PIMMS CUP CUPCAKES

A classic beverage for Wheels & Wickets is pimms cup mixed with lemon lime soda, and garnished with cucumbers and mint. I wanted to incorporate the flavors into cupcakes for dessert and found this recipie that worked great, it's from another blog so that's a bonus, I'm all about supporting fellow bloggers! I garnished them with a little sparkle and colored the frosting slightly orange so they wouldn't look identical to the mimosa cupcakes. This was a fun new recipie and I am happy I tried it out, it's always fun to incorporate an interesting new flavor that you don't use often. Besides, cooking with alcohol spices things us! Enjoy :) 

PIMM's Cupcakes

(This recipe yields 6 cupcakes, be sure to adjust for however many you want!)

3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup veggie oil

1 egg

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 milk

1/4 cup Pimm's

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

In large bowl or mixer, whisk together sugar, oil and egg until smooth. Add lemon zest.

Slowly beat in flour mixture, milk and Pimm's until smooth.

Divide into cups, fill them about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

WHEELS & WICKETS 2013 PART 2

Stephanie truly rocks at catering for a garden party! All of the food was amazing, simple flavors all in bite sized servings. I pitched in by making two types of cupcakes, mimosa and Pimm's cup, those recipes will come later this week! This year the Pimm's cup went quickly, it is always a huge it, and we added another game to the mix with bocce ball. Overall it was a fabulous day of friends, food, games and amazing outfits!

 Photos courtesy of Nic & Stephanie Foster, Katie Viola

GUAVA CHIFFON

A few weeks ago my boss told me about a popular cake in Hawaii called guava chiffon. At first I was like WHHHHAT, and then I was like "I must Google this now." I seriously love guava flavored things, if you haven't had the guava sunrise smoothie at Emerald City smoothies you haven't lived. SO, obviously I had to try guava chiffon cupcakes.

These cupcakes take a little extra time and patience, and to be honest I think this recipe could use a little tweaking. They turned out a little sticky for my taste, but it's all the same in your mouth right?! I got the recipe here, but chose to use my own frosting recipe instead of the one provided. The frosting was bomb and will now be a staple for me! Lastly, make sure you use powdered sugar in the guava sauce to make it thick. I used regular sugar because I prefer the taste, but the sauce was very runny and made everything sticky!

>> Cream cheese/Cool Whip frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
8 oz. cool whip, thawed
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cream cheese and sugar, beat for 1 minute. Add cool whip and vanilla, beat until well combined. So easy, woo!

KEY LIME

This Sunday I tried out Key Lime cupcakes, a super refreshing taste for Spring and Summer. They were a huge hit! I was really excited about how flavorful they are. The only thing I would do differently next time is mixing the graham cracker crumbs with melted butter before pressing it in the bottom of this tins, they were very crumbly and needed something for binding. Otherwise they are great and I can't wait to use this recipe in the summer for BBQ's! Enjoy :)

Key Lime Cupcake>>

1 box classic white cake mix
1 small box (3 oz) Lime Jell-O
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup limeade concentrate, thawed
2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Key Lime Frosting>>
1 stick butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes worth)
4 cups powdered sugar
graham cracker crumbs and lime slices for garnish

Preheat oven to 350, line 24 tins with liners and sprinkle a spoonful of graham cracker crumbs in each.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, Jell-O mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and limade concentrate. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scrape sides of bowl, increase speed to medium high, and beat for two minutes. Fill tins 2/3 full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove from oven when toothpick inserted comes out clean, place on wire racks to cool.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and lime juice on medium-low speed until combined, With the mixer set on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Beat until combined, increase speed and beat on high for 1 minute.

Frost cupcakes and garnish with graham cracker crumbs and lime slice.

BOSTON CREAM PIE

This weekend I was determined to make my cupcakes gluten free. I have been gluten free for years, but I find myself cheating every Sunday on cupcakes... So since I have found an amazing almond flour I decided to try it out. I made boston cream pie cupcakes, I started with a simple yellow cupcake recipe and to make it gluten free I did a straight across trade of normal flour and gluten free flour. In addition I added 1 tsp. xanthan gum. I am pretty pleased with the results, you can hardly tell they are gluten free! In the middle is Jello instant vanilla pudding, I cored out the cupcake with this corer. And to top it off is a chocolate icing. They were super yummy, it's a recipe I've been wanting try try for a while and I'm glad I did!

p.s. The icing on this cupcake looks messed up thanks to plastic wrap...

Chocolate icing>>
1/3 cup butter
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 cups powdered cugae
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup hot water

In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water until smooth. If necessary, stir in additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is spreadable. With metal spatula or back of spoon, spread icing over tops of cupcakes.

COFFEE & TOFFEE

I don't mean to brag or anything, but these cupcakes are absolutely amazing! I have always been a huge fan of coffee ice cream with Heath, so when Nic suggested it cupcake style I was all for it. I found a good coffee cupcake recipe and then decided for the frosting to just do Cool Whip with Heath toffee bits in it. It's probably really lazy of me to use Cool Whip all the time, but to be honest I am not a huge fan of overly-sweet buttercreams and frostings. The creamy and light flavor goes so perfectly on this cupcake, it's like adding a little creamer to your morning cup. To top it all off I sprinkled more Heath toffee bits and a chunk from cut up Heath bars. I wanted to pipe the frosting with a star tip but the chunks were just too big and clogged the tip. Next time i will consider blending the bits so they are more finely ground and able to go through the star tip. Anyways, I highly recommend trying these out, so simple and delicious!

Coffee Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/2 cup boiling water

 2 tablespoons instant-espresso powder 

1/4 cup whole milk 

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

 2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cupcakes: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour water over espresso powder; let cool. Combine espresso with milk. Beat butter and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with espresso-milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour (batter may look broken). 

2. Fill 15 cups (of two 12-cup muffin tins) three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool; turn out cupcakes from tins.

MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM

This weekend I tried out a new frosting and I am so excited about it! It's marshmallow buttercream, and honestly its my favorite buttercream I've made so far! Every time I used powdered sugar in a frosting I use less than the recipe calls for, I'm not a huge fan of the overpowering powdered sugar taste. This recipe is so simple and fast, plus I love the marshmallow fluff that comes in the jars. I paired it with a simple red velvet cupcake, they balance each other so well! Enjoy!

Marshmallow Buttercream
1 jar (7 to 7.5oz)  marshmallow creme
1 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Remove lid and foil seal from jar of marshmallow creme. Microwave on High 15 to 20 seconds to soften. In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme and 1 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon frosting onto each cupcake, swirling frosting with back of spoon.

QUICK DESSERT

I love dessert as much as the next person, maybe even more. But when I'm trying really hard to eat healthy I know I can't go too nuts. So this was my DELICIOUS solution, a small scoop of black cherry ice cream, and a fresh kiwi. I say that's a perfect balance ;)