Jonathan's birthday cupcakes

Attention chocolate lovers (and non-lovers)! I think I've found the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe. I made these cupcakes for Jon's (belated) birthday...and if I do say so myself, they were pretty darn good. Even my chocolate-sort-of-hating boyfriend liked these...so that's gotta mean something, right?

Anyway, this cupcake does come packed full of chocolate flavor and goodness, but the cake is surprisingly light and fluffy. I was kind of worried that the frosting might have been a tad too sweet, but it's the perfect balance to the unsweetened cocoa that the cake portion of the recipe calls for. The frosting is a simple butter cream, but I think next time I might want to try a chocolate/cream cheese frosting.

So...behold! I present, the best chocolate cupcake recipe! Oh, and you might want to have a tall glass of cold milk ready to go. Don't say I never warned you.

Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm still baking!

Birthday cupcakes for Jelissa and Melissa (*haha, that rhymes :p*)

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Thai Tea Cupcakes

See? I'm not MIA. It's just been waaaay too hot to bake and I'm working a new summer job that leaves me tired at the end of the day. I'm missing Jon's cupcakes, which I hope to bake soon...apparently, he likes chocolate cupcakes so I'm looking for a really good recipe!

Also...I just got a beautiful rose cupcake pan from my Auntie Connie :) I hope to bake some red velvet rose cupcakes with a cream cheese filling...I hope it cools down some day soon!

Throwback!

I haven't made any cupcakes since last Tuesday (but my sister and I probably will for July 4!)...so I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of previous batches.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

My very first attempt at cupcakes...I loved these, and I think they were a hit at work. The coconut milk that the recipe calls for really makes the cake moist, and the sweet-tangy frosting is really light. This would be a VERY refreshing summer dessert :)

Cherry-Limeade Cupcakes

These...were kind of sweet. Like I said before, I'm not a fan of diabetes spread on top of my cupcake. Okay, I'm being dramatic. These weren't THAT bad. I'd probably eat them again, but I think I would much rather eat the Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes. These were fun to make and decorate, though!

Thai Tea Cupcakes

Feeling adventurous? This is definitely a recipe that you want to try. I think my sister and I spent most of our time trying to find the Thai tea syrup, only to discover that you could only really buy it online. We needed to improvise, and we bought a whole bucket of tea leaves and ended up brewing and straining them instead.

The custard inside didn't really firm up, so we ended up with a pretty goopy (but delicious) mess. I really liked these cupcakes...my sister, not so much. These were just sweet enough, and it really tasted like Thai tea (thanks to the custard center and the Thai tea cream cheese frosting)

P.S...I LOVED the orange color <3

Sorry! None for you, Charlie!



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These need some work. From what I remember, the frosting got kind of hard and I think we can cut back on the sugar a lot more. But I really loved the cake :)

I hope to perfect this one by the end of the summer!

That's it for this throwback entry. Make sure you check back here around July 4...more cupcakes to come!

Tiramisu cupcakes

Reader, meet the Tiramisu cupcake. I've had my fair share of cupcakes in my life, and I'm pretty positive that this is the best one that I've ever eaten...and I just HAD to kick off this blog with an introduction to the best cupcake EVER.

I'm really not a fan of cavity inducing frosting or heavy cake, and I was a little worried that these cupcakes would be just that. Instead my sister and I were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The cake is based on a fairly simple vanilla cake batter - not too sweet, not too bland. After going in the oven to bake, a coffee-marsala wine syrup is drizzled over the cupcakes. The frosting is made from a VERY light and fluffy cream and marscarpone cheese combination, and then the cupcakes are dusted with cocoa powder...absolutely AMAZING.

Honestly, the first word that popped out of my mouth after taking the first bite was "WOW." This cupcake didn't take too long to make (and of course, it helps to have a sister that's really good at baking). I think we'll definitely have to try this one again!

Woot.

Okay, so I caved in. I got a real blog (although I still have my Xanga). But I decided that I wanted to dedicate this blog to cupcakes, and possibly any other baking adventure that I may have.

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I've developed a love of anything cupcakes within the past year. I have discovered a love of cupcake fashion, thanks to Johnny Cupcakes...and of course, I love baking and eating them, too! There's something about the tiny, beautifully decorated and delicious treats that I just can't get enough of.

My sister just got the Martha Stewart cupcakes book, and we decided that we're going to attempt to bake our way through the entire book. Most of the recipes will be from there, and others will be from websites that I find.

Okay! So here we go! My first real post is coming right up...that is, as soon as I can upload my photos :D