peppermint mocha cupcakes

What's your favorite seasonal drink at Starbucks?
Do you have a top secret 47-word one that I should know about?

I love me some peppermint mocha. I was thinking it was my favorite. I'm not much for gingerbread or brulee. Maybe they're not sinful enough, I don't know. Then the other day as I was standing in line at the 'bucks anticipating my tasty drink, I heard someone order a salted caramel mocha. Like, not-on-the-menu-anymore-since-Fall-is-over salted caramel mocha. I had forgotten all about that guy! So now I've decided that maybe those two seasonal mochas will tie for favorite.

As you can see, I have very exciting thoughts.

On to the cupcakes! Obviously, since I make these mocha coconut cupcakes on a very regular basis, and given my aforementioned weakness for the peppermint mocha, it was only the decent thing to do to combine them into one amazing little cake.

They're rich yet refreshingly minty. Not overpoweringly minty though. Crunchy candy cane bits top the delectable mint buttercream to make your day. Zing! (I don't know if that phrase applies here)

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
Adapted from How Sweet's mocha coconut cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint/peppermint extract
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I wanted to use mint chips but couldn't find them. I bet they'd be amazing in this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with liners.
Melt butter and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, sift together, flour, cocoa, coffee, soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, butter and extracts, and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then stir in sour cream. Fold in chocolate chips and mix. Using a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop, add batter to each cup to fill about 2/3 full (or a little more). Bake for 15-18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Minty Whipped Cream Buttercream

1 cup softened butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp mint/peppermint extract
2-4 T. heavy whipping cream

Cream butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually until a thick consistency is reached. Add salt and extracts and 2 T. of cream. Continue beating. Add more cream until desired consistency is reached, and more sugar if it is too thin. Taste and add 1/4 tsp more mint extract if it isn't minty enough for you.

Frost cupcakes. Top with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate leftover cupcakes to keep frosting fresh.

sneak a peek

Here's a sneaky little peek at our deeelicious dinner from tonight. More on it later.

Here's also a picture (what kind of grammar is that?) of disaster that struck in my kitchen tonight.

Delectable disaster. I figured it out eventually. I'll tell you about it too.

carrot-coconut cupcakes with brown butter frosting

 I have never considered myself a carrot cake bandwagon member. I don't dislike it. I'm just not on the bandwagon.
 

If anything, I'm meandering along beside the bandwagon, listening ambivalently to peppy carrot cake discussions, eyeing the cream cheese frosting that they have up there, and likely munching on a cupcake that doesn't have any vegetables in it.

I don't know what it is about carrot cake that doesn't usually excite me. It could be because you never really know what kind of surprises you'll find inside of it. Walnuts? Maybe. Pineapple? Possibly. Raisins? Hopefully not. 

Then I saw all these pretty little carrots at the farmers market. And I knew what I had to do.

This carrot cake doesn't play by the rules, which is kind of what I love about it.

Well, it plays by some of the rules, like the Moist rule and the Flavorful rule and the Hint of Warm Spices rule, and yes, it even plays by the Surprise Ingredient rule, but it bends that one a little. These surprise ingredients don't bop you in the face like a raisin so often can. They are subtle, they let you know they are there without being blatant.

 They are coconut and almond.  

And they get along so well with carrot.

Oh, and the brown butter frosting? Possibly the best frosting I've ever made. 

I've got a foot on the bandwagon.

Carrot-Coconut Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

Makes about 30 cupcakes

4 cups shredded carrots

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup raw almonds

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 T. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. coconut extract

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Place almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until almonds have become crumbs. Add coconut to bowl of food processor and mix until combined, the coconut has broken down a little. It will be a coarse homogeneous mixture. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating a little after each egg. Add extracts.

Beat in almond and coconut mixture. Fold in shredded carrots.

Alternately add buttermilk and flour mixture to the bowl and mix just until evenly combined.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter

approx. 6 cups powdered sugar

4-5 T. milk

Add butter to a skillet over medium heat and cook until melted and light brown, and brown specks have started to appear. (After the butter has initially melted, you will want to swirl (or stir) the pan constantly to prevent burning.)

Pour butter into a large bowl. Add about 3 cups of the powdered sugar and stir a little to moisten. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat to combine. (My mixture was pretty dry and looked like little crumbs. Do not fear, it will come together!) Add the milk, starting with less (4 T.) and adding more if needed. Add more milk or powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency and taste. 

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

coconut lime cupcakes with basil lime cream cheese frosting

The other day I had a life-altering experience when I randomly decided to stop for a cup of gelato on my way home. I saw this flavor called coconut basil. I tasted it. I got a whole cupful of it.

Those spoonfuls of creamy coconut basil heaven may have been the best ten minutes of my day, but I would never admit that.

For the rest of the afternoon I obsessed over how else I could combine those two flavors. Soup? Rice? Fish? Cupcakes? Cupcakes.

These are the things I think about.

 

 These are fantastically sweet and coconut-y with a hint of lime zing to them. I do wish the flavor of the basil would have come through more in the frosting though. Next time I make these I will be trying other basil-adding methods. But I have to finish these up first.

So now I am single-handedly ridding the world of coconut lime cupcakes with basil lime cream cheese frosting. It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it. And I am winning the battle...these cupcakes don't know what hit them.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes with Basil Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 

Makes 12 cupcakes

Recipe adapted from the Neelys

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon coconut extract

2 T. fresh lime juice   

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 T. lime zest

3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes, ground up in food processor

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Into a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Using a hand held mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time until just combined. Add vanilla, coconut extract, and lime juice. Add buttermilk and dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Mix in the lime zest and shredded coconut.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks before frosting.

Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick (4 T.) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. lime zest

1/4 cup finely chopped basil (I put mine in the food processor)

approx. 4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup toasted sweetened coconut flakes, for garnish

Using a hand-held mixer beat cream cheese and butter together until light and smooth. Add vanilla extract, lime juice and zest, and basil and combine. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time until thoroughly incorporated and at desired consistency. Add more sugar if desired texture is not reached. Adjust flavors as desired.

Pour coconut flakes evenly onto a baking sheet. Place in 350-degree oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring often and keeping an eye on them so they do not burn. Remove when golden-brown.

Frost cupcakes and garnish with toasted coconut flakes.

Lemon "cupcakes"

 I use quotation marks because I almost want to call these muffins. 

Muffins with cream cheese frosting. 

Could there be a better muffin?

 They are sweet, but not overly sweet. And the texture is more dense, similar to that of a muffin or maybe even a pound cake. Either way, they taste quite good. I felt bad because I was asked to make cupcakes for an event, and well, I had 24 of whatever-you-want-to-call-these, and no time to throw together anything else, so I brought these muff-cakes. 

Anyway, people seemed to like them. And I ate like 3 of them beforehand, because for some reason I thought that if I kept tasting them, I could be convinced that they were in fact cupcakes. It didn't work, and I just ended up 3 cupcakes fatter.

Ah well.

A veritable cupcake army!

Lemon Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe adapted from here and here

Makes 24-30 cupcakes

CUPCAKES

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 T. grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sour cream

FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 T. Lemon Juice

1 tsp almond extract

approx. 6-7 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with paper cups (or grease it).

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon zest and extracts; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

For frosting, cream butter in a small mixing bowl. Add softened cream cheese, and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and almond extract. Beat on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar, adding more until desired consistency. You may also play with the lemon juice measurements if it is not lemon-y enough for you. Frost cooled cupcakes.

i have jokes

What's black and tan and red and white all over?

If you answered, "A german shepherd wearing a santa hat", you would be correct.

Another correct answer would be this plate of cupcakes.

I made these for my brother's birthday. He's pretty much obsessed with cupcakes which works out because I'm obsessed with making them. When they asked if I could make some cupcakes for the party I jumped at the chance, because normally I'm making cupcakes anyway but only for 2 people so then we get stuck with a dozen cupcakes (I know, sad life). Now the cupcakes would go to good homes stomaches. 

Sadly, I didn't get a ton of pictures of the red velvet. That's not because they weren't delicious.  It's because everyone was fighting over each other to get to them and I couldn't even snap a picture of the mayhem because I was in the middle of it.

Just kidding.

The real reason is not nearly as exciting.

 It's simply because I made these chocolate peanut butter ones a couple weeks ago and took pictures then but never got around to posting them.

Anyway, they're decadent, I don't think they demand much explanation. If you want to make them, you can find the awesome recipe here. If you like eating fingerfuls of extra peanut butter frosting straight from the fridge, this is the recipe for you. (I didn't fill my cupcakes like the recipe suggested, so I was stuck with the extra frosting.)

Moving on.

I have been trying to get a perfect red velvet recipe, and this may just be it. I actually ate one of these without the frosting (I can't believe it either) and it held its own surprisingly well without the cream cheese frosting, which in my opinion is absolutely necessary for red velvet perfection. Anyway, these had the perfect texture and right amount of moistness. Tasty taste.

Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Recipe adapted from here

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 ounce red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Frosting

• 4 oz. of cream cheese, softened
• 2 T. butter, softened
• 1 T. sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 oz. of confectioners’ sugar (approx 2 cups)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 12 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup approx. 2/3 full.
3. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Gently remove from oven. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.
4. Make cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth and to the texture of your liking. 

 

first post: confessions and cupcakes

Hello.

I'm Esther, I'm 25 years old and obsessed with food.

(Hi, Esther)

Sometimes when I'm gushing about a new restaurant or recipe to a friend or family member, I worry that they're secretly judging me or thinking, "How sad, she really cares about food this much." So I try to hold back, sometimes. But only on the outside. I don't tell them that I find myself planning menus in my head as I go to sleep at night. 

...Okay, well I guess they know now. 

No more secrets.

So here's my food blog. It will be about food. And possibly traveling (but really still food then too).

And now, cupcakes!

Disclaimer: My photography skills/camera are severely impaired. Hope to change this.

This is a banana coconut cupcake with nutella-cream cheese frosting.

 

Sadly this cupcake is no more. It had to be done.

The sacrificial cupcake.

 These are really tasty. You will have eaten one before you even realized it. (case in point: I did not plan to eat that whole sacrificial cupcake. I just planned to do one bite, for the picture.)

Also, you can qualify them as breakfast cupcakes, because of the banana! (Who am I kidding, I qualify all cupcakes as breakfast cupcakes.)

Banana Coconut Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
(cupcake recipe adapted from here, where everything looks really super good)

1 1/2 C. A/P flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C. mashed bananas
1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 stick unsalted butter (6 T.), softened to room temperature

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. white sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 C. buttermilk

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 275.
Prepare a muffin pan with muffin cups.

Optional: In a food processor, grind up coconut into smaller flakes so as not to encounter stringy coconut shreds in cupcake.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Mash bananas and combine with lemon juice in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, coconut extract, and vanilla.  Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk while mixing, until combined.
Add bananas and mix until well blended. Add shredded coconut.
Bake at 275 for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
After removing from the oven, place cupcakes in freezer for 1/2 hour.

Frosting:
1/2 C. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup nutella
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 C. powdered sugar

Cream together butter, cream cheese, nutella, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar. Add more sugar if desired texture is not achieved.

Frost cooled cupcakes.

Sprinkle with toasted coconut.*

*To toast coconut, spread about a cup of it out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and toast it at 300, stirring often, until golden brown and crispy, approximately 6-8 minutes, depending on your desired level of crispness.