Strawberry Lemon Easter Cupcakes

Happy Easter everyone!

This week we had some really bad rain here in CT and our basement flooded.  Awesome!  So, after long nights of cleaning and hunching over a shop vac, I needed some serious baking-therapy and these are what came out!

I admit, I used boxed mix b/c I didn’t have all of the ingredients in the house, but I’m OK with that.  When a girl’s gotta bake, a girl’s gotta bake!

I’m not sure where I got the idea for the frosting ‘nest’…maybe it was original.  I don’t know.  Anyway, any excuse to use Robin Eggs is good enough for me – I love those things!

They’re getting rave reviews from the co-workers as I type!

Please forgive the terrible office lighting.

INGREDIENTS
1 box Strawberry cake mix with necessary eggs/oil/water
1 can Lemon frosting
1 bag Robin Egg candies

DIRECTIONS
Bake cupcakes according to package directions and allow to cool completely.

Empty frosting into a piping bag fitted with your smallest round tip.  Pipe frosting in a large circle all over the top of the cupcake.

Top with 2 Robin Eggs and allow to harden slightly (so the eggs do not slip off) before storing in an airtight container.

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Slider Cupcakes

Move over watermelon cupcakes…these are the new cutest cupcakes in this blog!

These burger cupcakes (from Bakerella) were all the rage on my cooking message board around the 4th of July, but I didn’t have an opportunity to make them until now.  We attended a Labor Day BBQ at my Aunt/Uncle’s house and I decided to bring these.  Everyone loved them!

At one point my sister’s Mother-in-Law held a cupcake up to her husband and said “you need to try these” and he said “oh, no thanks, I just had a hamburger for lunch.”  Haha!  He didn’t realize it was dessert!  I love it.

INGREDIENTS
1 box Yellow Cake Mix
1 box Fudge Brownie Mix
2 cans Buttercream Frosting
Sesame seeds (optional)
Green, Red and Yellow food coloring

DIRECTIONS
Make cupcakes according to package directions.  Remove from paper liners and allow to cool.

Make browines according to package directions.  Cool completely.

Cut the cupcake into thirds.  Set aside the middle third of the cupcake (I won’t snitch if you nibble on these while making the cupcakes).

Cut circles out of the brownie mix.

Place brownie in between cupcake layers and set aside while coloring your frosting.

Ready 3 small bowls and fill with frosting.  Add food coloring to each bowl until desired shade is achieved.  Place in ziploc bag, cut off the tip, pipe onto the top of the brownie pieces and replace the top.

If desired, put a small amount of water on the top of the cupcake and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

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Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “These looked great!”

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‘Watermelon’ Cupcakes

How adorable are these cupcakes???

I found them on The Cupcake Review and decided to make them to bring to a BBQ at my in-law’s house.

Unfortunately, most of the chocolate chips sunk to the bottom…even though I coated them with a little bit of the dry cupcake mix first (if anyone has tips for me, please comment and let me know).  I wish I had added more food coloring to get deeper colors, but that’s OK.  They were still delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1 batch of your favorite vanilla cupcake mix (from scratch or a box)
1 batch of your favorite vanilla frosting (from scratch or a can)
Mini chocolate chips
Red food coloring
Green food coloring

DIRECTIONS
Once your cupcake batter is made, add some red food dye and stir until it is the desired color.  Stir in some mini chocolate chips (I used probably about 1/2 cup) and fill cupcake tins 3/4 full.

Bake according to directions, allow to cool completely.

Stir some green food coloring into the frosting. Pipe it onto the cupcakes or frost with a knife.

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Husband Rating – 3 out of 5 – “Cute, but too bad about the chocolate chips.”

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Oreo Cupcakes

I just happened to be browsing Annie’s Eats when I asked my Husband what he wanted for his birthday dessert.  He looked over my shoulder, pointed and said “those!”  So, that’s what I made.  They were delish and so cute!  Unfortunately, it was a little humid here today, so the cookies on top got a little soft, but that’s OK.  I made a few small tweaks, but below is the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
2 1/3C. All-purpose Flour
1C. Unsweetend Cocoa Powder, sifted
1 1/2t. Baking Powder
1/2t. Baking Soda
1/2t. Salt
12T. Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2C. Firmly packed light brown sugar
2t. Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs
1 1/2C. Buttermilk, at room temperature

For the frosting:
1 3/4C. plus 2T. Whipping Cream
3T. Powdered Sugar
1/2t. Vanilla Extract
6T. Oreo Cookie Crumbs

For garnish:
24 Oreo cookie halves

DIRECTIONS
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.  Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.   Mix just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

To prepare the frosting, in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.  Beat on medium-high speed until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks.  Gently fold in the cookie crumbs with a spatula.

Frost the cupcakes (with a knife or piping bag) and garnish with Oreo cookie halves.

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Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “Mmmm…I love Oreos!!”

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