Cupcakes

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Buttercream Filling

Chocolatey rich Whoopie Pies are a pretty simple dessert, perfect for a party! Yummy cakes sandwich a sweet and soft cream cheese icing that wants to ooze with each bite. These throwbacks are filled with either a vanilla or a peppermint buttercream.

These are so good – they taste like a cupcake sandwich!

Recipes

Cakes

2 C AP Flour
1/2 C Cocoa Powder (sifted after measuring)
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 C vegetable oil (canola, soybean, something neutral tasting)
3 Large Eggs
1/2 C Whole Milk
2 tsp White Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla

Prepare and stir together dry ingredients
Stir milk and vinegar together and let rest for a few minutes
Using a stand mixer, beat together sugars and wet ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and mix for less than a minute until combined
Refrigerate batter to firm it up for 30 to 60 minutes (or longer if desired)
Pipe the batter into 2″ to 3″ circles on to parchment paper  (or any size desired – mini 1″ Whoopie Pies are great party bites!)
Bake in 350 oven for about 9 minutes until Whoopie Pies spring back to a light touch
Cool completely
Gently lift cooled tops and bottom from parchment

Icing

5 Tbl Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
4 oz. Cream Cheese (regular, not whipped – room temperature)
3 C Powdered Sugar
1 tsp flavoring – Video shows half vanilla, half peppermint
1 drop green food coloring (optional, if using mint)
1 pinch salt

Throw all ingredients into a mixer unless you will be dividing to make two icings.
Mix well.
Fill piping bags with either a large round tip or an open star tip (makes a nice frill)
Pipe icing on a bottom, then place on a top, press together lightly

Enjoy!

 

Cupcakes! Time Rewind!

Cupcakes! Time Rewind!

We’re having a little fun with this video!  Discovered an awesome app for my watch that lets you go back (or REWIND) in time.  So cool and practical for anyone in the kitchen.  Fix those mistakes or just do a do-over!

 

These cupcakes use the wonderfully delicious 1-2-3-4 cake recipe.  It is a super soft and moist cake, perfect for cupcakes.  Pretty much perfect.  We also use a truly classic cocoa powder-based chocolate icing.  So simple to make, but ideal for a rich chocolatey taste.  And finally, we’re relying on the internet sensation Misty’s Buttercream.  Misty’s is a general purpose buttercream that is a favorite on cake decorating websites.  Super easy to make and IMHO, magical.

Recipes

1-2-3-4 Cake

I only used half of the recipe to make about 18 standard sized cupcakes.

Ingredients (full recipe – divide in half if appropriate)

1 C unsalted, room temp butter
2 C sugar
3 C cake flour
4 large eggs
1 C whole milk
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t vanilla (better vanilla – better cake)

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the butter and sugar
Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time
Mix in the vanilla

Toss the baking powder with the flour

Mix in half of the milk
Mix in half of the flour/baking powder mixture
Mix in remaining milk
Mix in remaining flour mixture

Bake for about 20 minutes (cupcakes), check for doneness
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes (cakes), check for doneness

 

Classic Cocoa Buttercream Icing

This will become one of your favorites

Ingredients 

1/2 C unsalted butter
2/3 C Cocoa
3 C Powdered Sugar
1/3 C milk
1 t vanilla (better vanilla – better icing)

Steps

Melt the butter (microwave or stovetop)
Stir in the cocoa
Mix in sugar and milk (a hand mixer will work but a stand mixer will make less mess)
Mix in vanilla

Do Not Mix Buttercream on high speed

Thin with more milk, if necessary.  Thicken with sifted powdered sugar if necessary.

 

Misty’s Buttercream

One of my favorite general purpose buttercreams.  Magical!

Ingredients 

3/4 C unsalted, room temp butter (1 1/2 sticks or 6 oz)
1 1/2 C Crisco or similar (10.1 oz)
pinch of salt
2 lbs powdered sugar
3 oz. heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla (better vanilla – better everything)

Steps

Cream the butter and Crisco, and salt – high speed for as long as you’d like
Add powdered sugar, cream and vanilla – mix thoroughly on low to medium speed.  Do Not Mix on high speed.

Thin with more cream, if necessary.  Thicken with sifted powdered sugar if necessary.