Chocolate-Pistachio Cupcakes with Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

The pistachio craze started with my parents. A few summer ago we vacationed with them at their cabin up north. My dad bought a bag of pistachios. Eric and I have been hooked ever since. We can decimate a big bag in a single sitting if we let ourselves. So flash forward to these cupcakes. My birthday was a couple weeks ago. Eric was going to bake me a cake. In fact, he had me send him a list of dessert recipes that I wanted to try so he could pick one to make for me. Well, the choices I gave him were too good--he picked two recipes. The first was an amazing smores pie (seriously, you have to make this pie, click the link right now, it's that good!) he made for The Fourth of July, which is the day before my birthday. He was going to make chocolate-pistachio cake for my actual birthday. But we both decided that would be too many sweets in the house (we have wedding attire to fit into soon). Plus we had just finished our birthday adventure--sushi, museum, zoo--with ice cream.

But all the ingredients for this recipe were sitting in the cupboard, just begging to be made into a delicious cake, so of course it wasn't long before I gave in and made the cake as cupcakes. However, with the wedding just over two months away, I sent Eric to work with the bulk of them to share with his office. That way I get to have fun baking, we each get a taste, and we don't devour the entire two dozen ourselves!

Recipes for the cake comes from here.

Pardon the frosting, I was practicing with a pastry bag and tip. I know, I need more practice :)

Chocolate-Pistachio Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 3.4-ounce package of pistachio instant pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (did you know you can make your own chocolate syrup?)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Either grease your cupcake tins or line them with cupcake lines.

In a large bowl, combine the yellow cake mix and the pistachio pudding. Add the eggs, water, vegetable oil, and almond extract. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until there are no lumps.

Pour about 1/3 of the batter into a bowl. Stir in the chocolate syrup.

Layering, divide the pistachio batter and the chocolate batter between 24 cupcake cups. If you want, take a butter knife and swirl the two layers together.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a cupcake. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then transfer the cupcake to a wire rack to cool completely.

A pretty pastel pistachio green

Pistachio Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoon instant pistachio pudding powder (I made the rest of the mix into pudding)
6 tablespoon milk

Directions:
Combine the milk and the instant pistachio pudding powder until the powder is completely dissolved. It is going to be quite thick, but you're going to have a nice concentrated pistachio flavor.* Set aside.

Place the the butter into a large bowl and cream with a hand mixer or standing mixer. Add vanilla and mix. Add 1 cup of sugar and blend on low speed until well incorporated. Then add another cup of sugar and beat until well blended. Whip in the the final cup of sugar. Beat in the concentrated pistachio pudding. To get light, smooth buttercream you need to blend the buttercream for 15 to 20 minutes on low.

Once your cupcakes have cooled, frost them. If pistachios could last in our house for more than a couple of days I would have chopped some up and sprinkled them on top of the cupcakes.

*Before making this frosting, I did some research on the web about putting pudding in buttercream. Some posts said that you can add the powder directly into the buttercream while others said it made the frosting gritty. I put a little bit of my buttercream in a bowl and tried adding the pudding mix directly into it. The flavor is more intense, but it's gritty and unpleasant on the tongue.

Cupcakes for as long as the eye can see!

For pistachio lovers like Eric and me, the pistachio flavor was a little too mild. However, these cupcakes were a huge hit at his office!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting

Last February I made Eric an apple cider birthday cake. However, apple cider was not in-season so I used powdered apple cider mix. The cake turned out delicious, but I just knew it'd be better with real apple cider so I have impatiently been waiting for the fall drink to come back into season. But instead of a cake, I made them into cupcakes. Every time Eric hears the word cupcake he tells me that I should make those cupcakes again, the one with the chocolate ganache filling. He's referring to my St. Paddy's Day cupcakes. He loves cupcakes with filling. So I gave the apple cider cupcakes a caramel buttercream filling and topped them with a spiced rum buttercream frosting. It was a lot of buttercream, so next time I will use caramel sauce as filling. The spiced rum butter cream was the perfect pairing for this cupcake. I have to say, the cake is so much better with real apple cider.

Apple Cider Cupcakes
You can make this cake two ways. The easiest way is to just substitute out the water in a spice cake mix for apple cider. Or you can use the doctored cake mix recipe listed below:

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 3-ounce package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, pour into cupcake pans that are greased or lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake according to package directions. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Caramel Sauce
I made my own caramel sauce to use in the buttercream frosting. I didn't feel like getting my candy thermometer out so I tested out this new recipe where you make caramel sauce in the microwave. It actually works. But . . . you don't have control over the color of the caramel sauce like you do when you make it on the stove top. In other words, my caramel sauce wasn't rich enough for my taste. Next time I make caramel buttercream, I'm going to make my caramel sauce on the stove top. But I will keep this microwave caramel sauce in my back pocket because it really is convenient to have. You could also use store bought caramel sauce.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
In a medium glass bowl, mix the sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice together. Microwave the caramel until it just barely has an amber color, 5-8 minutes. If you microwave it for too long, you can burn the sugar. Allow the caramel to sit for about 5 minutes. As it does, you'll see the caramel continue to darken. I microwaved mine for 5 minutes, waited 5 minutes, and got this result:

Next time I may try to microwave it for longer to see if I can get a more intense color and flavor. Keep in mind that all microwaves cook differently.

While waiting for the caramel to darken, heat the whipping cream and vanilla extract in a small sauce pan. You don't need to bring it to a boil, just warm it so it doesn't cause the caramel to seize up.

Add the cream to the caramel a few tablespoons at a time. Beware that the sauce will bubble as you do this. Stir.

Once the cream is incorporated, stir in the butter until it's melted and well combined. Allow to cool, pour into a jar, and store in the fridge.

Basic Buttercream Frosting
You will use this buttercream frosting for the base of both the caramel filling and the spiced rum frosting.

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk, half and half, or whipping cream


Directions:
Place the the butter into a large bowl and cream with a hand mixer or standing mixer. Add vanilla and mix. Add 1 cup of sugar and blend on low speed until well incorporated. Then add another cup of sugar and beat until well blended. By now your buttercream is getting thick. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk and mix. Blend in the the final cup of sugar. To get light, smooth buttercream you need to blend the buttercream for 15 to 20 minutes on low. This is when I really wish I had a standing mixer. Doing it with a hand mixer is tedious but worth it in the end. 

Caramel Buttercream
Even though I wouldn't use this caramel buttercream as filling for apple cider cupcakes again, I will definitely use the caramel buttercream again.


Place about a third of your prepared buttercream into a medium bowl. Add the caramel sauce a few tablespoons at a time, blending it into the buttercream, until you reach the desired flavor. I had to use all the caramel sauce I made (about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups--sorry, I forgot to measure it out) to give the buttercream a caramel flavor. However, I think if I used a different caramel sauce or made the sauce darker, I could have used less.

Spiced Rum Buttercream
You can make the spiced rum buttercream as strong or weak as you'd like. I used 4 tablespoons of Captain Morgan and my frosting had quite the kick to it. 2 tablespoons of rum should do nicely for a less boozy frosting. Just add the spiced rum to the buttercream and blend.

Assemble
When your cupcakes are completely cooled, use a 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out the center of the cupcakes. Reserve the centers for another use. Spoon or pipe the caramel buttercream (or caramel sauce) into the cupcake. Frost the top with the spiced rum buttercream.

Now I know these cupcakes look like a ton of work, but they're really not that bad. Tomorrow, I will tell you what you can do with the scooped out cupcake middles.

These cupcakes were a huge hit with everyone.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

For more autumn recipes, click here.

Cupcakes Baked Inside an Easter Egg

Easter candy is probably my favorite candy. I love jelly beans, robin eggs, Cadbury eggs, chocolate bunnies and so on. This year I hoped to make some of my own Easter candy. But Easter seemed to creep up on me this year, so the homemade jelly beans and Cadbury eggs will have to wait until next year. But I was able to make cupcakes inside an Easter eggs (and chocolate ganache Easter eggs). This recipe comes from the Cupcake Project. Not only is it a cool concept, but the cake comes out tasty and incredibly moist.

Ingredients:
8 large, hollowed out eggshells
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
food coloring, optional

Directions:
To hollow out the eggshells, poke a small hole in the top of each egg. I followed the Cupcake Project's suggest of using a corkscrew bottle opener. When I was a kid, my mom always made us an Easter tree. In case you don't know what an Easter tree is (Eric had never heard of one before he met me), it's a tree--we always used branches for the tree, but you could use a fake tree from a craft store--decorated with colored Easter eggs that have been hollowed. If I remembered correctly, my mom used a nail to make the tiny hole in the eggs. You could also use an ice pick or even a small screwdriver. For this recipe you need the hole large enough to fit the tip of a pastry bag, so widen the hole by carefully breaking the edges.

To get the egg out of the shell, use a skewer to scramble the yolk and whites. Then pour the egg into a bowl to use for another purpose (French toast, scrambled eggs, a cake).

Rinse the eggshell out with water and set it upside-down on a paper towel to dry. When the eggs are dry, place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 10 minutes at 300 degrees in order to kill any bacteria.

If you want, you can then dye the eggs to make them more festive. I did this using Kool-Aid.

As your eggshells cool, make your batter. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the egg and sugar until the mixture is creamy. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Finally, stir in the sour cream and food coloring (if desired. I made my cupcakes green).

Position the eggshells in a cupcake tin, using tin foil to help them stand up straight. Transfer the batter into a pastry bag, or a plastic Ziploc bag with the corner cut off (this is what I did). Pipe the batter into the eggshell. The cake will rise so only fill it 3/4 full.

3/4 full

The Cupcake Project warned that this can be a bit difficult to judge (it was!), so if your cupcakes overflow (mine did!) you can just clean them off after they bake.

top right egg cleaned of overflow

Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes.

Let the cupcakes cool, peel, and enjoy!

It looks like a regular Easter egg

But it's a cupcake!

Happy Easter!

~Krissy

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I had wanted to make these Irish Car Bomb cupcakes I found on pinterest in honor of St. Patty's Day. But I did not have Guinness or whiskey on hand and couldn't talk myself into spending that kind of money on booze just to make cupcakes. But I did have a bottle of Bailey's that my mom gave me. So, keeping the Irish Car Bomb recipe in mind, I came up with my own St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes. As it turned out, these are definitely the best cupcakes I have ever made. They might even be the best cupcakes I've ever eaten.

The cake alone is a triple chocolate treat. It's made from a dark chocolate cake mix, chocolate milk, and Bailey's Irish Cream. Then you have the bitter-sweet chocolate ganache filling, and finally the cupcake is topped with Bailey's buttercream frosting, which makes me think Bailey's should be added to all frosting--maybe all desserts.

:

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 dark chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1 cup chocolate milk

Ganache Filling:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoon butter

Bailey's Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream
5 drops green food coloring, optional

Directions:
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cake for the cupcake, combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Divide batter between 24 cupcake molds. Bake for 19 to 23 minutes or until the cupcakes are baked. Allow to cool completely. Using 1/2 tablespoon, scoop out the middles of the cupcakes.

Ganache Filling:
Place the chocolate chips in a heat-proof medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil, then pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for a minute then stir with a plastic spatula to combine. Stir in butter. Freeze until the mixture becomes thick but not hard, 10 to 15 minutes. Pipe or spoon the ganache into the cupcakes.

Bailey's Buttercream Frosting:
With a whisk attachment, whip the butter in a large bowl on medium-high speed for about five minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the the sugar 1/2 cup at time until all of it is completely combined. Add vanilla extract, food coloring, and Bailey's and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Frost the cupcakes.

I actually made two versions of these cupcakes. One had the chocolate ganache filling and the other had a mint-chocolate ganache (added mint extract to the ganache). Eric loves mint and mint just seemed St. Patty Day-like. Eric loved these cupcakes. I personally thought the mint took something away from the chocolate taste and the amazing Bailey's buttercream frosting.

Enjoy!

~Krissy