IronCupcake_010: Sam Adams Beer Bread "Cupcakes" w/ Beer Cheese "Frosting"

Iron Cupcake:Earth_010
Theme: Savory
My entry: Sam Adams Beer Bread "Cupcakes" w/ Beer Cheese "Frosting"
Voting begins: Saturday, May 30 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Friday, June 5 at 12 noon Central.

I'll admit when I first saw that the IC:E theme for the month was "savory" I was dissapointed. I'm not really a cook. I can cook, but I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy baking desserts and sweet things. So the thought of making salty food shaped like a cupcake seemed bleh to me. But then it came to me... something I've always wanted to make... actually TWO things I've always wanted to make... and they would be very easy to make into a cupcake shape... BEER BREAD AND BEER CHEESE! Yes! It's a match made in heaven. I made the beer bread "cupcakes" using a quickbread recipe. Then I googled the basics of beer cheese and came up with my own recipe for the "frosting." While most people prefered to just dip pretzels into the beer cheese, the overall consensus was that these savory cupcakes are awesome!

PS: Check out the product placement in EVERY photo! *Ahem* Sam Adams, I'm expecting a paycheck soon! You're welcome!

I used Summer Ale in both the "cupcakes" and the "frosting." It was perfect! Boozed up cupcakes ready to be baked!
Cooling and smelling like yeast bread!
Like my makeshift breadbasket? A pyrex bowl and a lint-free dish towel!
Yum!!

Beer Bread "Cupcakes" (adapted from Beer Bread I recipe @ allrecipes.com)
3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 12-ounce beer, bottled or canned

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar. Add beer and stir with a wooden spoon until blended. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until tops are crunchy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove "cupcakes" from pan. Serve warm or let them cool on a wire rack.

Beer Cheese "Frosting" (my own recipe)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups (8 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of cracked black pepper
1/2 cup beer, at room temperature

Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, and black pepper. Slowly add the beer. Mix on low speed to incorporate. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.



Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
Something sweet and dangly from CHERRYCREEKCHARMS
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_009: "Drink Cheerwine" Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_009
Theme: Soda Pop
My entry: "Drink Cheerwine" Cupcakes
Voting begins: Tuesday, April 28 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Monday, May 4 at 12 noon Central.

As soon as I saw that this month's theme for Iron Cupcake:Earth was soda, I knew immediately what drink I was going to use! Since I was born, we've been going to my Grandma's house in North Carolina for every major holiday. While we're there, it's always a treat to get a bottle of Cheerwine. Until recently, Cheerwine was hard to find oustide of NC. Thankfully, now you can get it at most grocery stores in the South. For my Iron Cupcake entry, I went in the direction of red velvet. I wanted to emphasize the color of the soda, and I also needed a recipe that called for water. (Substituting water in recipes that call for milk can result in gummy cupcakes.) I adapted a recipe called "Wacky Cake" from the 1983 book, The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook. Instead of using cold water, I used cold Cheerwine. I also added a tablespoon of red gel food coloring. The flavor of Cheerwine wasn't really detectable in the cake, so I knew I had to bring it in the frosting! I made a 7-minute frosting, again subbing Cheerwine for the water. I also added a tiny bit of cherry and almond flavorings. Finally, some Cheerwine flavor! These cupcakes are 100% delicious. The cake part is moist and tender, and the frosting is so light and airy! I am very pleased with these "Drink Cheerwine" Cupcakes as my Iron Cupcake entry for this month!

Ingredients... I promise that's not a jar of blood! I'm thinking the original cake was called "Wacky Cake" because of the strange order the ingredients are mixed.
Finally, it looks like batter! Ready for the oven...
Making the frosting...
I'm pretty proud of these cuppies! ;)

Cheerwine Cupcakes
Makes 12-14 cupcakes

1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon red gel food coloring
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup cold Cheerwine soft drink

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add vanilla, vinegar, food coloring, and butter; beat well. Slowly stir in water; beat well.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Finish cooling on wire racks.

Cheerwine Frosting
1 ½ cups sugar
2 egg whites
¾ cup Cheerwine soft drink
¼ teaspoon cherry flavoring (or 1 drop cherry candy flavoring)
¼ teaspoon almond flavoring

Combine sugar and egg whites in top of a double boiler; add water, and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds or just until blended.
Place over boiling water; beat constantly on high speed of electric mixer about 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat. Add flavorings, and beat 2 additional minutes or until frosting is thick enough to spread.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_008: "Beer & Peanuts" Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_008
Theme: Nuts & Seeds
My 2nd entry: Beer & Peanuts Cupcakes
Voting begins: Sunday, March 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Friday, April 3 at 12 noon Central.


Wow, is this last minute or what!? The deadline is 12 central, which is 1pm eastern... Let's see if I click "Publish Post" before time runs out! The inspiration for these cupcakes came from a recipe in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. I didn't use her recipe, but ever since I saw "Beer and Peanuts Cupcakes" in her book, I've wanted to make my own variation of the idea. My cupcakes are chocolate beer cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I used Nigella Lawson's recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake. I'm not sure exactly how it's written in her book, because when I googled the recipe it was a little different on every blog I looked at. This is the one I found on the Borders bookstore website. It's supposedly an exerpt from the book, so I bet it's right. I halved the recipe and got 14 cupcakes. For the frosting, I made up a recipe off the cuff, but I wish I'd gone back and used the recipe from Bake & Destroy that I love so much. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with these cupcakes. They are extremely moist (verging on gummy because of all the liquid in the recipe). They aren't incredibly chocolatey, but that's okay because I wasn't focusing on the chocolate anyway. I wish the beer flavor was a little more prominent. I blame myself for that, though. We didn't have any Guinness on hand so I used the darkest beer we had, wish was an Irish Red. Not dark enough for this recipe I guess. Here they are, my second Iron Cupcake entry for this month!

Chocolate Beer Cupcakes (adapted from Nigella Lawson's "Chocolate Guinness Cake")
(I halved this and got 14 cupcakes)

1 cup Guinness (or any dark beer)
¾ cup sour cream
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups superfine sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and butter and line a 9 inch springform pan (or put 14 paper liners in a muffin pan). Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (14-16 minutes for cupcakes). Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

Peanut Butter Frosting (my own recipe)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Blend butter and peanut butter until smooth. Sift in confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed. Add milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 1 minute.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 3

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A Bunnycake Easter Plushie by DOGBONEART
A whimsical piece by CAKEASAURUS
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a collection of all new printed cupcake liners, 200 in all.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_006: Sangria Chiffon Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Wine
My entry: Sangria Chiffon Cupcakes
Voting begins: Thursday, January 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com and will be open through Wednesday, February 4 at 12 noon Central.


I love freeing my mind of the daunting task of having to decide which cupcakes to make for IronCupcake:Earth. You guys always pull through and vote for the yummiest one in the poll! This time you picked Pomegranate Sangria Cupcakes. I had a little problem in the beginning. When I went to the grocery store, there wasn't any Pom juice to be found! They usually have it in the produce department, but I couldn't locate it anywhere! I bought a bottle of pomegranate cherry juice on the regular juice aisle. I didn't have high hopes for using it in a recipe, but at least I'd give it a try. I boiled it down and substituted it for the water in the chiffon cake recipe. But the flavor was totally unnoticeable in the cupcake. I ended up with what I'm calling Sangria Chiffon Cupcakes. I added some lemon and orange zest to the batter. While they were still hot out of the oven, I poked them with a fork and brushed some sweet red wine on the tops. I frosted the with SMBC flavored with more zest and the juice from the fruit. I tinted it kinda wine-colored just to play with the whole "sangria" idea.

Reducing the pomegranate cherry juice Ingredients for the citrus chiffon cupcakes
I just love ribboned egg yolks... :)
Chiffon batter ready to be baked...

Shout out to the citrus hangin in the back!And apparently I need practice with mixing chiffon batter...
I was just so afraid of overmixing!
Here are my drunk Sangria Chiffon Cupcakes!

I used Alton Brown's recipe for chiffon cupcakes. I've had that episode of Good Eats saved on my DVR for like a year. However, the recipe really let me down. I encountered two MAJOR problems with it. I've read a few other blogs that have used this recipe and wonder how they missed these problems. Anyway, here is what I noticed. First, there is entirely WAY too much salt in this recipe. When I tasted a cupcake, every bite has a crunch of kosher salt in it. Very unappetizing. Second, the baking time is double what it needs to be. Half an hour for cupcakes is rediculous. Mine were done at 15 minutes. Good thing I'm insane about constantly checking on my baked goods. I practically babysit them at the oven door. Here is the recipe from FoodNetwork.com. My comments are in orange italics, as always.

Chiffon Cupcakes
Makes 24

5 1/4 ounces cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (Way too much! I'd say reduce to 1/2 teaspoon and use table salt)
5 large eggs, separated
6 ounces sugar, divided
1/4 cup water (I subbed reduced fruit juice... didn't really do much flavor-wise though)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I omitted)
Zest of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 an orange (My addition)
5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Place paper liners into 2 (12-cup) muffin tins and set aside. If you prefer, set 12 ovenproof coffee mugs on a half sheet pan and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place the egg yolks and 5 ounces of the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes pale yellow and 'ribbons' when lifted. Add the water, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and whisk just to combine (Don't mix the flour all the way in! You'll do more mixing in the next step, and you don't want the flour overmixed!). Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl while you whisk the egg whites.
Place the egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean bowl and whisk on high using the whisk attachment, until it becomes foamy. Decrease the speed to low and gradually add the remaining ounce of sugar. Increase speed to high and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, approximately 2 minutes.
Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites to the batter and whisk until well combined. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently. Transfer batter into prepared muffin tins or coffee mugs, evenly dividing the batter between the cups. Place both muffin tins on the middle rack of the oven or, if using mugs, place all of them on a half sheet pan and set on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes (Mine only needed 15 mins, so check them early!), until a toothpick comes out clean or the cupcakes reach an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Citrus-Scented Swiss Meringue Buttercream (My recipe)
Makes enough to generously frost 24-30 cupcakes

5 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into tablespoons
Zest (finely chopped) and juice of half an orange and half a lemon

Put egg whites and sugar in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture reads 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, 7-10 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all butter has been added, beat on high speed until it thickens, 3 to 5 minutes). Beat in zest and juice. Color, if desired. Reduce speed to low; beat 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 3 (My fault, I haven't mastered chiffon!)
Frosting: 5

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
DOGBONE ART (I have their sticker on my car!)
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
As an added bonus for January SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in another treat as well.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_005: Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes... 2 Ways!

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Chocolate with a Twist
My 2nd entry: Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Glaze
Voting begins: Monday, December 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com and will be open through Friday, January 2 at 12 noon Central.

We had a VERY close call in the poll this week! Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes pulled ahead of German Chocolate Cupcakes at the last minute with 2 more votes. YYAAYY!! I knew I could integrate chocolate into this somehow and use it as another Iron Cupcake entry. After those pumpkin-swirl brownies, I'm a tried and true pumpkin+chocolate fan. I made 6 of the cupcakes just the way they are in the book. Then to the rest of the batter I added some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. I topped the regular ones with cinnamon cream cheese. On top of the chocolate chip cupcakes I used the same chocolate glaze from my first ICE_005 entry, chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes, but I added a pinch of cinnamon to it this time! To make them extra fancy I dipped some pecans in melted sugar. Then I dipped some of those in semi-sweet chocolate. These cupcakes are so so so good! The cinnamon in the chocolate glaze is such a tasty addition! And the crunchy pecans in the cupcake are a very nice texture compliment. I can't believe how easy this months IC challenge has been so far. Expect a few more entries out of me! :P

Measuring the dry ingredients Dry ingredients... meet wet ingredients!
Ready for the oven
Candied pecans... Mmmm!
Cupcakes cooling in the kitchen
On the left: Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon Cream Cheese

On the right: Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Glaze

Cupcake recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski
Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Maple Glaze (This was nasty and I threw it away! I won't even include the recipe.)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the flour mixture and whisk to combine completely. Stir in the chopped pecans. (I added 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to half of the batter).

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22-24 minutes (Mine were done at 19 minutes). Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
Spoon the glaze over the cupcakes and serve. {The glazed cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature before serving.}

Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla and cinnamon. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Spread glaze over top of cupcakes.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
BETTY TURBO
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, IronCupcake:Earth is excited to welcome back CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
As an added bonus for December we have adorable cupcake pincushions compliments of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_004: Pear Cupcakes w/ Cranberry Orange Filling

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Cranberry
My entry: Spiced Pear Cupcakes w/ Cranberry-Orange Filling
Voting begins: Sunday, November 30 at 8 pm Central @ http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com and will be open through Friday, December 5 at 12 noon Central.




After some major brainstorming and some careful consideration, I came up with an entry for this month's Iron Cupcake:Earth challenge! My mom brought some pears home from a roadtrip and they became my initial inspiration. I really wanted to stick with seasonal flavors, so I wanted to do a spiced pear cupcake. I'm a huge fan of cranberry and orange. I decided to use those flavors in the filling and frosting. My frosting came out a bit softer than I wanted (because I'm retarded and added a few tablespoons of heavy cream for some reason...???) But if you make it sans heavy cream, the frosting will be thick and gorgeous! These cupcakes are fantastic! They're perfectly moist. All of the flavors go well together, and how can you go wrong with cream cheese filling? They taste just like Thanksgiving! Here are my photos and the recipe.

Start by soaking your cranberries in fresh orange juice.Peel and core your pears.

Scoop the batter into the cups.

Here are the cuppies cooling!

Making the filling...

Mmmmm creamy cranberry-orange goodness!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a visial runthrough of "The Cone Method."

After filling your cupcakes, you should have about 1/2 leftover to use in the frosting.

Then voila! Delicious Thanksgiving cupcakes!

How about an inside view!

Voting will begin Sunday, November 30 at 8 pm (Central) at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/, and will be open through Friday, December 5 at 12 noon (Central).

Recipes were created by yours truly!

Pear Cupcakes with Cranberry Orange Filling
Makes 16-18

CUPCAKES
1 1/2 cups finely diced pears (1 1/2 - 2 pears)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
Pinch of orange zest
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh ground if available
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

FILLING
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

FROSTING
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup leftover filling
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Prep for filling: Combine cranberries and orange juice in a measuring cup and heat for 30-40 seconds in microwave, just until mixture is warm. Let sit until cupcakes are baked and cooled, at least 30 minutes.

Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with 16 paper liners. In a large bowl sift together flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Combine milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until well incorporated. Add flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Add pears and mix just until incorporated. Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Make the filling: Drain the plumped cranberries and reserve the juice. In a food processor, pulse cranberries until finely chopped. With an electric mixer, combine chopped cranberries, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of reserved orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar. Cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake, keeping the top. Fill each cupcake with 1-2 teaspoons of filling. Replace top.

Make the frosting: With an electric mixer, combine 4 oz cream cheese, 1/2 of leftover filling, and 3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar. Mix until smooth. Keep frosted/filled cupcakes refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 4

Prizes provided by:
LOLLIPOP WORKSHOP
COOKIE SUNSHINE
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, IronCupcake:Earth is excited to welcome back CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
As an added bonus for November only we have a delicious apron complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

If you want to be a part of Iron Cupcake:Earth, visit http://ironcupcake.blogspot.com/!