Caramel Apple Cider Cupcakes with RumChata Frosting

October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 ~ Angela ~ 6 Comments

Happy Fall Y’all!! I have turned my favorite fall cocktail into a cupcake and let me tell you – the result was delicious!

A group of my friends and I had a fall themed painting party at one of those wine and canvas places that have become so popular over the last few years (I highly recommend Canvas Mixers is you are in the South Jersey area!). I wanted to bring a pitcher of my Caramel Apple Pie Cocktail but you can only bring wine or beer to the venue, so I decided to bake my booze into some cupcakes!

These cupcakes contain all the ingredients from one of my most popular recipes on the blog: apple cider, Pinnacle Caramel Apple vodka, and RumChata. Everyone at the painting party loved them, and we all had a great time creating our masterpieces!

Now, on to the recipe. As I tend to do, I started off with a boxed cake mix, doctored it up a bit and topped the whole thing off with a made from scratch frosting.

Caramel Apple Cider Cupcakes with RumChata Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients and Directions:

1 box of white or yellow cake mix
Eggs and oil as called for in directions on box
Pinnacle Caramel Apple vodka, or Caramel vodka
Apple Cider

Combine mix, eggs and oil. Omit the water as called for on the box and substitute equal parts apple cider and caramel apple vodka. My mix called for one cup of water, so I substituted 1/2 cup apple cider and 1/2 cup vodka. Bake according to package directions and let cool.

RumChata Frosting Ingredients and Directions:
(adapted from Butter Cream Frosting II on allrecipes.com)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon RumChata

Cream butter and shortening in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add all other ingredients and beat well.

Caramel Apple Cider Cupcakes with RumChata Frosting

I also added some orange gel color to some of the batter and decorated those one for Halloween. 🙂

Halloween Cupcakes

Peep-A-Boo

October 27, 2012 ~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

Eye See You!!!

Things are about to get a little hairy here on the East Coast, with the impending arrival of “Frankenstorm” (yes, that’s what the news people are calling it). Water, bread and milk are flying off the shelves along with batteries, flashlights, and generators. This begs the question – what happened to the generators everyone bought last year, before hurricane Irene?

Anywho, I have no desire to stock up on ingredients for french toast. I’m more concerned about having an adequate supply of booze and cupcakes. Too bad I don’t have any of these Peeps and Peepers Cupcakes leftover!

I had an order for some Halloween themed birthday cupcakes the other day. When I saw these chocolate eyeball candies in the store I knew they would make perfect creepy cupcake toppers. I also had a package of these cute pumpkin shaped Peeps that my mom gave me. In case you missed my Easter rantings, I LOVE Peeps and thankfully there is a Peep for every season.

These were just basic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes but as you can see, a little decoration can go a long way!

Well, guess I better start battening down some hatches or something. Or perhaps I will just have a glass of wine… : )

We all scream for cupcakes (that look like ice cream!)

August 1, 2012June 16, 2013 ~ Angela ~ 3 Comments

I think I might be a cupcake genius.

Oh yes. I made Banana Split Cupcakes.

They were all kinds of awesome.

Banana cupcakes, filled with strawberry preserves, topped with vanilla butter cream, hot fudge, rainbow jimmies (sprinkles if you’re not from around here), with a cherry on top.

As Emeril would say – BAM!

I used this recipe from Betty Crocker (minus the chocolate chips, plus one box instant banana pudding) for the banana cupcake batter. I had my handy dandy cupcake plunger to make room for the strawberry preserves, and I used my small scoop from Pampered Chef to make the icing look like scoops of ice cream.

If you’re looking for a butter cream icing recipe this is my go-to.

If you’re looking for one of these cupcakes you’re out of luck. We ate them all.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Perfect Cupcake

July 3, 2012 ~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

Sometimes you have an idea about a certain cupcake flavor in your head but it can be difficult to find the right recipe. I don’t yet consider myself good enough to just completely whip something up on my own like the contestants on Cupcake Wars. Once, when I was a teenager I wanted to make microwave brownies but I didn’t have the cocoa called for in the recipe. I (mistakenly) thought I could use hot cocoa mix instead. Instead of gooey, chocolaty brownies I created the most foul-smelling thing to have ever come out of a microwave. So you can see why I don’t quite trust myself to just wing it.

A friend has asked that I make Rum and Coke cupcakes for her son’s 21st birthday coming up later in the month. Having never made them before, I wanted research some recipes and do a test batch. I found this recipe for Cola Cake, direct from the makers of Coca Cola themselves. I figured that would be a good place to start. I followed the recipe exactly, and then topped the cupcakes with a basic vanilla butter cream icing that I spiked with some Gosling’s Bermuda Black Rum.

I got to have some science experiment type fun, dissolving the baking soda in the buttermilk and watching it fizz up, and I ended up with a very tasty, slightly chewy around the edges cupcake that tasted NOTHING like Coke. : / The icing did taste like rum at least, but I was definitely not getting the Rum and Coke vibe. Back to the drawing board…

I found a recipe on Betty Crocker‘s website for rum cupcakes which I think I will try, and then I purchase a bottle of cola extract online which I will try to incorporate into the icing. I have never used cola extract before so if anyone has some experience with it and can offer some advice, I’m all ears!

As you can see, in the meantime I got my Rum and Non-Coke cupcakes all gussied up for the upcoming holiday! I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July! And here’s just a little bit of humor for the road…

Take the Plunge!

June 13, 2012June 13, 2012 ~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

I recently bought a cupcake plunger. It’s a plastic doohickey that removes the center of a cupcake so it can be filled with all kinds of yummy stuff. No, I didn’t NEED one – a knife works just as well – but it looked like it would be a fun gadget to have. I got to use it today while I was making some orange cream cupcakes.

Doo-dad — Why does my thumb look like it belongs to an old person?

It’s really simple. You turn the plunger back and forth as you press it down into the cupcake, then pull up and voila! Cupcake with a hole in the middle!

The flavor I was originally going for was orange creamsicle, so I made a marshmallow cream filling to fill my orange flavored cupcakes with. I had NO IDEA that mixing together unsalted butter and Marshmallow Fluff could produce something so divine.

I spooned the cream into a pastry bag with the tip cut off (after I finished taste testing…I think I’m going to dip some strawberries in the leftover cream!) and filled all the cupcakes.

I didn’t bother putting the tops back on, mostly because I ate them. : )

As I mentioned, I had been attempting a creamsicle flavor using a mix of recipes I found online. I had to go to FIVE different stores before I found the cheesecake flavored JELLO called for in the cupcake recipe. I probably could have saved myself the trouble (and gas!) because I’m not sure I really tasted it in the cupcake.

I guess the marshmallow cream was supposed to add to the creamsicle-y-ness, but the cupcake just did not taste like the frozen treat to me. That’s okay though, cause it was still tasty and very cute!

Orange Cream Cupcake Recipe from the blog Bird On A Cake.

1 package white cake mix
1 (4 serving size) package cheesecake instant pudding mix
1 (3 oz.) package orange flavored Jello
1 1/4 cups orange juice
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour batter into liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Marshmallow Cream Filling from I Heart Cuppycakes.

1-7 oz jar of marshmallow cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

In a large bowl, whisk the marshmallow cream and butter until smooth. Cover with plastic and chill until firm about 15-30 minutes.

Orange Buttercream adapted from recipe on I Heart Cuppycakes.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1/8 (maybe a splash more) cup orange juice
6 cups confectioners sugar

In a stand mixer, with flat beater, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar, both extracts and the orange juice. Combine. Gradually add the remaining sugar. This made enough to frost all 24 cupcakes with some left over.

One Mudslide Cupcake, Hold the Kahlua

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012 ~ Angela ~ 1 Comment

Last night I was making cupcakes for a birthday at the office. I was just going to do something plain, so I grabbed a box of Devils Food cake mix and dumped all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. It was after this that I was struck with the idea to make Mudslide cupcakes. Not sure why, but I have had Applebee’s giant ass (because it’s huge AND contributes to one having a giant ass) Mudslides on the brain lately.

Mucho size Mudslide from Applebee's — Mucho size Mudslide from Applebee’s (Photo credit: Newbirth35)

I thought I could kick my craving with some Kahlua and Baileys cupcakes. I didn’t want to add any more liquids to my cupcake batter because I had already put in the required water, eggs and oil so I figured I would just brush the tops of the baked cupcakes with Kahlua and then frost them with a Baileys buttercream. I should have just gone to Applebee’s.

Don’t get me wrong, the cupcakes tasted good but apparently I should have soaked them in Kahlua rather than just brushing the tops with the booze because I tasted no Kahlua. Any good alcoholic knows that a Mudslide contains Kahlua. : (

Another little snafu I ran into was the icing. I used a recipe I found online. It called for two sticks of unsalted butter, three cups of confectioners sugar and three tablespoons of Baileys. I went with this one because I didn’t have any more sticks of shortening, which I usually use when I make my icing. I won’t tell you where I got the recipe from because it sucked!! When I did my requisite taste test, all I could taste was butter with a hint of Irish Cream. BLEH.

I added another cup of confectioners sugar and then ANOTHER.

Five cups got the job done and the finished product was pretty good; it just wasn’t what I had hoped for. So now I have eaten a cupcake that will go straight to my thighs, and I still need to hit up Applebee’s for a Mudslide.

Piña Colada and Sweet Tea Vodka

April 15, 2012 ~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

Don’t worry, I’m not making Sweet Tea Piña Coladas. This post is a two-fer! First off – Piña Colada cupcakes!!

There was another birthday in the office last week. This time I went with Piña Colada cupcakes. I recalled an at-home jewelry demonstration where the birthday girl consumed quite a few pineapple Jell-o shots made with coconut rum, so I knew she’d love the flavor combo.

At first I considered incorporating some coconut rum into my cupcake batter, but all I had was a bottle of 90 Proof Parrot Bay. I’ve baked using a little bit of alcohol before (made cupcakes with some Caramel Bailey’s once) but for some reason the thought of sticking 90 proof booze in a hot oven filled my head with thoughts of cupcakes on fire so I decided to skip it.

Instead, I grabbed another boxed cake mix and in place of the water I used pineapple juice. I also folded in some crushed pineapple. I went with my basic buttercream recipe and put in a little coconut extract. One of my favorite parts of a Piña Colada is the little plastic sword skewered through a cherry and a chunk of pineapple, so I mirrored that on my cupcakes using a dried pineapple bit instead of fresh fruit.

I seem to recall an episode of Cupcake Wars where the baker got bashed for putting a maraschino cherry on top of her cupcakes as decoration but the judges were obviously being idiots that day. There’s a reason the phrase “cherry on top” exists!

The balance of pineapple and coconut was perfect, and I ended up helping myself to a second one of these before the work day was done.

In other news that actually does involve alcohol (time for all you underage kids to go back to looking up Justin Bieber or whatever it is you do these days)… A coworker was telling me about Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Vodka on Friday afternoon. I’ve heard of Sweet Tea vodka obviously, and I had seen this brand in the liquor stores but hadn’t tried it. She said that you can make a great boozy Arnold Palmer by mixing it with lemonade.

That night, I was out at a local bar/restaurant and what should be on the happy hour menu but a Jeremiah Weed Arnold Palmer for just $5? Yup! I had to try it and I’m glad I did! It came out in a mason jar type glass garnished with a lemon wedge and tasted dangerously just like iced tea lemonade. I’m not sure what the ratio of lemonade to sweet tea vodka was, so I can’t give you an exact recipe but I’m sure you won’t mind experimenting to figure it out on your own!

If I hadn’t been the chauffeur for the evening I would have doubled up on this drink the way I did on those Piña Colada cupcakes!

Pineapple Cupcakes

Ingredients:

White boxed cake mix and oil and eggs listed on box
8 oz can crushed pineapple
pineapple juice

Directions:

Prepare mix according to directions on box, subbing in pineapple juice for the amount of water called for. In my case, I needed one cup of water. I drained the juice from the crushed pineapples into a measuring cup and then used Dole pineapple juice to get the 1 cup needed. Once you have beaten the batter for the requisite two minutes, gently fold in the crushed pineapple and bake according to the directions on the box.

For the coconut buttercream, use the same basic recipe from my Cherry Lemonade cupcakes but instead of the grenadine use 1 teaspoon of coconut extract.