Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

 

 

Less than 8 days to go until Christmas! Yippee, I can't wait! Although I must say, as excited I am for the holidays, and even moreso for some time off of work, this time of year sure is exhausting! I haven't been this busy all year, and while I'm doing things I love, like decorating, baking lots and lots of goodies, Christmas present shopping and wrapping, and visiting friends, it leaves me pretty spent by the end of each evening! I'm not complaining, just looking forward to a little break! How bout you all, do you find the Christmas season to be fun, relaxing, enjoyable, stressful, sad? I think for most people it's a combination of joy and stress; I just hope there's more joy than stress!

 

 

I've used this chocolate cupcake base from Annie's Eats multiple times, and it has consitently provided good results. If you're interested in baking these cupcakes and/or seeing what else I've made with this recipe, check out my Black Forest Cupcakes and Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Truffle Filling. I altered the recipe very slightly by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract (and 1 less teaspoon of vanilla extract) and a good handful or two of peppermint chips (seen in photo on top of frosting), but if peppermint isn't your thing feel free to omit them.

I actually made these cupcakes a year ago and was a little skeptical at first about pairing chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing; however, the combination of the tangy sweet icing, dark chocolate glaze and chocolate pepperminty cupcake sent me over the moon. They turned out to shoot to the top of my cupcake list! I'm happy to be finally sharing these cupcakes now, and I hope that you find the opportunity to make them sometime in the near future, provided you're not too busy with Christmas decorating/shopping/baking/whatever else comes with this busy and glorious season!

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:
Refer to my post on Black Forest Cupcakes for recipe and instructions.

For Ganache:
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy cream

For Frosting:
8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-2 teaspoons peppermint (not mint!) extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on preferred stiffness)

Instructions:
To make ganache, put chocolate chips in a small glass bowl. Place heavy cream in a microwave safe glass and microwave until it begins to boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips, stirring quickly until chips have melted. Dip cupcakes into mixed chocolate and shake off excess. Allow to cool and harden, at least a half hour to an hour.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together using the paddle attachment of a stand or hand mixer. Scrape down the bowl once or twice to ensure no chunks of cream cheese are left. While beating, add the peppermint extract. Add powdered sugar, starting with 3 cups initially, on low speed and increasing to medium-high for 2 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy. If frosting is not stiff enough, add an additional 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Fit piping bag with decorative tip, and pipe frosting over cupcake. Top with desired garnish, such as peppermint chips and/or festive sprinkles. Pin It

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes #2 with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

It IS still pumpkin season, even though we just had our first serious snowfall in Southern Ontario. Which, by the way, let me just tell you is not a lot of fun when you don't have any winter tires and live out in the country and have to drive 60 (km/h) for pretty much the entire 40 minute (no longer 40 minute) drive home because you keep sliding all over the place. Note to self: get winter tires ASAP, even though they cost a bazillion dollars that you don't have.

Anyways, I think pumpkin season should last forever stay until at least the end of November, so I think these are fair game. And in all honesty, I actually made these in time for Halloween, TWICE, because they are that fantastic. Truly.

 

If you've followed my blog for some time now, you may think these cupcakes sound familiar. Last year I posted about these Brown Butter Pumpkin Caramel Cupcakes, which are fairly similar. However, if I had to choose between the two, I would definitely, hands down, go with this recipe. These were perfectly cake-like, and not a more muffiny texture at all. Soft, moist and flavourful pumpkin cupcakes topped with the most delicious maple cream cheese frosting (so delicious I nearly licked the entire bowl clean, both times I made these), you just can't go wrong. I adore these cupcakes. And, the pictures of them look WAY better than my previous post. Bonus!

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

For the frosting:
8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons maple extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on preferred stiffness)

Directions:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns a light brown and starts to take on a nutty aroma. There will be little bits that accumulate on the bottom of the pan; this is what it is supposed to do, but watch carefully to avoid burning of the butter, which can happen quickly. Once completed, let the butter stand until cool but not solidified.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with papers.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and allspice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and sour cream, until well combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Whisk in the browned butter until well blended.

Divide batter between cupcake liners, filling them about half full. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed in the middle.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together using the paddle attachment on a stand or hand mixer. Scrape down the bowl once or twice to ensure no chunks of cream cheese are left. While beating, add the maple extract. Add powdered sugar, starting with 3 cups initially, on low speed and increasing to medium-high for 2 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy. If frosting is not stiff enough, add an additional 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Fit piping bag with decorative tip, and pipe frosting over cooled cupcake. Top with desired garnish.

Source: cupcakes from Sprinkle Bakes, frosting from Sweet Treats n' Healthy Eats Pin It

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians! I hope that you're all enjoying the beautiful weather and the time that comes with a holiday.

Here are a few things that I'm thankful for this year:

• A job in my field of work that has a lot of potential (right now in the early stages of program development, so I haven't been doing too much), when so many of my classmates and friends are still without work in this sucky economy.
• A loving and supportive family. I've gone through some pretty major changes in my life in the past few months, and my parents have been behind me every step of the way, and I'm so grateful for them.
• A great group of friends. Even though almost all of the people that I call my best friends live a distance away (anywhere from an hour and a half to all the way across the world), they are still there for me in a moment when I need them, and I hope they feel the same way about me. Good friends don't come by often, and I try to make every effort to keep those special ones in my life.
• A brand new car! Not only a brand new car, but my first ever car! A Hyundai Elantra GT (hatchback) with all the bells and whistles. I'm in love. And it's name is Hernandez. Random? Completely. But when I wondered to myself what I would name my car if I was to, Hernandez was the first name that popped into my head. Crazy I know, it's not even a first name, but it was so outrageous that it's just stuck.
• The beautiful fall weather. Here in southern Ontario we didn't have a fabulous summer. It was cool and rainy most of the time, with only one stellar week of heat and sun. So I am absolutely loving this 20-30 degree sunshiney weather with colorful leaves.
• Last of all, I really am grateful for where I am in life right now. It might not seem like it sometimes. It's certainly not where I expected to be after just celebrating my 25th birthday. Sometimes I actually feel disappointed or concerned that I'm not where I 'should' be. As I mentioned earlier, a few months ago I made a major change in my life, and that was really tough to make. It affected everything in my life from that point on; it was scary and at the time I wondered if it was the right decision to make. But now I know without a doubt it was the right decision, and although my life isn't 'perfect' right now, I am happy. And grateful for what I have.

What are YOU thankful for this year?

 

 

 

Oh, and I'm grateful for these glorious pumpkin muffins. I made these almost exactly 2 years ago, and have been itching for the opportunity to make them again. They're a little more decadent for a muffin, so they won't be making a regular appearance on my table. But it's Thanksgiving! And that pretty much is a go-free card to shove your face full of good food and wear stretchy pants all weekend.

These muffins are incredible. If you haven't seen them on Pinterest or on another blog, you're in for something special! Light, moist, full of flavour, (borderline dessert-ish) but still healthy enough to eat for breakfast or a snack... what? Pumpkin and whole wheat flour makes it healthy. Ish.

Make them. Do it do it do it. And then thank me.

Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients:

For the filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar

For the muffins:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons oil

For the topping:
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

To make filling, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl or food processor and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl or food processor. Add in the butter pieces and cut into dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly, OR if using food processor, gently pulse until mixture is crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons, a medium cookie scoop works well for this). Slice the log of cream cheese into 12 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin tops.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats, who adapted from BakeSpace.
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Hummingbird Cake

Somehow, this beautiful cake became lost in the mounds of pictures I have. If memory serves me correctly, I made this cake for Mother's Day, months ago! It's a shame I forgot about it, because it was truly a delicious cake. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Hummingbird cakes, they are filled with banana and pecan chunks, moistened with crushed pineapple, and tasting lightly of cinnamon spice. Topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting, and we're talking scrump-diddly-umptious. Yes that is a word.

I think that although this cake made a wonderful dessert for late spring/early summer, it would make an equally amazing dessert for the fall. Due to the density of the cake and the warm spices included, it could easily fit into the fall season. It reminded me of Apple Caramel Cake that I made last Thanksgiving for my birthday, which I had decided was my favourite cake to the date. Although I don't think this Hummingbird cake topped it, it's sidled right up behind it! I particularly like this version of cream cheese frosting, because with the whipped cream it makes it much lighter and not as sweet- sometimes with cream cheese frosting the sugar level starts to burn the back of my throat. Too much info? Oops... well, did I mention the whole thing is super easy and quick to make??

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, liquid included
2 cups diced ripe bananas
2 cups pecans, chopped and toasted

Frosting:
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, cold

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour 3 9-inch cake pans.

Prepare toasted pecans: chop pecans in small pieces and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, watching them so that they do not burn. Set aside and let cool.

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, sugar and cinnamon in large bowl. Add lightly beaten eggs, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add crushed pineapple (liquid as well) and cut up bananas, and stir until combined. Finally stir in 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans. Reserve the rest of the pecans to sprinkle on top of the cake if desired.

Spread batter evenly among cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and let cool on a cooling rack.

For the frosting: beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks, then add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.

To assemble the cake: gently level the cake layers using a large serrated knife to remove any mounded tops. Place first layer cut side down and spread frosting on top with an offset spatula. Continue with the remaining two layers and then frost the sides. Sprinkle with remaining pecans, if desired. Store in fridge.

Source: cake from Bakerella, who adapted from Southern Living.com; frosting from Not So Humble Pie. Pin It