deathly hallows

It's been quite a week. And these cupcakes, adorable as they are, did not make it any better! I had hoped to make a deliciously decadent cheesecake frosting, and it did not turn out. At all. It was like melted ice cream. And I'm still not sure what I did wrong. So I had to pull out the only not expired can of frosting that I had on my shelves.

Then, when I ate the actual cupcakes, the cake was dry. Which was most likely my fault, because I don't believe in timing when I bake. I just check on my cakes a lot. So...they would probably have been delicious if I had timed it right.

In spite of all that, though, the cupcakes turned out to be pretty awesome looking! And I will work on my cake recipe until it's moist and delicious, and THEN I'll share it with you! For now, though - to make Deathly Hallows decorations for your cupcakes, melt some chocolate chips in a squeeze bottle, then squeeze out your shapes! Wait until cool & hardened, then place on top of your frosted cupcakes.

always very curious

Disclaimer: I. Hate. Bananas.

Hey, guess what? I made you some banana cupcakes!

Hahaha.

No, seriously. I did.

Do you know what I thought about them? I hated them.

BUT! Don't stop there! If I counted right, ten out of eleven of my in-laws loved them! #11 was my nephew who also hates bananas. So, with that acceptance, I decided to go ahead and post the recipe for my banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

The peanut butter frosting was DIVINE, by the way. Delicious and delectable!

And do you know who likes bananas? Curious George. And you should always go with the monkey.

Sorry for the pictures. They weren't super pretty, and I was really tired...so this is whatcha get!

Banana Cupcakes:

Yellow Cake Mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

3 bananas, well mashed

Mix all ingredients. Scoop into cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for 12-17 minutes. Cool completely.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

2(ish) tablespoons milk

4(ish) cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

banana runts for decoration (optional)

Whip together butter and peanut butter. On slow, mix in one cup powdered sugar, then another cup. Add milk and vanilla. Then mix in last 2 cups of powdered sugar. Adjust consistency with more powdered sugar or milk as needed.

bruce bogtrotter

Do I even need to explain the title of this post? Chocolate chocolate cupcakes, here we come!

I had book group earlier this week, and we discussed the book The Chocolate War (I wouldn't recommend it - sorry Audrey!). Since the book was (kind of) about chocolate, we each brought a chocolate dessert to share. So obviously I made cupcakes. I also realize that, since we read The Chocolate War, these cupcakes should be for that book. But I borderline hated it. So I am tipping my hat to Matilda instead. Why not?

I love that these cupcakes were super easy to make. All I did was use a dark chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines) and make whipped dark chocolate ganache for the frosting. They were super yummy!

I also just realized that all of the pictures that turned out looking good for this cupcake are pretty much exactly the same picture. Oops!


Whipped Ganache Frosting:
9 ounces dark chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

In a double boiler (or, you know, a bowl over a pot of simmering water), melt the chocolate chips. Stir in cream until combined well. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes (I used a Wilton 1M tip).

blackberry

My mother has a blackberry patch in her garden. If you've never had fresh blackberries, you are missing out. They are delicious! So when she called to ask if I wanted any, I drove right over to get some.

Peter Rabbit is a magical story, isn't it? That sneaky little rabbit. I was always worried that he would be caught by Mr. McGregor, and always equally relieved when he got away. Too bad he didn't get to eat blackberries and milk with Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail! You missed out, Peter. You missed out big time!

White Cupcakes (makes 12):
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together dry ingredients. Add butter and mix until sand-like. Add eggs. Add milk and extracts. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Blackberry Frosting:
1 pint blackberries
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup butter
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place your blackberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The berries will start to produce liquid like crazy! You'll want about 1/4 cup of juice from them, so as soon as you have that you're good to go!

In a stand mixer, combine butter and salt. Add vanilla. Mix in a cup of powdered sugar. Pour in your blackberry juice and mix to combine. Add another cup of powdered sugar and mix. Continue adding more powdered sugar until your frosting reaches the desired thickness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes (I used a Wilton 1M tip and piped from the center swirling out to create the rose look).

james and the giant peach

Confession: I am not a big fan of peaches. But you can't make cupcakes based on books and just skip James and the Giant Peach. I mean, really? That's got to be one of the best ideas! So I swallowed my aversion to the fruit and baked these up for you. Actually, I made them for my in-laws, but you get the picture.

I used the peach cupcake recipe from Indulge, and the delicious cream cheese whipped cream frosting recipe from Your Cup of Cake. This frosting is my new favorite! I don't know if I'll ever be able to make another kind of frosting ever again! It was extremely light, so even though it was piled up on top, you didn't feel like there was too much of it. It was so, so yummy! Life-changing even. I colored half the frosting a light orange, but apparently I should have done it darker. You can barely tell in the pictures. I'll do better next time!

These cupcakes were a big hit at Sunday dinner with the in-laws. Most people ate more than one, and my brother-in-law declared them "blog-approved." I'm so glad they're willing to be my taste-testers!