Cupcake #6: Moving Blues Banana Caramel Cupcakes

I was SO excited to try these cupcakes! I love banana and anything caramel, so thought they would be an interesting combination together. They weren't overly sweet and they turned out so cute too!

Ingredients for Cupcakes: -1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temp. -2 room-temp. eggs, separated (yolks will be used in frosting) -3 Tbsp. milk -1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas -1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar -1 c. flour -1 tsp. baking powder -2 Tbsp. potato starch -1/2 tsp. salt -5-6 pieces soft caramels

To Make the Cupcakes: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 10-12 cupcake papers in pan. 2. Cream butter and 1/2 c. sugar in electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 mins.

3. Add bananas, baking powder, potato starch and salt, and beat until smooth. 4. Fold in the flour with a rubber spatula. 5. Add the milk and mix until combined. 6. Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Do not overmix. It's better if the peaks are slightly soft than too stiff. This takes about 3 mins. on high speed. Gradually add in the 2 Tbsp. of sugar.

7. Fold the egg-white mixture into the batter until combined.

8. Scoop into lined cupcake pans. Fill each cake three-fourths of the way to the top.

9. Cut 5-6 (1/2 for each cupcake) caramels in half and submerge one piece in each cupcake.

10. Bake ~15-20 mins. or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

11. Cool for 5 mins. and then move to baking racks. Caramel Frosting: -6 soft caramels -1/4 c. milk -1/4 c. banana

-1/4 tsp. salt -2 egg yolks -1/2 c. powdered sugar -1 c. butter To Make the Frosting: 1. Place caramels, milk, banana and salt in a saucepan over med. heat. Remove from heat when the caramels are melted.

2. In separate bowl beat egg yolks and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until thick, about 3 mins. 3. Slowly add the yolk mixture to slightly cooled caramel mixture. I suggest placing the caramel mixture in a cool saucepan to aid in dropping the temp. If the caramel is too hot, it will cook the egg. But we don't want to completely cool it because the mixture is about to be heated on the stove again. 4. Place the combined mixture over med-low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

5. Beat 2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temp, at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 mins. 6. With mixer on low speed, slowly add cooled caramel mixture. 7. Once caramel is added, beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

8. Pipe frosting on cupcakes using pastry bag and tip of choice.

Cupcake #5: S'more Cupcakes

Who doesn't love s'mores? Mmm...one of the tastiest summer treats and now, in cupcake form! This was a fun cupcake to make (and eat!) A white cupcake filled with chocolate chips, marshmallow frosting and topped with crushed graham cracker! This would be a cupcake I would like to try and make different ways to capture the best s'mores flavor! It was pretty tasty :) Ingredients for cupcake: -1 c. unsalted butter, room temp. -4 eggs, room temp. -1 c. heavy cream -1 vanilla bean (scrape out and use black seeds) -2 c. sugar -2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour -2 tsp. baking powder -1/2 tsp. salt -1 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips To Make the Cupcakes: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place liners into cupcake trays. 2. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3-5 mins. 3. Add eggs and beat another two minutes. 4. Cut the vanilla bean into two and scrape out the brown innards. Add the mixture. Beat for 1 minute. 5. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips together in a separate bowl. 6. Add to the batter. Stop when the batter is completely blended. 7. Whip heavy cream in a cold bowl until soft peaks form, fold into batter. 8. Pour into paper liners. Fill 3/4 of the way to the top. 9. Bake ~20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. 10. Cool for 5 mins. and then place on baking racks. Ingredients for frosting: -1 c. unsalted butter, room temp. -5 ounces Crisco -2 c. marshmallows --> you may need to add more depending on the flavor -2 tsp. vanilla - ~5 graham crackers To Make the Frosting: 1. Cream butter and Crisco together. 2. Melt marshmallows in microwave. Microwave ~30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until melted. 3. Whip melted marshmallows in blender or with electric mixer (be sure to do this quickly or the marshmallow will harden). Whip them until they are fluffy, about 2 minutes. 4. Add vanilla. Mix until combined. 5. Add butter mixture and beat until fluffy, about 2 mins. If frosting is too thin, put in refrigerator until firm. 6. Frost cooled cupcakes. Crush graham crackers and sprinkle on top. *Recipe says it makes 18 cupcakes, but I got a batch of 25*

Whiteout cake with Raspberry Cream

It was just my dad's birthday and we celebrated with this cake! This cake is one of my go-to's for white cake. It's fluffy, light and delicious! The frosting/filling is simply raspberries (mashed and whole) mixed in with some whipping cream and confectioners' sugar. What's your favorite birthday cake?

Cupcake #4: Margarita, Hold the Salt

This is such a clever cupcake! I was really excited to make this one because it's so different and a fun idea. They turned out really cute and they taste AMAZING :) Ingredients for Cupcake: -1/4 c. lime juice -1 1/2 tsp. lime zest -1 c. milk -1/4 c. vegetable oil -2 tsp. tequila -1/2 tsp. vanilla -1 c. sugar -1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour -1/4 tsp. baking soda -1/2 tsp. baking powder -2 Tbsp. potato starch -1/2 tsp. salt -1 pint fresh raspberries To Make the Cupcakes: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 12 paper liners into cupcake trays. 2. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, zest, milk, oil, tequila, vanilla, potato starch and sugar. 3. In a bowl, measure flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk or sift together to ensure they are thoroughly combined. 4. Add dry ingredients to lime mixture and stir until just combined. 5. Gently fold fresh raspberries into the batter with a rubber spatula. 6. Pour into paper liners. Fill 3/4 of the way to the top. 7. Bake for ~15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 8. Let cool for 5 minutes and then place on baking racks. Ingredients for Frosting: -1/4 c. salted butter, room temp. -1 Tbsp. milk -3 Tbsp. lime juice -1 Tbsp. tequila -2 c., plus more if needed, of powdered sugar To Make the Frosting: 1. Beat together butter, milk, lime juice, tequila and 2 c. of powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. 2. If the frosting is too thin, wait 5 minutes. It will thicken. If it's still too thin after 5 mins, add more sugar very slowly. The frosting should be stiff, but spreadable. If the frosting becomes too thick, add more lime juice or milk. 3. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes. **If you're not crazy about the tequila flavor in the frosting, leave it out or cut back and just replace with more lime juice** ~Decorate how you'd like! I sprinkled on some lime zest and topped with half a raspberry :)

Cupcake #3: The Devil Made Me Do It And I Liked It

The title for this one is pretty funny...doesn't really describe the cupcake at all--it's a chocolate cupcake, with a peanut butter buttercream filling and topped with a chocolate ganache and some roasted peanuts. It was very good! My favorite part was the peanut butter buttercream...mmmm. The cake was fluffy and moist and complemented the peanut butter--obviously! Chocolate and peanut butter are a great combo ;) Ingredients for the cupcake: -1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp. -3 eggs, room temp. -1/2 c. buttermilk -1 1/2 c. granulated sugar -1 tsp. vanilla -1/2 c. strong, hot coffee -1 1/4 c. cake flour -1/2 c. Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder -1 tsp. baking soda -1/4 tsp. baking powder -1/2 tsp. salt To Make the Cupcakes: 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place 12 paper liners in cupcake trays (My batch made ~16). 2. Cream butter and sugar together in an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3-5 mins. 3. Add the eggs and beat another 2 mins. 4. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. 5. Mix the buttermilk and vanilla together. 6. Beat in a third of the flour mixture. 7. Beat in the buttermilk mixture. 8. Add a third of the flour mixture. 9. Add the coffee. 10. Add the rest of the flour and mix until combined. 11. Pour the batter into the paper liners. Fill the tins about halfway. 12. Bake ~15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 13. Cool for 5 mins. and then place on baking racks. Peanut Butter Buttercream Filling: -1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temp. -1 c. creamy peanut butter -1 1/4 c. sifted powdered sugar 1. Cream the butter and peanut butter together until smooth. 2. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3-5 mins. 3. Fit a pastry bag with a medium plain tip. 4. Fill the pastry bag with the filling. 5. Insert the tip into each cupcake and squeeze about 3 Tbsp. of filling into each cupcake. Ganache: -4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped -1/2 c. heavy cream -1 c. roasted peanuts, chopped 1. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. 2. Bring the cream to a scald in a small saucepan. 3. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit 1 min., then whisk until smooth. 4. Let sit for 10 mins. until thick but still pourable. 5. Dunk the top half of the cupcakes into the frosting to coat, then place on a rack. 6. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Again, if you want to read this cute book, it's called The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross! It's a quick read and full of fun cupcake recipes :)