Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

A classic combination. One of my favourites for sure! These cupcakes are a chocolate base, filled with a whipped peanut butter filling and topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream. Drizzled with melted chocolate and peanut butter to finish them off. 

For the Cupcake (makes 12):

Adapted from Annies Eats

1/4 cup cocoa powder 

1/4 cup hot (almost boiling) water

1 cup flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon baking Power 

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tin with liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and hot water. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. 

In a small saucepan combine butter and sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer butter and sugar mixture to bowl and using an electric mixer (or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment) mix for 3-5 minutes until mixture cools and becomes pale yellow in colour. 

Add in eggs one at a time, mixing throughly between each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. 

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches alternating with the sour cream. Beat until just incorporated.

Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3s full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

For the Peanut Butter Filling: 

Adapted from Cook Like a Champion

1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream

1 cup icing sugar 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature 

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract 

In a clean bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, whip cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. 

In a separate bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and peanut butter, mixing on medium-high speak until smooth. Reduce speed and add in icing sugar. Mix in vanilla. Beat until fluffy. 

Using a rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture in two parts. Do not over mix.

For the Icing:

1 cup butter

3-4 cups icing sugar 

3 teaspoons vanilla 

2 tablespoons heavy cream 

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and cream.

To Assemble: 

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, use the cone method to fill cupcakes with approx 1-2 teaspoons of whipped peanut butter mixture. 

Frost cupcakes as desired. Drizzle with melted peanut butter and chocolate sauces. 

Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes

A friend requested Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes (like the candy) for his brother's birthday. I have been wanting to make something similar to this for a while. I love the combination of chocolate and caramel but the pecans add that extra layer of crunch to the cupcakes. The caramel pecan mixture alone is worth making, I had some extra which I plan on using on ice cream and pancakes (or eating by the spoonful).

Recipe: Adapted from Annie's Eats

Makes 12

For the Cupcake: 

1/4 cup cocoa powder 

1/4 cup hot (almost boiling) water

1 cup flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon baking Power 

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tin with liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and hot water. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. 

In a small saucepan combine butter and sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer butter and sugar mixture to bowl and using an electric mixer (or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment) mix for 3-5 minutes until mixture cools and becomes pale yellow in colour. 

Add in eggs one at a time, mixing throughly between each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. 

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches alternating with the sour cream. Beat until just incorporated.

Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3s full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

For the Caramel Filling Filling:

1 cup sugar 

5 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1/2 cup pecans

Heat sugar in a medium sized heavy bottom sauce pan on medium-high heat. When sugar starts melting, stir sugar until it is fully melted. Once melted, swirl sauce pan until sugar turns deep amber in colour (or reaches 350F on a candy thermometer). 

Stir in butter. Take caramel mixture off the heat and stir in cream. Mixture will bubble violently.

Finally stir in pecans. 

For the Icing:

1 cup butter

3-4 cups icing sugar 

3 teaspoons vanilla 

2 tablespoons heavy cream 

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and cream.

To Assemble: 

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, use the cone method to fill cupcakes with approx 1-2 teaspoons of caramel pecan mixture. 

Frost cupcakes as desired. Top with extra pecan mixture and drizzle with caramel and chocolate sauces. 

Mini Valentine's Day Doughnuts

I have been wanting to make mini doughnuts for a while now. They are popping up all over Pinterest. Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect excuse to make them. I went crazy looking for a mini doughnut pan but I couldn't find one anywhere and I wouldn't have gotten it on time if I ordered it online. Luckily I found a mini doughnut maker at the grocery store (of all places!). I was a bit skeptical at first about using the mini doughnut maker but I am happy with how they turned out. 

I got a little ambitious and made 3 different kinds of doughnuts: 

plain with vanilla glaze (Icing sugar, milk and vanilla)

chocolate with chocolate glaze 

red velvet with white chocolate glaze (I used the same recipe as the chocolate glaze but with white chocolate instead)

My favourite were the plain ones with the vanilla glaze. The recipe seemed to work best with the doughnut maker. The chocolate ones were very dense and I burned a few of the red velvet (I learned I had to give my doughnut maker a bit of a break).  

I packaged them up with tissue paper in little boxes I got from the dollar store and delivered them. They were a huge hit with everyone! 

Check out this post and others on: 

Holiday Baking

I thought I would share with you what I am planning on making and sharing these holidays. 

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheese Cakes via Annie's Eats 

Shortbread Cookies with Red and Green M&Ms

Chocolate Covered Candy Cane Marshmallows 

Cake Pops 

I am also thinking about making some macaroons and other Christmas cookies but I haven't decided yet. What are you planning on baking this year? If you have any favourite recipes please share in the comments. 

Jaclyn

Homemade Marshmallows

First of all, I always thought it was spelt marshmellow but I guess I was oh so very wrong. Spell check and the internet gods have corrected me. Anyways. I was excited but slightly terrified at attempting these marshmallows. I knew that if they turned it they would be one of those things that had people saying you made what??? I didn't even know you could make those. But if they didn't turn out it would just be a huge, sticky, sugary mess. Luckily they turned out. They were also SO simple to make. I was really excited to use my brand new candy thermometer that I bought especially for this occasion ( I am really just picking recipes where I need to buy new kitchen gadgets - its a great excuse to go shopping.)  I used Smitten Kitchen's Recipe which was a bit different from others as it had the addition of egg whites. Since I have never tried making marshmallows before I can't tell you if adding egg whites actually makes them fluffier then if you don't (I am assuming it would plus Smitten Kitchen said so, so really there is no arguing).  But now that I know how easy they are I will have to try a different more classical recipe without eggs. I dipped mine in chocolate and sprinkled crushed candy canes on top to make them more festive. I cannot wait to try them in hot chocolate! 

Macaroon Adventures

So I tried a second attempt at making macaroons after my first attempt went so well. This time I wanted to make something a little different. I still had some of that chocolate raspberry jam left over and I thought it would make a great filling for a macaroon. I also really wanted to try my hand at making pretty coloured macaroons so I went out and got some gel icing. I love how the colour turned out. I am still not 100% comfortable with making them and would love to get a kitchen scale so I can properly measure out my ingredients. Something to add to the Christmas list! 

Apple Pumpkin Bread

I have been wanting to make pumpkin bread for the longest time but I knew I should wait until Thanksgiving so I could use half of my 30oz can of pumpkin for pumpkin pie. Finally it was close enough to Thanksgiving that I could pull out the can of pumpkin I had sitting in my pantry for longer then I would like to admit. I was gathering all my ingredients when I glanced at this candle I had recently purchased from Bath and Body Works. I decided that it would be a good idea to incorporate some apples into my pumpkin bread because if they made a candle out of the two then hey it must be good right? Plus I have way more apples then I know what to do with since I went apple picking and you can only have so much apple pie. So off I went to the internet to find an apple pumpkin bread recipe. I found this one from Heather Homemade and liked the idea of the crunchy topping but decided to swap a few of the ingredients to really bring out the fall flavour. I am really happy with the way it turned out and it makes for a great breakfast or snack.  Oh and did I mention I made it all in one bowl. Yup! My kind of recipe!

I may have started eating this piece before I took the photo. Oops. 

Pumpkin Apple Bread

Adapted from Heather Homemade

 

For the Crunchy Sugar Topping

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened 

 

For the Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

4 large eggs

2 cups of pumpkin puree

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup of packed brown sugar

2 cups chopped apple ( I used a mix of the apples I picked)

 

For the topping, blend flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter in a small bowl with your finger tips, until mixture resembles coarse meal or sand. Set aside until ready to use.

Place oven rack in the middle of the oven. Heat to 350 degrees-F. Butter two 8.5 x 4.5 inch pans.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. 

Lightly beat in the eggs. Whisk in pumpkin, apple sauce and sugar. Stir until just well combined. Fold in the apples. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle half of the topping evenly across each loaf.

Bake until a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Cool loaves in pans on rack for 45 minutes, then turn out on rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

The bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or the freezer for up to one month.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes a couple of weeks ago for the boyfriend's birthday and just haven't gotten a chance to post them. I was torn about what to make; alcoholic and chocolate cupcakes are always a hit but they are my go to. I wanted something different. Lemon Meringue Pie is one of his favourites so I thought I would go with the cupcake form. 

I used this recipe from Living Eventfully that I have had pinned on my cupcake board on Pinterest for the longest time. I halved the recipe since over 30 cupcakes was a bit much and found the 15 or so the half recipe made to be perfect. 

I was most worried about making the meringue frosting. Egg whites either love me or hate me. They seemed to be on my side this time. The frosting was super light and airy. It was perfect. I have yet to invest in a kitchen torch so I used the broiler on the oven and watched them like a hawk until they were lightly toasted. 

I used the cone method to fill the cupcakes with the lemon curd.  I love the looked peoples faces when they find out the cupcakes are filled. The best is when people ask how I got the filling in the cupcake. The cupcakes were a hit all around and the boy said they are some of his favourites so I am sure they will be requested again in the future. 

Have a good monday! 

- Jaclyn 

Chocolate Raspberry Jam

This post could also be accurately titled: Or the time I ate jam with a spoon. Seriously this jam is THAT good. I kid you not. We went to a farm this weekend with hopes of picking our own raspberries unfortunately they weren't open for U-Pick that day so I had to settle with bringing home a couple of cartons of fresh raspberries. Last time I bought a carton of fresh raspberries they didn't make it through the front door I ate them all on the walk home. It was totally worth it. They were amazing. I have fond memories of picking raspberries of the bushes out behind my grandparents house when I was younger. I loved being able to eat the raspberries directly off the bush. Grocery store raspberries have never quite been able to live up to the standards of those freshly picked berries.

 I was able to get the raspberries through the door this time and straight into a pot with some sugar to make the most delicious jam ever.

I was a little bit nervous about actually making jam. I have never made it before in the past and I wasn't sure how it would turn out.  I followed this recipe from Love and Olive Oil. It was super simple and really easy to follow. I kind of cheated and didn't actually "can" my jars since I only made four and am planning on giving some to friends and family this week to be used right away so since I didn't have a canning system I felt like keeping them in the fridge was a better option. I am almost half way done one of the jars anyways so I don't really see spoilage as an issue.

I have been eating this pretty much non stop since and I then decided that I needed scones to go with the jam and proceeded to whip up a batch (what is my life).

Hope you enjoy this fantastic jam!
Jaclyn

Baking Adventures: French Macaroons

I (like I think most others) was terrified of making Macaroons for the first time. Would they grow feet? Would they crack? Would it just be a complete and total failure? I have read a ton of different bloggers posts on making macaroons - the successes and the failures. I read tips and tricks. I read all the different trouble shooting. In theory I could make the perfect macaroon I just had to work up the courage to try. 

Then one day on Facebook of all places I saw my friend had posted a photo of the earl grey macaroons that she had made. They looked perfect. I thought to myself "I know her! She made them! They worked out! If she can do it, I can do it!" So I messaged her for her recipe. 

She directed me to this youtube video. I watched it twice and checked out the blog that it links to with the reciepe before I started. I was thrilled that it gave the measurements in cups and not grams. I don't have a food scale yet (future investment for sure) and it seemed simple enough. So I set off to make my own. Which as you all have probably guessed from my photos they turned out! I would encourage everyone to try and make these delicious treats. The video is great at explaining things step by step and so far everyone I know who has tried this recipe has had great results. 

What is your Macaroon experience? Do you have a favourite recipe you would be willing to share? 

Jaclyn

Chocolate Baileys Cupcakes!

I knew I wanted to make an alcoholic cupcake for St. Patty's Day. I have been meaning to make Chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's butter cream for awhile now. I love the combo of chocolate and Bailey's. I knew this was the perfect opportunity and got festive with some green icing and sprinkles. 

For the Cupcake: 

Use your favourite chocolate cupcake recipe. I used one from Annie's Eats.  It is super simple and really yummy. I use it as the base of many of my cupcakes 

I wasn't going to fill these but then I decided they needed a little something extra so I made some Bailey's cream.  

For the Cream: 

1/2 cup whipping cream 

1/4 cup Baileys 

1 tbs butter 

2 tbs sugar 

1 tsp corn starch 

Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Combine whipping cream, butter, sugar and corn starch in a small pan. Bring to a boil. Then stir in Baileys. If you would like to make it more of a gauche add about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. 

Once cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone in the middle of each of them and fill with 1-2 tsp of filling.

 For the frosting: 

1 cup butter (room temp) 

3 cups icing sugar 

1/4 cup Baileys 

Optional: 3-4 drops of green food colouring 

Whip butter until it is light and fluffy. Add icing sugar one cup at a time until desired sweetness and texture is obtained. Add 1/4 Baileys and whip to combine. 

Frost cupcakes as you wish. 

Enjoy! 

-Jaclyn 

Happy St. Patricks Day! 

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day 

David's Tea Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Honey Buttercream

 

I have a serious addiction to tea. I cannot go by David's Tea without walking into the store and once I am there I have to get some tea and usually buy a sample pack to take home. Its a serious but delicious problem. My tea cupboard is starting to over flow (yes I do have an entire cupboard dedicated to tea. Don't judge.) I also love cupcakes. So I thought it was about time I combine these two loves. And here you have it the love child of tea and cupcakes. My Earl Grey lemon filled honey buttercream topped cupcakes.

For the cake (makes 24):
1 c unsalted butter at room temp
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 c milk
2 tsp David's Tea Cream of Earl Grey
2 tsp David's Tea Decaf Earl Grey
4 Earl Grey Tea bags
3 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking soda

Directions

In small sauce pan on the stove combine milk, loose leaf teas and 2 tea bags. Heat until milk starts to boil. Once milk is boiling remove from heat and let sit for 15-30 mins

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Making sure to beat well after each addition.  Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and tea from remaining 2 tea bags.  Remove tea bags from milk mixture and strain out loose leaf tea. Mix in half of the flour mixture.Then add milk and tea mixture. Finally mix in remaining flour mixture.  

Fill cupcake pans about 2/3 to 3/4 full.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in centre of cupcake comes out clean. 

For the Lemon Curd: 

3 eggs

1 c sugar

1/4 c butter, melted

1/2 fresh lemon juice 

zest from 1 lemon 

In a double boiler whisk together eggs and sugar. Add butter, lemon juice and zest. Stir constantly for about 15-20 minutes or until mixture coats back of spoon. (Don't worry if it doesn't thicken up right away. It took a while for mine to thicken before I realized a lot of the water had evaporated from my double boiler...oops)

For the Icing: 

1 c butter at room temp

1/4 c honey 

3-6 c icing sugar 

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar cup at a time until you reach your desired sweetness/consistency. Add honey to taste (I used about 1/4 cup but it will depend on the type of honey you are using and how strong you want your flavour to be). 

Assembling the cupcake:

Cut a cone out of each of your cupcakes. Fill with about 1 tbs of lemon curd. Ice cupcakes as desired. 

Notes: I found that this recipe made the perfect amount of lemon curd and icing for the 24 cupcakes. If you like a lot of icing I suggest you double the recipe as it was just enough icing. 

You can use any type of Earl Grey tea you have on hand. I found mixing the 3 different earl greys gave  a stronger tea flavour in the cupcake overall. 

Enjoy! 

Jaclyn