Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

My mother-in-law and niece were in town for a visit.  And they like to bake too! It was a super fun week filled with lots of baking.  Then, they were kind enough to watch my kiddos while my husband and I got to go to Cancun. So, that’s where I’ve been the past couple of weeks.

but now back to baking!

I love strawberries (especially when they’re always on sale).  I like them by themselves, with yogurt and granola, dipped in chocolate, on pancakes, with ice cream, etc. And these cupcakes were no exception. I very much enjoyed them. They have a great fresh strawberry taste.

Strawberry Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart makes about 18

1 3/8 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C cake flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 C (1 stick) butter room temp

1 1/8 C sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 C milk

1 C finely chopped fresh strawberries

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with liners
• Sift together both flours and baking powder
• Cream butter, sugar and vanilla on med-hi until pale and fluffy
• Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated, scraping down sides as needed
• With speed on low, add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with milk, beating well until combined
• Fold in chopped strawberries by hand
• Fill the lined cups 3/4 full, and bake 20-25 minutes
• Let cool for 15 minutes in tins before tipping out onto racks, then let cool completely

Strawberry Buttercream from Martha makes about 2 1/2 C

3/4 C fresh strawberries rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped

2 large egg whites

1/2 + 1/8 C sugar

3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temp (I only had salted butter, and the frosting was good on the cupcakes, but I think it would have been better to use unsalted)

• puree strawberries in a food processor
• combine egg whites and sugar in heatproof bowl, set over simmering water
• whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm and sugar has dissolved – should feel smooth
• place egg/sugar mixture in a standing mixer with whisk attachment- start low and increase to med-hi
• mix until stiff but not dry peaks form, and the the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, around 10 minutes
• turn speed to med-low, add butter 1 Tlbsp at a time, mixing well after each addition
• after the butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl and switch to the paddle attachment, beat on low for about 2 minutes
• add strawberries and beat until combined (this step took a lot longer then I thought it would, at first it looks like the strawberries will never mix in.  But they do!)
• stir with a flexible spatula until the frosting is smooth

I used Wilton tip #4B to frost these

Coconut Cupcakes w/ Coconut Buttercream

If you like coconut, you will love these cupcakes.  They are seriously delicious.  And every time I make them, they turn out. I even love them without frosting!  If I want a coconut treat, this is what I’ll make.  The cake is so moist, and I absolutely love the coconut flavor from the milk and shredded coconut.  Then to top it off, the frosting is rich, and smells divine.  

Coconut Cupcakes (From Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book) makes about 20

1 3/4 C all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C packed sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp (I use salted and omit the salt)

1 1/3 C Sugar

2 large whole eggs plus 2 egg whites, room temp

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 C unsweetened coconut milk (I find mine in the Asian food isle. I shake the can before I open it, then stir it all up before using it. After that, I stick what’s left in the fridge to use for my next batch something else)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with liners

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Pulse shredded coconut in a food processor until finely ground, and whisk into flour mixture

With an electric mixer on med-hi, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Gradually beat in whole eggs, whites and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of coconut milk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake about 20 minutes (I only baked mine for 16) Remove from oven and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely

and if you want to eat them all right now, I totally don’t blame you.

Martha uses a 7 min frosting in her book, but I decided to try a coconut buttercream instead.

Coconut Buttercream (Adapted from one of Martha’s basic buttercreams)

1 stick butter room temp

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tblsp whipping cream (or milk)

cream the butter (hand or standing mixer works fine)

add the powdered sugar, 1/2 C at a time, mixing it in completely before adding more

mix in the extracts

to thin it out a bit, for easier spreading or piping, add some milk or cream

**I only frosted about 1/2 the cupcakes with this recipe. 

So if you want them all frosted, double the recipe, or just put less frosting on each cake**

I used Wilton tip 1M in a disposable pastry bag to pipe the tops

And then I thoroughly enjoyed one! (or maybe two…)

Fluffy Chicky Snacks

Last week on Facebook, a friend was saying how much she loves chocolate with coconut.  I told her she should try the Lindt White Coconut bar (seriously, it’s delicious!)

and then she recommended that I try cake balls with coconut, to make fluffy chicks!Didn’t they turn out so cute?? Thanks for the idea Tiffany!

I think they would be perfect for any spring time activity!!I just threw them into cups filled with Cadbury Eggs (also delicious!) and there you go.

All you have to do is make these Chicky Snacks, but before the yellow candy melts harden, sprinkle yellow coconut all over.  to make yellow coconut: Put a handful of coconut into a ziplock bag with a few drops of yellow (liquid) food coloring.  Then mush it all around until the coconut turns (mostly) yellow.

Then apply the eyes and beak.  I didn’t put wings on, but you totally could.

These fluffy cake pops also kind of remind me of my daughter’s hair when she was a baby. I would blow dry it after a bath, so it would stick out everywhereIsn’t that hilarious??

Chicky Snack Cake Pops

These are pretty much the cutest, fattest little chicks I’ve ever seen.  I love them.  So does my daughter. I gave her a plain yellow cake pop, and she asked me to finish decorating it first. Then she would eat it.  I knew that cuteness relates to taste!!

The first time I saw them, my mom had sent me this link.  Chicky snacks?!? I love it!!

Here’s how I make them:

Start with basic cake pops, dipped in yellow candy melts. Stick those in your styrofoam to dry.

For the beak, eyes and wings, I just pipe a on little blob of candy melts, using disposable piping bags:

You place the candy melts into a disposable piping bag (or even a ziplock if you want) then microwave, kneading the melts in the bag every 15-20 seconds until it’s smooth.  You will want to do one color at a time, because the tip of the bag hardens quickly.  If that happens, you can just throw it back into the microwave, but it’s easiest if you do all the same color at the same time. I did mine all assembly line style:

I think my favorite part about these chicks, is that even though they essentially should be the same…  they aren’t. At all!!  I think they all have their own cute little personalities.

Cake Pops and Bites

The first time I made cake bites was 2 years ago for my mom’s surprise birthday party.  They were pretty good.  Cake pops are sweet. cake+frosting+candy coating= 3xsweet. So since then, I have experimented (a lot), and thanks to this blog, I had my best inspiration.  She talks about how it doesn’t have to be frosting, it just has to be a binder, something to make the cake stick together.  So I tried whipping cream. ding ding ding we have a winner! 

Of all the combinations I’ve tried, chocolate cake with whipping cream is by far my favorite.

Fredellicious Cake Pops

1 Chocolate Cake (betty crocker devil’s food)

3/4 C +/- whipping cream

vanilla candy melts

To start, make a cake according to box directions in a 9x13”.  I like to use Betty Crocker Devil’s Food, but other chocolate cakes are yummy too.  Cool cake completely.  Want to cool it quicker?

After letting it sit for about 10 min in the pan, dump it out and quarter it.  It doesn’t even matter if it doesn’t come out perfectly, you’re just going to crumble it all up anyway!

When it’s cooled crumble it all into a big bowl.

Then start adding the cream.  I use Great Value heavy whipping cream, which seems to be extra heavy.  Other creams may be less thick, so you wouldn’t need as much.  So add just a bit (1/4 C) at a time so you don’t add too much. 

I start with a spoon to mix it, but then I just use my hands, it’s much easier to get it all mixed up.

You want it so that when you grab a blob it holds its shape and sticks together.

Once you’re at that point, you can start rolling balls! I like to use a tablespoon to measure.

 

and I put them in a pie pan, it’s perfect depth, and small enough to fit in my freezer.

I let them cool in my freezer for about 1/2 hour.

While they’re cooling, I melt my candy melts. I use the vanilla flavor. 1/2 power, stirring every 30 seconds until the whole bowl is smooth. Then I let it sit for a couple of minutes, because you don’t want it too hot.

Dip the stick into the candy melt, then into the ball.  This will help the ball stay on the stick.

dunk the ball into the bowl of candy melts, and coat the ball completely.

rotating your cake pop over the bowl, letting the excess drip off. Then place the stick into your foam and let it harden completely (I use the top of a styrofoam cooler that I poked holes into)

and there you go!

you can add sprinkles before the candy melt sets

or this one, I dipped a fork in the white melts and drizzled it over the top for a different look.

 

Don’t have sticks or feel like buying them? No problem. make cake bites, it’s just a little different

Instead of a lollipop stick, I use a skewer (you can use fondue forks, or whatever you have)

Dip the ball into the melts until Almost coated. Then let the excess drip off.

then I lean the skewer against a plate to let the coating harden before pulling it off the skewer.  (if you want to add sprinkles do it before the melts harden!) This works best if you have 2 skewers going, so while this one is setting, you can dip another.

Then put em on a plate and drizzle candy melts on top!

 

If you’ve heard of cake pops, you’ve probably heard of Bakerella.  She’s pretty darn amazing. She did a video tutorial of cake pops, I thought I would share!

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