Halloween Fun

Just for some Halloween fun I took some sugar cookies, chocolate dipped pretzel rods, candy corns and a Halloween cupcake and.....

I couldn't resist.

Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes

Its Halloween time! I love Halloween and my first project of the season was a cupcake order for my mom. I made Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes because pumpkin just screams Halloween and fall to me. They are spiced just like pumpkin pie. I changed up the frosting with a Cinnamon Brown Sugar Butter Cream and colored orange, green and purple. I think they turned out great!

I didn't take step by step pictures because I was in a bit of a hurry. But I will provide the recipes. You can also find it at the following links:
http://www.marthastewart.com/317069/pumpkin-cupcakes
http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2009/10/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-cinnamon-brown-sugar-buttercream/

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Butter Cream

http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2009/10/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-cinnamon-brown-sugar-buttercream/ 

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups powdered sugar (varies based on temperature/humidity)
• 3 tablespoons half and half (varies based on temperature/humidity)

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and shortening. Whip together with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk until well combined.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Alternately add the half and half, whipping the icing on medium-high speed after each addition, until the desired consistency is reached.

Bella's Minnie Mouse Birthday Cake

COOKIES!!!

Bowling Cake

Miscellaneous Cupcakes

 

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake with Caramel Icing

 DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

First of all let me just say that one of my favorite cook books to use is The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I love it. It was gift from my husband's grandmother and honestly one of the best gifts ever. It gives all kinds of tips and hints which the authors have tried. I made dark chocolate cupcakes out of this book. They are so rich and good.

I made them quite a while ago, just never got around to posting.

So, first, make sure you read through every recipe BEFORE you begin. That way you make sure you have everything and it gives you a clear idea of what to expect. Then gather all your ingredients.
For 24 cupcakes you will need the following:

16 Tbsp of unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut up

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I am cheap and used regular old unsweetened cocoa powder)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

Microwave the butter, chocolate and cocoa in a bowl stirring often until smooth and to prevent burning. Then set it aside to let it cool until just warm.

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

Then whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set it aside.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the sugar until combined. 

Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture slowly. (Remember to cool the mixture, you don't want scrambled eggs in your cupcake.)

 Sift one third of the flour over the batter and whisk.

 Whisk in the sour cream. Then whisk in the remaining sifted flour mixture. The mixture will be nice and thick, you can still mix it together by hand. Your arm will only be a little sore when you are done. But, nothing a dark chocolate cupcake can't fix, right?

Fill the cupcake liners with batter to about 2/3 full. The best way is with an ice cream scoop. I prefer the red #24 scoop that I bout at Smart & Final.

Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes. Technically you should rotate the pan half way through baking but I usually don't. As much as my electric oven sucks, it does cook pretty evenly.
Let them cool on a wire rack for a few minutes in the pans then, remove and cool completely before icing.