#52 Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!



This is one of those recipes I wished that they would have said WARNING not for the less experienced baker. Don't get me wrong they were creamy, pretty and very tasty but truthfully they were a pain in the A$$!! First off you have to bake the cupcakes in a pan of water. Not clearly thinking this through, I thought I could find a pan big enough to hold my 1 dozen cupcake pan. It was close but the pan came up a little short. So after dumping half my cupcakes into a ill fitting pan, a little bird said "why not use a  half dozen cupcake pan?" and finally I was in business! So about 6hrs later I finished #52 on my list I hope you like it!!!

Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (courtesy of Martha Stewart)
This was my first attempt at cheesecake :)

The Goods
1 cup ground graham crackers (about 8 sheets)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar
1 6 oz.fresh raspberries or frozen defrosted raspberries
2 pounds cream cheese room temp
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 lg eggs room temp.

The How To
Preheat the oven to 325. While the oven is preheating start preparing the crust by combine graham crackers, melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Put about 1 tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup and press flat. Bake for 5 minutes. Let cool.

While the crust is cooling  puree raspberries until smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain mixture with a sieve, keeping the liquid and discarding the solid parts. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of sugar.

With the mixer on med-high speed beat the cream cheese until fluffy about 3mins.

Add in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar beat until combined.

Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed and add salt and vanilla; beat to combine. Add eggs, one at a time mixing until combined.

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling over crust in each cup.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of the raspberry sauce. Make a swirl with a toothpick.

Place each tin in a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into each pan to come halfway up the sides of the cupcake pans. Bake rotating pans halfway through, until filling is set about 27-30mins. Carefully remove tins from water bath and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Refrigerate in tins uncovered for at least 4hrs remove from tins just before serving.

Sorry for my lack of  cooked cupcake pics on this one... Not sure what happened :(

Up Next...
 Lemon Yogurt Raspberry Cupcakes

#51 PB & J Cupcakes

MORE is always better when it comes to peanut butter. Let me tell you a little secret about these cupcakes... Use a whole 16oz  jar of peanut butter in the batter. Yup the WHOLE thing. These cupcakes were exactly like the sandwich hands down! They seriously remind me of childhood :) The cake had the perfect texture. The jam- I almost went with grape but strawberry is definitely the winner here! I did my favorite peanut butter frosting recipe and over all they were a hit. I did have a small disastrous moment when I was trying to figure out where exactly I wanted to put the jam. I tried polka dots and lines but jam isn't anything like frosting and it ended up oozing all over the place so a dab on top is the best way to go I found. So grab a couple jars of peanut butter and try these out you wont be disappointed!!!

PB & J Cupcakes (courtesy of Martha Stewart)

The Goods

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (or you can use the a whole 16oz jar like me)

3 large eggs room temp

1/2 cup sour cream room temp

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

The How To

Preheat the oven to 375degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt then set aside. Measure out your peanuts and either chop or run them through the food processor. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar on med-high speed until pale and fluffy.

Reduce speed to low and add peanut butter.

Of course this was taken AFTER I added the peanut butter to the batter ;)

Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture; beating until just combined.

Mix in sour cream and peanuts.

Divide batter evenly among liners filling each about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-22mins rotating tins halfway through the bake time.

Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

While those are cooling whip up some Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting. Once you try this you will never use another recipe again!!!

Once the cupcakes are cool fill the centers of the cuppys with jam.

Top with frosting and a dollop of jam.

These poor guys were my first attempt and it kinda looks lke the cupcake got into a fight with the jam and lost!! LOL

 Dont forget the 4th of July is right around the corner!

Here's a collection of a few of my favorites that I've found on etsy and of course if you need a few cupcake accessories I've got you covered!!



Up Next...

Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Lions and Monkeys and Elephants Oh My!

Over memorial day weekend I got the pleasure of putting together some fun jungle themed cupcakes for a little guy's first birthday. One requirement was there couldn't be any hard candy for choking reasons. So I switched out parts like the elephants tusks and the lion's nose with melting chocolate. The alligator's head is actually a peanut butter cookie that I trimmed down and cover with frosting. Out of the 4 the monkey was actually the hardest for me to figure out. I originally was going to use vanilla wafers for both the face and ears but after I assembled one the poor thing looked more like a dog than a monkey! So after playing with a couple different cookies, I decided the little peanut butter cookies worked the best. Overall this was a great experience and it's nice to do something different and maybe a little artsy too :)

It's a jungle out there!

*Keep your eye out for Delectable Feature Fridays! It's just a little something I'm putting together to showcase some stuff from my etsy shop Delectable Delights and other baking projects I've taken on.

#50 Maple Bacon Cupcakes

I bet you were thinking that I'd given up on my cuppycake challenge. Nope just taking a little break but I'm back now and ready to show off these tasty creations. I'm also excited to see that I'm half way through my challenge too. I never thought I would have 50 different cupcakes under my belt! So back to the cupcakes.... Think IHOP pancakes and bacon. Just grab a cup of OJ and you have a complete breakfast! I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese frosting but in this case it complemented the cupcake well with it's perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes (courtesy of foodnetwork)
The only adjustment for next time would be to add more BACON!!!

The Goods

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 3.9-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon

The How To
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook your bacon and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl whisk together the flours, pudding, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and both sugar until light and fluffy about 3-5mins on med-high speed.

Turn the speed down to low and gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. 

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not over mix.

Fold in the bacon.

Fill liners about two thirds full and bake for 20-25mins rotating halfway through the bake time.

While those little tasty morsels are cooling whip up the
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

The Goods

8oz package cream cheese room temp

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons cinnamon

The How To
Combine the cream cheese and butter with the mixer on medium speed until creamy.

Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; beat until combined. 

 I also added a little extra bacon to the frosting :)

 Now frost and top with more BACON!!!

Up Next...
PB & J Cupcakes