Tag: sweets

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Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

When you have a hankering for lemon meringue pie, but all of your plates and forks are in the dishwasher, this is just the ticket! This robust cupcake perfectly nestles the lemon curd (which is so tart and flavorful it’ll make your tongue curl), and you can go crazy loading these up with a ton of sweet and fluffy meringue. 

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1-1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 cup Water

Lemon Curd

  • 6 tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 6 Large Egg Yolks
  • 4 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

Meringue Frosting

  • 1-1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 6 Large Egg Whites

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners.
  3. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. Set aside.
  4. Add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and egg to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
  6. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined.
  7. Beat for an additional two minutes on medium speed.
  8. Fill the cupcake liners evenly and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and transfer to a baking rack to cool.
  10. To make the lemon curd, separate six eggs, reserving the whites for the meringue.
  11. Combine lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and butter in a double boiler. Heat while gently whisking until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, coating the back of a spoon. (Be patient and vigilant. This takes a while, but just when you think it will never firm up, it goes from soupy to thickened in a heartbeat!)
  12. Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed against the top of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and firm, at least 2 hours. (If you want to speed things up, you can put the bowl in a bath of ice water, too.)
  13. Wait until the curd has cooled to make the meringue frosting.
  14. To make the meringue, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and egg whites in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water.
  15. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to about 140 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
  16. Beat the egg white mixture on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
  17. To assemble, use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of each cupcake. (Enjoy snacking on the cupcake middles while you do the rest!)
  18. Pipe the lemon curd into the center of each cupcake.
  19. Pipe the meringue frosting onto the top of the cupcakes.
  20. Toast the meringue lightly with a kitchen torch. (Be careful not to torch the paper cupcake liners! They are surprisingly flammable.)
  21. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve.
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Chocolate & Caramel Cupcakes

These cupcakes so are rich and decadent, it’s ridiculous! Make sure you eat them with a fork, or have a napkin or two handy… or both. And, to give credit where credit is due, the cake portion of this recipe comes from Self Proclaimed Foodie with just a few tiny little tweaks —  including turning it up to eleven with the filling, frosting, and such.

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1/2 cup Hot Coffee
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Filling

  • 1/2 Package Caramel Squares
  • 3 tbsp. Whipping Cream

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-3 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (for garnish)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. (I like to make only 11, so they’re HUGE, but that’s just me.)
  3. Combine coffee and cocoa. Mix well to dissolve and set aside.
  4. In bowl of stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. In a separate bowl, beat egg.
  6. Add milk, oil, and vanilla to egg. Mix well to combine.
  7. Add about half of the milk mixture to the flour and mix on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  8. Combine the chocolate mixture with the remaining milk mixture and add to the batter.
  9. Mix combined batter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl intermittently to ensure it is well combined.
  10. Distribute batter evenly into muffin cups.
  11. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees without opening the oven door. Continue cooking at lower temperature for an additional 14-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  12. Remove from the oven and transfer cupcakes to a baking rack as soon as they’re cool enough to be touched.
  13. When cupcakes are cooled, core them and enjoy the treat of eating cupcake middles while you make the filling.
  14. Place caramels and whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.
  15. Blend together until completely combined and smooth.
  16. Pipe most of the warm caramel into the cored cupcakes. (Save a couple of tablespoons.)
  17. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip butter until fluffy.
  18. Add cocoa and vanilla and whip until combined.
  19. Gradually add powdered sugar, and whip until it reaches a stiff consistency, suitable for piping.
  20. Pipe frosting on top of the cupcakes. (Don’t overdo it. This is already a very rich dessert and too much frosting on a cupcake is a major faux pas in my book.)
  21. Using a small tip, pipe the remaining caramel on top of the frosting.
  22. Sprinkle each cupcake with a few chopped nuts while the frosting and caramel are still soft.
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Apple Cinnamon Muffins

These muffins are a nice change of pace from more common muffin flavors, and they are so pretty you’re sure to get lots of compliments. They’re great with Sunday brunch or as a midnight snack!

Ingredients

  • 1 Large Sweet Apple (e.g. Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious)
  • 1-1/4 cup Whole Milk
  • 3 tbsp. Melted Butter or Margarine
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tbsp.  Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 tbsp. White Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line a cupcake tin with paper cupcake liners. (This should make about 12 in a standard-sized cupcake tin.)
  3. Combine milk, melted butter or margarine, vanilla extract, and egg in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, baking powder,salt, and 1 tsp. cinnamon.
  5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix very gently with a spoon until just combined. (Do NOT over-mix.) Your batter should be very lumpy.
  6. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake tin until each is about 2/3 full.
  7. Quarter unpeeled apple and remove core. Slice each quarter into roughly triangular wedges about 1/8-inch thick. (If you want to get technical, they’re really more like isosceles trapezoids, not triangles. But, I digress.)
  8. Insert 3-4 apple slices parallel to one another, peel-side-up, into the batter of each muffin.
  9. Combine brown sugar, 2 tbsp. white sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl and mix until well combined.
  10. Spoon sugar mixture over the top of each muffin, evenly distributing between each one.
  11. Wipe any drips or sugar from around the edges of the tin with a damp paper towel.
  12. Bake in pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes until cooked through.
  13. Remove muffins from tin and transfer to a cooling rack.
  14. Serve while still warm.
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Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

If you’re a chocolate lover, this will be your new favorite cookie! It’s a simple variation on a traditional recipe, but this small change makes a big difference. Sweet, creamy, and oh so chocolately — Get ready to pour the milk!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) Butter or Margarine, softened
  • 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup Chopped Walnuts, Pecans, or Macadamia Nuts

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line two baking sheets with foil, and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together butter or margarine, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth.
  4. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and blend until well combined.
  5. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and nuts.
  6. Mix until chips and nuts are well distributed throughout the dough.
  7. Spoon generous tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, leaving space between each spoonful. (Note: This recipe should make 24 large cookies, plus a little dough left over for eating raw. Yum!)
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.
  9. Gently slide foil and cookies off of baking sheet and onto a cool surface (like a counter-top or large cutting board) immediately after removing from oven.
  10. Allow to cool (if you can wait that long!) before removing from foil with a thin spatula.
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Easiest. Toffee. Ever.

Who says making candy is difficult? As long as you have a candy thermometer, it’s a piece of cake… uh… candy! This recipe is for a small batch and is easy to scale for larger batches when you need more; just prepare more than one baking sheet. Toffee is great by itself, or as a garnish on a cake, cupcake, or ice cream sundae. Sweet dreams!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter*
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 cup Sliced Almonds

* You can substitute margarine, but your toffee will be more golden than amber. Otherwise it’ll work just fine.

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a heavy, medium-sized sauce pan, heat butter, sugar, and salt over medium high heat.
  3. Cook while stirring constantly, until mixture turns amber in color and a candy thermometer reads 285 degrees.
  4. Pour toffee mixture onto prepared baking sheet and allow to spread out over parchment paper. (If it’s stubborn, pick up the baking sheet and tip it to get the toffee to spread.)
  5. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over toffee and allow to melt for about two minutes.
  6. Gently spread chocolate over the toffee with the back of a large metal spoon or spatula.
  7. Immediately sprinkle almonds onto chocolate.
  8. Gently press almonds into the chocolate using the bottom of a second baking sheet or the back of a large flat dinner plate. (Do this in as few sections as possible to avoid the chocolate and almonds sticking.)
  9. Place baking sheet in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to cool.
  10. Remove from refrigerator and break toffee into serving-sized pieces.
  11. Serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container.

 

Sneaky Trick: When breaking the toffee, keep a layer of the parchment paper between your hands and the toffee. This will keep the chocolate from melting on your fingers.

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Cheesecake Cups

These cupcake style cheesecakes have all of the great flavor and texture of their larger cousins, but they’re easier to share! And the crust is so simple you’ll feel like you’re cheating. 

Ingredients

  • 16 ‘Nilla Wafers
  • 2 (8 oz.) Packages of Cream Cheese
  • 3/4 cup White Sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. Whole Milk
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a cupcake tin with paper cupcake liners. (This should make about 16 in a standard-sized cupcake tin.)
  3. Place one ‘Nilla Wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner. (Easiest. Crust. Ever.)
  4. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
  5. Blend in milk and then eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
  6. Add sour cream, vanilla, and flour, and beat until smooth.
  7. Spoon cream cheese mixture into prepared cupcake tins to about 2/3 full.
  8. Wipe any drips off the cupcake tin with a damp paper towel. (You’ll thank me.)
  9. Bake in pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes, until tops just begin to brown.
  10. Allow cups to cool slowly over about 60 minutes by turning the oven off and cracking the door.
  11. Chill in the refrigerator.
  12. Garnish with fruity pie filling, crumbled cookies, or your favorite cheesecake topping.
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