Day 354 – Lemoncino Raspberry Cupcakes

With so few cupcakes left in the year (11 to be exact) I wanted to do one with a lemon liquor.  It’s summer, right?  Now, since these Lemoncino Raspberry Cupcakes (recipe below from Java Cupcake) are clearly alcoholic, these are tasted and judged by my favorite guest judge, my hubby, Ken.

    

The cupcakes are smooth and have a good thickness.  The lemon is very delicious and had a delightful acidity.

Note: The minis don’t pack enough of a lemon punch. The full-sized have a lot more flavor.

The frosting is soft and fluffy. It’s too buttery though and the raspberry flavor just gets lost on the butter.

    

The frosting doesn’t stand up to the lemon intensity of the cupcake.  Together the frosting just gets lost. It needs more raspberry or more lemon flavor. They are really cute to look at though.  Very spring-like and fun.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 4

• Frosting Taste: 2.5

• Overall Taste: 3

• Appearance: 4
• Ease of Making: 4
• TOTAL: 17.5

RECIPE

Lemoncino Raspberry Cupcakes (recipe from Java Cupcake)

Lemoncino Cupcakes:

• 1 cup flour + 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 large egg whites
• Zest of one lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Lemoncino liquor (Lemoncello works too or any lemon liquor you have)

Raspberry Syrup:

• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Juice of one lemon

Raspberry Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
• 1lb powdered sugar
• Raspberry syrup
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

For directions visit Java Cupcake.

*Tomorrow: Reese’s Cupcakes*

Day 216 – Mardi Gras Cupcakes

Today is Mardi Gras.  Now, as you may or may not know, Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which is the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.  So, indulge in these Mardi Gras Cupcakes (recipe below from Java Cupcake) before tomorrow!!

    

The cupcakes soft and squishy. A little oily-moist, but not too oily. They are sweet with a strong vanilla flavor.

Note: The minis are kinda dry, but the full-sized are not at all.

The frosting is more the consistency of whipped cream than cream cheese or buttercream frostings. Light and airy. It has a strong, sweet cinnamon flavor.

    

They complement each other nicely. It’s a sweet, simple tasting cupcake – though not simple looking. The cinnamon and the vanilla are the stars for sure. These are fun, sweet, adorable cupcakes! Good for any party, Mardi Gras or otherwise.

    

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3.5

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 5
• Ease of Making: 3.5 (only time-consuming to make 3 different colors of batter)
• TOTAL: 19.5

RECIPE

Mardi Gras Cupcakes (recipe from Java Cupcake)

Cupcakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• the seeds of 2 Madagascar vanilla beans
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups Buttermilk
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 3 cups cake flour
• 3 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• Green, Purple and Yellow food coloring gel

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• pinch of salt
• green, purple and yellow sprinkles
• Rolo candies
• Mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
• purple gel food coloring

For directions visit Java Cupcake.

*Tomorrow: Cranberry Orange Cupcakes*

Day 139 – Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes

Okay.  Before we dive into these Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes (recipe below from Java Cupcake), I must confess.  I am an original black-and-white Oreo supporter.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever purchased another flavor.  Regular of Double Stuf.  That’s it.  That’s all I need.

But, I couldn’t avoid them forever.  Clearly.  So, here we go.  My first “flavored” Oreo experience.

    

The cupcakes are dense, but with a nice moist-ness.  They have a subtle chocolate flavor, not overstated at all. With a hint of the peanut butter just after the chocolate.

The frosting is thick but creamy with just a little crunch from the Oreos.  It has a nice peanut butter flavor, not overly sweet.

    

The balance is lovely. This is a classic, yummy cupcake. It would be great for parties and get-togethers (or nights alone on the couch watching movies). The peanut butter and chocolate are extremely well-balanced. Neither one is more aggressive than the other. They also don’t have a waxy taste, like so many Oreo Cupcakes have. Yay!

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 4

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4

• Ease of Making: 4 (no mixer required for batter)

• TOTAL: 19.5

RECIPE

Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes (recipe from Java Cupcake)

Peanut Butter OREO Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee
• 1 Tbsp espresso powder
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 20 Peanut Butter OREO sandwich cookies, finely crushed

Peanut Butter OREO Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 10 Peanut Butter OREO sandwich cookies, finely crushed

For directions visit Java Cupcake.

*Tomorrow: Classic Red Velvet Cupcakes*

Day 80 – Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes

So, I may or may not be digging into my already-purchased Halloween candy. And, there may or may not be Milky Ways. But, either way, I won’t find these in the candy bag. Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes (recipe below from Java Cupcake).

    

It is a dense, moist cupcake. Almost a little like devil’s food.  It is chocolatey and gooey. A nice, solid chocolate cake.

    

The filling tastes like the middle of an apple pie. Yum!

Frosting is thick. Very easy to pipe. (Make sure you beat for the extra 3 minutes like the directions say. Otherwise it’s too thick to pipe.)  It’s a little like the brown sugar frosting from the blueberry cupcakes. My first reaction was almost like cookie dough. Then, it occurred to me that this is the nougat part. Totally accurate! A lot of its flavor is from the brown sugar, so making caramel isn’t necessary like in so many other recipes, which is nice.

    

The apple becomes the central taste (no pun intended). It’s definitely the strongest flavor. So, again, I say over-frost this one so you get as much of that balance as possible. It’s a tasty cupcake. Filling. I feel like I ate a meal. It’s definitely reminiscent of a caramel apple Milky Way, but like a gourmet dessert version.

Note: The minis don’t have quite as good of a balance, cause there’s only a teeny tiny amount of apple. Not bad, just not the same balance as the full-size.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 4

• Frosting Taste: 4.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4.5
• Ease of Making: 2.5 (more time-consuming than anything. It’s not actually difficult, just lengthy.)
• TOTAL: 19.5

RECIPE

Caramel Apple Milky Way Cupcakes (recipe from Java Cupcake)

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Caramel Apple Filling

• 2 Gala apples (or your favorite), diced/chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, loose
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tbsp flour

Caramel Buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1.5lbs powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3-4 Tbsp caramel syrup

Garnish

• Caramel syrup
• Caramel Apple Milky Way bars, halved

For directions visit Java Cupcake.

*Tomorrow: Fluffernutter Cupcakes*