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_005: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth
Theme: Chocolate with a Twist
My 1st entry: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes
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.

Last week I spent Thanksgiving with my family in North Carolina. As per recent tradition with my favoritest cousin in the whole wide world, we made cupcakes together at her house Saturday. I was gonna let her choose what flavor, but she couldn't make up her mind. We ransacked her entire kitchen and pantry. There were plenty of options. But when I spotted the jar of Dukes mayonnaise (that no Southern home would ever be without), I knew we had to make chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes. Stephanie and her whole family LOVE chocolate, so duh, it HAD to happen! At first we were both skeptical. I HATE mayonnaise (except at Chickfila... how weird is that?). And although she has no problem with mayonnaise, the thought of it with chocolate just seemed gross. We tasted the batter before we put the cupcakes in the oven. Surprisingly it didn't taste of mayonnaise at all. The cupcakes baked up extremely fluffy and soft. They're very rich and moist with a great dark chocolate flavor. The flavor of mayonnaise is completely unnoticeable. We topped them with a really yummy chocolate glaze. The one drawback about the cupcakes is that they might be considered a little "greasy" to some. But to folks born and raised in "Hicktown," NC... they're just right! ;) ♥

My favoritest cousin!!I love a 2-bowl recipe!

Me scooping batter... Remind me she needs an ICE CREAM SCOOP for Christmas!

Yummy, moist, chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes!

Both recipes adapted from AllRecipes.com

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes
Makes 30 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar (We used rice vinegar)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups warm water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin pans with paper liners. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
Pour the melted chocolate into a large mixing bowl. Blend in the mayonnaise, vinegar and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Slowly stir in the warm water. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Glaze
INGREDIENTS
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup (We did it in the microwave!). Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Spread glaze over top of cupcakes.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5 (incredibly moist!)
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

Lemon Angelfood Cloudcakes... I mean Cupcakes!

Tuesday, I was supposed to make the cupcakes that won the poll last week (which has been extended so keep voting!). However, I was having an insane craving for that S.A.D. Key Lime Pie I made for Fathers Day.... yeah... remember that? Oh it was so good! So I made the pie, and then I had 5 egg whites just hanging out in the fridge wondering what they would become. I remembered the bag of lemons I just bought. So I put 2 and 2 together and got the idea for Lemon Angelfood Cupcakes! I found a recipe in Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans (which is quickly becoming the favorite of all my cupcake books). If you are a faithful reader, and even if you aren't and you just have a crazy good memory, you will know that I am usually not fond of lemon desserts. Well, people... TIMES HAVE CHANGED! These cupcakes remind me of marshmallows, if marshmallows could be lemony cake! They are so soft and sweet and good! The glaze is a little sour for my taste, so next time I'd go half lemon juice and half water. Other than that, these are perfect!


MY NOTES: Mine were done at 25 minutes, so check them early. Next time I'd make the glaze with 2 teaspoons water and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. It was a bit sour.

Lemon Angelfood Cupcakes
MAKES 9-10 LARGE CUPCAKES

CUPCAKES
1/2 cup cake flour
3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup egg whites (about 5 large)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (I used the zest of 1 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar (I only used 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons plus about 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I used the juice of half a lemon)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (My own addition)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have ready a muffin pan with 12 muffin cups. Put paper liners in 2 or 3 of the cups to protect the pan.
2. Sift the flour and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until the whites are foamy and the cream of tartar dissolves. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters form lines in the mixture; if you stop the mixer and lift up the beaters, the whites should cling to the beaters. Slowly beat in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, then beat for 1 minute. Mix in the lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Beating on low speed, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate it.
3. Using about 1/2 cup for each, spoon the batter into the unlined muffin cups. The batter may even be above the tops of the cups, but this stiff batter will not spill over the sides. Do not smooth the tops-let the batter remain in fluffy mounds (I did smooth mine because I was afraid the peaks would burn). Bake for about 35 minutes (Mine were done at 25 minutes!! And I was using an oven thermometer!), until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. The cupcakes will rise quite a bit (Actually they didn’t rise as much as the book made it seem).
4. Arrange 2 cans on a wire rack and invert the pan over the cans so the ends of the pan rest on the cans. This lets air circulate while the cupcakes cool upside down. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Use a small knife to loosen the edges of the cupcakes from the pan. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, using the knife to help release them if necessary, and set them right side up on the rack.
5. In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar and melted butter with enough lemon juice, beginning with 2 tablespoons, to make a smooth, pourable glaze. Use a small spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of each cupcake. The cupcakes can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5 (as moist as angelfood could be?)
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 4 (a bit too sour)

Boston Cream Cupcakes

One of my dad's favorite desserts is Boston Cream Pie. How could I not make Boston Cream Cupcakes for his birthday??? They were delicious, but due to the custard filling they had to be refrigerated which caused the cake to dry out a bit (talk about a run-on sentence). Not to worry, just have a glass of milk nearby! It's best to let these cupcakes sit out for about 15-20 minutes until they are room temp before eating them, unless you're like my dad and you like your Boston Cream straight from the fridge. By the way, I'll be using this custard recipe for all my custard needs from now on! It is sooo good I could barely stop myself from eating it out of the bowl.

Boston Cream Cupcakes on a broken stand I found for $2 at a thrift store. There's nothing a drop of super glue won't fix!
Boston Cream through a cheap wide angle lens I bought on eBay. Boston Cream innards!

Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson.

MY NOTES: Next time I'll add a little more vanilla to the cake batter, because the cake didn't have much of a flavor. I doubled the recipe and got 28 cupcakes. Mine were done at 17 minutes. I used the cone method AND scooped additional cake out of the center of each cupcake. I put 2-3 teaspoons of custard in each.

BOSTON CREAM CUPCAKES
Makes 12 cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F/180C

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Filling:
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream (35%) plus 3 tbsp divided
2 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla

Glaze:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream(35%)

1. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and milk in three additions. Beating until smooth.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and brown.let cool in pan or rack for 10 min. Remove from pan and cool comepletely on rack.

Filling:
1. In a heavy saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in egg yolks, milk and 1/4 cup of cream until smooth. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat. Whisking continously.
2. Once mixture is at a simmer and begins to thicken, remove from heat but continue whisking until very thick. Whisk in butter and a vanilla paste until butter is melted and custard is smooth.
3. Spoon custard into a small bowl. Fill a slightly larger bowl with ice. Place small bowl of custard on top of ice. Whisk custard until cool. Remove small pan, dry bottom and sides with a towel so that no moisture gets inside the bowl.
4. Whisk in remaining 3 tsbp whipping cream. Place a piece of plastic wrap on surface of custard and refrigerate for 40 min or untill chilled or for up to 2 days.

Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave uncovered on High for 40 sec. or until cream is hot and chocolate is soft and almost melted. Stir until smooth. Let chocolate mixture sit for 5 min. or until slightly cooled but still spreadable.

Assembly: (I USED THE CONE METHOD[pictures and instrux after the link], plus scooped a little more cake from the center of each to add LOTS of custard)
1. When cupcakes are cool, peel off paper liners. Carefully slice off tops of cupcakes. Using a small spoon, scoop out about a rounded teaspoon of cake from the bottom half. Dont scoop a hole in the bottom.
2. Spread a layer of reserved cooled custard on cut side of bottom half and fill small hole of custard too. Sandwich two halves together. Repeat with the remaining.
3. Spread tops of cupcakes with chocolate glaze. Place cupcakes on a platter or baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to serve. They need to stay refrigerated so that the custard filling doesn't spoil. Serve straight from the refrigerator or let sit at room temperature for about 15 min. to remove the chill.

PS: My free Flickr account has reached it's limit on the number of photos I can upload. If anyone wants to buy a Pro account for me, that's awesome. Otherwise I'll eventually get around to buying one whenever I have new cupcake photos to upload.