June's Cupcakes, Light Versus Dark

I made cupcakes for Relief Society's June meeting. No surprise there. The hardest part is always deciding what flavor to make. I know some people don't like chocolate, so I when I know I'm making something chocolate, I try to offer a second choice. I was told they were both really good, and I have one person who has been waiting for me to post the recipes, so here they are. 

It gave me another reason to use my new ladder display that we (Bud, Laura and I) made last month. I'm loving that thing!

Forgive the off-balance display of the cupcakes. One container of chocolate cupcakes tipped over and were no longer presentable, so we were a little lopsided on how the remainder were arranged on the stand. None of the cupcake recipes are original, so I will just link you to where I found them. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes, by Lizzy Mae Early (Your Cup of Cake), found here. The only thing I did differently was to drizzle some leftover peanut butter ganache over the top of the cupcake and used a regular chocolate frosting instead of the peanut butter frosting. 

Chocolate Frosting (this may or may not have been the frosting I used. Sorry if it is not!)

1 lb. powdered sugar (that's about 4 cups or so)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat the butter and cocoa powder in a standing mixer until mixed well. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time until you've added it all. Slowly add in the cream and beat for about five minutes until it is smooth. 

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, again by Lizzy Mae Early, found here. 

After I made the cupcakes (I only put in the zest of one lemon instead of two, but I did use 1/4 cup lemon juice as directed), I cored out the center of the cupcakes and added a dollop of lemon curd from Leigh Anne Wilkes (Your Homebased Mom), found here. I replaced the top of the cored-out cupcake and frosted it with OBB's strawberry cream, found here, then added half of a strawberry to the top. 

That's pretty much it! If you tried one, I hope you liked it. If you didn't try one, you should have come to the Relief Society extra meeting! 

Coconut Cupcakes

I've recently been given the responsibility of being the coordinator for my ward's Relief Society extra meetings. For January we talked about happiness, how to make and keep goals, and household budgets. We made a "happiness jar" where the sisters can write down one happy thing that happened each day and at the end of the month or year (depending on the size of their jar) they can review their happy moments. For a treat afterwards, I made coconut cupcakes that looked like snowmen, and some chocolate cupcakes with mini marshmallows and sprinkles. I've had so many comments on the coconut cupcakes (one sister said it was the best cupcake she had ever eaten, and another sister confessed she ate three cupcakes- one chocolate, and two coconut. She told the others that the coconut cupcake had a filling that was to die for.) I knew I needed to post the coconut cupcake so I would remember which recipe I used for easy retrieval in the future. You can find the original recipe here, but I have adapted their recipe a little and changed the frosting completely, because their frosting was way too sweet.

I forgot to take pictures at the meeting. My niece, Kyanna, happened to snap a couple, but you can see it was after a coconut cupcake had been taken. 

Coconut Cupcakes (recipe adapted)

Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix

4 egg whites

1/2 cup oil (I used coconut oil)

1 cup canned coconut milk

2 tsp coconut extract (I used 1 tsp coconut emulsion)

Filling

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp coconut extract (I used 2 drops of coconut oil)

1 T sweetened shredded coconut

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

2 T heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/4 tsp almond extract
2 T coconut milk (if necessary)

Topping

Sweetened shredded coconut
Regular and mini chocolate chips (optional)
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)
Orange noses (optional. Mine were from Orson Gygi, or you can try orange Starbursts shaped to look like a nose, or jelly beans)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites, oil, coconut milk and extract. Add cake mix and beat until mixed well. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 16 minutes, or until top of cake springs back lightly when touched. Cool cupcakes.
For the filling, place the powdered sugar, cream and extract in a mixing bowl and beat it for about two minutes. Stir in coconut. Core out the center of the cupcakes, reserving the cake you just removed. Use a spoon or piping bag to add the filling to the center of the cake, then plug the hole back up with the cake that was removed earlier. You may have to remove a portion of the cake, and just put the very top part of the cake back into the hole. 

For the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese for several minutes, then slowly add the powdered sugar. Add the cream and beat for about 2 minutes longer. Add the extracts and check for consistency of the frosting. If it is too thick, add a little of the coconut milk to thin it. Frost the cupcakes and then turn them upside-down into a bowl of shredded coconut to cover the frosting. 

I decorated my cupcakes with a snowman face. Thanks, Michele, for the mini chocolate chips! Can you believe I was "out" of something? I had inadvertently used up the last of my mini chocolate chips earlier that same day. 

Depending on how you place the eyebrows, your snowman will look happy or cross, 

confused or goofy. 

Samoas Cupcakes

I was asked to make a few dozen cupcakes for a church function last week. I made two kinds, both with a Girl Scout cookie theme- Thin Mints and Samoas, having recently purchased a box of each.

Here are the Samoas cupcakes. You can see the cupcakes sunk just slightly, but I figured it was just more room for frosting. It's all about learning to not sweat the small stuff. 

On display at the Relief Society birthday party

My friend, Michele, made the other stack of cupcakes. She made lemon-raspberry and the yummiest carrot cake cupcakes ever. I'll share that carrot cake recipe with you soon. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

1 box chocolate cake mix

4 oz (or whatever size they've cut it down to these days) instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp coconut emulsion (or extract)

1 cup sour cream

12 oz chocolate chips

Mix the oil, water, eggs, coconut emulsion and sour cream together until blended. Add the cake mix and pudding and beat on low speed for 30 seconds and then at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Don't fill more than that or you will have spillage when they are in the oven. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick tests clean. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for five minutes and then transfer to a covered container to lock in the moisture until cupcakes are completely cool. While your oven is still on, add 1 cup of coconut to a cookie sheet and spread it out. Toast it in the oven, stirring every 3-4 minutes until nicely brown, which will take about 10 minutes. 

Frosting- (slightly adapted from this recipe)

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)-if you use salted butter, omit added salt in the next step

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1/3 cup 2% milk and added heavy whipping cream to make 1/2 cup)

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, salt (if using) and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for two minutes and then add the milk. Bring mixture back to a boil, still stirring constantly. When it comes back to a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow the sugar mixture to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (you can speed up the process by putting it in the refrigerator, but the best way to do it is to make the frosting to this point before you bake the cupcakes, then it will be ready when the cupcakes are cool enough to frost). When the mixture is cooled, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. You may have to add a little more powdered sugar to get it to the consistency you desire. 

Drizzle-

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Frost cupcakes and then sprinkle them with the toasted coconut. Put the chocolate chips into a baggie and melt in the microwave for one minute, pausing at the 30-second mark to squish the bag a little bit. Snip off the tiniest corner of the baggie and drizzle the melted chocolate over the coconut. These are deceptively more delicious than you might think. Laura tasted one and she exclaimed that they need to go on my everyday list for when I "open my bakery." Another friend, who took one home from the church event, told me she ate it the next day and was disappointed she hadn't taken home more than one! In other words, she wanted "Samoa." 

Agnes' Baptism Day

I have a couple other posts that I should have put up before this one, but sometimes you just can't go in "order."

Agnes, just before getting baptized

Agnes and Nick

Nana and Agnes

Sugar cookies- this might be by all-time favorite recipe. I'll blog it "soon." 

Cream puffs or "circular" eclairs

chocolate mousse and panna cotta 

focus on the "8" and the picture window, and ignore the bulletin board in the background

another picture window

red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with the gorgeous gum paste flowers that Laura made

chow time! 

Olive loves strawberries! 

the chocolate mousse with its cherry

Each table had artwork and photos of Agnes. I like the easels Laura made from tongue depressors (also known as craft sticks)

Agnes' great-grandma. She really is great! 

Cameron and his wife, Selena

friends

more friends (and Olive)

Eliot finishes off the leftover fruit salad

Hallie gives her daddy, Seth a big hug.

Cohen's tongue matches his vest!

Hallie wanted to take a picture. She focused, I snapped. Great combination. Cute Katie!

Family picture #1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Agnes with her Grandpa Michael

Agnes with Nana and Poppy

It was a great day. Congratulations Agnes!

The Last Breakfast

This morning was the very laaast time we put on our missionary badges, and we went to a meeting. Once a month they do a training meeting and we eat breakfast (it's potluck). I took this as my final offering.  

It's called Overnight Blueberry French Toast. It's from here and I found it on Pinterest. It looked delicious! Her photo of the food is killer and mine kind of looks like a hamster or a wingless bat other small creature. I don't think there are such things as wingless bats, so forget I said that. 

Anyway, let's talk about the food. If you like French toast, and if you like cream cheese, and if you like blueberries, you'll like this. I used a loaf of French bread that was two days old. I shouldn't have used the entire loaf as I thought the bread to egg ratio was a little lopsided. The missionaries gave me many compliments on it, so I think they liked it. Either that, or they were all just being nice because it was my last day. However, the blueberry topping is awesome, no doubt about it. I'll type that part up because I'll need it later (when I'm off my diet) to spoon over vanilla ice cream. 

Blueberry Sauce (adapted slightly)

2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 T cornstarch

3 cups water

2 T lemon juice

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used half of each because that's what I had in the house)

In a medium-large saucepan whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add water and and lemon juice. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling for one minute (use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon with a long handle as the mixture pops a little and if it touches your hand, you'll reeeeally feel it, if you catch my drift). Add blueberries and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally for at least ten minutes. I continued to let mine simmer for about 30 minutes, while the casserole was baking. The flavor improved the longer it cooked.

In Time Out, Once Again

This weekend was Time Out For Women. It was held in the Maverick Center this year, for the first time. It is a bigger venue that the Salt Palace and could hold 3,000 more people, and the place was filled! Don't ask me how Cheryl and I scored front row seats for Saturday's session. It was amazing sitting dead-center in the front row. We had better seats than the presenters! This is the little art do-hickey they shined onto the floor, right at our feet.

We took a moment to take a picture and have it "framed." 

Yep, Cheryl was framed too. 

Then someone offered to take one of us together. I'm hogging the shot. Sorry, Sister. 

Friday night's first speaker was Sheri Dew. To top off the evening, Sheri interviewed Ann Romney.

On Saturday, I was thrilled to hear my very favorite singer, Hilary Weeks. See the guy behind her? That's Michael Dowdle. I have some of his cd's too. 

I could listen to Hilary's music all day. Oh wait, I DO listen to her music all day. Or at least whenever I'm in the car. Sometimes that is an all-day event.

She graciously pretended like we are friends, and she signed my cd jacket of her music.

Since we were front row goddesses, we got to hang with all the popular speakers. This is S. Michael Wilcox. He's taller than I realized. He was very generous with his time, and the women all seemed to want to chat with him. We spoke with him about three or four times. That's the perks of the front row!

Cheryl got Sheri Dew to sign her book on Friday night. She thought I grabbed my camera as we went up for the autograph. All I was doing was tucking my purse under my chair. We remedied the lack-of-photo-op on Saturday. Sheri Dew is the kindest woman when it comes to star-struck fans. But she is also rather business-like and keeps the line moving along so everyone gets a chance to hang out with her for a few moments. 

I believe this was the best time-out we've been to (although hanging out with Sara and Kate was pretty awesome). Next year I will have both of my sisters with me, and maybe even a daughter as well. We all deserve to be in Time Out!