Transporting Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

It’s been some many months since a new post has been written.  My life took an unexpected medical “fall off the rails” last fall, and my blog has had to take a backseat.  I’m sorry to say that it will continue to do so far some time to come, with the exception of this one post.

I’m baking some ice cream cone cupcakes for my friend’s daughter’s 3rd birthday tomorrow.  I needed to find a way for my friend to transport the cupcakes up into the mountains and through the snow, without the cupcakes falling over. 

I scoured the web for a resolution for my problem.  There are a few ideas but the one I took hold of was the suggestion to use Dixie Cups.  Good idea but they still moved too much for me.

I’ve taken the idea a step further by using double stick tape to adhere the cups to the bakery box.  I did this 24 hours ahead so the tape would have more than enough time to permanently adhere the cup. 

Eureka!!!  We have a winner.  Finally an inexpensive and “easy to do” method to transport the beloved Ice Cream Cone Cupcake.

Happy Valentine’s Day !

rating:  the good

Lasagna Cupcakes

Yep!  You read that correctly.  Lasagna… yum!  Yes, I know I told you I’m allergic to garlic so it’s not often that I’m able to eat lasagna, or anything Italian for that matter.  Only when I make my own sauce, sans garlic.

Lasagna Cupcakes from www.framed-mylifeonepictureatatime.blogspot.com (recipe search)

There have been a couple of different versions of this recipe on her site.  The latest version has all the corrections except one.  If you use a jumbo pan you will have 6 cupcakes with 6 layers each.  If you use a standard cupcake pan you will have 12 cupcakes with 3 layers each.  I went for the standard.

Not wanting to waste the left over wonton wrappers, sauce and cheeses I decided to make a little non-meat version in a 5″x7″ cassarole dish.  And then just to add a little creative zip, I topped it with some Italian basil from the garden.  Waste not, want not.  And I want!

An important step in the recipe is to size the wonton wrappers.  You can use anything round as long as it measures at least the dimension of the top of the cupcake pan cup you are using.  This will ensure the wrapper is the perfect size to slightly “wrap up” the side of the cup so you won’t lose any of your fillings.

The measurements for the layering are NOT the clearest (nor is my photo very clear – sorry).  This is what I did… I used a two finger and thumb pinch of the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, a teaspoon (from the silverware drawer) of ricotta, a tablespoon (also from the silverware drawer) of the ground beef and another tablespoon of the sauce.  With three layers and an additional sprinkling of cheese on the top this worked out to be the perfect height for the pan.

These are absolutely DELICIOUS!!! 

I took 4 cupcakes fresh from the oven over to a neighbor’s house and their 2- and 4-year-old children gobbled them down.  They loved them!  Mom now wants the recipe so she will always have a home-cooked meal for the kids she can pluck from the frig or freezer.

cupcakelab rating:  the good

Savoury Polenta Muffins

I thoroughly enjoy cornbread muffins and polenta.  The thought of the two made into cupcake form with extra little yummies inside is a little heaven on earth for me.

Savoury Polenta Muffins from http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2010/08/

Anne’s blog comes to us from Sweden.  Her posts are in English, along with Swedish.  So there’s no problem getting her recipes.  One problem does exist for me… measurements in grams and millilitres.  I found a great site which converts the measurements for you.  www.infoplease.com and use the search term “cooking measurement equivalents.

This is another easy, one bowl recipe.  Yeah! for the one bowl.

The recipe calls for the use of mini liners but I opted for the standard size cupcake liners.  The more the merrier!  I had 19 lovely savory cakes.

The recipe includes fresh chopped cilantro, diced ham and grated cheese.  I loved these ingredients!  It added a wonderful flavor to the polenta cakes.  The recipe also suggests using sharp cheese for more flavor or substituting basil for the cilantro for a nice change in flavor.

I enjoyed these reheated in the microwave (for 15 seconds) with my cup of tea in the morning.  It was a nice change to my regular breakfast fare.  I was so sorry to see them go when I finished the last one.  *sad face*  I’ll have to make another batch with the last of my basil in the garden.  *happy face*

cupcakelab rating: the good

Macaroni And Cheese Cupcakes

Mac and cheese again… because who doesn’t love mac and cheese.

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes from www.framed-mylifeonepictureatatime.blogspot.com (recipe search)

This a one easy, easy recipe to make. 

You cook some elbow pasta, drain and return to the pot.  Then add the cheese, eggs, milk and salt and pepper, and mix.  Scoop into liners.  I suggest using foil liners, as the paper liners had seepage from the liquids.  And bake.  How easy!!!

The cupcakes are okay.  I found them to be bland in taste.  That’s great if you’re baking them for the kids, especially for our little picky eaters.  For adults, they need an extra zip of spice.

These cupcakes are great for a quick snack, to pack in a lunch or maybe for party appetizers, in mini form.  They’re easy to reheat in the microwave (minus the foil liner) and keep their form from the cupcake liner.

cupcakelab rating:  the good

Bacon Quiche Biscuit Cups

I just realized I’ve forgotten to tell you… I’m allergic to garlic and onions are not my friend.  I tell you this now because the savory cupcake recipes will include these ingredients.  I will NOT be including them in my cupcakes!  If I did I wouldn’t be able to taste the cupcake and report back to you.  Today’s recipe includes onions…

Bacon Quiche Biscuit Cups from www.pillsbury.com.recipes/

This recipe is fairly easy to make.  Everything goes in one bowl except the biscuits.

Now this is where it takes a little time.  You need to press each biscuit to form a 5 inch round.  This gives you plenty of excess biscuit when placing the biscuit in the cupcake pan cup. 

I ran into a little issue.  It took me some time to press all the biscuits and place them in the cups, and by the time I finished with the 10th biscuit my other biscuits had started to shrink in the cup.  I did a quick fix and filled the biscuits cups with “the batter.”

I like the idea of this recipe but will definitely change things up the next time I make this.  Without the onions the cupcake was rather bland; there was no other season in the recipe.  I will be adding some seasoning!  I also found the egg mixture to be too sweet from the cream cheese.  I would use less cream cheese and more eggs and cheese. 

Otherwise, its edible and looks lovely on the plate.

cupcakelab rating:  the bad

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

Mac and Cheese… yum!  Now take that favorite and make it in cupcake form… yum! yum!  Add the culinary genius of Giada De Laurentiis… and you have yum! yum! yum!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes from http://theview.abc.com/blog/recipes-giada-de-laurentiis

I was so excited about this recipe that after a few minutes thought I decided a standard size mac and cheese cupcake wouldn’t be enough.  So off to the store I went to buy king size cupcake pans.  These pans are 6 cups each instead of the standard 12.

I doubled the recipe… the more mac and cheese the better.  Giada’s recipe says this recipe makes 24 standard cupcakes.  I doubled the recipe, used the king size cup and was only able to get 12 cupcakes.  Something is off in the amounts I think.  But they look so colorful and delicious.

Ok… more about this recipe.  Not only is it mac and cheese, Giada has you add ground turkey meat, chopped fresh thyme, blanched asparagus, quartered cherry tomatoes, bread crumbs and loads of lovely cheese.

The hard part for me was coating the inside of the cups with bread crumbs.  I had crumbs everywhere and used far more than the one cup the recipe calls for.  If you have an easy way to do this and would like to share, I would LOVE to hear from you.

My kitchen smelled divine while all the prep was in process.  I could hardly wait to get the cupcakes in the oven.

Once the cupcakes were baked I couldn’t wait to taste.  Big Problem!  I had to use a soft spatula to scoop the cupcake out onto the plate.  It all fell apart.  Next time I make these cupcakes I will definitely use a jumbo cupcake liner and eliminate the whole bread crumb coating section.

The recipe has you fill the cup 2/3’s full.  I filled mine nearly to the top.  While baking the cheese of course melted and the cupcakes shrank in the process.  Absolutely fill your cupcakes to the top of the cup, then add your asparagus, tomatoes and sprinkle with some bread crumbs and olive oil.

This last photo was taken well after the cupcakes had cooled, and as you see, the cupcake was falling apart while I took the photo.  Yep!  Cupcake liner.  So you can eat these while they’re still hot.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cupcake!  I will absolutely be making more, using a liner.  This is a keeper for the recipe stash.

cupcakelab rating:  the good

Meatloaf and Mash Cupcakes

I’m starting the month with a favorite… meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  The original recipe comes from Nigella Lawson which is not surprising.  Having been married to a Brit I’m familiar with Shepherd’s Pie.  This recipe combines the idea of Shepherd’s Pie with the American meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf and Mash Cupcakes from http://www.notquitenigella.com/2008/04/28/

First you need to find a cooking converter so you can get your measurements in tablespoons, ounces and pounds.  The next thing you should know is the flavor of the meatloaf is very British with its Worcestershire and A-1 Steak sauces.  No ketchup or BBQ sauce or bacon to be found anywhere.

Also this recipe has been “health-ified.”  No bread crumbs.  Instead there is sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and quick cooking oats.

NotNigella has you combine all the ingredients in ONE BOWL (yeah!) and press into the cupcake liners.  Even though I used very lean meats I still had a lot of excess grease which had to be patted off the top, seeped through the liners, pooled inside the liners and pulled the greasy liners away from the meatloaf; not a pretty picture.  Next time I make this I will bake the meatloaf directly in the pan and place it in a liner after cooking.  Still need the cuteness factor.

I made my standard mashed potatoes, put them in a piping bag with the star tip and OOPS! the tip clogged up.  Just the tiniest bit of potato blocked the tip.  After fighting with the tip for a while I switched to a round tip and piped the rest.

I didn’t make the little Puff Pastry hearts on top, mainly because I forgot to buy Puff Pastry.

Had one for lunch.  YUM! YUM! YUM!  Can’t wait for dinner…

This is a “lovely” recipe.  I think you can jazz up the meatloaf with different sauces and spices to make it to your liking.  It’s a keeper for the recipe stash!

cupcakelab rating:  the good

Savory Cupcakes

September has arrived… the end of summer, the kids are back at school and fall is just around the corner.  I think fall is actually coming a little early this year.  The Canadian Geese have already started heading south for the winter.  With that in mind, and the fact that I don’t like sweets, Savory is the perfect choice this month.

As I started pulling recipes I realized that this will be perfect for me.  Cooking for one is always difficult, especially if you love meat with your meals as I do.  Throwing a salad together for every meal just doesn’t cut it.  *Light bulb over my head*  My cupcakes will double as my meals.  I guess that means the neighbors won’t be seeing me for several weeks.

Having mulled this over for a few days, a new thought came to mind.  These cupcakes could also work as a quick snack, packed in a lunch, for parties, maybe in mini form as appetizers, or to take to a pot luck or BBQ.  And the best part, they’re already in individual servings.

I hope you enjoy our Savory journey this month.  Meatloaf, Lasagna, and Mac&Cheese.  Oh my!!!

Banana Split Cupcakes

Banana Split.  Who doesn’t love the indulgence of a good banana split… a boat-shaped bowl lined with two halves of a banana filled with three scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate, strawberry and pineapple sauces and all covered with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top.  Do I have your attention?  Lucky for us this cupcake is the perfect size banana split and doesn’t take us into a sugar coma or extra inches on the hips.

Banana Split Cupcakes from www.bakersroyale.com/cupcakes/banana-split-cupcakes/

This banana cupcake is adapted from Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcake recipe. 

This recipe has you first cream the butter until its smooth, then you gradually add the sugar.  This is the first time I’ve seen or done this and was pleasantly surprised to see it made a beautifully light and fluffy butter/sugar mixture. 

It doesn’t say in the recipe but you MUST rotate your pans half way through baking.  My first batch of cupcakes were browned in the back of the pan and slightly undercooked in the front.  The next batch came out perfect.

This cupcake is light, fluffy and moist.  It is full of banana flavor ~ I did use perfectly ripened bananas.  The cupcake stands great on its own and the extras I had are great with a cup of tea in the morning.

I didn’t make the Banana Cream Custard filling.  One, I didn’t have enough bananas, but more importantly, the little ones in the neighborhood have a difficult time eating cupcakes with a soft filling ~ it ends up everywhere.

I continued on with the swiss meringue Vanilla Buttercream frosting.  I like this frosting because it is NOT a sweet frosting.

Then on to the Chocolate Dipping Sauce.  The recipe doesn’t specify the type of dark chocolate to use, and I’m guessing I bought the wrong kind.  My sauce was way too runny.  I had the hardest time coating the frosting layer.  It wasn’t always sticking which left white spots showing through the chocolate.  It also didn’t give enough chocolate coverage that I was looking for.

Give yourself plenty of time to make these cupcakes, as there is freezer time after the first layer of frosting and then again after the chocolate layer.  The recipe does give you helpful tips in preparing parts of the recipe in advance.  Always a good thing!

Overall, this cupcake is very delicious.  And I’m quite surprised to say that.  You would think with two layers of frosting and a dip in the chocolate sauce that it would be too sweet for me.  But it’s not!  It’s a light and yummy cupcake.  A definite for the cupcake stash.

cupcakelab rating:  the good

Snickers Cupcakes

Snickers are my second favorite candy bar, especially if put in the refrig or better yet… frozen. 

Snickers Cupcakes from http://annies-eats.com/2010/11/12

Be sure read through the directions before you begin.  There are a lot of pots, whisking and bowls used before you get to the mixer. 

You make a beautiful chocolate cake, and the chocolate aroma wafting throughout the house is just heavenly.  This is a light and fluffy, and just a tad dry cupcake.  But I’ll hold out on final judgement until I put the entire cupcake together.

I didn’t make the caramel sauce because I had some left over from another recipe.  Waste not, want not.

Just when I thought you couldn’t get any better than a Snickers bar, then came along chopped Snickers covered in caramel.  YUM!!!  I filled all the cupcakes and had some left. 

You know what’s coming now… DESSERT.  All for me.  Just kidding.  Instead I decided to use the balance as the garnish for the cupcakes. 

Next you make the caramel buttercream frosting, frost the cupcakes, drizzle with more caramel and garnish with more chopped Snickers bars.  I skipped a few steps.  No caramel drizzle or chopped Snickers bar because I used the balance of the caramel coated chopped Snickers. 

Overall, the cupcake is still a tad dry and the frosting is sickeningly sweet.  Thank goodness I didn’t drizzle more caramel on top.  The highlight was the chopped Snickers.

cupcakelab rating:  the ugly