Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Day 12. Hallefreakin'lujeah!

Honestly I haven't eaten these tonight but the early reviews from Randy and Bri are positive. Moist cake made with pie filling. Sort of like the muffins that you mix a cake mix and a can of pumpkin. Sort of the same idea only with eggs and apple chunks. And caramel apple pie filling is probably not NEARLY as "healthy" as pumpkin would be. Ok, it's not really the same at all but I tried. The frosting is my caramel cream cheese and that is always a winner. I'm always looking for things I can slather it on.


Caramel Apple Cupcakes
2 1/2 doz cupcakes

1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 can caramel apple pie filling
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
1 stick butter
1 8oz brick cream cheese
1/4 c. (ish, I honestly just squirt) caramel ice cream topping
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line your pan with liners.
2. Open pie filling and run a knife through the apples several times to cut them into chunks instead of the slices.
3. Mix cake mix, eggs and pie filling until well blended.
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c batter and bake for 17 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely.
6. Cream butter and cream cheese.
7. Add caramel and vanilla and mix well.
8. Gradually add powdered sugar mixing well until frosting is the right consistency.
9. Frost cupcakes and drizzle more caramel over the top.

Blueberry Pancake with Maple Cream Cheese

My mom made breakfast every single morning that I can remember growing up. This wasn't a granola bar or dry cereal kind of breakfast, it was eggs and bacon and pancakes. Now, I always preferred waffles to pancakes but if there was any kind of berry involved I was all for pancakes. As a kid we had mostly huckleberries but one of my favorite books when I was little was "Blueberries for Sal" so I could pretend those huckleberries were blueberries. And in my imagination I could hear those berries hitting the bottom of the bucket of the person that picked them. "Kaplink, kaplank, kaplunk". Anyway these definitely brought those memories back as I was taste testing the batter and frosting.

These cupcakes are really rich, like it's a good thing that they aren't oversized rich. The maple cream cheese frosting is delicious and the bacon is the perfect garnish. The saltiness helps cut the sweetness of the frosting and really ties the cupcake together with that breakfast for dessert taste.

Blueberry Pancake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/2 doz cupcakes

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1/2 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 T. apple pie spice
3/4 c. sour cream
1 12 oz bag frozen blueberries

Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 8 oz cube cream cheese
1 T. maple flavoring
3-4 c. powdered sugar

Bacon for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix and apple pie spice  into a bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine  eggs, oil, sour cream, buttermilk and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in cake mix and spices.

5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

6. Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add maple flavoring and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add 1 Tbsp. milk if it becomes too thick.

7. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes

8. Garnish with a piece of bacon.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Day 8. These have been on my list of treats to make for a while. I love anything pumpkin and the minute it starts to get cooler I'm thinking about pumpkin cake, cookies and bread. These were made from the recipe at yourcupofcake.com. I made no changes and mine aren't as pretty as hers but they still taste pretty darned good. I'll definitely do them again.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Cake:

1 box yellow or white cake mix (you can use Spice mix and omit spices)

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

15 oz. pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/2 C. applesauce or oil

1/3 C. milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 C. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 C. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2 - 4 1/2 C. powdered sugar

Extra cinnamon and sugar for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon into a bowl an set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, milk and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in cake mix and spices.

5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

6. Place your melted butter in a small bowl.

7. Combine sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl.

8. Use a pastry brush to brush melted butter on the tops of your cupcakes (they can be cooled or nearly cooled), then roll the tops of the cupcakes into your cinnamon-sugar to get that "snickerdoodle" look.

9. Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add 1 Tbsp. milk if it becomes too thick.

10. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkles extra cinnamon-sugar on top

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

Day 7 and I'm too tired to expound on this one except to say the banana cream is fab.u.lous and I may have just squirted it into my mouth straight from the piping bag when I was done doing the cupcakes...Maybe. Possibly. Probably.

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
Your Cup of Cake

Chocolate Banana Cake:

1 box Devil's Food cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 C. oil

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 C. milk or buttermilk

1/4 C. sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Buttercream:

1 C. butter, softened

1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 Tbsp. milk

3-4 C. powdered sugar

Banana Cream Filling:

1 small pkg. banana cream instant pudding mix (jello mix)

2 C. heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, bananas, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth.
3. Stir in cake mix until smooth.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
5. Chocolate Buttercream: Beat butter until smooth. Add cocoa, vanilla and milk and beat again. Slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
6. Filling: Using a whisk attachment on your Kitchen Aid or hand mixer, whip cream and pudding mix until stiff peaks form.
7.  To Assemble: Pipe a ring of chocolate buttercream around the edge of the cooled cupcakes. Then use a food scoop or a spoon to place the filling in the middle.

Pineapple Cream Cupcakes

Day 6, I think. I've lost count. These are a little bit of summer in this super frozen month. I followed the recipe on Your Cup of Cake pretty darned close. The only variation I made was I added pineapple juice to the frosting and because I didn't have actual crushed pineapple I zapped a can of tidbits in the blender and used that instead. It appears to have worked just fine.

Pineapple Cream Cupcakes
adapted from Your Cup of Cake
2 1/2 doz cupcakes\

Pineapple Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix

1/3 C. melted butter, cooled

3 eggs

1 1/4 C. crushed pineapple with juice

3 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 C. butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 T. pineapple juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 C. powdered sugar

Maraschino Cherries for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line pans with liners2. combine butter, eggs, pineapple, and vanilla extract3. Stir in cake mix and blend until smooth4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake for 15-17 minutes5. Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and pineapple juice. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes6. Top with sprinkles and a cherry. Pretend it's summer outside :)

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Day 5. Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes. My most requested cupcake never mind the time of year. These didn't get the pretty raspberries on top as it is December and they are expensive like gold but the pink sprinkles are pretty too.

The original post was for a scratch lemon cake. Tonight I used lemon cake mix as my base instead. I have a much more consistent result if I start with a mix and then add stuff to it. When I'm baking in bulk it's the only way to go. I also used the leftover raspberry Jello to flavor the frosting.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes
2 1/2 doz cupcakes

1 lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

Raspberry Lemonade Frosting

1 stick butter
1 8 oz cube cream cheese
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 T. Milk
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T. raspberry Jello

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix cake mix with eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and lemon extract
3. Stir until smooth
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake for 15-17 minutes
5. Cream butter and cream cheese
6. Add extracts and Jello and mix well
7. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk until right consistency
8. Beat until fluffy. Frost cupcakes.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Day 4? I think so. It's starting to run together, the cupcakes I've done and the ones that are still on the plan. The things that I know I am going to do to a recipe and all the little tweaks that I consider before I actually do it. Mostly, right now, I'm sticking pretty close to the plan as I can't afford a major flop at 8:30 at night.

These are super rich but super yummy and as an added bonus chocolate frosting is so pretty piped onto the cupcakes.  I also have a weakness for raspberry pie filling and have to confess I ate the left over right out of the can. Add it to a chocolate cupcake and you've pretty much got heaven in a paper liner. The chocolate raspberry buttercream just takes it to a whole other level.

Enjoy. Feel free to moan a little :)

Raspberry Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Raspberry Buttercream
2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling:
Raspberry Pie Filling (Wilderness brand)

Chocolate Raspberry Buttercream:
2 sticks softened butter
1/2 c. Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp raspberry Jello
2-3 T. milk
3-4 c. powdered sugar

Jet Puffed Hot Chocolate Marshmallows to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix cake mix with eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla
3. Stir until smooth
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake for 15-17 minutes
5. Cream butter for a couple of minutes until fluffy. Add cocoa, vanilla, Jello, and milk. Mix until smooth.
6. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach your desired thickness. Add a little more milk if needed
7. Once cupcakes are cool, use a knife to cut a cone shape out of the center of each cupcake. Fill the hole with a spoonful of pie filling
8. Pipe frosting over filling and garnish with marshmallows

Orange Cream Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

It's Day 3. I had a day off yesterday as Mr. Jiggle is out of town and couldn't deliver the cupcakes this morning. But...tomorrow is a new day and he comes back tonight so cupcakes for dinner!

These are kind of summery but in this super cold, ucky, freezy, weather I'm willing to take any glimmer of summer I can get. As an added bonus they are lighter than chocolate which seems to be better received for whatever reason. Apparently I'm not the only one in the world that prefers other flavors to chocolate!

These are flavored with orange juice and orange zest and the cake is really yum. The real star of course is the frosting. Seriously, orange cream cheese?? Gah, so.good. It reminds me of the frosting on orange rolls without the cinnamon and those are some of my favorite treats.

Orange Cream Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/2 doz cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 white cake mix
1 small package vanilla pudding
4 eggs
2/3 c. oil
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. orange juice
2 T. orange zest
2 T. pure vanilla extract

1. Mix dry ingredients together.
2. Add eggs, oil, sour cream, buttermilk, orange juice and vanilla. Mix well for 2 minutes.
3. Add orange zest and mix.
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter and bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Frosting:
1 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
2-3 T. milk
2 tsp orange zest
1 T. orange jello mix
3-4 c. powdered sugar

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk.
3. When right consistency add vanilla and orange jello mix.
4. Blend in orange zest and beat until fluffy.
5. Frost your cupcakes!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Day 2 of the 2013 Cupcake Palooza. Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream. I've made these a couple of different times and they are always good. And they always make me want a big glass of milk even though I'm pretty lactose intolerant and that would make my stomach hurt. I think it's the peanut butter, it makes me think of the peanut butter sandwiches I ate when I was little!

And, funny story, I tried to take some of these to the neighbor's as a thank you and got almost to the front step, slipped on some ice, did that crazy cartoon save yourself dance, and proceeded to drop the plate of cupcakes on the sidewalk. It's a good think this recipe makes a few extra!

Anyway. This is my basic devil's food cupcake. Pretty much my go to chocolate. The frosting is straight up peanut butter tonight but as I was frosting I was thinking that the next time I will swirl chocolate buttercream and the peanut butter cream together. There's always a next time for me :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
about 30 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 Devil's Food cake mix
1/2 c. oil
1 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. sour cream
3 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 bag peanut butter chips (opt)

Frosting:
1/2 c. butter softened
1/2 c. peanut butter
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. pure vanilla extract
2-3 T. milk (I eyeball it, there isn't a whole lot of measuring)

1. Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, sour cream, and butter milk.
2. Add vanilla and beat for a couple of minutes until smooth.
3. Fold in peanut butter chips if using.
4. Fill cupcake liners
5. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes
6. Cream butter and peanut butter together
7. Gradually add the powdered sugar and milk alternating until frosting is the right consistency.
8. Add vanilla. Beat until fluffy.

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Somehow, I've once again managed to get myself in the position of agreeing to do something that now seems like a Herculean task. Last year I did "The 12 Days of Cupcakes" for the people at Randy's work. Twelve different cupcakes, the last 12 work days of the year, 4 dozen a day. I truly didn't even consider at the time that they were going to think that was a "tradition" that would continue. I haven't thought about it again since Jan 1 2013. Apparently I'm the only one that was operating under that assumption. After multiple requests and inquiries from Randy's coworkers I've agreed to give it another go.

So. Twelve more kinds of cupcakes (I can't repeat myself), twelve more marathon baking sessions and a whole lot of butter and cream cheese....YUM! I've planned 12 different kinds than last year so we will see how it goes. I'm sure that the photography will be sketchy as I will for sure be taking pictures in the middle of the night. :)

Here's Day 1.  I drizzled warmed Nutella over the top of the cupcakes but you could melt chocolate chips or make ganache or just use chocolate sprinkles. I would have garnished with banana slices but I was afraid they would go brown and neglected to buy dried bananas at the store so those are just in my head.

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting 
2 1/2 doz cupcakes
Adapted from Your Cup of Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1/2 c. flour
3 ripe bananas smushed
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs (I used extra large eggs so 4 large would probably be ok)
3/4 c. sour cream
2/3 c. oil
3/4 c. buttermilk (this makes a huge difference in the texture)
1 T. pure vanilla extract

1. Mix the dry ingredients.
2. Smash bananas and sprinkle baking soda over them, stir.
3. Mix the dry ingredients with the eggs, sour cream, oil, and buttermilk. Blend together well. Add the smashed bananas. Stir in but don't over stir.
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 c. batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter
1 8 oz cube cream cheese
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

1. Cream softened butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add powdered sugar gradually mixing well
3. Add vanilla.
4. Beat until fluffy.