It’s finally time for the cupcake recipes from Megan’s “Cocktails & Cupcakes” bridal shower!

Actually, time for the cupcake recipe. Only one cupcake is new to this blog. Links to the remaining cupcakes from the shower area at the end of this post.

I found the recipe for these Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes through Pinterest and I had some trouble with it. The problem was with the frosting. It’s similar to the frosting for Toffee Crunch Mini Cupcakes (which works perfectly) but this one still gave me fits.

The frosting was a nice consistency until it was time to add in the strawberry purée and the other liquids, then it became a runny mess, and the only way I could fix it was to add cups (so very many cups) of powdered sugar. The result was an overly sweet – basically pure sugar – frosting. I’ve corrected the recipe, but please still take extra care when adding the strawberry purée, add a little at a time and keep an eye on the consistency. If you do this, you should not have to add any powdered sugar!

Also, when looking at the photos, please keep in mind that I made a double the batch so that I could make regular and mini cupcakes. So when you see 4 eggs instead of the 2 called for – don’t be concerned.

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As I’ve told you many times before, I am NOT a baker.

I don’t like to bake.
I don’t have the patience to bake.
I am not skilled at baking.

That being said – I baked these cupcakes… and they are The BOMB!

Seriously! I gave Connor one to sample and his eyes rolled back in his head with delight! He made me promise him that I would make them for his birthday in May. That is a promise I intend to keep!

The recipe came from HERE.

If every recipe on bakersroyale.com is as scrumptious as these cupcakes, and if YOU love to bake, you should be going to this site every day from here on out!

All I did was change them from standard cupcakes to mini cupcakes. Otherwise, I followed the recipe almost as written and they were perfection! So much so, that I could eat the caramel frosting, with a huge spoon, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

OK, maybe not! The frosting alone has a pound of butter – but to be fair, there was quite a bit of frosting left over, even after all the cupcakes were made.

To prevent me from using a spoon to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I put it in the trash and then dumped the nasty contents of my Roomba on top of it!

I can’t have that sort of temptation around here!

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One of my favorite comfort food desserts is pineapple upside-down cake, well it’s actually a toss-up between that and my famous carrot cake.

For their graduation luncheon, the teens in last week’s class requested  “cake, cupcakes, pineapple upside-down cake, macarons, and ‘something’ chocolate”. 

After compiling all of their suggestions, I settled on pineapple upside-down cupcakes and macarons filled with chocolate ganache.  The easy cupcakes are here today and the much more complicated and patience-needed macarons will be posted on Tuesday.

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What makes something suddenly become a fad, the new “in” thing, all the rage?  Especially when it’s something that’s been around forever?  And when I say “forever” – I’m talking about more than 200 years.  And what I’m talking about are cupcakes!

According to the source of all modern knowledge… Wikipedia… “The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796 when a recipe notation of “a cake to be baked in small cups” was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simms. The earliest documentation of the term cupcake was in “Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats” in 1828 in Eliza Leslie’s Receipts cookbook.”

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Half of these cupcakes are topped with homemade Samoas and the other half with store-bought cookies

Yesterday in class we made the Samoa cookies, today we are using those cookies to make some seriously out-of-the-world cupcakes. I would say, “Hey, don’t let the 7 1/2 sticks of butter (nearly 2 pounds!) between the recipe for the cookies and this recipe for the cupcakes scare you off”… but I would be lying, it totally scares me! According to my math (and my math is iffy at best since I married a CPA and I rarely use that part of my brain), that is about 2 tablespoons of butter per cupcake! So let’s just agree that one cupcake would serve as your dessert for several days and not buy into the guilt. They taste delicious and I recently got some tips for storing frosted cupcakes so I’m hoping they’ll last for a while. That’s if we don’t eat them all first!

Speaking of guilt, I’m going to add a little “Linda’s Psych 101” into today’s post. This is what I feel about “guilt”… it is a wasted emotion. I’ve heard it said that “The Jewish people invented guilt, and that the Roman Catholics perfected it.” I would have to agree, and here is one Roman Catholic who wants to abolish it!

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I’ll be on Channel 12 Valley Dish today at 3:30 making a memorable Memorial Day Turkey Slider Bar with fabulous toppings. Tune in if you can, if not, the recipe will be posted here tomorrow…

Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I made Connor cupcakes this year. Since we were going out to dinner instead of eating at home, it seemed easier to pack up a few cupcakes to have at the restaurant rather than an entire cake. Connor’s favorite ice cream is Cookies ‘n Cream, so that was the inspiration for the cupcakes. It is unanimous – these are winners!  It takes about 1 1/3 package of Oreo cookies to make 2 dozen cupcakes.  If your family is like mine, no one will complain about the 2/3 package of extra Oreos hanging around.

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This Easter I’ve decided to skip my usual big holiday dessert and jump aboard the cupcake bandwagon. Both of these Easter-themed cupcakes are easy and totally kid-friendly, so be sure and have them help! And remember to watch Channel 12 Valley Dish today and watch as Marissa, Tram and I show you, step-by-step, how to make Silk Tie Easter Eggs.

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Happy 4th of July!

The recipe for Red, White and Blue Red Velvet Cupcakes follows,

but first…

What is your happiest or earliest memory of celebrating July 4th? Mine is standing in my maternal grandparents’ backyard, holding sparklers with our big extended family all around. That would include my grandparents, mom, dad, brothers, sister, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

There could be up to 43 of us at any one time, given that my mom is the oldest of eight. We would either barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers or there would be big buckets of KFC scattered around, and always huge watermelons … and … soda! We were allowed to drink soda – at my grandparents’ house! [Read more →]