coloring to each bowl.  If you want more vibrant colors, add about 8 drops each.  

6. Grease the bottoms and sides of each cup in a non stick muffin tin.  You will not be using cupcake liners!  

7. Drop a small spoonful into the bottom of each muffin tin.  It should be just a small dollop so that the finished product does not puff up too much. For a tye dyed look, use half a spoonful of two different colors, swirl but do NOT mix.  It's okay if you can still see the bottom of the pan because the batter will spread out as it bakes.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, checking around the 8 minute mark to make sure they do not burn. 

9. Pop them out with a small spatula onto a cooling rack.  

ICING

YOU WILL NEED:

1/2 c. softened butter

5-7 c. confectioner's sugar

1/2 c. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs. blueberry preserves

2 tbs. raspberry preserves

2 tbs. blackberry preserves

1 tsp. lemon extract

food coloring

PREPARATIONS:

1. Beat butter and 4 c. confectioner's sugar.  

2. Add milk and vanilla and beat until fully mixed.

3. Add the remainder of the powdered sugar by the cup until it has reached a slightly stiffer consistency than you would like.

4. Separate the icing into four bowls.  Add each preserve or extract to one bowl each.  Taste each icing to make sure that you can taste the various flavors.  If it isn't strong enough for you, add more a little at a time.  

5. Add the food dye to each bowl to match the colors that the cupcakes will be.  We used purple for blackberry, blue for blueberry, pink for raspberry, and yellow for lemon.  

ASSEMBLY

Once the cupcakes have cooled, put a dab of icing (we matched the colors but you can mix and match to make the flavors a surprise) on the flat side of each cupcake and place it on another cupcake (bottom to bottom) so you have a sandwich.  Enjoy!

Yin Yang Surprise

The ancient Chinese believed there existed in the universe two complimentary forces known as Yin Yang. This philosophy symbolizes how two entities that seem like polar opposites are, in fact, interconnected and cannot exist one without the other. When Yin and Yang come together, they create a whole that flows back into itself without separation. Every entity has both Yin and Yang elements contained within it and these elements change over time as one side becomes stronger and then gives way to the other. This philosophy about opposites coming together to create a greater whole was not only the perfect description of our friendship but was also an ideal basis for a cupcake!

Yin represents a more introverted and passive personality while Yang is more of an extroverted, active personality. Sweetcheeks has always been the cooler head in our friendship: Talking me down from whichever soapbox I find myself on. And I have always dragged her (sometimes kicking and screaming) into new areas of exploration that she sometimes surprises herself in liking. I’m definitely the more talkative but she has a way of getting inside my head and understanding where I’m coming from without me having to explain myself. We try to be open and honest to one another so that we can see our flaws, even when we really don’t want to, and work on making them better. This complimentary friendship has weathered many storms and has given us both the confidence and security that we need to go out into the world and be ourselves. We don’t always see eye to eye or even like the same things so we agree to disagree on the fluff and enjoy the things we both love: Baking =)

Chocolate and vanilla are forever polar opposites and the best of friends. Who doesn’t like a chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing? There will always be passionate discussions on which is the best (it’s a unanimous CHOCOLATE from the both of us), but these two flavors combine to really make your taste buds dance. With this in mind, we set out to create a Yin Yang cupcake that packed a bit of a surprise punch. Enjoy!

Babycakes

YOU WILL NEED:

2 1/2 c. white flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbs cocoa powder

1/4 c. high quality bittersweet chocolate

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1 tbs vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

PREPARATION 

1. Preheat the over to 325°.  Insert liners into medium cupcake pans.

2. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder.  We don't have a sifter, so we combine the ingredients and whisk them for a few minutes.
 

3. Melt chocolate in a bowl placed over a pot of hot water or use a double boiler and mix until smooth.
 

4. Place butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, beating with the mixer's flat beater on medium speed.  Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate (scraping sides of bowl as needed), until batter is light and airy.
 

5. Reduce mixing speed to low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well.  
 

6. Gradually add the dry mixture and buttermilk, mix until incorporated into a smooth batter. 
 

7. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full.  We use an ice cream scoop, it's an easy way to get the perfect measurement without making a mess.  
 

After filling 12 cups, we decided we wanted to add a "kick" to the cupcakes, so we added 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper to the remaining batter and mixed well.  
 

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the cupcake's center comes out clean.  We took ours out at 18 minutes because Sweet Cheek's oven is notorious for overcooking. The toothpick came out clean, but the bottoms were very moist.

9. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. 

ICING

We made both chocolate and vanilla icings for our Yin Yang cupcakes.

Chocolate icing:

4 tbs heavy whipping cream

4 tsp light corn syrup

2/3 c. mini choc chips

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine heavy whipping cream and light corn syrup over medium heat until it simmers.

2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips.

Vanilla icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tbs heavy whipping cream

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Add more heavy whipping cream if necessary to reach your desired consistency.