When it's cold outside, make it hot and spicy in the kitchen!

Snow!

I just love it! It's a good thing since we got two and a half feet of it this weekend and are expecting a little more this week. I think this is just the way winter should be! If it's going to be cold the ground should be covered with the powdery white stuff! I just love it!It doesn't need to fall everyday but a good coating not just a dusting but a thick frosting like coating that's enough to last. Beautiful!! And what goes with snow but hot chocolate!

So I used this snowed in weekend to finally try out my recipe for Mexican Hot Cocoa Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling and Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting!

Mexican Hot Cocoa Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1 cup boiling water
• Marshmallow cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard cupcake pans with liners, or coat with non-stick cooking spray. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, until blended.

2. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper and gradually add to the sugar mixture, until the mixture begins to come together.

3. Very slowly, add the boiling water, and blend until the mixture is smooth.

4. Ladle or scoop the batter into the cupcake tins, filling ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of each one comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes in their pans on wire racks until cooled.

6. Cut cone shape holes in the centers of the tops of each cupcake, save them to replace the tops before frosting.

7. Fill in each hole with marshmallow cream.

8. Replace the tops.

(Do-Ahead: At this point the cupcakes can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, or frozen for 6 weeks. Defrost and ice with the cinnamon butter cream frosting.)

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Makes enough to frost two 9-inch layers or 24 cupcakes

You Will Need

• 4 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Mini Marshmallows and Red Hot Candies for deco

What to Do

In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir the sugar, to aerate it. Add the butter, vanilla, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon milk, and beat on high speed until the frosting is spreading consistency. If the frosting is stiff, add a few more drops of milk, beating after each addition. Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with the marshmallows and the red hots.

Yet again...

Another month has come and gone and still no Iron Cupcake Earth entry from me. I know this month isn't over yet, but I'm headed out of town today and won't have time to get one baked and entered. I did make one for month before with strawberries, but didn't get it uploaded to enter it. The girls at the bank loved it though. I really did want to make one this month with basil. I am inspired to use the pineapple-basil plant growing in my back yard. My dog and I both love it. He runs straight to it and eats a leaf daily. Oh well another day... As for that strawberry cupcake... The didn't look beautiful, but they sure tasted awesome. They fell in the center too... come to think of that, I have that problem often. Any suggestions as to why? hum...

Cupcakes Aren't Just for Kids

This weekend a few of my high school friends and I are getting together for a "reunion" of sorts. Many of us have re-connected that's to Facebook and a few months ago we picked a date and planned a picnic. The best way to feed an impromptu mass - potluck! But unlike many of the others, I am traveling 500+ miles for this gathering. So after a bit of thought I'm bringing what I do best, baked goods. My closest friend from high school is a Guinness fanatic, plus I was one of only a few girls in our group of friends... So naturally this is the perfect time for me it try out a recipe I've heard tale on the Internet of... The beer flavored variety!

I found a few Guinness cupcake recipes and after reviewing them have taken inspiration from and made my very own. Many of them are chocolate in nature, but I left that on the minimal side, with just a hint of dark chocolate, kinda a teaser. I was a bit hesitant about a beer flavored cupcake and to be honest it wasn't at all appealing to me. I am not a beer drinker, but I do like beer bread and I was so intriqued by the idea.

But as I was mixing the batter it smelled delicious and a lick the spoon confirmed that the carmel-colored batter was pretty good. I started with mini-cupcakes and those came out of the oven smelling delicious, they weren't the prettiest, some had dropped in the centers, and others rose more than I had anticipated so they spilled out of the cups, but oh the taste. They were delightful. As I posted to my friend, prepare for a whole new realm of Guinness goodness!

I'm new to this blogging thing so you'll have to bare with me as pictures will come later and eventually as I get the hang of this thing they will post with the intended blog... but they will come.

Here is my recipe...

Guinness Cupcakes

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup shaved dark chocolate
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 8 ounces of Guinness
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I used a mini-cupcake pan with paper liners.

Cream the butter, sugar and chocolate together on medium speed. Add sour cream first, then eggs unitl well mixed. Stir in Guinness.

Mix flour and baking soda in seperate bowl. Slowly add to butter mixture.

Pour batter 1/2 to 2/3 full prepared cups and bake the mini's for 14 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Top with icing below.

Icing

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Guinness

Mix ingredients together adding confectioners sugar until desired consistency is achieved.

Wish Me Luck

Ok, I want to venture out and try something new... I just heard about something called the IronCupcake:Earth and I want to try it. They announce an ingredient each month and bloggers develope a cupcake recipe incorporating it and submitting their recipes and photos... Baking and photography, two of my favorite things! Wish me luck!

http://www.ironcupcakeearth.com/

Howdy All!

Times are changing ... I've recently found myself with some much appreciated and just in time for summer free time.

Once upon a time, I baked all the time, then life, marriage and kids came along and I seemed to run out of time. But I've recently started to do this again. I love cupcakes because they are like mini-masterpieces. With a cake you make one great and beautiful dessert, and cut into it and share. Once you make that first cut though it's not as pretty - but with a cupcake everyone gets a complete masterpiece!

So welcome to my new blog, something else that I am new at! Join me as I try out different recipes and try and re-find my niche in the kitchen.