And… what about throwin’ a pretzel on top? Just because. Just because I can, really.

I haven’t broken Lola out for a baking task in quite some time. So, I thought we’d bond a little over some frosting. That’s Lola *points to the photo to the right* Pretty, pretty Lola. Lola is one of the loves of my life that doesn’t have a heartbeat, but a motor. Seriously, getting her changed my baking life 100%. I didn’t know how deficient I was until she entered my world. Or rather, until my man gifted me with her. If you don’t have a stand mixer, and you bake a lot, you need one. Yes, hand mixers are great, and I love mine tons. But stand mixers are a different animal. Once you get one you’ll never want to use anything else and you’ll even try to stuff your pillow and blanket in the bowl to sleep in it. Or maybe not. I don’t really know anybody that crazy. Hah. Anyway. If you do not have one, and you’d like a chance at winning one (in a beautiful bright blue called ‘Crystal Blue’) then head on over to She’s Becoming DoughMessTic and enter to win it. You can’t really live without one, if you love to bake. And if you’re sitting there thinking, “It’s just a mixer” then you really have no freakin’ idea, buddy.

Okay, what was I saying? Oh. Cupcakes. Yah. Anyway… I wanted to get some baking done before the weather got crazy hot. Things have been so bizarre weather-wise; snow in October, practically no winter, then 80˚ degree temps in March, then almost two weeks of pouring rain straight. I can’t predict how the summer will be but just in case it’s hot as balls, I wanted to bake up some pretty cupcakes.

PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES

Makes from 12-18 cupcakes, depending on the size of your pans & how much you fill them

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ degrees F.
2. Combine milk and vanilla in small bowl. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in another small bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugars in mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and blend until smooth. Slowly mix in peanut butter, then oil, until combined. Add half the flour mixture and blend slowly.
4. When fully incorporated, add milk mixture. Continue to blend slowly. Add remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Scoop into 12 lined baking cups and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I could’ve left it at this… but no…

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PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons milk
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk.
2. Mix well, adding more milk as needed to make a fluffy spreadable frosting.

For the cupcakes, just be sure to fill the liners more than halfway so you get a nice rise. I could’ve filled mine more, clearly. You can use whatever kind of peanut butter you want. I obviously used an organic, natural one with a bit of grit. You can use super thick, smooth, crunchy, whatever. The frosting is a bit different. If you use crunchy peanut butter, you can’t really pipe it nicely, so you’ll want to use something smoother unless you want to slap it in a food processor. This frosting is so extremely creamy and soft, and perfectly peanut-ty. Some of the best ever. It pipes into big ol’ swirls of soft-serve-ice-cream looking frosting. Oh, how delicious it is. But no, I didn’t leave it at that, although I could have. And you can too. No. I went further.

So clearly, I made both of these recipes, then when the cupcakes were cooled, I frosted them with a large star tip. Then… then… then, I added the ganache. Yes, ganache. And then topped ‘em with a little pretzel stick. And that was when they were done. My “ganache” is basically 2 tablespoons shortening with ½ cup -1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted until smooth (either in a microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between… or in a double boiler, or just very carefully in a saucepan, and I stress carefully because it will scorch). Ta-da! After being used, the ganache or sauce will harden into a firm, but not too hard layer of chocolate-y goodness. You could also frost on top of it once it’s firmed up, if you prefer. You can use this sauce hardened or in liquid form, it’s very versatile. If you let it harden, it will become the consistency of a soft truffle, almost. You can roll it into balls and dust it with cocoa powder and use it that way. However, it does melt easily in high humidity or heat. It’s the perfect chocolate sauce for topping a creamy peanut butter cupcake.

And you could top them with roasted peanuts if you want, but honestly, pretzels just go so well with peanut butter and chocolate.

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While I’m on my way out: congratulations to Tim & Jana who got married yesterday, and a belated happy birthday to my “sister-in-law” Jen (also yesterday!). Cupcakes all around!

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What’s that? Oh nothin’, just lemon ricotta cupcakes with powdered sugar.

Did you just fall off your chair? I know, ’cause I almost did myself. Ricotta is fuckin’ amazeballs. Pardon my French- er, Italian. But it seriously is. It can be sweet or savory, used as a condiment or a filling, mixed with sugar… never-ending possibilities.

Ricotta (Italian pronunciation: [riˈkɔtta]) is an Italian dairy product made from sheep (or cow, goat, buffalo) milk whey left over from the production of cheese. Although typically referred to as ricotta cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese because it is not produced by coagulation of casein. Rather it is made by coagulating other milk proteins, notably albumin and globulin, left over in the whey that separates from the milk during the production of cheese. In fact, ricotta is safely eaten by individuals with casein intolerance.

Ricotta (literally meaning “recooked”) uses the whey, a limpid, low-fat, nutritious liquid that is a by-product of cheese production. Most of the milk protein (especially casein) is removed when cheese is made, but some protein remains in the whey, mostly albumin. This remaining protein can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation (by letting it sit for 12–24 hours at room temperature). Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. The combination of low pH and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to precipitate out, forming a fine curd. Once cooled, the curd is separated by passing through a fine cloth.

Ricotta curds are creamy white in appearance, slightly sweet in taste, and contain around 13% fat. In this form, it is somewhat similar in texture to some cottage cheese variants, though considerably lighter. It is highly perishable. Ricotta comes in other forms as well.

RICOTTA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

The color of these is almost like suede, isn’t it? Blue suede, denim, blue velvet, whatever… they’re awesome. Blue Suede cupcakes, at your service, ma’am.

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It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of “the Sun Sound”; Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, etc. I love any and all things Rockabilly, but more so the authentic Rockabilly. My mother is a big Elvis fan & I was surrounded by his music growing up. As I got older, I got more into the Man in Black & started getting into all the old school Sun artists more. I just love that sound: “steady like a train, sharp like a razor.” Ever since I was a kid the song “Blue Suede Shoes” has been a favorite. It’s such a pop culture standard, it’s a song everyone knows. But really, not many people realize the history behind the song, and that it wasn’t originally Elvis’! It was Johnny Cash’s idea, and written/performed by Carl Perkins, then by the King.

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Gorgeous man. Anyway so, when I got the idea to make blue cupcakes, that’s exactly what song title popped into my head! Therefore, inspired by the King himself, who in August will be gone 35 years (and of course my main man Johnny Cash)… it’s a perfect blue cupcake.

The batter was so blue.

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And of course… that made blue cupcakes!

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You can call them whatever you like. To me? They’re blue suede.

“Blue Suede Shoes” is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly (rock and roll) records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. The song was notably covered by Elvis Presley.

Johnny Cash planted the seed for the song in the fall of 1955, while Perkins, Cash, Elvis Presley, and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the South. Cash told Perkins of a black airman whom he had met when serving in the military in Germany. He had referred to his military regulation air shoes as “blue suede shoes.” Cash suggested that Carl write a song about the shoes. Carl replied, “I don’t know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?”^[1]

When Perkins played a dance on December 4, 1955, he noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, Carl heard a stern, forceful voice say, “Uh-uh, don’t step on my suedes!” Carl looked down and noted that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes and one had a scuff mark. Good gracious, a pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes, thought Carl.^[2]

That night Perkins began working on a song based on the incident. His first thought was to frame it with a nursery rhyme. He considered, and quickly discarded “Little Jack Horner…” and “See a spider going up the wall…”, then settled on “One for the money…” Leaving his bed and working with his Les Paul guitar, he started with an A chord. After playing five chords while singing “Well, it’s one for the money… Two for the show… Three to get ready… Now go, man, go!” he broke into a boogie rhythm.^[3] He quickly grabbed a brown paper potato sack and wrote the song down, writing the title out as “Blue Swade”; “S-W-A-D-E — I couldn’t even spell it right,” he later said.^[4] According to Perkins, “On December 17, 1955, I wrote ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. I recorded it on December 19.”^[5] Producer Sam Phillips suggested that Perkins’s line “go cat go” be changed to “go man go”, but it didn’t.

Thanks to Sprinkle Bakes for the idea of adding a bit of a purple color to make the cupcake less green. Genius! See by the very nature of having a yellow egg yolk in there, the blue turns a sick greenish color if you don’t add a counteractive color, i.e. violet. I suppose a teeny bit of a red could work too if you don’t have violet, but I stress the teeny part.

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BLUE SUEDE CUPCAKES

Makes about 2 dozen*

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (NOT dark!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon blue food coloring
• a drop of violet food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Grease and flour two 8″-inch cake pans, or prepare muffin tins with liners.
2. Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
3. Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
4. Pour into muffin tins about halfway full and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. Wait, and after about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

*I always get more.

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This is an adapted red velvet cake recipe. So in theory, you can use almost any food coloring just by adjusting the amount. If you’re using green, use 1 oz. (two tablespoons). If you’re using red, use double that amount (four tablespoons). For the blue you only need half an ounce (one tablespoon). I’d use one tablespoon for purple or violet as well. The recipe can also be halved successfully. As a matter of fact thats exactly what I did.

I put them in leopard liners with gold sugar topping… because it just seemed right. He had a safari-themed room at Graceland, aka “the jungle room,” so the leopard isn’t too much of a stretch. And The King did like his gold. Remember that suit? Or that jumpsuit?

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Again, this year, I had no idea what I was going to make. That’s been a common theme. I was lost as to what I was going to make for Valentine’s Day, then for St. Patrick’s Day, then again for Easter. It’s just been that kinda year I guess. I saw a million cute things but I hate repeating the same shit everyone else does.

But that’s basically what I ended up doing anyway. Pfft.

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I made some simple vanilla-flavored cupcakes and topped them with vanilla frosting, then dipped them in chocolate sauce, then I added egg-shaped quins and white chocolate bunnies. Can’t get much easier than that, huh? THESE ARE NOT HI-HAT CUPCAKES. They’re just regular cupcakes dipped in chocolate. I used ‘The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake’ from the Cupcake Project for this, and the chocolate sauce is one I’ve used before that hardens when it dries but doesn’t really harden to a crazy hard consistency. It just hardens enough to not be melty and messy. Deelish. The white chocolate bunnies are just white chocolate bars melted & poured into bunny molds. Very, very easy. The larger molds were more like the traditional chocolate Easter bunny, but they were too large for toppers so I just paired each cupcake with one.

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By the way, I’ve started using salted butter in my confectioner’s sugar buttercream. I find it adds a nice touch, takes away some of the super-sweetness that you can get from a high-sugar buttercream. Just a lil’ tip from me to you.

So I hope you all have a Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Eostre, Happy Spring! There might be another Easter-y surprise thrown in sometime this weekend. Maybe. Maybe not. *wink*

]]> http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/hoppy-easter/feed/ 2 http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/here-comes-peter-cottontail/ http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/04/here-comes-peter-cottontail/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:36:28 +0000 Marilla @ Cupcake Rehab http://cupcakerehab.com/?p=19933 And he’s riding on a parade of cupcakes, apparently. Yep, you guessed it folks. We’re two weeks away from Easter, and spring is officially here… that means so is the annual Best of Easter Cupcakes Compilation!

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Each holiday I post a compilation of my favorite (or the best) cupcake or dessert items that are pertinent to said holiday; I also throw in links to other things like snacks or cookies or even meals that relate as well. I started doing it last Halloween (2010). Afterwards, I’d gotten good feedback from people who said it helps them come up with ideas without having to search too much, so I kept it up. The rest is history, as they say.

So here you are. A convenient little list of pretty cakes (& other things listed at the bottom) that are perfect for spring/Easter/Passover/whatever you celebrate. I celebrate chocolate bunnies, myself. Anyway, click on each image & you’ll be brought to the recipe. Enjoy!
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And there’s more than this that I haven’t pictured here, both for the sake of time & space. If you’re interested in them, I’m listing them below. I hope this helps you guys out with some ideas! And don’t forget- there’s plenty more to come in the next week or two.

Chocolate fudge Easter egg cake pops

Chocolate hi-hat cupcakes with banana-flavored Italian meringue

Sweet noodle kugel

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (shape ‘em like bunnies!)

Thumbprint cookies
…………………………………….(shape ‘em like eggs & use all different colored springy jams & jellies to fill them)

Cherry filled low-sugar cupcakes
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Carrot cupcakes with lavender-colored cream cheese frosting

Coconut macaroons & chocolate-covered coconut macaroons

Alfajores with dulce de leche filling

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I guess that means she really likes it. See what she said about the tea-soaked raisins? It gave me an idea. Now me personally? I’m not into raisins. I did like the California Raisins, though. But anyway, I thought of her tea-soaked raisins which made me think of rum-raisin, and then my brain went straight to Jameson Irish whiskey. And then it went to Jameson-soaked raisins. I wasn’t going to put them in the cake, but on top. And I decided, like Chrisie, to make the cake into little muffins or cupcakes. Then I’d top them with a vanilla-Jameson glaze & some Irish whiskey-soaked golden raisins.

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Shut the front door, right?

And yes, I left some plain with just a nice, sugary crust on top.

IRISH SODA MUFFINCAKES WITH JAMESON-SOAKED RAISINS & JAMESON GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps. melted shortening (or butter)
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Make wet dough: mix salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and sugar. Beat eggs lightly and add melted shortening and buttermilk.
2. Mix all together until combined. If too watery, add a bit more flour. If too thick, add a bit more buttermilk.
3. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. Fill each liner with two-three tablespoons of batter.
4. Before putting in the oven, sprinkle sugar on top (if not using the raisins & glaze).
5. Bake at 375 degrees° F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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JAMESON-SOAKED RAISINS

Ingredients:

• ½ cup golden raisins
• 3-4 tablespoons Jameson Irish Whiskey (enough to cover the raisins)

Directions:

1. Place raisins in a small bowl and pour whiskey over them.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a cool, dry place for about a half hour, 45 minutes.
3. When ready to use, remove raisins using a small strainer to remove excess whiskey. Use the whiskey in a drink or even in the glaze (below).

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JAMESON WHISKEY GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons Jameson Irish whiskey (or whatever brand you prefer), you can use whatever is left after the raisins have soaked too
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For glaze, pour sugar & Jameson into a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat; boil rapidly for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, whisk in butter & vanilla. Let set to thicken slightly for a few minutes. Place raisins on top of the muffins. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled muffincakes, making sure to cover the raisins.

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Forreals, yo.

I prefer to use golden raisins on these because let’s face it- regular raisins can look like mouse crap. Sorry if that ruined your appetite, haha. And of course, the colors of the golden raisins go better with the color of the cakes and the green liners anyway. Those fancy “ruffled” liners are by Wilton. I baked the muffincakes in regular white liners, then put them in the fancier ones after they’d cooled.

So basically, feedback on these has been “holy balls” & “wow” & statements along those lines. I didn’t have any, ’cause like I said, I don’t like raisins. But.. if you want to be on a super Jameson kick, then pair these with some Irish coffee. Or Irish coffee my way, which is coffee with milk & sugar & Jameson, then topped with whipped cream.

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At least a little bit. Okay, in New York that’s rarely true. Last year we definitely had snow in March. But it’s still a nice thought, especially since this winter has been so mild. I’m hoping it stays that way & we have an quick spring. In the meantime… there’s St. Patrick’s Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig; Ulster-Scots: Saunt Petherick’s Day)^[2] is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.^[1] It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[3] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century, and has gradually become a secular celebration of Irish culture in general.^[4]

The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services,^[4][5] wearing of green attire (especially shamrocks),^[6] and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol,^[6][7][8] which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.^[4][6][7][8]

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[9] Northern Ireland,^[10] Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is probably the most widely celebrated saints day in the world.^[11]

So we celebrate by eating a lot of green-colored confections. And Irish soda bread. And cake. And muffins. And beer. Shit, even if I wasn’t Irish… I can get down with a celebration like that.

So every holiday I do these compilation, or “Best Of” posts, where I link to all my previous cupcake/cookie/muffin/etc ideas. That way, they’re all in one place & it makes it easy for you to quickly find ideas early on. Then I just continue with my holiday-themed posts, and I add those on to the compilation the next year, and so on. Does that make any sense? I don’t know. Either way, here we go. The 2012 Best Of St. Patrick’s Day post! Click each image to view the original post & recipe.

And I’ll be back soon with some new(ish) ideas!

This is a staple around here, from right after Valentine’s Day until almost April. An authentic recipe from Ireland, it’s a sweeter version of the regular Irish soda bread. Jay can eat an entire loaf himself, so if you make it I suggest making two at a time. I guarantee you you’ll love it.

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This is a new favorite; I made these last year & they immediately became a much-requested item. The maple & Jameson frosting is so spectacular you can’t use it on anything but a vanilla cupcake, or else you’ll lose the amazingness.

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Another favorite: Bailey’s Irish cream cupcakes. Bailey’s in the cake, Bailey’s in the frosting. Too good.

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Irish soda bread muffins with caraway seeds. For those of you who like your Irish soda bread a little more portable, or portion-friendly.

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Green velvet cupcakes with mini-shamrock “chocolates”! How absolutely perfect are these? Crazy perfect.

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Other than the color, they have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day. But they’re cute.

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Like the ones above, they have nothing to do with St. Patty’s Day, except for the color (& the green coconut, which I did because it reminded me of the green grass Ireland is known for), but boy are they damn good. DAMN GOOD I SAY.

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Okay now these were good, too. Made with Guinness stout… how could you go wrong? They taste like an incredibly rich chocolate cupcake, with just a hint of Guinness. Not overpowering at all.

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And here are just a few more ideas, none of which are particularly St. Patty’s related but all are 100% easily adapted for use on March 17th.

Black & Tan Irish macaroni & cheese

Guinness Stout Shepherd’s pie

Quick ‘n’ easy Shepherd’s pie

Linzer cookies (use shamrock-shaped cutters & mint jelly or kiwi jelly/jam filling to make them more appropriate)

Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling & chocolate ganache (make the filling green instead of pink!)

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (use shamrock cookie cutters, & dip them in white chocolate & shamrock sprinkles)

Mint jelly

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Just as one little added tidbit (droppin’ some knowledge on ya, as always)…

Soda bread first appeared in Ireland during the 1800′s, when the use of baking soda as a leavening agent was introduced. Baking was done in the Irish home. They had little time to bake and ingredients were often at a premium. Soda breads contained little more than flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt. Buttermilk was used because it was often leftover from the butter making process. Soda bread was served warm from the oven with a Lashing of Irish butter. Soda bread caught on quickly and soon became a staple of the Irish diet still popular in Ireland and in many parts of the world today.

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But make sure you say it with a cupcake.

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These are vanilla cake (Crumbs’ recipe) topped with a delicious chocolate sour cream frosting (Sprinkles’ recipe) made with 90% chocolate. Funny thing about that chocolate. A few weeks ago, me & Jay were out shopping & we saw that the Lindt store in our mall was closing. Ever since Jay went to Switzerland with his band in August, he’s been a fan of Swiss chocolate (thanks to me, who requested he bring me back some in the first place!) and Lindt is the most popular brand. Although I will say the chocolate he brought back from Europe tasted much better than the Lindt you buy here, I still like American Lindt. Same thing with Cadbury- when I go & buy the imported Cadbury chocolates, they’re so much better than the American version made by Hershey’s. Anyway, all of the chocolate in this Lindt store was 50% off, from the huge bittersweet bars to the little tiny milk chocolate bars. Needless to say, Jay went a bit cocoa- looney and purchased about $50.00 worth of chocolate (the full price would’ve been over $90.00) in a variety of flavors: dark chocolate mint, white chocolate with coconut, dark chocolate sea salt caramel, Mozartkuglen, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, etc. And of course, he bought a ton of crazy dark chocolate: 50%, 65%, 70% and 90%. Jay really likes dark chocolate, you see. However, this high percentage dark chocolate was more like baking chocolate. There was no sweetness about it. Excellent quality, yes, but way too bitter & chalky.

So I got to steal all those bars to bake with! And chocolate is love, right? Or at least it mimics the feeling of being in love, thanks to compounds like phenylethylamine.

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So that’s how these cupcakes were born. I had some 90% Lindt chocolate I was looking to use up, I found a new (to me) frosting recipe, and I had all these white chocolate chips. I piped the frosting on with nothing but a disposable pastry bag (no tip) then used an offset spatula to smooth it out. Why, I don’t know, because I just ended up covering up my neat-o frosting job with chips & sprinkles. Best frosting ever, by the way; not sure if it was the Lindt or the recipe… but wow. Oh! And let me take a minute to say I used a small batch of homemade buttermilk that I keep in a little Ball® jar in my fridge to make the cupcakes, and I’ll never use anything else again. Who’da thunk that a homemade not-even-real version of buttermilk would make the cakes taste so much better than store bought buttermilk? Hm.

SPRINKLES’ DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Makes enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes, can be halved

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound plus 8 ounces powdered sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Melt and cool chocolate (until just slightly warm). Beat butter until light and fluffy.
2. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth.
3. Add chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

*Don’t over-whip and add too much air into the frosting. The consistency should be rich and dense, like ice cream!

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Happy Valentine’s Day.

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This year I had a few Valentine’s Day ideas, and all of them, or almost all of them, reminded me of fairy tales. Or stories. All by coincidence. Months ago, maybe around Halloween, I ordered these ballerina toppers with absolutely no idea what I was going to use them for. And then, Pola (my wonderful reader, #1 commenter & all-around awesome friend!) sent me a lovely pink gift:

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It’s a pink babycakes mini-cupcake maker, and I love it. What an amazing surprise gift to get! It matches Lola and it basically the cutest thing ever. Not to mention it came before Valentine’s Day… so together with those ballerinas, it inspired me. I decided I’d make bright red cupcakes, top ‘em with some thick white frosting, some sprinkles, and then those ballerinas; if that doesn’t say Valentine’s Day, I don’t know what does. Well there are probably other things that say it, but these do too. They also reminded me of that old fairy tale about the twelve dancing princesses.

When I was a kid, I had these little mini-books, European import type things. They were all fairy tales, and one of them was Kate Crackernuts; yes- admittedly a very amusing name but a good story:

A king had a daughter named Anne, and his queen had a daughter named Kate, who was less beautiful. (Jacobs’ notes reveal that in the original story both girls were called Kate and that he had changed one’s name to Anne.) The queen was jealous of Anne, but Kate loved her. The queen consulted with a henwife to ruin Anne’s beauty, and after three tries, they enchanted Anne’s head into a sheep’s head. Kate wrapped Anne’s head in a cloth, and they went out to seek their fortunes.

They found a castle where the king had two sons, one of whom was sickening, and whoever watched him by night vanished. Kate asked for shelter for herself and her “sick” sister, and offered to watch. At midnight, the sick prince rose and rode off. Kate sneaked onto his horse and collected nuts as they rode through the woods. A green hill where the fairies were dancing opened to receive the prince, and Kate rode in with him unnoticed. The second night is passed as the first but Kate found a fairy baby in the hill. It played with a wand, and she heard fairies say that three strokes of the wand would cure Anne. So she rolled nuts to distract the baby and get the wand, then cured her sister.

The third night, Kate said she would stay only if she could marry the prince, and that night, the baby played with a bird, three bites of which would cure the sick prince. She distracted the baby with the nuts again to get it. As soon as they returned to the castle, she cooked it, and the prince was cured by eating it. Meanwhile his brother had seen Anne and fell in love with her, so they all married — the sick brother to the well sister, and the well brother to the sick sister.

Cinderella-ish, in terms of the “ugly” sister & the “pretty” sister, but it also contains pieces of the Twelve Dancing Princesses story, which is a Brother’s Grimm tale. It’s German in origin (there I go again with the German..) and has been used in various adaptations, some of which reducing the number of sisters to 6 or even 3. It’s considerably longer to sum up than the Kate Crackernuts story, but it’s available online if you’re curious. It’s an interesting, magical story & as a child in ballet class, I was a fan of any & every story that mentioned dancing, or ballet.

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I’m a sucker for teh cute, & all things retro, and these ballerina toppers fall into both those categories. They also remind me of when I was a kid & I’d get those bakery cupcakes with the thick frosting & the plastic ballerina’s painted gold or silver on top, and that feeling of nostalgia kinda fit in with the fairy tale thing too. These are my version of the twelve dancing princesses.

However, I admit- I made these just to try the cupcake maker, so my decorating job isn’t the best kinda sucks. But I’ll do better next time, I promise. That’s what happens when you decide to make cupcakes just to use your new cupcake maker & your pretty ballerina toppers.

But just wait until you see what else is going on for Valentine’s Day around here.

RED VELVET MINI-CUPCAKES (from the babycakes cupcake maker recipe book)

Supposedly akes about 16, I got 24

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• a dash of salt
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 ½ teaspoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs until well blended. Beat in sour cream. Blend in dry ingredients. Blend in food coloring & vanilla.
3. Fill each cup with about 2 tablespoons batter. Bake in cupcake maker for 6-7 minutes (or in oven, for 15-20 minutes) or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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It was really easy to use, although I found one heaping tablespoon was enough to fill each liner. However my liners were a bit smaller than the indentations, so maybe if you don’t use a liner you’ll end up using around 2 tablespoons. The cupcakes baked evenly, rose really nicely (as you can see) and didn’t overflow. They cooked evenly as well. The booklet says to check each cupcake because one part might heat quicker than another, but all of mine cooked evenly. I have to say, I enjoyed using it immensely. It was fun!

There are people online reviewing this saying it’s a terrible appliance; it doesn’t work, it doesn’t bake evenly, it’s hard to clean if you don’t use liners. They’re all nuts. One, it does work. Unless the person writing the review got a lemon or a broken one, they’re crazy. These photos were all taken from the first time I used it. I’m not a genius, I’m not a pastry chef, I’m not a mechanical whiz and yet WOW. Magically, it actually baked my cupcakes! How shocking. I plugged it in and it worked, imagine that. Two, my mini-liners fit just fine, yes they were a bit smaller but what difference does it make? Just adjust the amount you put in like I said above.. it’s not rocket science people. Three, I haven’t used it without liners yet so I can’t say either way, but judging from the removal of the small amount of excess batter I had to clean off mine, it shouldn’t be as hard as they say. It’s non-stick, so basically as soon as it cools, whatever batter is on it, you can just scrape it off gently. Duh. It actually seemed as though the cleanup was far easier than when I make traditional cupcakes.

If you know someone who likes to bake, or who likes cupcakes, this might make a really cute Valentine’s Day gift for them.

Pardon my boring white liners, the only mini-ones I had were white, black with ghosts or yellow with Easter eggs.
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And the recipe was pretty good too. What is it about mini-cupcakes that makes you want to eat them all? I must have eaten 5-6 of them, unfrosted, during my little photo shoot here. Anyway, my poor self-control aside, like I said, the recipe was good. I used a regular vanilla confectioner’s sugar buttercream on top because I’m not a fan of cream cheese frosting.

Basically, now I kinda want the donut maker, pie maker & cake pop maker too. Is that bad? Do I really need all these appliances? Will it make me lazy? I don’t know the answers to these questions. All I know is, it’s the time of year when people express their love, so here I am to say: I love my babycakes mini cupcake maker. Thank you Pola!

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‘Tis the season of hearts. It seems as if everywhere I’ve gone since shortly after New Years’ Day, I saw hearts & chocolate hearts & heart-shaped lights & heart-shaped boxes… it’s a good thing I love Valentine’s Day (& the color pink) or else I’d get homicidal. But I do love it all. See, people have this idea about me that because of appearances or my general likes/dislikes that I’m going to be this angry person who hates this terrible “Hallmark holiday.” In reality, that’s far from the truth. I love any & all excuses to cook & bake & decorate with all my vintage stuff, not to mention the fact that the color scheme for this one is kinda delicious. Anyway, it’s February 1st, and that means there are just 2 weeks until Valentine’s Day. Yup, just 2 measly weeks to fit in all the hearts, lace, red & pink that you can stand, then shove it down your throats until February 15th, and then I’ll stop.

So until the 15th of February… suck it up. Even the biggest anti-Valentine’s Day person (if that’s you, you’ll want to make these cupcakes then) can enjoy a double-layer cherry-on-top cupcake, or cookie, or whoopie pie, or cake pop, or some risotto made with red wine. Last year I did a round-up of my favorite cupcakes, too, but of course there are more to include now. So here’s the start of my Valentine’s Day Fairy Tale… just a few ideas to get you in the mood, so to speak. Click each picture & you’ll be magically transported to the recipe!

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If you’re going to go the Fairy Tale route this Valentine’s, Black Forest cupcakes are especially perfect, because Snow White originated in & was said to be written about the Black Forest in Germany. All that fairy tale stuff is what Valentine’s Day is made of, isn’t it? All you need is some pretty pink cupcakes with a cherry on top, a fancy dress & some birds tying ribbons in your hair & you’re ready. Some of us may be attracted to the Maleficent’s instead of the princesses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t like the color pink, or Valentine’s Day, or cupcakes. Sometimes the harder you try to portray yourself, the more anti-everything you say you are (even if it’s genuine), the more people think “yeah right”, & laugh at you. There’s no harm in liking things. So fucking lighten up a bit. And I hate everything, so take it from me.

On that note, I’ll end this post. But first you should also check out some of these recipes; while not all were specifically made for/are Valentine’s Day related, they can be adapted quite well:

Heart-shaped shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling & a chocolate ganache

Double-layer chocolate & vanilla cupcakes

Red velvet cupcakes (always good for Valentine’s Day)

Anti-Valentine’s Day cupcakes of darkness (my cupcaking skills were immature back then)

Thumbprint cookies (use a red-colored jam or jelly)

Double chocolate pudding

Peppermint bark (includes ideas for making it “Valentine-y”)…

The best cocoa brownies (ever!)
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I’d say, “The End” but I’m afraid this is just the beginning of the Valentine’s-themed fun. Me & Lola are excited to get in as many rouge-colored desserts & condiments as we can for you guys, so stay tuned!

I’m sure by now if you’re a regular reader you know I’m part German. The German side of my family isn’t cloaked in mystery like the Irish side, and Germany kept pristine vital records (unlike the Polish/Russian sides) and those records are much easier to get than say, the Dutch, French & Belgian records or the even more mysterious “Alsace-Lorraine” family records (Alsace-Lorraine does not really exist as an actual place, therefore the records aren’t in any particular Alsace-Lorraine directory, but split between Germany & France). As you can also tell, I’m an amateur genealogist & I’ve spent the better part of the last 6-8 years doing my family history & tracing parts back to the 1100′s.

Of course, I love old pictures & all things antique & vintage so this kind of thing just feeds into that for me. Particularly the old family photos. And by old, I don’t mean like the ones you have of your grandparents in the 1940′s. I mean old as in the 1890′s.

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That’s my great-grandmother, Frances “Midge” Hebrank Sonnanburg, in New York around 1896, when she was just 4 years old. You can see an older picture of her here at my other ‘German’ cupcake post. Her father’s father was Albert, a German immigrant who joined the ranks of an all-German regiment, the New York 54th Infantry a.k.a. the “Barney Black Rifles” (Schwarze Yaeger) in the Civil War. He & his family were German, from Owingen, Hohenzollern, which was for a time part of Prussia but is now Germany, specifically Baden-Württemberg. Anyway, this is the stuff that makes me tick. Me & Jay do ancestry work for fun. We’re geeks. So my family history & my ancestry mean a lot to me. Where I come from is so important, I believe in order to know where you’re going you have to know where you came from.

Okay enough with my life story/family history there. If I tell you any more, I’ll be writing for another 4 days, have severe carpal tunnel & you’ll be able to do my family tree for me. Anyway Midge loved to cook & bake, as did most of her family. There’s a story I heard my whole life about how she made a specific kind of pudding or custard; it was apparently a big hit with my grandpa & his friends. They were begging her to make it, asking & asking until finally she explained that it used an awful lot of milk, which was expensive, especially during the Depression. So whattaya know, my grandpa’s friends waited the next day for the milkman to come & then snuck around & stole everyone else in the building’s milk delivery so Midge could make the pudding. So what does this have to do with cupcakes? Well, maybe I got my baking skills from her?

Or maybe I’m hinting that everyone who asks me for cupcakes should go steal some milk & sugar & eggs first? Hey, listen- the Cupcake Wars casting department e-mailed me… I’m a very important person.

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Of course, German chocolate cake, unlike Black Forest cake, is not actually German. Surprise! It’s named after the chocolatier, Sam German, who in the 1850′s created the dark chocolate for the company Baker’s Chocolate. The chocolate was therefore named for him and then, in turn, the cake, which was actually called German’s chocolate cake. But regardless, it’s synonymous with the word “German” now, and most people assume that means the country, so I’m just going to incorporate that into this post about my German family history & cupcakes. And kinda because the topping always reminds me of sauerkraut, which is decidedly German. I know that might gross you out but really… tell me it doesn’t!

Instead of using an actual recipe for German chocolate cupcakes, I just used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe plus a coconut-pecan frosting. Mmm.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Makes about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Add 2 large eggs (one at a time) and beat each until thoroughly combined, then add chocolate & oil. Add (and alternate) flour plus baking soda with buttermilk (room temperature) plus vanilla extract.
3. Place cupcake paper into each cup of 3 muffin pans (each pan yielding 6 muffins). Then fill each cup about ¾ full.
4. Bake at 350° degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

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COCONUT-PECAN FROSTING

Ingredients:

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Opium used to be the big drug back in the day. I guess it was the crystal meth of the time, around the turn of the century/1920′s. It contains something like 12% morphine, and codeine & hydrocodone are derivatives of the same family of drug- hence the name opiates. It’s serious stuff. Laudanum was made from opium & alcohol & was used to treat a variety of stomach ailments fairly regularly back then. But in modern times, all we know about it is what we read from an Edgar Allan Poe story or William S. Burrough’s novels, not to mention glib pop culture references. We all remember that Seinfeld episode where Elaine’s urine test comes back positive for opium because she ate a poppy seed bagel, right? I always thought such a thing couldn’t happen, unless you eat 1,000,000 poppy seed bagels in one day. But I was wrong: eating poppy seed muffins, cakes or bagels can indeed land you in a heap of trouble. As a matter of fact, back in January of 2005, Anahad O’Connor wrote in the New York Times Science section that “eating just two poppy seed bagels heavily coated with seeds can result in morphine in a person’s system for hours, leading a routine drug test to come back positive… [therefore] because of this possibility, the federal government recently raised the threshold for opiates in workplace testing to 2,000 nanograms a milliliter, up from 300.” And by that reasoning, this cake could possibly get you fired from your job or make you lose custody of your kids. It’s loaded with poppy seeds. Loaded. Both in the cake itself and on top.

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Which is fine with me. I love me some poppy seeds. Poppy seed bagels are my favorite bagels ever. So when I was reading one of the (many, many, many, as you can see here) books I got for Christmas, Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden, and I saw this triple layer poppy seed cake with almond icing, I just had to make it. I never make cakes, as you probably know. This was an exception. It’s a huge cake: a pound of butter & a half-dozen eggs. But worth it. However… I ended up halving the recipe & making two dozen cupcakes instead. I know, I know.

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But it just seemed so big. So many eggs, so much butter, etc. And it is big, because if half the recipe makes two dozen cupcakes, the whole recipe must make FOUR DOZEN. That is huge. And crazy. And ¼ cup of poppy seeds is a lot of poppy seeds. It’s a wonder I didn’t get high off it. As far as the taste goes, they were pretty unique, I have to say. Very different, but I loved them. Cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, poppy seeds, almond extract & the tang from the vinegar-milk combination; all very subtle but what flavor! A surprisingly delicious winter cupcake. Moist cake filled with tons of warming spices, albeit subtle like I said, and then some crunch from the seeds. I topped them with the almond buttercream from the book and then some little flowers made of almond slices with poppy seeds for centers. Really cute, I thought. Next time, however, I’d make little red poppies out of fondant. ‘Cause that’d be doubly cute.

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Of course, I’m giving you the adapted cupcake version of the recipe that I made. For the full cake recipe, you’ll have to buy the book. Bwahahaha.

POPPY SEED CUPCAKES WITH ALMOND BUTTERCREAM ICING (adapted from a recipe by Lisa Goldstein of Celo, NC, from Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of ground cardamom
• ¼ cup poppy seeds

Icing:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, room temperature
• 2 ½ – 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2-3 tablespoons half-and-half (plus more if needed)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites together with the cream of tartar on high speed, until soft peaks form. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl of the stand mixer, this time fitted with the paddle, cream the butter, sugar and honey together until light and fluffy. While beating on low speed, add egg yolks, one at a time. Beat after each addition. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat again until the mixture is smooth, light and creamy.
3. In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar and almond extract. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add that mixture to the creamed butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture, and mixing lightly but thoroughly between each addition, until ingredients are just combined.
5. Add the poppy seeds, folding them in by hand until combined. Quickly re-whisk the egg whites by hand if they’ve separated, then fold them into the batter gently, in three batches.
6. Add cupcake liners to muffin tins and fill each with batter, around two-thirds full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in each cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in tins, then remove to wire rack. Cool thoroughly before frosting.
7. To make the icing, cream the butter and confectioner’s sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer until it makes a thick paste. add and combine the vanilla & almond extracts. Then add the half-and-half, one tablespoon at a time, blending on low speed until fully incorporated.
8. Add more if needed to achieve a creamy, fluffy consistency. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle, bottom and sides of the bowl. Re-mix until no lumps remain.

Excuse the frosting job on the back left one; I was trying to find the best way of doing it

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They came out really rustic-looking. So much so I almost wish I had one of those cake stands made of an old tree. They’d be so sweet on one of those. Dammit, I wish I had one now! I’m going to have to get my hands on some cut down trees & get Jay to start cuttin’ it up! He’s a big, handy fella. He can do it. Why buy when you can DIY!

If you’re looking for a unique recipe to try, this is it. It’d be fabulous as a triple layer cake, too, of course. And in case you’re wondering, I got a lot of cookbooks for Christmas, so you’ll be seeing a lot of recipes from them in the coming months. And I’m not into New Year’s resolutions so they’ll be loaded with butter & eggs & sugar. I’ve got to maintain my girlish figure somehow.

And if poppy seeds don’t interest you, later on this week there’ll be a post featuring a giveaway I’m doing together with Yoyo from Topstitch, so keep your eyes peeled.

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No recipes today, just pictures. Those are my grandparents, above, with my uncle as a little boy. How A Christmas Story is that picture!? All he needs is a Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, carbine-action & a thing that tells time. Although he seems pretty into that gun he’s got.

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And that’s my mom as a little girl, with the first artificial tree my grandfather bought. My grandma hated it, they only used it twice. But they did put up like 4 trees… so it was no great loss.

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And these. These are my Christmas cupcakes this year… little winter wonderlands on top of some rich, chocolaty cupcakes. I thought they were so serene looking with their snowy landscapes.

I also wanted to wish all my “fans” & Twitter followers & readers the happiest & healthiest holiday possible. You’re all really important to me, I’ve met so many wonderful and amazing people through this blog and having this outlet and the support & kind comments I’ve received from people has helped me get through a difficult holiday season. I thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy what I have to say in the coming new year.

So on that note, I hope you & yours have a very happy, healthy holiday season. I’ll see you after Christmas, punks.

Credits:

· Deer toppers & tree toppers from Layer Cake Shop

· Edible clear glitter from Divine Baking Supplies

· Red foil liners from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supply

· Cupcake boxes from Bake-A-Box

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Sometimes I just need to make a logo, even if it’s for nothing. Sorry. Involuntary graphic-designer twitch.

Anyway I’ve been getting a lot of love from Pinterest, so I want to say hi & thanks! Tons of you have been clicking through from there- so I hope you’re liking what you see, and keep coming back. I’ve also been getting a lot of Christmas goodies via snail mail lately. I guess that means I’ve been a good girl this year? I think I have been, but I guess every naughty person says that, right? Anyway this particular gift (& inspiration) is in the form of a Christmas table runner my amazingly-talented-with-a-needle-&-thread Californian friend Yoyo made for me. A custom made table runner. How friggin’ lucky am I?

Crazy lucky. And look! It has cupcakes on it!

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A Christmas table runner with pink candy stripes & cupcakes… I can’t even deal with the cuteness. It’s just the best, and the color scheme & patterns match almost perfectly with all my grandma’s vintage Christmas stuff. The pinks & greens & lighter than usual Christmas colors just went so amazing with the white plastic trees & retro Christmas ball candle holders. And as usual, it all inspired me to make cupcakes that went with it!

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And yes, they’re little cuppy cake trees. I seem to be all about the trees this year, eh? Now that I look at them, though, they’d be great for a little girl’s birthday too. The pastel colors are so sweet. They almost melt my cold heart.

Whoops, that tree to the right is leaning a bit!

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I took purposely washed-out vintagey kind of photos of them, & used my grandma’s vintage jadeite plates for a more 1950′s-ish presentation. I think it worked, don’t you? Those salt & pepper shakers are from Santa’s Village in Jefferson, NH. If you’ve never been, you should go!

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The cupcakes are just a plain vanilla cake, with vanilla flavored pastel green-tinted buttercream. As far as the frosting on the cakes, I used a large star tip to create that look. If you make 12 cupcakes, make enough frosting for 24 cupcakes; the trees need to be frosted twice as high as normal. The color is Wilton icing color in Leaf Green (only a drop!). Candy pearls are by Wilton, pink liners, larger pink candy ‘baubles’ (candy-coated chocolate) & pink candy pearls from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supplies. Green sanding sugar was bought at Target ages ago, but you can get it anywhere. And of course- runner by Topstitch! If you’re in the market for awesomesauce handmade items, check out Yoyo’s blog & her store. She’s always updating it with new material. And I’m sure for the right price she’ll do custom items for you, too, so just ask.

Christmas is getting closer & closer. Are you all ready?

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And of course, my grandma’s little vintage elves had to get in on the act. Are you prepared for the cuteness overload?

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Super duper über cute. Those elves (or pixies?) are the coolest. I also have ones that are “candle huggers.” I think they were made by a company called Gilner in the 1940′s & 1950′s (and I think even some go back to the 30′s). These are from the ’40′s, when my grandparents were first married. Apparently they’re very collectible.

I kept the rest of the cupcake true to the original I’d seen, of course my own spin on it since I didn’t have their recipe. Peppermint twist “North Pole” cupcakes (topped with Andes Peppermint Crunch chips)! I bought this bag of Andes chips before Halloween… because I’m crazy. Well that & also because I knew I had to use them to bake with this year. I didn’t know at the time what I would make, but I knew it’d include those. Then I saw that little booklet of baking ideas with its adorable red & white striped cupcake on the cover. Brilliant. I could incorporate the Andes baking chips with red/white peppermint cupcakes- without having to use the tired old candy cane method! ‘Cause yeah, that’s cute & all, but let’s face it- it’s been done to death.

So I did what that little baking booklet did!

Or rather, my version of it.

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‘NORTH POLE’ PEPPERMINT TWIST CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• red food coloring (please remember to use a good quality NO-TASTE red food coloring!)
• Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips (or crushed candy canes)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.
2. Line a cupcake pan with baking cups; depending on how big your cupcake tins are, you can make between 8 and 12 (I got 12 but I could’ve easily filled mine more). Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Add the egg, mix it in slowly. Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add ⅓ of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by a third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.
5. Scoop about ¼ – ½ of the batter into a separate bowl. Mix in the peppermint extract well, then mix in the red food coloring, drop by drop, until red color (not pink) is achieved.
6. Spoon plain vanilla batter into baking cups, filling each about halfway. Add 2-4 teaspoons of the red batter to it & using a knife or toothpick, swirl & swish it around until there’s a swirled pattern. DO NOT THOROUGHLY MIX IT- you’ll end up with pink cupcakes, not red swirl. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
7. After frosting, sprinkle baking chips or crushed candy canes on top.

Elf not included.

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The frosting tip is this one, and the frosting is a plain ol’ vanilla confectioner’s sugar buttercream (an Italian meringue or Swiss meringue would be nice too). For cupcakes like this, I prefer to use a plain white liner so that you can see the swirl through it, but do whatever works for you. And like I said, I seriously stress the no-taste red color. If you don’t use it, you might taste an unpleasant bitter or chemical-y flavor that will overpower the peppermint & vanilla. Some good choices are Wilton’s No-Taste Red gel food coloring and Americolor Super Red gel paste food coloring. Same goes for making red velvet cupcakes, although with the cocoa powder I find it isn’t as noticeable.

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I told you I was all vintage inspired this season. So on the kitchen table, in addition to these lil’ pixie people, I used my grandma’s vintage Christmas tablecloth & some of my mom & grandma’s vintage Santa’s. My mother has a Santa collection that would make Martha Stewart cry; you need a certain kind of Kris Kringle? Ask her. She has a bunch that belonged to my great-grandmothers, my grandma, and ones that were hers from when she was a child. Not to mention the tons of them she’s gotten as gifts or bought herself over the years. She has every single type of St. Nick you could ever want- Victorian, Colonial, 1950′s, 1920′s, plastic, metal, plaster, hollow, solid, papier mache, German Santa’s, Irish Santa’s, folk Santa’s, traditional Santa’s, modern Santa’s, American Santa’s, Santa’s in cars, Santa’s on sleds, cat Santa’s, happy Santa’s, sad Santa’s, angry-looking Santa’s, tall Santa’s, tiny Santa’s, etc. I’m not joking. Any type of Santa you can imagine, she’s got. But I just chose to borrow some of the 40′s/50′s/60′s ones for my little retro display. It seemed they’d be more fitting with the tablecloth.

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Even though my grandma isn’t here physically this Christmas, her things are all around & in that, she is here. Here are a few close ups of the tablecloth. It’s so cute. I’m going to try & look through some old pictures & see if I can find any of either my grandparents’ apartment or their house at Christmas with this on the table. I mean how amazing is this? So stylized. It’s right out of Christmas in Connecticut.

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Basically, this all boils down to the fact that I love all things peppermint & candy cane-like, I love all things vintage and I love baking with them & using them as inspiration. Luckily, my family saved a lot of their fantastic vintage stuff for me to swoon over. I’ll never understand people who don’t like vintage items! What is WRONG with you people?! This stuff is phenomenal. They just don’t make things like this anymore. Not to mention, a quick look on eBay or Etsy & you’ll see, this stuff goes for quite a bit of money. So if you’re lucky enough to have it, you’re sitting on a goldmine. Especially the Gurley candles (which I have a TON of, for every holiday), some of them go for a fortune!

Not that I’d ever sell. But anyway, I do love seeing/hearing about other people’s Christmas goodies that have been in their family for ages (or at least a few years), so if you feel like sharing, please do! You can add links to pictures or stories or whatever you like in the comments. I’m a nosy bitch so humor me……

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