Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Baking day continues with BREAKFAST! I wanted a delicious treat that worked for breakfast as well--cereal doesn't always cut it! I adapted this recipe to include oats. It makes the batter a little more chunky, but the flavor is great! The cream cheese in the middle will melt during baking if it is not frozen beforehand. I prefer to eat these while warm, but they're great either way! Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield: 24 muffins

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth (I did this in a food processor). I then put the mixture in a piping bag and made 24 dollops on a piece of waxed paper. I placed this in the freezer until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

Muffins:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs (I used farm fresh eggs!)
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree (15 oz. can works well too)
1 cups vegetable oil (could substitute apple sauce for a healthy alternative)

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

Topping:
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour

½ tbsp oats
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

Directions

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. 

Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats!

Brown Sugar Cashew Blondies

Today is baking day with my friend Tanya! Up first are these delicious blondies. Neither of us are crazy about cashews, but this recipe was wonderful! I baked them in an 8x8 glass pan, so they turned out pretty thick. A cake pan would work well too, depending on your preferences! Vanilla ice cream would go well with this, but I couldn't find ours. I ended up using Caramel Pecan Praline-- a fine substitution! Can you go wrong with any flavor of ice cream though?! Enjoy :)

Brown Sugar Cashew Blondies

Makes 16 2-inch square bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt*
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped unsalted roasted cashews*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan for thick bars or a cake pan for thin bars.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in cashews.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Tip: Serve warm with ice cream :) Yumm!

*If using salted cashews, you may want to reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

Recipe adapted from Go Bold with Butter.

Banana Split Cupcakes

So I came home from college a few weekends ago and decided to make cupcakes! I didn't know which flavor to make so I had my boyfriend search Annie's Eats. He found these amazing Banana Split cupcakes! These are the most time consuming cupcakes I've made yet... but still definitely worth it! Everyone who had them absolutely LOVED them.

The cake is made with real bananas. The center filling is made with real strawberries and crushed pineapple. Topping it all off is a whipped cream frosting, chocolate ganache, sprinkles and a cherry! YUMM! I adapted the recipe slightly to perfect it. Enjoy and happy baking!

Yield: about 38 cupcakes (odd, I know)

Cupcakes

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2½ cups sugar

6 eggs

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (I blended it in a food processor)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix in 1 the mashed banana until well combined.  With the mixer on low speed alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 to ¾ full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

½ lb. strawberries, hulled and diced small (I also blended these in a food processor)

1 to 1½ tbsp. confectioners' sugar

8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

To make the strawberry filling, combine the strawberries and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl.  Toss well and add pineapple.  Allow the mix to sit for 20-30 minutes.  

To fill the cupcakes, cut a small cone out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife or small biscuit cutter.  (The excess cake can be discarded.)  Add a teaspoon or two of the filling to the center of each cupcake.  Top with a teaspoon or two of the crushed pineapple, filling to the top of the cupcake.

Frosting

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

½ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form.  Be careful not to over-beat!  Blend in the vanilla extract.

Add the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip.  Pipe a swirl of the whipped cream onto each filled cupcake, covering the filling.  Transfer the filled and frosted cupcakes to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Ganache

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate; let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk together until a thick, smooth ganache forms.  Blend in the corn syrup.  Let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes so the ganache is not hot.  

Garnish

Multi-colored sprinkles

Maraschino cherries

To finish the cupcakes, pour a spoonful of the ganache over the whipped cream topping of each cupcake.  Garnish with sprinkles and maraschino cherries before the glaze sets.  Chill the assembled cupcakes until ready to serve.

Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

For St. Patty's day this year, I decided to bake cupcakes with an Irish theme! These were a huge hit at the party I went to and were devoured before the night was over. These are time consuming, but worth it. Gathering the plethora of ingredients is half the fun!

 

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream 

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth.  In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.

Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.

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

Bailey’s ganache filling

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used dark Ghirardelli) 

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. Bailey’s Irish cream (I used Bailey's Irish cream with a hint of caramel -- delicious!)

To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate.  Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth.  If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15-20 seconds).  Add the butter and Bailey’s and stir until combined.

Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped.  (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)  Meanwhile, cut out a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method (a small paring knife works best for this).  Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes. I used leftover ganache to drizzle over the cupcakes, giving them some flair! The ganache leaves a beautiful deep chocolate center in the middle.

Bailey’s buttercream frosting

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6-8 tbsp. Bailey’s Irish cream (hint of caramel substituted here as well)

Green food coloring (if desired)

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated.  Mix in the Bailey’s until smooth.  Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading.  Add green food coloring as desired and frost cupcakes!

Maple Syrup Cupcakes

Doesn't my background look delicious?! These were some of the first unique cupcakes I made. The recipe originally included placing a Lindt Lindor Chocolate in the center of the cupcakes, but honestly I think the cupcakes would have been better without the chocolate. The recipe below omits the chocolate as well.

I was in the mood for a unique cupcake and stumbled upon Wookiee Cookies and found an amazing maple syrup cupcake recipe. I was interested and decided I'd give them a go! These would be an ideal breakfast cupcake... because they reminded me of pancakes! They were extremely rich and served best warmed up a little... or warmed up so much that the frosting melts all over the cake -- your choice (I prefer the latter)! 

Maple Syrup Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 2/3 cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup buttermilk

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract.
5. Stir in buttermilk and maple syrup.
6. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, stirring only until batter is just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
7. Divide evenly into prepared muffin tin. Recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Place cupcakes on a wire rack to cool before frosting.

Maple Buttercream

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 2 tbsp maple syrup, room temperature

• 2-3 tbsp milk, room temperature (I substitute regular milk for soy)

• 2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. Combine butter, maple syrup, milk and 2 cups confectioners sugar in a large bowl and beat at medium-high speed until smooth.
2. Add remaining sugar in gradually until frosting is thick enough to spread easily. You may not use all the sugar. If icing is too dry, add additional milk until desired consistency is reached.

Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.