Baking Bites. Chocolate Orange. It’s been a while since I baked a batch of cupcakes, but I started to get the itch for some of the miniature cakes this weekend and pulled out my trusty cupcake pan. Some freshly picked oranges – plucked from the tree before the orange-loving squirrels could get to them – were my inspiration to make some orange and chocolate cupcakes. I used a simple cake recipe that I come back to time and again.
I’ve heard it called wacky cake and eggless cake before, but it’s just a good one in my book no matter what name it goes by. The cake uses no eggs and no butter (it’s vegan, actually), and it can be mixed up in just one bowl. Typically, it gets its leavening from a combination of baking soda and vinegar added to the batter and is moistened with vegetable oil. Since orange juice is acidic, I left out the vinegar and introduced a good amount of orange juice to the cake.
Using cocoa powder in the cupcakes gives them a really good, strong chocolate flavor. Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 12. Root Beer Float Cupcakes. I have been itching to make some root beer cupcakes with my bottle of Sonoma Syrup Co’s Root Beer Syrup because the syrup is so flavorful and seemed like it would pass on a great root beer flavor into baked goods. The syrup has concentrated the root beer flavor and it comes through much more strongly (and more naturally) than using root beer-flavored extract might. Once I had cupcakes, I decided to keep on going and turn them into Root Beer Float Cupcakes by topping them off with vanilla ice cream The cupcakes are moist and have a nice, tight crumb that seems to pass on more flavor in each bite. You can really taste the root beer, and the hint of vanilla – which many root beers also include – rounds out the flavor. If you don’t have the root beer syrup, and don’t want to buy it, you have two options to make these cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 350F. To Finish: Cut a small cone out of the top of each cupcake and place a small (1-2 oz) scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Makes 12. Cardamom Chai Cupcakes. It’s easy to make filled cupcakes and it’s a handy kitchen skill to have because it allows you to do more with your cupcakes than just frost them. You can improve a dry cupcake by infusing some moisture into it with a creamy filling and you can bring in new flavor to an otherwise plain expanse of cake. I filled up these Cardamom Chai Spiced Cupcakes with a lemon frosting for the latter reason, bringing in a lot of bright citrus flavor to give the cake a burst of summertime with each bite. The cupcakes themselves are flavored with vanilla, cardamom and chai tea. Brew the chai tea as you would if you were going to pour yourself a cuppa (or maybe a bit on the strong side), then let it cool down to room temperature. The chai tea goes into the cake with the milk and other ingredients, giving each bite a subtle hint of all of the spices that go into a chai.
I added cardamom to the cake, as well. Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 16 cupcakes. Ming makes cupcakes. Bakerella. Bake It in a Cake. Pink Heart–Filled Cupcakes with Strawberry Taffy Frosting These vanilla bean cupcakes really have heart. Cut or bite into one to see how much love went into them. The best part: they’re surprisingly simple. And if your sweetheart happens to be a chocolate fan, you could just as easily bake your heart into some chocolate cake batter. Makes 12 cupcakes Cupcakes ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature1½ cups granulated sugar3 large eggsSeeds from 1 vanilla bean2 teaspoons baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon salt2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour1⅓ cups whole milkRed food coloring Frosting 10 bite-sized pieces strawberry taffy2 tablespoons heavy cream1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature2 cups powdered sugar12 pieces Sweetheart candy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Tip: Don’t know how to use vanilla bean? Does your love story not have a happy ending? Thanks for visiting Bake It in a Cake! Feel free to contact me with any questions: bakeitinacake@gmail.com. Heritage Red Velvet Cake. I have made and tasted many versions of red velvet cake, but this one stands out as a favorite. I call it "heritage" red velvet because it has been passed down, passed around -and now I'm passing it on to you! This recipe uses butter instead of shortening or oil, and it is bright red as opposed to the usual dark red or brown-red. The soft, moist crumb is the result of a healthy dose of buttermilk in the batter... ... and that is key! You can't make a good red velvet cake without buttermilk. Before I get to the specifics of the cake, I'd like to share a recent feature. Sprinkle Bakes is featured in the February/ March issue of Yum Food and Fun magazine.
This magazine can be found at grocery stores or at your local book store. Back to business! When making red velvet, I always mix the cocoa powder and liquid red food coloring together to form a paste. For the heart template, trace the bottom of a cake pan on wax paper, cut out the 9" circle. Heritage Red Velvet Cake [click to print]
Choco Cuppies w/ Flaming Strawberries. Call me easily amused, but these little torch-topped cupcakes delight me. Besides being a cute novelty item for a party, I think they would add a little drama to the end of a romantic meal. I've been looking for something different to serve for Valentine's dessert, and this is definitely different. The strawberries are hollowed out and filled with a bit of liquor, then ignited with a match. For the cake portion, I chose a One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe because 1. it's quick 2. it is easy, and 3. it fits my prerequisite for a light ending on date night. I should say, a light ending provided you don't eat too many.
The cakes are just sweet enough, and have a light, fluffy crumb - the perfect vehicle for rich chocolate buttercream. Notes for flaming strawberries:Any alcohol below 80 proof will not ignite well. Shaina made a margarita version of this on Babble Food. Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries Yield: About 20 cupcakes [click to print]Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Vanilla Cupcakes. Can you believe March is only a few days away? That means St. Paddy's day is not far behind. I'm all for starting the celebration early, so let the baking of green treats begin! While shopping at the market last week I spotted some of the greenest pistachios I've ever seen! Isn't it wonderful that such a brilliant color can occur naturally? I was inspired. I had to have them. They ended up being ground in the food processor for a colorful topping. The frosting is a yummy cream cheese and honey combo that goes nicely with the pistachios.
We can pretend. Yield: 15 Cupcakes Cake: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 6 Tbsp butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 vanilla bean, seeded and hull discarded 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk Heat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with papers. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Honey Cream Cheese Frosting: 1 stick of butter, softened. Pink Snoball Cakelettes. There's nothing like a pretty pink dessert to lift your spirits, and these little pink cakes definitely make me smile. Their appearance reminds me of Hostess SnoBalls in miniature. I found the recipe online, and after reading it entirely, I realized that a few ingredients and measurements had been left out of the text.
(Believe me, I'm not passing judgment. I've accidentally done this before!) Inspiration: The trees outside my window are pink! The finished batter will be very thick. Grease a mini muffin pan with shortening and fill the muffin cups with batter. These need to be dipped quickly. After a thorough coating in the sticky syrup, you'll roll them in coconut. After several dips, your coconut may turn pink like mine did. (...love it!) This recipe makes about 3 dozen. Cake ingredients: 1 stick plus 1 tbsp. butter 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon coconut extract 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, sifted 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup milk. Cake in a Jar. What happens when you take the classic flavor of red velvet cake, zap it in the microwave in under two minutes, then serve it layered with nutella and cream cheese frosting in a jar? I’d tell you, but since making a batch of such cakes myself, I’ve been living on a golden cloud while a shirtless Fabio feeds me grapes and escargot.
Dreamy, people. That’s what this cake is. If you can’t do dreamy tonight, no worries. You can make this cake, layer it with all that crazy-headed goodness, then twist on a canning lid and toss it in the fridge until you’re ready to have your world rocked. Now what could be better than that? I’ll ask Fabio then get back to you on that one. Red Velvet Nutella Cake-in-a-Jar 1 box chocolate cake mix, prepared according to package directions1 teaspoon red food coloring1/2 cup Nutella1 jar cream cheese frosting3 pint-sized canning jars Thoroughly wash and dry the inside of each canning jar.
Stir the red food coloring into the prepared cake batter.