Butterbeer cupcakes

I may have mentioned this but i freaking LOVE Halloween.  It's probably only second to Christmas, because Christmas has presents (!!) and twinkly lights (who DOESN'T love twinkly lights?).  So in honor of the wonderful holiday I threw a gigantic Halloween party.  This party had a slight Harry Potter theme because we're all 20 somethings and that was our childhood.  Harry Potter is almost as great as Halloween so the two together is pretty amazing.

The first treat I'll share was the most popular: butterbeer cupcakes.  Now I'm not a fan of butterscotch.  Even the smell is overpowering but here it's pretty delicious in moderation.  Another I hate: buttercream frosting.  Personally, I blame buttercream for the perception that cake is too sweet.  It's powdered sugar and butter, so blah.  Plus this cupcake needs to be creamy like the real butterbeer in Harry Potter so I made an executive decision and created a magical Swiss meringue buttercream.  Soooo good.  Seriously, restrain yourself and try to get them on the cupcakes.  It's worth it.

Banana Split Cupcakes

School is officially in full swing.  So now I have work, classes, homework and volunteer stuff to get done in addition to trying to find time to bake and post here.  It's tiring.  I try to reserve it for special occasions on the weekends.  Last weekend my roommates and I threw a little house warming party.  I was immediately drawn to the idea of banana split flavored cupcakes.  It still feels like summer here, it is only a little cooler and the leaves haven't even turned so I felt like I needed a summery recipe.  Plus they're so festive and cute!  I admit, the cute part was really the deciding factor but they turned out to be really delicious!

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

I'm kind of the go to birthday goodie provider for my friends.  This means I get quite a few cupcake requests, but I only grant them for the most special of people.  Jackie is one of those people.  She's a pretty cool chick and when she requested these cupcakes I just couldn't say no.  She pinned these a while ago and had been craving them ever since and I can't say that I blame her.  The caramel Swiss Meringue buttercream is delicious and smooth enough to compliment the crunch of the toffee bits and the chocolate base is moist and perfectly chocolaty making them the perfect way to celebrate a 22nd (or any) birthday.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Stop what you are doing right now.  Seriously, stop.  These cupcakes are hold the presses good.  They're not a literal translation of a cheesecake but rather a sophisticated hybrid that will leave everyone asking for more.  I think that they might even be better than the cookie dough cupcakes I posted a couple months ago.  I brought these into work on my last day to thank all of the truly wonderful people I worked with this summer and they were gone before 11am.  Don't wait.  In fact, what are you doing still reading this?  When you think back on your regrets ten years from now, not making these cupcakes immediately will be near the top of the list.  So get to it.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Sometimes it's the end of the summer, it's raining, you're feeling a little sad and you decide you need a pick me up.  So you decide to make some lemon wonderfulness in the form of cupcakes with cream cheese icing because this the kind of problem best solved by cream cheese.  Actually, most problems would be best solved by cream cheese and buttermilk and this has both!!

Strawberry Cupcakes

As I think I've mentioned before, I love fruit.  I especially love fruit in baked goods.  And strawberries are pretty high up on my list of favorite fruits.  I've made these cupcakes before and it's the frosting that sets them apart.  Swiss meringue buttercream is, in my opinion, far superior to regular, run of the mill buttercream.  It doesn't overwhelm you with sweetness and the texture is smooth.  In fact, this particular frosting tastes a little like strawberry icing.  

Red Velvet Cupcakes

There's something about red velvet cake.  I don't know what it is.  Don't get me wrong, it's delicious but the craze surrounding it is a little weird.  It's probably the red color, people love red food.  But really the hype should surround cream cheese frosting.  That stuff is crack cocaine.  Actually, I haven't tried crack cocaine so I'm not an authority but I imagine this is kind of like that. The cake part of these is good, but the frosting is by far the best part of these cupcakes.  This is hands down the best cream cheese frosting I've tried and given my love of cream cheese; I've tried a bunch.  I won't even look at other recipes and it would take some impressive convincing to make me feel otherwise (and those who know me will tell you I'm a little stubborn). 

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

These were relative latecomers to my menu.  As I sat up late one night waiting for yet another batch of cupcakes to emerge from the oven, I sipped my cup of what was probably my millionth cup of coffee.  Now, those of you who've looked through my recipes may have noticed I kinda like coffee, and by like I mean obsessed with and addicted to.  So naturally, I wondered why I didn't have a coffee cupcake in my repertoire.  It seemed like only a natural addition and it was.  I looked through several dozen recipes until this one caught my eye.  And thus, these lovely cakes were born.  The cake is a lovely chocolate with a hint of coffee flavor while the frosting is truly espresso flavor at its finest.  It may of been a late comer but it sure was a strong contender for favorite (at least for me).

Oreo Cream Cupcakes

After my Cookie Dough Cupcakes these Oreo Creams are my second most popular cupcake.  They're light and fluffy and the hidden bits of Oreo make for a delicious eating experience.  The frosting is a great cream cheese/whipping cream mix and was the favorite of at least one of my taste testing audience. I recommend garnishing the top with cookie Crumbs and an Oreo half for aesthetics and extra Oreo goodness!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These were by far the most popular of all my cupcake recipes.  In fact, they're down right addicting.  These bad boys had people knocking on my door asking for one more.  Not kidding, it happened a couple times in the middle of the night.  It was weird but once you've had theses you'll understand their desperation.  Before you make these I'll warn you that once you make these you WILL make them again.  And when you eat them your addiction won't be pretty.