Beet It: Beet Mash Chocolate Cupcakes with Beet Frosting Recipe

Photo credit: Bobby Marro Photography

Let's face it: beets are probably not going to be the first food you think of as an aphrodisiac. But maybe they should be--as the kind folks at Del Monte were more than happy to share with me, they are rich in boron, which is thought to "get the love juices flowing" (well, doesn't that beet all?)--and per Wikipedia,

Since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac. The juice is a rich source of boron, which plays an important role in the production of human sex hormones. Field Marshal Montgomery is reputed to have exhorted his troops to 'take favours in the beetroot fields', a euphemism for visiting prostitutes.

Who knew, right?

But even sweeter than the love that these jewel-toned nuggets of natural goodness inspire are these delicious cupcakes--a recipe shared with me by Del Monte from Dave Lieberman:

Beet Mash Chocolate Cupcakes with Beet Frosting

Recipe care of Dave Lieberman, campaign spokesperson for the Del Monte “Value without Sacrifice,” Chef and Author of The 10 Things You Need To Eat

- Makes 12-15 cupcakes -

Ingredients For the cupcakes

• One 14.5 oz. can sliced Beets, drained (Dave suggests Del Monte)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Frosting

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• Approx. ½ a can of sliced beets, drained (once again, you guessed it, Del Monte is suggested)
• 1 pound confectioners sugar

Procedure

1. For Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a small bowl, mash the drained can of beets finely with a potato masher and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and water. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold in the mashed beets and mix well.
4. Pour the batter into greased cupcake tins. Bake about 15-20 minutes, until set but moist. (Or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean)
5. Make the Icing: Mash the ½ can of beets finely with a potato masher. Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan and add mashed beets. Simmer on very low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cream the second stick of butter with a mixer in a bowl. Mix in the melted butter and beet mixture until fully incorporated. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar.
6. Frost the cooled cakes liberally with beet frosting.

Pony Up: Kentucky Derby Bourbon Cupcake-Pies by Cake Gumshoe Melanie

The Kentucky Derby may not be 'til May, but the chocolate-nut flavors associated with the race are delicious all year long. But unless you want to get sued for using the copyrighted "Derby Pie" moniker, you'd better get creative, like CakeSpy reader Melanie , who recently sent on the recipe (and gorgeous photos) for "Kentucky Derby Bourban Cakes", wherein cupcakes are served inside of a pie shell for ultimate carbohydrate bliss and complete deliciousness. Run, don't walk, to the kitchen for this:

Kentucky Derby Bourbon Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 boxes Jiffy Pie Crust mix (love it in a pinch!)
• 1 box butter cake mix or yellow cake mix(and ingredients on box)
• 1/2 cup Kentucky Bourbon
• 1 3/4 cups walnuts (some to sprinkle on top)
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips Bourbon Fudge Ganache (recipe follows)

 Procedure

1. Prepare the Jiffy pie crusts as directed on the box. Chill dough until ready to assemble cupcakes for baking. (Note: I would start the Bourbon Fudge Ganache now, as it needs to cool in the fridge for some chill time!)
2. Prepare the cake mix as instructed and then mix in bourbon.
3. Roll the pie dough out to 1/4 inch on a floured surface. Cut (approximately) 5 inch circles out of dough using a large cup or bowl as a guide.
4. Gently fit the circles into 2 cupcake pans prepared with nonstick spray. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides.
5. Place approximately 1 tsp. each of walnuts and chocolate chips in the bottom of each cupcake/piecrust.
6. Spoon approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of cake batter into each cupcake (until it looks 2/3 (plus a little) full. You can’t put as much batter as usual cupcakes since the crust/nuts/chips are in the bottom!
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes (’til they don’t jiggle in the middle!). Remove cupcakes and allow them to cool on a wire rack, and then use a butter knife to loosen and remove each cupcake.

Bourbon Fudge Ganache

Ingredients

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
• 4 teaspoons of Kentucky Bourbon ( or more if you like it strong!!!)

Procedure

1. Place the chocolate in a large bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it just starts to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate.
3. Cover the bowl, and allow the cream to melt the chocolate. Add the bourbon.
4. Whisk the chocolate until its dark and shiny. Place the icing in the refrigerator until the cupcakes are cooled.
5. Check frequently, and give it a quick stir. When it gets to a spreadable consistency, pull it out. Otherwise, it will be too firm(like fudge…yummm!). Either spread the ganache on the top of the cupcakes or pipe it with a bag. Sprinkle each cupcake with some walnuts. Then let the race to your belly begin!!!

Batter Up: Deep Fried Cupcakes on a Stick for Serious Eats

This one's dedicated to all of you who made New Year's resolutions to eat healthier: deep fried cupcakes on a stick.

These babies were made for the weekly CakeSpy installment on Serious Eats, inspired by a deep fried candy bar recipe; each little cake was speared on a stick, chilled, then battered up and fried until it reached a perfect golden hue. The resulting taste, which falls somewhere between childhood nostalgia and greasy fair food, is alarmingly addictive.

And hey, if it is in fact a one way ticket to Heart Attack City, at least we had a good run.

For the full scoop plus recipe and tutorial, visit Serious Eats!

Slow and Steady: Tortoise Vs. Hare Cupcakes Recipe from Cake Gumshoe Melanie

They say that slow and steady wins the race, but these cupcakes seem to inspire a race to see how quickly you can get them in your belly. CakeSpy reader Melanie recently sent on this recipe for Tortoise Vs. Hare cupcakes which combine carrot cake with turtle confections--and all I can say is that they are making me want to run, not walk, to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. Based on Melanie's lovely pictures though, it looks like both tortoise and hare win this one!

Tortoise vs. Hare Cupcakes

- Recipe c/o Melanie H. -

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter-room temp.
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup chocolate chunks (of your liking!)

Thick Caramel Icing (from Chokylit)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 6 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 18 muffin cups.
3. Whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar, butter, and milk.
5. With mixer on low, add flour mixture a little at a time until just blended. Stir in vanilla, carrots, pecans, and chocolate chunks.
6. Bake 20-22 minutes.

Directions for icing

1. Bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to combine.
2. With a wooden spoon, stir all ingredients together and then slowly add the heavy cream.
3. Continue to stir for about 20 minutes until the caramel reached 248 degrees. It is important to continuously stir the mixture and to allow it to reach temperature.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Transfer to a bowl and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes allowing the caramel to cool slightly.

Gobble Gobble: A Turkey Cupcake Tutorial From Meringue Bake Shop

Thanksgiving. The holiday of food, er giving thanks for life’s bounty. A few days to indulge in excess of food, family, travel and shopping--that is to say, a great holiday. No worrying about giving and getting presents: just a day to enjoy stuffing ourselves, making more room and saying thanks for that delicious turkey.
Back when I first started exploring baking creatively, I came across this idea for making Thanksgiving turkey cupcakes. At first I was a little skeptical because it looked like a lot of work and up to the point my decorating skills consisted of a butter knife and a slab of frosting from a can. But I couldn’t resist, and I found that these were really easy to make and so irresistibly cute. This is also a great thing to give kids something to do later in the day. They can assemble their turkeys and throw a turkey parade to rejoice for those birds that survived another year. Or the kids can make them ahead of time and you can use them as your table centerpiece. Just arrange on a platter and stick some flowers in between the cupcakes.

Turkey Cupcakes
-makes 24 -

Note: For these cupcakes, the base and frosting can be pretty much whatever you want. I used a yellow cake recipe and tinted it with some orange food coloring. And I used a chocolate buttercream because, it’s brown like turkeys, and I really like yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Peanut butter frosting would be good too. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 package of Nutter Butters
  
• 1 package of fruit roll ups, fruit leather or airheads. (starburst could even work here but would require more effort)
  
• Jumbo heart sprinkles (can be found at your local craft store or online)
  
• Bag of mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms (you could use leftover Halloween candy, but who are we kidding? There is no such thing by now, right? Especially if you made this pie)
  
• Maple leaf cookie cutter (I used this set)
  
• Candy corn
  
• Cornstarch (for dusting)
  
• Powdered sugar
  
• Cocoa
  
• Meringue Powder
  
• 24 cupcakes, baked but unfrosted
  
• Frosting (homemade or from a can – if you use a can, buy two)
  
• Piping bag or gallon plastic zipper bag
  
• Tip (I used a 1G Wilton tip) 
  

• Optional: 100 Calorie packs (you may be wondering what the 100 calorie packs are for, you’ll see later on in the post!) 
  

Got your ingredients? Good. Let's get started:

1. Make the feathers. Grab a cutting board and lightly dust with cornstarch. Unroll the fruit roll ups, separate the colors and lay them on the board. Dust a little more cornstarch on top. I also dust some on a concentrated area that I can use to dip in my cookie cutter. Note: I tried Fruit by the Foot and only realized after I’d opened it that they print images on the fruit strips so I couldn’t use that. Also if you are going to use Airheads or starbursts, you might need to microwave them, out of their packages, for a couple seconds to get them more pliable. Then you’ll need a rolling pin or glass with some cornstarch on it to thin them out. Your hands can work too.
2. Next, make some royal icing. I halve this recipe but I add a little bit more water, like an extra teaspoon.
3. Put the icing in a piping bag or zipper bag and cut a tiny bit off the tip so you have about a 1/8 of an inch size hole. I also slightly snip the seams on my pastry bags so that I get a circle when I squeeze instead of a line.

4. Grab a nutter butter. Pipe on two dots for the eyes and a dot with the line heading down the length of the cookie.

5. Stick the jumbo red heart with the pointy part up on the line of royal icing. Then place one mini chocolate chip on each dot you placed for the eyes.

6. Snap off the end of a piece of candy corn, leaving the white tip and little bit of the orange. Eat the remaining piece. (Shhh, I won’t tell). You might need to add some royal icing to the candy corn piece and then glue the bits together...but now you're finished!

7. Now make 23 more. (Patiently waiting)

8. Ok! On to frosting. Fit a piping bag or zipper bag with a tip. Or you can cut the tip of the bag in a + shape to get a similar shape in your frosting. Fill bag with frosting of your choice.
Swirl on the icing and then add a little edge of frosting. This is where the feathers will rest.

9. Pick up a turkey and stick him towards the front of the cupcake, into the cupcake. You can press a little hard here. Make sure he is in the cupcake and not just in the frosting.

10. Then start placing your feathers--I did 3 but you can do more if you like. Overlapping would look cool.

And a turkey is born! Isn’t he cute! You almost don’t wanna eat him… almost.

Extra Credit: So you may still be wondering about those 100 calorie snack bags in my early photo. I made baby turkeys! This is a great option if you want to utilize mini cupcakes as well.

1. Using the same method for the large nutterbutters, place two dots of royal icing on the cookie and add mini chocolate chips. Add another dot and either add another jumbo heart or for this one I used some leftover heart-shaped cinnamon red hots also purchased at my local craft store.

2. Frost a swirl of buttercream on top of the mini cupcake. Insert one of the baby turkeys, then add your feathers. I used a tear drop cutter for the baby turkey feathers. So cute!!
Now, your turkeys are ready to party!

...wait, come back, Turkey!

About the Cake Gumshoe: Kristin Ausk owns Meringue Bake Shop, a custom cupcakery located in Orange County, California. She uses high quality ingredients, pop culture, and nostalgia to come up with unique and flavorful cupcakes. All of her cupcakes are made-to-order, so every cupcake you order was made just for you. Kristin’s love of baking began when she was 7 yrs old and entered a baking contest held by her local paper and won! (an honorable mention). But that only encouraged her more. And two years ago, at the request of her coworkers, friends, and family, she decided to turn her love into a side business. You’ll find her trying out new recipes in her kitchen with her husband, Lyle, and her two dogs, Klondike & Miles. Keep updated daily with her Twitter updates!

Put a Lid On It: How To Ship Cupcakes in Mason Jars, from Beantownbaker.com

Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, Jen from the very sweet site Beantown Baker has dreamed up a thoughtful way to share birthday cake with friends who are far away: cupcakes baked in Mason Jars! Here she goes:

One of the things I love most about baking is sharing my baked goods with other people. Whether it's baking something for a friend who had surgery, got a promotion, or for no reason at all, I get real joy out of baking for other people. Since most of my family is 1000+ miles away, they don't usually get to experience my baked goods. Last fall when we were coming into what I call birthday season, 6 birthdays from Oct-Dec, I really wanted to bake for my family members with birthdays coming up.

Since cupcakes are my favorite thing to bake, I decided to send them cupcakes. I had seen this idea online and decided to give it a shot. I sent cupcakes in a jar to family members across the country. They were all pretty shocked when the packages came. It was fun to get the phone calls from each of them thanking me for the creative way to share my baking with them. My Dad loved it so much, I've been told that he tells everyone about it. As a not-so-subtle hint, he also gave me a box of new jars for my birthday. I think he's expecting more cupcakes in a jar this year for his birthday!

How to Make and Ship Cupcakes in Mason Jars

You'll need: a batch of cupcakes (Jen's recipe for Funfetti cupcakes with chocolate frosting follows); one half-pint Mason jar per cupcake, plus ribbon for garnish.

1. Bake cupcakes as directed and allow to cool completely. Remove cupcake liner and cut cupcake in half either vertically or horizontally. Place 1/2 of the cupcake into a sterilized 1/2 pint wide mouth jar. Add frosting to jar. At this point, add some fun extra, such as crushed Oreos or sprinkles. Place the other half the the cupcake in the jar (if you cut the cupcake vertically, it is easier to put both halves in the jar and pipe frosting between the two pieces). 
2. Frost the cupcake as if it weren't in a jar. Add lid and ring to jar. Decorate with ribbon if you want. Be sure to tell your recipients to slide the lid off the jar as opposed to just pulling it up. Otherwise half of the frosting will stick to the lid.
3. Mail immediately or place in freezer for a day or two then mail them. I like to freeze them and let the thaw as they are traveling to the unsuspecting recipients.

Yellow Funfetti Cupcakes

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line with parchment paper two 8×2-inch pans (These cakes rose over the top of my 2-inch pans - you could very well have a mess on your hands if you try 1.5 inch pans). Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer. Stir in sprinkles.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife or off-set spatula. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top a couple of times to burst any air bubbles and allowing the batter to settle. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely in the pans before removing the cakes and frosting.

Chocolate frosting

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar - I used 2 1/2 cups
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Keep updated on all of Jen's sweet adventures on beantownbaker.com!

Taste the Rainbow: A Homemade Funfetti Recipe from iheartcuppycakes

Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, CB from the inimitable iheartcuppycakes.com has kindly donated not only some sweet birthday memories, but also her super sweet recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes. All the fun of a classic childhood treat--but grown up for more adult palates. Here goes:

My birthday is in July. I'm an Independence baby. Tom Cruise eat your heart out! When I was very little my mom would make me a Funfetti birthday cake from cake mix while I "helped" by licking the beaters. It was my favorite part! Even to this day. Don't judge me! It's Funfetti. HA! I think that's why I am not as anti-cake mix like some other bakers because of those great birthday memories with my mom.

Here is my recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes:

Funfetti Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski

Makes about 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes

• 1-1/4 cups AP flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)
• 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

For vanilla buttercream

• 2 sticks butter
• 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

To make cupcakes—

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low.
4. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

To make buttercream—
In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat butter until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want.

[NOTES: I think I added about 6-1/2 cups, give or take a few tbsp, to get the consistency I wanted. If its too stiff, you can add a little more milk.]

Frost with vanilla buttercream and garnish with more rainbow sprinkles.

ENJOY!

Keep up with CB at iheartcuppycakes.com or via her twitter feed!

More is More: Decadent Poundcake Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

There are those people who say that pound cake is a dessert that needs no garnish, rich and decadent as it is on its own. 

I am not one of those people, however, so when I recently prepared the pound cake recipe featured on the absolutely amazing Smitten Kitchen site, while the cakes (which I baked in cupcake-cups) were absolutely delicious, I couldn't help but feel that it was a beginning, not an end: they needed something serious--no delicate fruit toppings here, please--to balance out that lightness.

And what could be more decadent than topping an already-buttery cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting?

Happily, I had just received a sweet sample pack from Superior Nut which included a decadent peanut butter dessert topping (think peanut butter, but sweeter and with the consistency of a thick hot fudge), which was easily incorporated into a batch of buttercream which was then used to frost the baby-poundcakes; it was all topped off with some sea salt and roasted peanut chunks. The result? Astoundingly sweet, rich, and satisfyingly salty cupcakes which prove that while sometimes less is more, sometimes more is best.  

Want a piece of this awesome? Here's how I did it:

Poundcake Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

For the Cake: For a light and versatile poundcake, check out this recipe on Smitten Kitchen; I made my batch with two major changes: first, vanilla extract was used in place of cognac; second, they were baked them as cupcakes instead of one large cake (this reduced the baking time by about 5-7 minutes). It made about 15 cupcakes. Some of them were a little bit short, but extra frosting compensated quite nicely.

For the Frosting: I doctored up a batch of Magnolia Bakery's famous buttercream:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 to 6 cups confectioners’ sugar (less than in the original recipe, since the Peanut butter topping was sweetened)
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 heaping tablespoons of Superior Nut's Peanut Butter topping (or, I'm sure you could make due with a similar amount of lightly melted peanut butter or other nut butter, but you might want to add a little more confectioners' sugar)
• Optional: Sea salt and Roasted Peanut Chunks for garnish

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the sugar and then the cream and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes). After incorporated, add the peanut butter topping to the mix and put back on low speed until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency; you might need to add a little extra sugar but probably not. Do not refrigerate this frosting, or it will become a brick; it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Finally, enjoy. These cakes were brought to CakeSpy buddy Dave's birthday party, and apparently had the birthday crowd in a sugar coma even the next day.

Tongue in Cheek Sweets: Cupcakes by Cynically Delicious

Now, it shouldn't surprise you that on our recent San Francisco trip, our sightseeing didn't involve Alcatraz, the Fisherman's Wharf or the Golden Gate bridge--it was more of the cookie, cake, ice cream and pie variety.

One of our favorite discoveries? SF-based special-order cupcakery Cynically Delicious, who serendipitously happened to be seated next to us at the Renegade Craft Fair.

Their mission statement is fun:

she's got great taste in shoes...

no offense to your mom, but we probably don't bake like her.

cynically delicious is a boutique cupcakery that combines the joys of food with the fun of art. we don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do use serious ingredients.

But their cupcakes, wrought with pop-culture references, are even funner. At the show they were serving the "MJ" Michael Jackson tribute (chocolate on the inside, vanilla outside, ordained with his black shoes and white socks); the "Crap Cake" (ghiradelli chocolate cake with cayenne cinnamon frosting with marzipan flies buzzing on top); the "Fuzzy Navel" (peach cake with champagne frosting); and the "Slumdog Selleck" (chai cake with cardamom cream cheese frosting, topped with a Selleck-inspired moustache).

And at just $2 a pop, they were an easy sell. I tried the Slumdog; and while the spicy cake was pleasingly moist and gorgeously complemented by the rich cream cheese frosting, it would be a lie if I didn't admit that it was really the chocolate moustache that "made" the cake. Mr. Spy went for the MJ (after all he's a musician) and raved about the rich chocolate cake, but ultimately got jealous of my mustachioed cake and had to get a Slumdog for himself, and declared it the better flavor.

The attitude that surrounds these cupcakes is very fun, and it makes the cupcakes a pleasure to eat--we're so glad to have discovered you, Cynically Delicious.

For more information (or if you're in the Bay Area and want to place an order), visit cynicallydelicious.com.

Holey Cake: When Doughnuts and Cupcakes Collide

Photo c/o Justjennrants.blogspot.com

It seems that after the recent list of doughnut links, some additional commentary is necessary on the subject of the doughnut-cupcake combination.

When doughnut muffins reached the mainstream, it was only a matter of time before a slightly more awesome counterpart, the doughnut cupcake, entered the scene.

And they've entered in a big way, with all sorts of delicious variations. Here are just a few:

• On JustJenn Rants & Raves, the blog of a stationery designer and baking enthusiast, Jenn made a batch of insanely cute doughnut-topped cupcakes--while she says that they came out just as she had hoped, she does admit that ultimately

I do think pastry on pastry is a bit over the top - I feel like I've just made the turducken of desserts.

Of course, there is no mention of anyone declining a bite of these sweet treats.

• On the lovely and amazing Bake & Destroy, Natalie made probably the best use ever of the new Starbucks VIA instant coffee by mixing it into the cupcakes and buttercream, and then topping it all off with a powdered sugar doughnut for a dizzying rush of sugar and a satisfying mixture of textures and tastes.

• Of course, if you like the doughnut muffin style, on Elle's New England Kitchen, the doughnut muffin gets a sweet makeover with the addition of frosting and sprinkles--um, Elle, we think that means it's a doughnut cupcake now. And oh, so deliciously so.

• In that vein, at Retro Bakery in Las Vegas, they they have not one, not two...but three doughnut cupcake varieties on their menu: the "Glazed Donut" (Vanilla cake drenched in donut glaze), the "Sprinkled Donut" (Vanilla cake dipped in chocolate fudge ganache and rainbow jimmies) and "Coffee and Donuts" (Vanilla cake covered in donut glaze and topped with a dollop of coffee buttercream). Oh yes.

Sweet Nostalgia: Cotton Candy Cupcakes

When a CakeSpy reader recently wrote asking if we had a cotton candy cupcake recipe, the response was immediate: no, but did we ever want to have one. 

Cotton candy is one of those foods that is loaded with nostalgia: the billowy clouds of spun sugar conjure visions of idyllic childhood summers, county fairs and carnivals. Now, we don't want to confuse the experience with the product, (after all, there are more realistic pitfalls to cotton candy, like its saccharine sweetness and the sticky, pastel-colored hands it leaves you with) there's no denying that cotton candy is just a happy sort of food.

So when a recipe wasn't immediately available, we decided to improvise; here's what we came up with--a buttery vanilla cupcake topped with cotton candy-infused pink buttercream frosting, topped with even more cotton candy. Not as if they need to be any sweeter, but the Bella Cupcake Couture wrappers and Carnie Cuppie toppers sure did make them cute. 

The overall result? Tastes like childhood to us.

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

Yellow Cupcakes (cake recipe only via foodnetwork.com):

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• cupcake liners

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer with a whip attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to cream. Gradually add the vanilla and eggs and mix in well. Sift together the dry ingredients; then mix into the butter mixture alternating with the milk. Pour batter into cupcake paper-lined muffin tins filling them 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and firm in the center and light golden brown on top, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool. (Freeze at this point, if necessary.)

Cotton Candy Buttercream Frosting (adapted from this recipe)

Makes enough frosting for 24 cupcakes

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups Confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
• 1 handful cotton candy (we used this prepackaged kind), broken into small pieces, plus another handful for garnish

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla.
3. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.
5. Add a few drops of red food coloring and mix thoroughly til it's a desired shade of pink.
6. Stir in the small pieces of cotton candy, stirring until incorporated. It may melt a little bit into the frosting; this is ok.
7. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. 
8. Optional topping: tear off chunks of cotton candy and use as garnish; do this last step  immediately before serving, because it will wilt if left out.

Eat Your Veggies: A Mischievous Carrot Cake Challenge

Lately, we've been thinking about carrot cake. Really, when you think about it, it's a bit of a strange beast: a culinary crossroads where cake meets vegetable and yields a beautiful result. How did that combination come about, we wondered? Well, turns out carrot cake (along with other veggie-rich baked goods like zucchini and squash breads) came into popularity during World War II, when butter, eggs and sugar were in short demand. During this time, many baked were made using oil instead of butter, which yielded a dense, pound-cake like texture--and vegetables gained popularity because the water they release during baking yields a tender crumb, and they added a bit of natural sweetness.

However, in this day and age there's no lack of sugar in the Cakespy kitchen, and so we wondered--why not give a try to some of the other fantastic vegetables out there? Surely we could sweetify any veggies out there to see if they might be cake-worthy; yes indeed, it was time to make some mischief in the kitchen.

How'd we do it? We took this basic carrot cake recipe (we left out the nuts) and separated it into small batches, subbing different veggies for the carrots into the cake batter and mixing them into individual cupcakes (we did make one carrot cupcake--you know, as consolation if none of them tasted good). All of the creations were topped with cream cheese frosting, and for added cuteness and discernibility, each one was crowned with a veggie garnish.

As for how it all tasted...

 

Broccoli Cake: What can we say about this cake? Overall, the taste was vaguely...healthy; while it might help the taster feel more virtuous while eating it, it does not make for an ultimately satisfying cake experience. With the bitter and sweet flavors vying for dominance, there was a little too much going on with this cake--all things considered, we think we'll leave our broccoli for the more savory fare.  

 

Snap Pea Cake: We had a good feeling about this one--like carrots, snap peas have an inherent sweetness; it translated nicely into cake form. The sweet and slightly crunchy bits of snap pea added a nice texture and sweetness; the tangy cream cheese complemented it perfectly. We'd definitely make this again!

Radish Cake: This one was a pleasant surprise; it had savory, spicy flavor that crept up on the palate, ultimately blossoming into a complex, unusual flavor--one that perhaps might not be for everyone, but it certainly kept us coming back for more. Overall though, if served this cake not knowing it was radish, we might not have been able to identify the flavor.

Parsnip Cake: Once baked, the taste of this one was so similar to that of carrot cake that if it were a blind tasting, we'll admit we might have been fooled. In fact, it was only the aftertaste, slightly spicy, which gave away the vegetable's identity as the carrot's albino cousin. If you've got extra parsnips (not sure how often that happens), give it a try!

Brussels Sprouts Cake: Brussels sprouts are one of those foods that has a bad rep. And well, it's not hard to see why: they taste bitter. They're pungent. They give you gas. But you know what? We adore these ugly little sprouts. But in cake? Alas, no pleasant surprises here: while we still think brussels sprouts make a wonderful side dish, upon tasting the cake it became instantly evident that these two worlds were clearly not meant to collide.

And so, having done it, how are we feeling? Well, as with many of our experiments, there is so much to consider. Clearly, carrot cake has been kicking so long for a reason: it's a wonderful combination of flavors. While some of our experiments (snap pea cake, parsnip cake) were pleasant surprises, it's hard to say if we liked them quite as much as carrot cake--or if it was more the aspect of novelty appealed. All things considered, we think that carrot cake's status of the veggie cake of choice is not in peril--while certain variations were quite 

toothsome, we realize that the learning curve and marketing involved in making these cakes appeal to the greater public would need to be quite intense. Of course, when it does catch on after some celebrity chef says that Parsnip Cake is the next big thing--just remember where you spied it first.

Out, Damned Speck!: Cupcake Pendants by Dottyspeck (Via Cakespy Seattle)

At Cakespy, we like to think that we wear our love for cakes like a badge on our sleeve.

However, now we want to wear it like a necklace around our neck, having spied this awesome necklace by Dottyspeck, the company run by Seattle-based metalsmith Kim Williamson. Williamson's work is cute but manages to run more toward sophisticated and slightly tongue in cheek than "cutesy". This pendant, which retails for $68, could just as easily dress up, adding a little bit of fun to a little black dress, as it could dress down, proclaiming your cupcake love in a hoodie and jeans.

Either way, it's going to make life a little sweeter.

Available at Fancy, Fancy 1914 2nd Ave., in Belltown, Seattle. For non-Seattleites, they'll do mail order too; contact them through fancyjewels.com.

Cake Byte: That Takes the Cake in San Francisco

When a new bakery opens, it always sparks our interest. So when we read about That Takes the Cake's opening in San Francisco, we knew we had to get on the scene with due haste. We assigned our Bay Area Cake Gumshoe Bridget to brave those daunting San Francisco hills and try out their cupcakes; here's what she reported:

Cake Gumshoe Bridget: As I started my trek from Potrero to Fillmore I started questioning if this cupcake was worth the grueling series of steep hills (you know the ones halfway up you stop and look both ways deciding to continue or walk back down, but feel like you rule when you do make it to the top). Well, I fought off the negative thoughts and continued on my mission with a pit stop at Crossroads for some cute shoes (ankle boots)! Anyway I finally get to That Takes the Cake, which was small and that hospital-white clean. Then I saw the mother load-- shelf after shelf of cupcakes! They were all flawlessly decorated, which made my decision even harder. The staff was patient with my indecisive behavior which I think they are probably used to and the one counter girl even explained each cupcake and rated them. When it came to the red velvet she told me they sell out every day well before closing time. My mind was made up and I took it to go, thinking I could take a taste then save the rest for later. Yeah right--2 blocks later that cupcake was so gone. The cake was perfection and the cream cheese frosting was the perfect amount of sweetness. It truly lives up to the bakery's claim of being the reddest red velvet cake you ever had. Also what I thought was pretty there menu changes every day, but of course always having the staples (chocolate/vanilla buttercream, red velvet and devils food cake).

In short, we think it's worth a visit!

That Takes the Cake is located at 2271 Union St., b/t Fillmore and Steiner Sts.; online at saralynnscupakes.com.

Batter Chatter: Interview with Sara Ross of Kickass Cupcakes

When you open a cupcake bakery with a name like Kickass Cupcakes, you're definitely going to be noticed. When we read about their opening on DailyCandy Boston, we were immediately intrigued by their offerings, which included some exotic new takes on the cupcake: cupcake shooters, deep fried cupcakes, and cupcake crisps, to name a few. Needless to say, we contacted them right away for an interview to find out more; happily, we found owner Sara Ross to be clever, witty, and just as much fun as her cupcakes, which are taking the Boston area by storm. Here's what we learned:

Cakespy: Has anyone gotten mad about your bakery's name? No offense of course, but some older New Englanders have a bit of a reputation for being...a bit uptight?
Sara Ross: The only people gave me any lip (was) the phone company…“Kickass Cupcakes…errrr…I don’t think we can list that”. But they did. Most people are loving the name. For anyone who has a problem with it, we say you can tell your wee ones it’s “Kick Stars” or “Kick’s”.

CS: When did you decide that you were going to open Kickass Cupcakes?
SR: Was there one defining moment? I think I was having a really bad day at work, and it pushed me off the fence about whether or not I wanted to really open up my own business rather than be someone else’s bee-atch.

CS: You're offering some unusual takes on the cupcake--cupcake "shooters", fried cupcakes, cupcake parfaits and cupcake crisps. Which of these products have been most popular so far?
SR: We haven’t started doing the deep fried cupcakes yet, those will be starting soon, and we’ve been getting a lot of people asking about them. The Go-Go’s and the Crisps are really catching on now, especially the Crisps.

CS: About those cupcake shooters. What exactly is a cupcake shooter? Are they cupcake flavored?
SR: Shooters are one gulp cups of specially crafted beverages to down with your cupcake. Right now, we have a vanilla bean infused fresh from the local dairy milk, iced organic cinnamon tea and seltzer and syrup, choose your flavor of Sonoma Syrup and we’ll mix it up with a shot of seltzer. I recommend downing the shooter with your cupcake…licking sugar off your arm with your shot is highly recommended.

CS: You offer deep fried cupcakes. Be honest...are they tasty? We're kind of curious, but kind of think we might go directly to hell if we ate one.
SR: They are super tasty…who wouldn’t love a cream stuffed vanilla cupcake dipped in a sweet batter, deep fried to order, then drizzled with chocolate sauce...YUM! More like straight to heaven!

CS: Has a person ever accidentally eaten a pupcake (your cupcake-shaped doggie treats)? Was it hilarious?
SR: My husband ate one without realizing it was a pupcake (that was funny!). And customers order them all the time, not realizing they are for dogs. Even though they have a little dog biscuit on the top. They are on a lower rack though, so maybe it’s hard to see. So we always make sure to tell people they are for dogs. I made some new and big signs that say “woof “ and “meow” to place by the trays, but still…

CS: Where do your recipes come from?
SR: My inspiration for the basics come from Rose Levy Berenbaum, the Queen of Cakes. As for flavor ideas, that’s my favorite part of owning a cupcake bakery, coming up with new flavors of cupcakes.

CS: Do you think vegan cupcakes taste as good as dairy ones?
SR: Absolutely! Although they do have a different texture since they are oil and soy milk based (our other cupcakes are all butter based). The vegan cupcakes are luscious in their own way. In the Java Jolt, the chocolate and espresso really enhance the richness. And we just introduced a new seasonal flavor, Cinna-Punk, a pumpkin spice cupcake with cinnamon frosting.

CS: Do you or will you ever offer any non-cupcake items on your menu?
SR: I don’t think so, I’m too much of a purist. But I am tossing around the idea of doing a breakfast and lunch cupcake. For example, the breakfast cupcake could be a savory cupcake with eggs and bacon, or maybe a spin on French toast with maple syrup and bacon and the lunchcup could be a biscuit cupcake with butter and really excellent proscuitto and arugula.

CS: Be honest...do you ever go home after a long day of making cupcakes with pure ingredients...and just break out the Twinkies or something?
SR: OK, you got me…I love junk food, and lately I have been fixated on Pop Tarts. And candy bars, especially Butterfingers. I see it as a yin and yang thing…one must have balance in this world, or else it might explode.

CS: What is next for Kickass Cupcakes? Any next-step goals?
SR: Another location. I would love to open another location in Boston.

Kickass Cupcakes is located at 378 Highland Avenue, Davis Square, in Somerville, MA. For more information, visit kickasscupcakes.com.

Cake Byte: Hey, Cupcake! in Austin, TX

Has it all been done before? At Cakespy, we like to think not, and like to consider ourselves poised to be amazed by feats of baking. That's why we were delighted hear about Hey, Cupcake! through Cake Gumshoe Erin.

Hey, Cupcake! combines all the best things that hipsterdom has to offer: cheap ($2) cupcakes, an Airstream trailer, and a cute 29-year old guy baking and selling them in small batches in a convection oven.

And what could make us love the proprietor, Wes Hurt, even more? As he's quoted as saying in an article in News 8 Austin, "No shortening. We use good old butter. There’s nothing low calorie about cupcakes."

Swoon.

For more information, visit heycupcakaaustin.com.

Cakespy Note: There's also a very nice writeup on Hey, Cupcake! on one of our favorite blogs; click here to read it: cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com.

Be Free: Complimentary Babycakes at Cupcake Royale in Seattle

What is better than free cake? Maybe something, but nothing comes to mind immediately.

For this reason, it would be wise to leave work early tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 11th) so that you can be the first in line for the 7 p.m. opening reception of the Derek Charm art show at Cupcake Royale's West Seattle location. Because in addition to seeing some great artwork, you'll also be privy to the limited supply of free harvest babycakes in the new fall flavors: pumpkin, caramel apple and carrot. Free!

West Seattle too far? We understand. Luckily, there's another opening reception at the Ballard location this Saturday (Oct. 13th) at 7 p.m., featuring the artwork of Brad Strain; more artwork, and another chance to cram as many babycakes in your mouth as possible.

Once again: free! Non-Seattleites, our apologies.

For more information and locations, visit cupcakeroyale.com.

Who Takes the Cake?: A Cupcake Tasting for the Ages

There's a lot of emphasis put on labels these days. Organic, pre-owned, skinny, punk-rock: you'd be surprised how frequently people will judge something before considering the whole package. People will often choose (or reject) things because of preconceived notions...and even seemingly innocent things like cake can fall prey to this! There are people who shun cake mixes because they're too fake, people who won't try vegan cakes because they're too hippie; at the same time, there are those believe that homemade by nature must always be the best. So who's right? Hard to say, but in a recent cupcake tasting hosted by Cakespy, we tried to challenge some of these notions! Here's the lowdown:

WHAT: A "blind" (though not blindfolded) cupcake tasting including three batches of cupcakes: homemade "regular" cupcakes, vegan cupcakes and from-a-mix cupcakes (below, from left to right in order of description). To try to keep things fair, we made each batch the same flavor combination: vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.
Cakespy Note: There were some inherent variations between the cakes, but we tried to keep them as similar as possible. The homemade dairy cupcake recipe came from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans; the vegan cupcakes recipe came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, and Sara Quin; the Mix was courtesy of Betty Crocker.

HOW: Each participant was given three cake samples labeled A (homemade "regular"), B (vegan) and C (from-a-mix), as well as a scorecard. Upon tasting each sample, filled in their cards with guesses on which cake was which, and voted on which one they liked best.

WHO: Cupcake testing is serious business, so we assembled an equally serious and eclectic group of tasters:
WHY: To see if people could tell the difference between the three batches; also, to see which ones tasted best.

RESULTS: Well, nobody had any trouble picking out the vegan cakes from the others; of course, their frosting texture was noticeably different and the cake much more dense. Nonetheless, we didn't see anyone who left the vegan portion uneaten, which in itself is very telling! A few people did mix up the homemade and mix-made cupcakes though.

But most importantly, which one tasted best?

The tally came in as follows: Homemade "regular" cupcakes came in first with 4 votes; Mix cupcakes and vegan cupcakes tied for second place with three votes each.

CONCLUSION: When it comes down to it, cake is an innately good thing, fulfilling both mentally and physically. Our testers' comments reflected this very much; while the denser cake was "spongy and satisfying" to one tester, the mix cupcakes brought on memories of "childhood sugar highs", and yet another noted that the dairy homemade cupcakes reminded him of those his mother used to make. Cake is about comfort, and no matter what the label, if it's made with love and enjoyed in good company, it's bound to be a rewarding experience. Awww.

Sweet Support: Sprinkles Unveils Pink Ribbon Cupcakes

Here’s a sweet way to fight breast cancer: if you’re in the Los Angeles or Dallas areas, buy (and eat!) a pink ribbon cupcake by Sprinkles Cupcakes. Featuring pure strawberry cake with strawberry flavored white frosting and topped with an adorable pink sugar ribbon motif, the cupcakes will be available daily from October 1 through October 14; proceeds will be donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund. Much cuter than the ubiquitous pink-ribbon cookie, it’s probably safe to surmise that they taste better too!

To find out more or for locations, visit sprinklescupcakes.com.

Photo credit: © Victoria Pearson for Sprinkles Cupcakes.

A Wink and a Smile: Cupcakes by Wink

Cupcakes. They're so ubiquitous at this point that you almost want to stop eating them. Almost.

And now there's one more place in Seattle to get them: Wink Cupcakes. The brainchild of Zoe-Ann Bartlett, Wink was born after she decided to take some time off from a stressful corporate position to study baking in France. It must have made her reevaluate her goals, because she subsequently opened a cupcake catering business in lower Queen Anne (a good decision, we say!). And with their dense, moist cake (in yummy flavors like Peanut Butter and Hazelnut) and a generous dollop of creamy, buttery frosting, all we can say is bring on the elastic waistbands. They're primarily available by special order for the moment; however, individuals can pick up single cupcakes on Thursdays via the Queen Anne Farmer's Market.

And surely if it's just once a week, you can go ahead and eat one. Ok, two. Wink, wink.

Available 3-7 p.m. Thursdays at the Queen Anne Farmer's Market (1st Ave. W at Crockett St.); online at winkcupcakes.com