Week One - Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes

Does anyone else out there have zucchini coming out of their ears right about now? Well my parents do and everytime we go over there they are trying to bribe us to take more home with us. :) This is why my first recipe for my new project is for Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes. I was a little hesitant at first at putting a vegetable into my favorite treat and Canyon thought that the batter looked disgusting. But... they were actually pretty good. :) Here's the recipe.

Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup oil

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 cups packed brown sugar

3 cups packed grated zucchini

1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla and zest until well blended; whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Stir in zucchini, then add flour mixture and stir unitl just combined. Stir in walnuts.

Divide batter evenly among lined muffin tin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups confectioners sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Milk if needed

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, add sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add milk if the consistency is too thick. Frost cooled cupcakes.

New Project...

Really? February 18, 2010? I have baked cupcakes since then... many times. I'm not going to lie. Life has been pretty crazy and I've neglected this blog. And my other blogs as well. BUT... Guess what? Something very exciting has happened in the Facer household. Drum roll please... I QUIT MY JOB! :) And now I have more time to be at home taking care of my little munchkins, taking care of business in my Etsy store and baking cupcakes! :) I've decided that since I am going to have more time on my hands it would be fun to work on one of my favorite cullinary hobbies. Baking Cupcakes!
My Mom bought be this lovely cookbook a couple birthdays ago and I decided it would be fun to bake my way through it. So in the forseeable future I will be taking on cupcakes a recipe a week and blogging my way along. :) I hope you enjoy!

Coconut Cupcakes

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting:

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Monster Cupcakes

I made these Monster cupcakes for my mom's ward Halloween party. I really made more than 2 but this is the only picture I got. I forgot to take any more and then... it was too late. :)

Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

So these aren't cupcakes but they are frosted so its somewhat related!
Yesterday I got this great idea in my head and this is the result... not as perfect as I pictured but still pretty cute. Trial and error - next time I want this effect I think I'll try a different way!

Neopolitan Cupcakes

The best of ALL worlds!!! Have you ever found yourself having to choose between Chocoalte & Vanilla? This cupcake is awesome because you don't have to! AND you get Strawberry too! These were so fun to make and so EASY! It really is just as simple as it looks. I made a batch of chocolate badder & a batch of white and then spooned them into the cupcake papers as shown below.

Then I baked them and they came out of the oven like this.

Then I frosted them with strawberry icing and Walaa! Beautiful & yummy Neopolitan cupcakes!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes... YUM!!!

My friend Jenny made these cupcakes for me for my birthday a few months ago and they were so yummy! She gave me the recipe a couple days ago and I could not wait to try them out! For the cupcakes I just used a chocolate cake mix and added some sour cream to make the cupcakes more dense. I also got some peanut butter chips and added those to the badder. The frosting is what really makes them awesome and its so simple! Here is the recipe for the frosting.


Peanut Butter Frosting

1 c. peanut butter, creamy
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream or heavy cream

Mix together, the peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar. Gradually add the 1/3 cup cream to desired consistency (I usually use it all, but sometimes it can get a little thin if it's really warm). You can also substitute milk for the cream, but it tastes better with cream. Also make sure the butter is softened, otherwise it doesn't mix together well with the peanut butter.