Blueberry & Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

July 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave a comment (0)

I had to come up with something to celebrate the holiday with and for some reason around the 4th of July my mouth waters for every cake I see with whole blueberries and strawberries on top.  This cupcake recipe was my answer!  I used the Strawberry cupcake recipe from last week and simply reduced the amount of strawberries and added whole blueberries to the batter.  Then to make it have all the red, white and blue flair I used whipped cream, whole blueberries and strawberries to top it off.  The result is a festive, decadent, delight that we got to share with some friends the other night.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients for Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces Homemade Applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• About 15 medium sized Stahlbush Island Farm’s Frozen Strawberries (thawed slightly) cut into quarters
• 5 oz whole, fresh or Stahlbush Island Farm frozen blueberries (thawed slightly)

Ingredients for Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 8 to 10 fluid oz Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar (more or less to your sweet toothe’s taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Cupcake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy
3. Add your egg and applesauce and mix thoroughly
4.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to your wet ingredients
5. Fold in strawberries and blueberries
6. Place in lined cupcake baking tins (I made about 14)
7. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean

Directions for Real Whipped Cream Frosting:

1. Mix whipping cream, sugar and vanilla in a mixer
2. Beat until extra thick (but definitely stop before you make butter)

Put it all together by spreading real whipped cream on each cupcake.  Top with a whole strawberry and a bunch of whole thawed blueberries.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

June 24th, 2008 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave/read a comment (1)

“These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had!”  Those were the words of my beautiful wife after devouring one of these cupcakes I just whipped up.  That says a lot.  I really value her opinion when I cook but I have to say these little delights are SO GOOD!

I started with Amy’s Strawberry cupcake recipe, modified it a little, then topped it off with a fluffy chocolate frosting recipe from recipe zaar.  I ran to the store, but forgot to grab the yogurt so I used some homemade applesauce I made a few days ago.  I also snuck in some whole-wheat flour once again with nothing but perfection as a result.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients for Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces Homemade Applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (Remember I use King Arthur brand and have had trouble with other whole-wheat flours in my bread making)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• About 20 medium sized Stahlbush Island Farm’s Frozen Strawberries (thawed slightly) (Rachel brought them from work) cut into quarters.  I used large pieces of strawberries for the texture I desired.  I wanted big juicy pieces of strawberry in each cupcake.

Ingredients for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 6 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cupcake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy
3. Add your egg and applesauce and mix thoroughly
4.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to your wet ingredients
5. Fold in strawberries
6. Place in lined cupcake baking tins (I made about 14, Amy says divide into 20)
7. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean

Directions for Fluffy Chocolate Frosting:

1. Mix cocoa and boiling water thoroughly until a thick paste results
2. Beat in the butter until well combined
3. Mix in the sugar and vanilla
4. Blend until creamy and fluffy
5. Chill for at least 15 minutes before using as it starts out really runny!

Put it all together by spreading the frosting on each cupcake and topping with a half strawberry.

I hope you enjoy them!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Ginger-Infused Whipped Cream Frosting

  » By Keith Prickett

October 14th, 2007 - Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert | Leave/read a comment (9)

Have I got your attention now? My mouth has FULL attention on these cupcakes! These cupcakes are so moist and melt-in-your-mouth! And the frosting, it’s the best frosting I’ve ever made (which I guess isn’t saying that much) but it’s up there on the best I’ve tasted list.

The pumpkin and spices in the cupcake blend so well with the ginger-infused whipped cream. You probably wouldn’t believe that this whipped cream frosting is good, and to be honest, by itself it’s pretty bad. My wife’s face did a 360 when she licked the spoon. I told her, “You have to try it WITH the cupcakes!” Here’s how it should be done:

The Frosting

A year ago I read an article in the Oregonian about flavor-infused whipped cream. I just tucked it away in my memory banks for a rainy day. Today was that day. I whipped out the recipe and got to work. The article/recipe lists a bunch of different flavors you can use, which makes this fun! I decided that the ginger would go really well with the pumpkin and other spices.

I boiled the cream and added the flavorings. I cut up a few thin slices of ginger and also threw in two cinnamon sticks for good measure. Next I let it steep for 45 minutes. Then, because I didn’t have enough time, I put the cream on an ice bath and put it in the refrigerator while I worked on the cupcakes. This REALLY cut down the cooling time called for in the recipe so if you’re in a hurry, it’ll do!

The Cupcakes

(Recipe adapted from here, here and Better Homes and Garden’s 2005 Cook Book Spice Cake Recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 & 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk (I used whipping cream + skim to make whole)
• 1 - 15 oz can pumpkin (I used Stahlbush Island Farm “Farmer’s Market” brand Organic Pumpkin)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger together and mix in a bowl
3. Beat the butter until “fluffy”
4. Add the sugar and mix
5. Add half of the dry mixture, then half the milk, repeat while mixing
6. Mix in the pumpkin, stirring the sides with a spatula (if you are using an electric mixer).

Now fill about 24 cupcake tins (lined — and I did 12 at a time twice) half-way and bake for about 15 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

Back to the frosting…

Now take the completely cooled flavor-infused whipping cream out of the fridge and place it in a clean mixer. Add about 4 oz of cream cheese and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar per cup of whipping cream. Whip the cream until it is fairly thick, so that you can ice the cupcakes with it. Now you’re ready to put it all together.

The finale!

I had a lot of fun with this part. I handed my wife the camera and got to icing. I had to hand-make a piping/icing bag, for the first time ever. I made it way too short and got icing all over my hands, it was really fun though!

Take a cupcake, fill an icing bag and have fun. That’s my advice. I even made a little R + K in the cupcakes for my wife (I gotta keep her happy)!

I hope you enjoy it!