Remember Easter when we shared with you Nested Easter Egg Cupcakes by Bakers Royal?  Well Bakers Royale has impressed me once again with her Creme Brulee cupcakes.  Having found most creme brulee cupcake recipes to call for filling the cupcake hole with swiss or butter cream frosting she instead wanted real creme brulee.  I think she has captured the true dessert in cupcake format with her recipe below.

Crème Brulee Cupcakes

Heat oven to 300 degrees and prepare water bath. Place kitchen towel on bottom of a roasting pan or cake pan.  Place one ramekin in the pan to determine the water level. The water needs to be two thirds the height of the ramekin. Bring determined water amount to boil while assembling the custard.

Custard
1  teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
½ cups sugar
5 large egg yolk (room temperature)
8-10 teaspoons Demera sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine and bring vanilla paste, 1 cup of the cream, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Stir every now and then to prevent the cream from forming a skin.  Once boiled, remove the pan from heat and let steep for 15 minutess.
2. After the mixture has steeped, stir in the remaining cup cream to cool down the mixture.
3. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl until uniform. While whisking eggs with one hand use your other hand to slowly pour in the cream mixture. Make sure your cream has cooled enough so that your eggs will not curdle. Push final mixture through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any solids. Pour into the ramekins.
4. Place custard filled ramekins into pan.
5. Pour boiling water into pan, being careful not to splash water into ramekins.
6. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until custard either reads 170 degrees and/or until custards gives a gentle wiggle when moved.
7. Transfer baked ramekins to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
8. To store, place plastic wrap directly on custard surface to prevent skinning.

Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12 cup muffin pans.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (*see  note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before filling with custard.

Assembly
1. Using a paring knife cut a shallow cone from the top of the cupcake.

2. Fill hole with custard.
3  Generously sprinkle  Demera sugar on top of custard.
4. Keep torch six inches from sugar to brulee.

A Baked Creation has some of the best decorated cupcakes I have seen.  I always envy those who are skilled with fondant, mostly because I am so inexperienced when it comes to using the ingredient.  A Baked Creation recently made Grrday cupcakes which are cute little dinosaur topped cupcakes that were used to celebrate someone’s birthday (get it birthday, grrday).

A Baked Creation has made dinosaur cupcakes before which included an assortment of dinosaur types. This time around one addition was made, Nessy, the Lock Ness Monster who lives on a cupcake.

An added bonus for all of us needing help with fondant is the How: T-Rex Cupcake Topper post which includes both written and visual directions on how to create the cute little dinosaurs.

I think these dinosaur topped cupcakes would make any grrday memorable! Be sure to checkout their website for tons of other fun and impressive cupcakes!

I love to read blogs, but they don’t usually make me cry.  Then enter Love in the Time of Cupcakes!  Darn her, she pulled on my cupcake strings!

Mary T. Wagner is the author of two books, Running with Stilettos and Heck on Heels.  She’s a mother of four and an attorney, and yet she somehow still manages to write the touching and tear-jerking blog, Running with Stilettos.

In her essay Love in the Time of Cupcakes, Mary shares how, even though she was a busy career mom, she always made time to celebrate her children’s lives, and to be involved through cupcakes.  She made two dozen “ghost cupcakes” for each of her three children in grammar school to help celebrate Halloween.  Each tennis season, she made “tennis ball cupcakes” for her son’s and daughter’s teams.  (She bemoans the fact that the girls would scream with delight at the cupcakes’ cuteness, but the boys would just inhale them!)  This essay celebrates mothering and cupcaking at the same time, and was so beautiful that, even this early in the morning, I’m thinking of going to wake up my daughter.  She won’t mind when I tell her we’re going to make some cupcakes!

I Am Baker is extremely talented when it comes to decorating all things sweet.  I came across these flower cupcakes and loved them.  They are frosted to look like flowers then topped with a royal icing flower which includes initials in the leaf.  Her website includes tons of other unique cupcake and impressive dessert displays.

I think one of my favorite dessert displays is this table and it's actually not the cupcakes that I like!

It's the inside that I really love, frosting flowers!

Salt and caramel combined together are really popular right now which is most likely why Heather from Sprinkle Bakes paired the two to created Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes.  These are basic buttermilk cupcakes filled with a salted caramel filling and topped with salted caramel buttercream frosting.  I think I am most impressed by the salted caramel rounds sprinkled with large crystal sugar that top the cupcakes which give the cupcakes a more sophisticated look.

For April Fool’s Day we posted Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting.  I recently came across Willow Bird Baking and noticed a recipe for “cupfakes,” fake cupcakes!  Like the meatloaf cupcakes, they are edible cupcakes but they aren’t the traditional cupcake. Willow Bird Baking’s recipe is for Cheddar Chive and Bacon Cupfakes with Avocado Frosting.  I am tempted to try these savory cupcakes; although I wonder if they are still considered cupcakes if they are not really cake.  Below is the recipe from Willow Bird Baking.

Cheddar Chive and Bacon Cupfakes with Avocado Frosting

Recipe By:

-Jim N’ Nicks (cheddar biscuits, tweaked)
-Me, with various internet inspiration (avocado frosting)

Yields: 15-17 cupfakes

Cupfake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 – 1 cup sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
5 strips bacon, cooked and chopped, divided
1/2 sweet onion, chopped finely
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped finely
2 tablespoons olive oil

Avocado Frosting Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cupfakes: Cook bacon on stovetop or in oven. I bake on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, and drain on paper towels. Crumble 4 strips into small bits, leaving one strip whole for garnish.

In the meantime, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cheese, milk, egg, butter, baking powder, vanilla, chives, caramelized onion, and bacon bits. Pour into a greased (or paper-lined) muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes in pan, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Frost only when completely cool.

Avocado Frosting: Mash avocado flesh well in bowl with the back of a spoon or fork. I processed mine in a food processor to ensure extra smoothness. Add in lemon juice and cream cheese, and mix until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. Frost cupcakes with a big star tip (I use 1M). Garnish with pieces of bacon.

NOTE on storage: Store cupcakes in airtight container in fridge when frosted. Place avocado pits in container along with cupcakes to discourage browning (but don’t fret if the frosting browns — it’s just oxidized, and still quite edible and yummy). You may even want to half the recipe if you’re just making these for your family, since they almost certainly won’t maintain they’re beautiful green overnight. For taking them to coworkers or friends, I would make the cupcakes ahead of time and frost immediately before the event.

In an attempt to deviate from the normal, some-what boring standard recipe format, Recipe Look was created.  On Recipe Look you will find hand drawn, easy to follow recipes, best of all they are unique recipes that you will want to try.  This is a really fun idea, even to do with helping kids.  Below is the Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Fudge Frosting Recipe.

As the weather gets warmer and summer approaches, peaches come into season.  And as everyone knows, in season produce is cheaper which means you can find great deals and experiment with fun recipes like this Not Quit Nigella Sour Cream & Donut Peach Cupcake recipe.  The recipe looks easy and there’s no messy frosting needed!

Sour Cream & Donut Peach Cupcakes

Makes 10

Ingredients

• 300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 175ml/6 fl oz sour cream
• 2-3 donut peaches, diced
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• a little ground cinnamon to shake on top
• 1/2 donut peach sliced to decorate
• 1/3 cup milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line a cupcake tray.

2. Sift the flour into a medium bowl, then add a pinch of salt and the caster sugar. In a jug, combine the vegetable oil, egg, sour cream, milk and whisk. Add the wet mixture and the peach pieces to the dry mixture and stir to only just combine. It will be thick and puffy so you will need to spoon it into the cases. Fill until 3/4 full or 7/8 full. I realise it sounds bizarre but I asked Mr NQN to fill it 7/8 full which was perfect for the domed look.

3. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Sift icing sugar on top and shake a little ground cinnamon. Top with some pieces of fresh peach if desired.

My sister likes peanut butter. My sister also likes chocolate.  What my sister does not like are peanut butter and chocolate combined in baked goods.  You don’t have to tell me how crazy she is but for her taste buds, these are two ingredients that are both incredibly rich and when combined, they are too rich.  Personally, I think chocolate and peanut butter go perfectly together.  I came across this recipe for Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing and I am dying to make them!  And I have a feeling they might have the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio for my sister.

Cupcakes have a natural nostalgia about them – as sophisticated as they’ve gotten, they still have roots back to the days when we regularly ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and watched cartoons on TV on Saturday mornings.

That’s why I find this week’s nerdcakes to particularly appropriately themed – the geeky nostalgia of Space Invaders aliens and Super Mario Bros. 1up mushrooms meets the childhood nostalgia of cupcakes to create a tasty snack that is somehow cooler and more up-to-date than all that nostalgia might imply.

Thanks to Rakka and her fantabulous Flickr photostream for these lovely pictures! (Also, bonus points for no fondant :)

image courtesy of No One Puts Cupcake in the Corner

I was cruising the cupcake blogosphere when I noticed that not only is No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner a good blog with a hilarious title, it is also the host of the cupcake challenges Iron Cupcake Milwaukee and Iron Cupcake: Earth. IC Milwaukee, I expected, seeing as the blog is brought to us by the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen. But Iron Cupcake: Earth? Holy crap. That is like the World Cup of Cupcakes.

Nobody Puts Cupcake in a Corner just announced the IC:E Passion/February winner, Stephanie of the Keckie’s World blog’s Lavender Love Cupcakes. In the words of the champion herself:

If you’re in the mood for a very adult cupcake, this is definitely it! The flavors in this one are mature, subtle, and layered. The cupcakes have a distinct fruity olive oil undertone, which is lighted by lemon and sweetened by the blackberries. The lavender gives the entire cupcake a lightly floral aromatic quality. There is a hint of salt to add the the complexity of the final flavor. These are some serious cupcakes!

That sounds like a fine fancy cupcake. Also, flowers plus cupcakes plus olive oil equals good for your heart!

If you want to throw down the gauntlet with cupcake bakers from around the globe, you too can join the Iron Cupcake: Earth Challenge. Just email the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen your information (first and last name, city/state/country and blog web address) and keep an eye on the Iron Cupcake: Earth blog for announcements about upcoming challenges.

Cupcakes took center stage on Friday night at the SXSW Music/Film/Interactive Festival during the Pastries and Pasties Burlesque Cupcake Cookoff. Austin’s cupcake heavyweights Polkadots, MadCakes, The Cupcake Bar, Toot Sweet, Holy Cacao and Delish squared off while members of Texas’ premier burlesque troupes strip-teased the night away. From the looks of the bakeries’ (and the burlesque troupes’) websites, it must have been quite a night.

Toot Sweet Cupcakes at Pastries and Pasties (picture courtesy of Tiffany Bacon)

Happy Lady Eats is a blog by a woman who works for one of my favorite stores, Anthorpologie.  When my sister sent me the link to these amazing cupcake images photographed by Happy Lady Eats I had to share them!  The cupcakes came from Babycakes and she says the frosting could not be salvaged but she did eat the cupcakes!

I was wandering by the friendly neighborhood Cupcake Royale a few days ago when I noticed their signboard announcing the newly minted cupcake of the month for March: the Irish Whiskey Maple.  I love maple syrup and was curious to see what a cupcake would taste like with whiskey in the frosting, so I decided to try one out.

First off, the frosting is amazing. Maple syrup + buttercream is  a great idea and pancake houses across the country should be alerted of this delicious combination.  The little kick of alcohol from the whiskey is a nice touch.  If I were a whiskey connoisseur, I suspect I would have a better appreciation for it – it is Jameson we’re talking about, after all.

The cupcake itself was a little disappointing. I admit, some of this is because of my bias against vanilla cake (I’m a chocolate cake girl, myself). But the fact of the matter is, “moist” is not a word that I would use to describe this particular cupcake. Luckily for me, Cupcake Royale is never one to stint on frosting :)

Via Twirlit.com

It appears there’s some confusion as to exactly when we have a holiday to celebrate our favorite frosted treat. According to All Things Cupcake and the National Food Holidays calendar, National Cupcake Day is on December 15th. But according to the Baltimore Sun, Buzzy Bloggers, the Showbiz Gossips Blog and Twirlit, National Cupcake Day was on March 3rd. It looks like the March 3rd movement started on Twirlit when writer Amanda Pendolino declares March 3rd National Cupcake Day “according to…well, my stomach”.

But who’s to gainsay Amanda Pendolino’s stomach?  Isn’t that (and your tastebuds, of course!) the ultimate judge when it comes to all things cupcake?  Also, 365 days is a long time. I think there’s room enough in a year for two National Cupcake Days. Don’t you?

Last August Cake Journal had a series of posts on Cupcake Decorating as part of a “How To” section. I thought these tips might be helpful for anyone struggling with their cupcakes. In part one, her favorite tool of the trade are discussed.  Part two moves on to the author’s personal favorite cupcake recipes.  For step three, you learn how to create buttercream domes and fondant circles.  Finally part four teaches you how to swirl!  If you have additional tips or advice, please share!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Valentine’s Day is a holiday for lovers. So what the heck are you supposed to if you’re single?  Cakelab of NYC has a solution: their Sourpuss Cupcake Pack. Instead of the usual romantic sentiments, the Sourpuss pack features conversation dot cupcakes with messages like “H8 You”, “Let it go”, and “WTF”.  You can also drown your sorrows in the accompanying Sourpuss pack flavors of banana split, chocolate chip cookie dough and black bottom.

Cakelab is not one to drive off customers – they’ve got a Sweetheart pack too, for those who have them :) This assortment comes with more conventionally messaged champagne-flavored conversation dots as well as red velvet, chocolate turtle, and chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.

I really appreciate Cakelab’s approach to cupcakes for the upcoming heart-shaped holiday. They’re willing to be typically adorable and inventively bitter, thus capturing both sides of the Valentine’s Day market.

Cannelle et Vanille is one of my favorite blogs, the food and pictures combine to make amazing recipes.  Recently she made Chocolate, Banana, and Teff Cupcakes.  According to her these cupcakes are not only delicious but also packed full of nutrients provided by the Teff and bananas.  Additionaly, the  cupcakes are gluten free because Teff is used.

Teff is a grass that is cultivated in Northeast Africa.  The grass contains various nutrients including fiber, iron, protein, and calcium.

Chocolate, Banana and Teff Cupcakes

Makes 1 loaf and 12 cupcakes

3 eggs
200 grams natural cane sugar
300 grams ripe bananas, mashed
175 grams light olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
100 grams teff flour
50 grams sweet rice flour
50 grams hazelnut meal
15 grams cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
100 grams chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, banana puree, oil and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together the teff, sweet rice flour, hazelnut meal, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until all combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the loaf pan and cupcake molds. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes for the loaf pan and 20 minutes for the cupcakes.

For the icing, I used my basic buttercream recipe and added cocoa powder to it.

The task that Food2 (the Food Network’s sassy younger sibling) puts to challengers is deceptively simple: take pictures of cupcakes, submit them at the Food2 website, and may the best photo win.  Multiple entries are allowed, and the cupcake or cupcakes don’t have to be yours (but the photos do, of course).  Food2 started taking submissions for the Cupcake Cup yesterday and the will continue taking them for the next 40 days.  Photos have already started to come in if you’d like to take a look at the competition, or vote for them for that matter.

And what will you win?  A silicone bakeware Giant Cupcake Baking Set… and the eternal glory of being the first person to win the Cupcake Cup.

I think cupcakes are pretty great. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing for All Things Cupcake, right?  But it takes something special for me to bestow an “OMFGBBQ CUTECAKES!” award.  CakeSpy has it…CakeSpy, in fact, takes the cutecake.

I first discovered CakeSpy a few years ago at I Heart Rummage, a local artist swapmeet that goes on every other month at Chop Suey (Capitol Hill, Seattle).  I stood at the booth for at least five minutes paralyzed and making cute noises over freakin’ adorable drawings of wee little cupcakes living their little cupcake lives: checking the interwebs at a coffeeshop, falling in love, and running from zombies.  It made my week.

Turns out that CakeSpy (aka artist and writer Jessie Oleson) not only does prints of the wee lives of cupcakes, she also have a blog and plenty more merch. I mean really – what says awesome like a hip cupcakes and unicorns tee in the closet, a cupcakes and unicorn checkbook in your purse and teeny-beeny cupcake and unicorn magnets on the fridge?

In my search for quality cupcake news, I’m keep seeing one word: trendy.  As with every trend, two questions come to mind:”When will the bubble burst?” and “Is all this hoopla a good thing?”

Though cupcakes have moved past the “indy cool” stage, the trend is only just going mainstream and cupcakeries are still popping up all across the country.  You’d think this would be a bonanza for cupcake fans, but in reality it’s a mixed bag.

At All Things Cupcake you can see the best side of this trend: great recipes, lots of creative ideas, and many entrepreneurs making a go of it, even in a poor economy. However, both Carmelized OpiNIONS and Kat with a K have posts this week about the downside of the cupcake bubble: overpriced product, inferior quality, and the annoying fact that cupcake have been co-opted for the purposes of conspicuous consumption.

The good thing is that all trends pass. The bursting of the cupcake bubble , whenever it happens, will have the effect of winnowing out cupcakeries- while many will go out of business, those with the best recipes and sound business plans will survive.   In the meantime, I hope that talented bakers everywhere will use this opportunity to raise some capital and that cupcake hobbyists will have a lot of fun reading all the press.

Love My Cake of Upper Montclair, NJ starts with all the necessary ingredients for a good cupcake establishment: family recipes, rich and delicious ingredients, and of course, a deep and lasting love of cupcakes.  Love My Cake also has what it takes to go from good to local icon status: panache.  Owner Sonya Newton has a flair not only for baking, but also for the creation of chic, and it shows in Love My Cake’s fashionably boutique design, stylish cupcakes and vintage apron collection.

Speaking of chic and unique – one of Love My Cake’s specialities is their Cupcake In A Jar. I’ve heard of mason jar crumbles before, and even mason jar pies, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a cupcake in a mason jar.  It sounds like we’ve discovered the latest fashion in baked goods –  are cookies next?

Taste of Home recently posted this yummy looking Chocolate Cookie Cake recipe. 

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
• 16 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed
• 1 package (3 ounces) Kraft Philadelphia® – Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• Additional cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies

Directions

• Prepare cake batter according to package directions; stir in crushed cookies. Spoon into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.
• Bake at 350° for 33-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in cream until mixture begins to thicken. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Frost cake. Garnish with additional cookies. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12 servings.

Most cake recipes can be easily modified to make cupcakes and Sassybellewares recently blogged about how she did this.  She called them Crazy Good Cupcakes so they are definitely worth a try!

I love how create people can get when it comes to coming up with unique cupcake flavors.  Baa Baa, Cupcake, Have you Any Frosting? has created prickly pear cupcakes.  I have only had prickly pear once and it was with lemonade but this recipe along with the photographs make me think I just might have to try these!  There are tons of fun and different cupcakes on the blog!

The Champagne Cupcakes she made for New Years sound delicious!

Anyone with a sweet tooth is sure to love these Snickers Cupcakes

These Honey Lavendar Cupcakes with Grapefruit would be great to make since it's citrus season.

I love the detail put into decorating these Pistachio and Cardamom with Mango Frosting Cupcakes.

For some time now I have known about Tuesday with Dorie which is an online club that aims to bake all the recipes for Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours.  What I did not know was that the same concept had been applied to the Martha Stewart’s Cupcake book.  The club is called MSC (Martha Stewart Cupcake Club) and the end goal of the club is to bake all 175 cupcake recipes.  To accomplish this, each month on a rotational basis, one member chooses one recipe that has not yet been made.  The members then blog about their version of the cupcakes or post them to the group’s flickr.  While the club is currently not accepting new members the website says that there will be openings soon.