Banana Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

I make or bring treats for everyone of my student's birthdays so I thought that I would let the next birthday boy pick the recipe that I was going to make. This gent looked at the website and he selected these. He was sure pleased with his selection! He told me that he never had cupcakes that were that good.

After I made these cupcakes last week I realized that Martha has renamed this recipe for her website and that Mindy and I have made the same cupcakes!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/banana-cupcakes-with-caramel-buttercream

I did not use nuts or white flour. I did make them with a 2/3 brown rice and 1/3 corn flour and the cake turned out amazing!

Ok, I don't think Mindy had any problems making her cupcakes but I sure did! I know I am the weakest link when it comes to our little threesome and that baking is not my strong point - I make amazing spaghetti sauce from scratch that will know your socks off! but I am really trying.

These took me 40 minutes to make and cook the muffin part; however, the icing took me 2 hours because IT IS REALLY HARD! My bananas were not very ripe but they worked just fine and the muffins were amazing not dry at all and they lasted really well.

The icing was another story all together! I tried to do too much and I failed twice in two different places! I looked at the recipe and it looked like I was going to have to cook up the caramel and the egg whites I thought that I would just do it at he same time but instead they both started to boil! My eggs white cooked and I knocked the double boiler over when I was trying to get it off the stove and THEN! my caramel crystallized in my pan and I had a large rock of stuck sugar glued to my pot. I had to chuck out the egg whites and re-start the double boiler where Angel my daughter came and stirred the whites for me while I tried to mend the caramel.

I did not give her very good instructions regarding what she needed to do other than stir the pot with a whisk. I put some more water in the pot of rock hard sugar which re-liquefied once it was no longer dried out it came back to life and I thought I had a hope. Angel did not know what she was doing and kept asking me questions (which is good on one hand) but she distracted me from the caramel - which was not really boiling - then whilst I was helping with the egg whites my caramel dried right up and turned into CRAP! So while Angel started to beat the whites I put more water into the pot and kind of over did it with the water and then I had to wait for EVER for the water to dissolve and the caramel to form - but when I did OMG! what a fantastic tasty treat! All by itself it was terrific! The rest of the instructions were very straight forward and the icing is amazing.

My hubby was eating the muffins by simply breaking them apart and dipping them into the frosting lol!

I would certainly make these cupcakes again - now that I know to just take my time. and I would make the muffing part just as muffins because they are just so terrific!

Leah's Late Entry "Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting"

Okay so I am late as always. I have been in Lloydminster the last two days for Curling (School teams), so getting up at the crack of dawn so I could be in Saskatchewan for 8:00am has been a bit tiring.  I made the actual Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes on Sunday, but have not found time to make the cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes were easy to make, straightforward. I think I left them to long baking so the seem a tad dry, but I will have some students taste test them tomorrow.  I kept forgetting to leave the cream cheese out as it is required to be at room temperature, as well as the butter, which my husband yesterday had put back in the fridge and therefore why they did not get frosted yesterday! LOL

The actual cupcakes are nice, very similar taste to pumpkin pie, so I recommend for anyone who loves pumpkin pie to try out these cupcakes! The actual picture in the book asks you to make Marzipan Pumpkins, which I did not do...maybe some other time.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Holy Crap are these expensive cupcakes! I spent 35$ on the ingredients I did not have at home the vanilla bean was 5 bucks the marscapone was 10 the cream 5 the chocolate scrappings were 4 bucks, etc, etc.


These cupcakes were the toughest to make the instructions were vague at best and I was not sure what to mix where and how. I was really excited to make these as I had no clue what tiramisu was I have only ever seen them in the store and they looked good I thought it would have a coffee flavour but it is only a hint of it but still nice. These ones are tricky little buggers that I have re-named with four letter words.


You have to make sure you read all of the instructions before you start - usually, I just read the ingredients and go through the steps one by one but this one you need to read it completely and plan your steps. Even then you may get confused - or maybe I am just a retard. I sliced open the vanilla bean and it did not have seeds in it so I thought, "Well this one doesn't have seeds!". I looked at it really close and there is this gunk under the peeling and so I scrapped that off with a knife and dumped it in the milk. I wanted to try the bean because I did not know what it was like and that is when I realized that the gunk really was little tiny seeds! Who knew!


The once the milk steeped it was a very intense flavour not what I would call vanilla - probably because I have never had the real stuff before lol - but it was very tasty. So I beat the eggs then put them on a double boiler and whiped them then I beat them again to make it all nice and fluffy when travisty hit ... duh duh duh ... it fell all of my hard work and the fluff fell and my heart sank with it.


So I sadly poured my floppy and sticky batter into the cupcake wrappers. :(

The coffee-marsala syrup was easy to make and tastes great! I did not have the right kind of wine so I just used the kind I had on the shelf - I had to open it for an ounce so now that I have finished the marathon of baking I am indulging lol! I brushed the cupcakes with the syrup3-4 times and let them sit for about an hour before I iced them.

The icing for this one is super easy and fast. Mike is crazy for the icing - he is a whipped cream fanatic. I would not use the fancy marsacapone chesse ever again, it does not add to the whipped cream it does not add a distinctive flavour or a level of texture it was 10 bucks and not worht it one bit. It is just like the whipped cream you would make for pie (sans vanilla).

I did not dust my cupcakes with cocao - I used white, dark, and milk chocolate curls that I picked up when I was out with Leah today. We were going to all these home stores looking for items we need to make the cupcakes and I came across them and thought that they would go nicely witht he tiramisu. I was right! I made one dusted and compared the two and the choclate curls won hands down.

My new mixing bowls were so good! They are deep and that is great for when you are making icing because I always seem to be spraying myself with icing or egg whites or batter or what ever is in my shallow bowls.

The muffin part of the cupcake was really tasty the vanilla bean gives it an exotic flavour and the coffee-marsala was enough to top it off without all the cream. I am not a huge fan of heaps of icing or cream. A little dab'll do ya' eh'! I made these ones with half corn and half brown rice flour and I think I need to use more rice and less corn. It was still a little dry but you don't notice with all the cream or even just the coffee-marsala syrup makes it all better.

Mike and Brad did not find these to be dry they loved it. They ate 4 in an hour! These do not keep once they are iced for more than 24 hours. I am afraid I will wake up in the morning and I will have a bucket of mush in the fridge which makes the expense not worth it.

Banana Pecan Cupcakes

Well because I decided to thaw my frozen banana's to make some banana bread today, I decided to make the banana pecan cupcakes with caramel butter cream frosting.

The cupcake batter came together nice and quick, and bakes quickly too. The recipe calls for 20 minutes of baking. I checked mine at 14 minutes and they were done already...I am noticing that my cooking times tend to be shorter than the times mentioned in her recipes, not sure if it is the oven, pans, etc. so beware of this.

Landon made a few with chocolate chips in them, which he of course found more to his liking...he is so predictable!

Anyway, I was making these around lunch time, and started on the meringue butter cream frosting - my sister's problem child. I should have stopped, as I was feeling rushed to get out of the house...and I was misreading the recipe and had to start over on the first step. This should have been my sign to stop, but nope...I kept on thinking I could get it done before leaving...or at least most of it.

So, I figured I had step one on the go (caramelizing sugar and water), and it was taking forever, so I would move on to the next steps and save myself some time. I was mixing and measuring, and only at the last moment as I was thinking to myself...this seems strange...I realized that step two was also down the tubes! I didn't realize that I needed to whip the butter and set it aside and then mix egg whites and sugar together over a pot of simmering water. So I had the butter in the bowl too and had to throw it all out!

So, I thought maybe I would have the Caramel sauce from part one ready for later, but it was taking FOREVER...and I got impatient and started noticing the sugar was crystallizing on the sides of the pot, so I was trying to get it off, but at this point I was mixing the sugar water too much and it hardened right up and turned back into sugar...but insanely hard sugar. UGH! So I ended up calling off the icing and throwing all my efforts out...not to mention all of the dishes I had to clean up still!

So we tried to head to the city for a dinner with the in laws, but the highways were so bad that they closed it and we were routed into Stony Plain, so we grabbed supper and headed home. As soon as we got home (after a trip to the store for more supplies) I started in on the icing.

I decided this time I would take it nice and slow, one step at a time so I didn't get confused or too distracted and screw something up again.

The first step of caramelizing the sugar water took FOREVER and a day...I would say nearly a half hour, and I needed to use a wet pastry brush to keep the sugar from building up on the sides of the pot.

Then the next step of whipping the butter, I started on this while the first step was under way, since it was taking forever and I was getting restless. Then started the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over simmering water - this went quickly as I remembered the last time I made this. Then into the mixer it goes to beat until it is cool, forms peaks, and is shiny and smooth.

The Caramel sauce finally came together at this point and then just sat to cool on the stove, looked awesome...I know how to make a delicious caramel sauce now!

Okay, so the egg white mixture looked right...I remember last time I made it I whipped it for alot longer, but I wasn't watching the time and it looked okay. Then you add the butter while continuously whipping the mixture. This is where things started looking lumpy and separated as my sister Leah describes. I was beginning to think that I had messed it up, but figured that I would keep going and see how it ended.

The recipe calls for a paddle on the stand mixer for the last step, where you mix in the caramel sauce...and I then remembered that the last time I made it, this was the crucial step as well, although I already had the paddle on when adding butter last time, so I didn't notice the lumpy separated looking mess.

I added the caramel and within seconds of turning it on medium-high setting, it became smooth and silky butter cream. It needs to be paddled for 5 minutes in the mixer...I think this is the secret to butter cream.

So, once it was done, I iced the cupcakes and voila!

The most scrumptious cupcake I think I have made yet. I personally love banana bread, and the pecans and caramel accents are quite delightful. I would most definitely recommend this recipe...but to save yourself some anxiety, please use a mixer, or get a paddle attachment for your hand mixer (if they even have those).

My little taste tester quite enjoyed these as well!

Devil's Food Cupcakes W/Chocolate Ganache Frosting....ummmm

Well I have made my Devil's Food Cupcakes. I was super excited to use the Cocoa I bought at Costco (it is Dutch Process, which the recipe asks for). The batter ends up being really thick and rich. I only got 30 cupcakes, although it claims to make 34; however mine did rise really nicely so depending on how high you want your cupcakes if you cut a bit off per cup you probably will end up with 34!

Devil's Food Batter...nice and rich

Unfrosted Cupcakes

I am also going to make the prescribed Chocolate Ganache frosting...hopefully I shall have better luck than the Meringue Buttercream.LOL Because the sauce gets hard quick I have procrastinated to insure I have time to quickly ice the cupcakes, so I need a "no interruptions" time. We have had a sample of the un-iced cupcakes. Fred finds them dry...although he was eating a chocolate mint cookie at the time, which may have impacted his taste. I felt they were lighter than I expected them to be, but a rich taste. Fred has "tasted" another now (I hope this is not so confusing as I have been adding through the day) and still feels they are a tad dry, but not really dry? WTF I will hopefully get a batter taste tester. I try to reinforce to my husband how lucky he has it...a Martha Stewart like wife in the house, but I am not sure he gets how lucky he is!

So right at the minute I am making the Chocolate Ganache frosting (its 9:00 pm) these are all day events for me.LOL I  had to chop up blocks of chocolate and then simmer some cream and corn syrup...then add the cream and corn syrup mixture to the chocolate chopped up...careful not to over stir...WTF does that mean? Anyways I just bloody stirred it in a "slow" fashion until the bloody stuff mixed together! Duh. I am now at the "put in the fridge and stir every 5 minutes until it starts holding its shape"...with the bloody warning that "use it quickly as it will harden up quickly and you will need to reheat if that happens" Oh joy and I thought buttercream Meringue was bad! LOL Lucky I am not piping this stuff but slapping it onto the cupcake, very nicely I am sure with swirls. Than I get to make some lovely chocolate curls...I am using my multi grater to do this so wish me luck. I am sure to grate my skin off....promise not to get on the cupcakes...at least I won't tell you, but just be forewarned.

Cream & Corn Syrup added to Chocolate Chunks

Chocolate Ganache Frosting now blended

So stirring every 5 minutes until it takes shape has actually taken roughly 20 minutes so far, but it still not at that magic stage. But this frosting is very, very rich! Beware...I doubt Fred will appreciate this amazing frosting...nope probably scrap the stuff off! Need better taste testers so I will bring some to work, and for students on Tuesday. I am also planning on just trying to whip up some other cupcakes this week as I go, so stay tuned for those. I am thinking a pumpkin one as well as this Banana Pecan one, but may not be able to take those to school due to the nuts...hmmm, may need to rethink this.

Okay stirring we are now at 30 minutes....

I am figuring out why in the recipe it says nothing of how long these "5 minute" stirs happen for...so my warning to anyone is that you need a lot of time and patience to make this frosting...has to be stirred every 5 minutes so figure that in if you are  multi-tasking. You will also need the time that when this magic frosting is done to quickly frost your cupcakes, because remember the warning "its going to get hard quick and you will have to reheat" and start this LONG process again"...okay now tried my hand at curls...not so cool. Will need to work for these chocolate curl decorations...may mean only a few will get them!

Okay so lets call this the 1 1/2 hour frosting...OMG this took forever!

Finished cupcakes, without chocolate curls

Okay so Mike tested one for me....says its really good, but very rich...that half a cupcake would be good! So be sure to serve with milk.LOL

X and O Valentine's Day Cupcakes

X and Os Valentine's Day Cupcakes

OK - I was not going to make these cupcakes this week I was going to save them for coloser to Valentine's Day but I wanted to make the swiss meringue butter cream icing in order to figure out what went wrong with Leah's.

As you can see my icing turned out great! It took a long time and the whites never did form stiff peeks. I beat them for 20 minutes and whne they were still flacide at best I figures that it was all ready ruined. But it was fine after another 20 minutes for beating the icing all of a sudden separated and looked curdled. I was being sprayed from head to toe with icing as my heat safe bowl is not that big and Brad, my son, was trying to cover my clothes as I was leaving in a few minutes for a fundraising event. I got mad and started to whip the beater around and I could see some of the icing reforming and it smoothed right out. I took the bowl and immediately put it in a huge bowl of ice water and used my spatula to evenly fold the icing over and over until all the bubbles were gone. The icing got thicker and thicker (it's been in my fridge for two days and it is like a rock). It was easy to use but I did not put it in an icing bag and I put the cupcakes in the fridge because I felt the icing was softening sitting on the warm counter.

This time around I used straight corn flour instead of wheat flour and I had some suprising results. It did not rise very much which I did not expect and it would need more vanilla flavouring in future, too. The first cupcake I had (

hot out of the oven with no icing) was wonderful soft and firm no crumbling at all. But after they sat on the counter to cool and they were iced the cake was a little too dry (good thing for the super buttery icing). Next I am going to try a brown rice and corn flour blend to see if I can get a better consistency.

The cupcakes and the icing stated that they made 28 of each and I know that my family will have a hard time eating 12 so I cut all the ingredient in half and there was WAY to much icing. As Mindy noted the icing amounts are insanely huge.

The cupcakes themselves were very simple to make, they are simply the vanilla cupcakes.

My kids went crazy for these cupcakes. Angel licked all the icing off her cupcake and grudgingly ate the cake. Bradley loves them so much he has eaten 5. He says that they are the just all around very good cupcakes even if they are a little dry. Mike really likes the icing but he was a bit taken back by the corn-ish flavour of the cupcakes and he did not like that they were dry (I don't think they would have been dry if you made them with regular flour). I liked the cinnamon hearts they made the whole thing come together.

I loved this cupcake!

Blueberry cupcakes with whipped cream

So I woke up later today thanks to my wonderful husband, who entertained our daughter Taylor all morning to let me sleep in. I decided today was going to be blueberry cupcake day, since I had purchased a large container of blueberries and don't really like to eat them on their own, so I had bought them with the intention of baking with them.

I read in the recipe book - which unfortunately this recipe I wasn't able to find online - that these cupcakes do well as muffins to be eaten on their own, as they freeze well. So, I decided to double the recipe. I should also mention that my husband had to run and grab me milk just so I could make these, and he had come home an hour or so before I started baking.

So, away I go, measuring and mixing, and then I realize in order to double the recipe, I need 8 eggs...and I only have 6! I forgot the home grown eggs that my co-worker and friend bring me, in the fridge at work, so, I had to run to the store again to get eggs.

So...everything is just ticking along, and then I realize that this isn't all going to fit in the stand mixer...the double of the recipe was about 3/4 together and the mixer was FULL...so, I had to move it to another large mixing bowl to add the remaining ingredients and mix it with a hand mixer (which again, my husband to the rescue, purchased for me yesterday while out and about in the city). Then the recipe calls for folding in the blueberries...which I had JUST enough of since I was doubling and all...so that is why there are none on top for garnish...I figured they would do better in the cupcakes than as garnish!

The icing is just whipped cream which can only be stored for 3 hours or it will get all watery, so I only made half of the recipe so we could dress a few cupcakes for pictures and eat some tonight. Since I made 5 dozen of them!

I have split them into packages to place in the freezer, so I can either pull them out if entertaining and just make some whipped cream, or we can eat them as muffins and take them to work for breakfast on the go.

These are nice and moist cupcakes that are lighter than a muffin, but the fruit is a nice kick to what otherwise would be a vanilla cupcake. I plan on taking them to work without the whipped cream, as it will be much too messy and would require me to make the whipped cream at work - which is a tad crazy since people already think I am nuts for bringing in cupcakes every week...no need for them to explain why it sounds like a hand mixer is going in the background of their conference calls at work!

Next weekend will be VALENTINE'S DAY inspired cupcakes...can't wait!