Cupcakes I've Been Working On

I have decided to write one post including all of my creations, rather than four separate ones. I have not been  able to do a whole lot of baking this spring, plus my camera was full and I put off emptying it until tonight. I hope you enjoy!

Peeps Sunflower Cake:

This is a chocolate cake with with a chocolate marshmallow frosting. I simply mixed one jar of fudge frosting with one 8oz jar of marshmallow creme. I placed the peeps in a ring around the outer edge with leaf tips between each one. Lastly I used chocolate sprinkles for the middle of the flower.

S'more Cake:
This cake was a left over cake. I had intended on making the sunflower cake above a two layer cake but the frosting was too gooey to fill the sides, it all ran out and down! No worries, I simply topped it as a s'more cake. It is the same chocolate cake with chocolate marshmallow creme frosting. I topped it with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate sprinkles. It could have used more crumbs along the edges for a true s'more taste, but the the frosting was too gooey and it was late. It was delicious though!!!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes:
These I made for a girl at work on her last day. I made them very similar to my strawberry cupcakes. I used a box of white cake mix, some sort of juice ( I don't remember anymore, I think it was strawberry kiwi ) and white chocolate chips. They are topped with a raspberry whipped topping, white chocolate chips and a raspberry. Some in the back have sprinkles instead.

St. Patty's/Thin Mint Bundt Cake:
 I specifically made this for St. Patty's day, but it would be good any time. I used my chocolate bundt recipe. I replaced the chocolate chips for the semi-sweet mint chip blend found at the holidays. I topped it with the glaze, crushed Thin Mints, chocolate chip blend and green sprinkles.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream:

I made these for my girls weekend. They are a chocolate cupcake topped with buttercream and pink sanding sugar. The first round over-flowed and had huge tops, hence the crusty's on my pan. They were delicious though!

Chocolate Birthday Cupcakes

I made both of these cupcakes for birthdays this past summer. The top cupcake is a chocolate cupcake with pink buttercream. I topped them with pastel non perils and pastel sprinkles.

The bottom cupcake is a devils food cupcake with a whipped gnash frosting. I made a batch of gnash using 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 milk chocolate. I then let is set and whipped it into a buttercream like consistency. It was a big hit!
*I used 1/2 milk chocolate to sweeten the frosting against the rich devils food cupcake.

Double Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cupcakes

These are a very rich cupcake and very chocolaty!! I made them using a box cake mix and added to it. I topped them off with a chocolate buttercream and non perils.

Double Chocolate Chip with Oatmeal Cupcake:
1 chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oats (instant works best, but I used the regular kind and they were delicious and had added texture)
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350, prep pan with liners
2. Mix all ingredients until combined (batter will be shiny and very thick)
3. Fill liners 2/3 full
4. Bake 15-18 minutes

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting:
1 stick of butter (8 tbsp)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp milk or cream

1. Beat butter until fluffy
2. Turn off mixer and add cocoa, sugar, vanilla and 3tsp milk.
3. Mix until combined and fluffy
4. Add the rest of milk if frosting is too thick or dry

Brownie Cupcakes

So I was trying a new chocolate cupcake recipe. When I took them out of the oven they were more like brownies. They were a delicious surprise!!

I used a recipe from the Primrose Bakery for both the cupcake and the buttercream, however I did add more butter and less powdered sugar.

Cupcakes:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
6 tbsp butter
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs separated
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 c 2% milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375
Melt chocolate in microwave or in double boiler
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Beat egg yolks in separate bowl for several minutes
Slowly add egg yolks
Add melted chocolate
Sift dry ingredients together
Add vanilla to milk
Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to the butter batter, starting and ending with dry ingredients
Beat egg white in a separate bowl until soft peaks form
Fold egg whites into batter
Bake for 18-22 minutes
Let cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack

Buttercream Frosting:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 c (2 sticks) butter
1 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in microwave o in double boiler
Beat butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla
Add chocolate and beat until thick fluffy consistency, this can take up to 10 minutes

**I used 3 sticks of butter and only 2 cups of powdered sugar