Wait, where are you going? Don’t leave! There isn’t even a whole stick of butter in it!

OK. Just hear me out.

Back in the day (2007) before I knew food blogging was even a thing, I liked to bake and I would sometimes take photos of my baking adventures. Shocking, I know. One particular adventure was with Paula Deen’s Lemon Blossoms. The photos were… not good. But we all have to start somewhere, right?

More important than the photos, the lemon blossoms were awesome. I managed to get some friends hooked on them too. After some trial and error, I learned that the mini muffin sized ones were best. They taste like bright lemony donut holes and being so small, they’re infinitely pop-able.

I haven’t had lemon blossoms in years, but thanks to the early warm weather we’re having I’ve been craving them lately. This time I decided to skip the boxed cake mix so I could scale the recipe to more manageable size. I also shook things up by using in-season Meyer lemons. (Never heard of Meyer lemons? They’re a less tart cross between lemons and oranges.)

I’m happy to report these Meyer Lemon Blossoms are just as bright and addictive as the Paula Deen version. I find myself walking past the container I’ve stashed them in, thinking “Oh, I’ll just have one…” and before I know it, I’ve “just had” half a dozen. I think they’d make perfect little tea cakes for a shower or luncheon, or you can eat them my way – two at a time over standing over the kitchen counter.

Meyer Lemon Blossoms

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Paula Deen
Makes 20-24 mini muffins

While I haven’t tested it, these blossoms should be just as delicious made with regular lemons if you can’t find Meyer lemons. They bake quickly, so keep a close eye on them to avoid over baking – start checking them around 8 minutes. Do NOT skimp on the glaze. It adds a big punch of flavor and helps keep the blossoms moist, so really lay it on thick.

Cake Ingredients

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
zest from 1 Meyer lemon
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup (approximately) milk
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 large egg, at room temperature

Glaze Ingredients

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 tablespoon vegetable / canola oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 – 4 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a non-stick, 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Place Meyer lemon zest and sugar in bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice into a 1 or 2-cup measuring cup, then add milk to reach 1/2 cup. Stir and set aside.

Using the paddle attachment on medium speed, mix sugar and zest together until fragrant and damp, 1-2 minutes. Add butter and beat until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and egg, beat to combine. Add milk mixture and beat to combine. Lastly, add flour mixture 1/3 at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down sides if needed.

Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon (or less) of batter into each cup of the prepared pan and bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (checking after 8), or until top springs back to the touch. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then flip onto wire wrack to cool completely.

To glaze, lay wax paper under a wire rack. Add powdered sugar, zest, oil and vanilla extract to a small bowl. Whisk in 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice, then test consistency (you want it thick but fluid enough to spread) by dipping the top of one muffin in the glaze and setting it upright on the prepared rack. If the glaze runs slowly down the sides of the muffin, it’s perfect. If it’s still too thick, whisk in 1/2 tablespoon more of lemon juice and retest, up to 4 tablespoons. Spoon glaze over cooled muffins or dunk muffins in glaze, and set on wire rack to harden.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Craving More?

I realize St. Patrick’s Day is coming up this weekend, so here are a few recipes to help you celebrate:

• Cheesy Potato Soup with Crispy Prosciutto
• Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting
• Bailey’s Brownies
• Chocolate Stout Cookies with Salted Caramel Frosting & Pretzels

If you’re craving more lemon-y goodness, try these recipes:

• Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars
• Lemon Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
• Limoncello and Mint Sorbet
• Lemon Curd and Cream Layer Cake
• Lemon Blackberry Kuchen

I was thinking about how often apples get overshadowed by pumpkin a few weeks ago when my husband asked me if I wanted to attend a dinner party with some of his coworkers. “Hrmmm. Maybe…”, I said. “They asked us to bring some kind of food to share”, he said. That was all I needed to hear. Not one to pass up an opportunity, I agreed, “I’ll go… but only if I can bring dessert.” I had visions of apples and caramel and cupcakes swirling in my head.

It took me a while to decide on an approach for these cupcakes. Did I want apple cupcakes with caramel frosting? Caramel cupcakes with apple frosting? Would there be enough apple flavor? I was imagining cupcakes that tasted like apple pie (but without the yucky crust) so they really needed to taste like apples.

Ultimately, I decided the best way to pack that punch of apple flavor into a cupcake was to use apple pie filling. Cinnamon cupcakes would compliment the apple filling without overwhelming it, and caramel frosting would be the icing on the cake (ha ha).

I was apprehensive while putting these cupcakes together. I’m not going to lie – they’re pretty labor intensive and not exactly easy. I had doubts about whether they would be worth all the effort, whether they would taste as good as I imagined they would.

In the end, they didn’t.

They tasted approximately a million times better than I had imagined.

I was hoping for good cupcakes, but these were amazing. Fantastic. They got rave reviews at the party, but I thought maybe everyone was just being nice. Until I tasted one myself. I believe I uttered the phrase, “OMG. These are my new favorite cupcakes ever… and they’re not even chocolate!” So yeah. They’re that good. Totally worth every minute they took to create. You won’t find cupcakes like this in a box at the grocery store!

Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

Printable Recipe (Includes all sub-recipes)
Makes about 24 cupcakes

There are several steps to complete before assembling the cupcakes, but some can be done a day ahead to speed things up. The caramel and apple filling can both be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Let them come to room temperature (or gently warm caramel) before using. You won’t need the whole batch of caramel, so feel free to half it if you don’t want a bunch leftover. Any leftover pie filling or caramel sauce makes a fantastic breakfast/snack mixed with Greek yogurt, or a delicious topping for ice cream!

Ingredients

2 cups Apple Filling (below)
1 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce (below)
24 Cinnamon Cupcakes (below)
1 batch of Caramel Swiss Buttercream Frosting (below)

Directions

Working with completely cooled, use a small paring knife to cut out a cone shaped wedge from the center of each cupcake. (Like when cutting the lid off of a jack-o-lantern.) Save the “lids”. If needed, scrape out a little bit of cake from each hole to make more room for filling – just don’t go too far or your cupcakes will fall apart. Fill each hole not quite to the top with Apple Filling (about 1/2 tablespoon). Replace “lids”, trimming off the bottoms of the “lids” if necessary.

Pipe frosting on cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Serve same day as assembled, or freeze for long term storage.

Apple Filling

Printable Recipe
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1.5 pounds (approx.) Honey Crisp apples (about 4 medium), peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, sugars, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender and release their juices – about 10 minutes. In a small bowl or glass, combine cornstarch and water. Add to apples and stir, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. (Cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead.)

Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce

Printable Recipe
Adapted from Annie’s Eats
Makes 2 1/2 cups

A word of caution: Making caramel is tricky. Have patience and have all of your ingredients ready to go. Caramel also gets very, very hot. Much hotter than boiling water. It will spatter, so be careful. Wear long sleeves, use a deep pan or pot, and do not try to taste the hot caramel no matter how much you want to! David Lebovitz has some great tips for making caramel.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Directions

Measure heavy cream in a measuring cup. Scrape out vanilla bean seeds and add to cream. Set aside.

Spread sugar in an even layer on the bottom of a heavy, tall-sided sauce pan or pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently with a heat-proof spatula or whisk to promote even browning, until sugar melts. Once the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring.

Watch carefully. When the caramel turns a rich amber color and smells like caramel, remove from heat and immediately whisk in cream. (Caution: Caramel will bubble violently!) If any sugar has hardened, return to low heat and whisk until smooth.

Cool to room temperature. To store or make ahead, transfer to an air-tight container and keep refrigerated. Caramel can be re-warmed in microwave or in a saucepan over low heat, if needed.

Cinnamon Cupcakes

Printable Recipe
Adapted from Annie’s Eats
Makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Add milk mixture and vanilla, and beat until blended.

Divide evenly among baking tins. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Caramel Swiss Buttercream Frosting

Printable Recipe
Adapted from Flour Child
Makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes

It’s very important that your caramel be no warmer than room temperature when you add it to the frosting, or your frosting will melt.

Ingredients

6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel sauce (above), cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Place a saucepan with about 2 inches of water over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Place bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture an instant-read thermometer reads 160°F. (Sugar will be dissolved and mixture will start to resemble marshmallow fluff.)

Remove bowl from heat and attach to stand mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment until stiff meringue peaks form and the outside of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 10 minutes. Switch to paddle attachment. On low speed, add one cube of butter at a time, waiting until incorporated before adding the next. Once all butter is added, on low speed slowly pour in caramel. Add vanilla and continue beating until smooth. (If frosting curdles, just keep beating! If frosting is soupy, place mixer bowl in fridge for 10-15 minutes and beat until smooth. Repeat if necessary.)

These lovely little cupcakes were made to take to a goodbye party for some of my husband’s coworkers. Since I didn’t know the people I was baking for, I tried to come up with something that was both seasonal and would have almost universal appeal. Like vanilla. Pretty much everyone loves vanilla. And the seasonal part? The beautiful farm fresh strawberries I had in my fridge.

This was only my second or third time making swiss meringue buttercream, but I was excited to combine it’s silky smooth texture with the bright strawberry flavor and oh, I’m so glad I did. These cupcakes turned out like pillowy soft bites of summer. Using the vanilla bean gave the cupcakes an almost exotic flavor, while acting as a perfect canvas to highlight the strawberries in the frosting. They were a big hit! Though I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed that out of the 36 I sent to work with my husband, only 4 came back. I could have easily eaten them all myself.

Mini Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Adapted From Joy the Baker
Makes 30-36 mini cupcakes

You can see my cupcakes were a tad overfilled so for picture perfect cupcakes, try not to fill the cups more than 3/4 full at most.

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1 vanilla bean
1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
fresh mint leaves (optional, for garnish)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two mini cupcake tins with paper liners.

Pour milk into a small saucepan. Split vanilla bean open and scrape out seeds. Add vanilla bean seeds and bean pod to milk and heat over medium heat for just a few minutes, until milk is warm. Do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside to steep.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.

Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk. Set the mixer on low speed and add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk mixture in three batches. Stop mixer when batter is just shy of combined and finish the mixing by hand with a spatula.

Measure out 3/4 tablespoon of batter into each cup of the prepared muffin tins. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventure
Makes enough to frost about 36 mini cupcakes

Even though I’ve made swiss meringue buttercream several times now, I still barely contain my panic when I see it start to get soupy or curdle-y. The trick to swiss meringue buttercream? Don’t panic. Just. Keep. Beating. (If you’ve added all the ingredients, beat for more than 10-15 minutes and it’s still too soupy? Your meringue was probably too warm. Just pop the frosting in the fridge for 5-8 minutes and then resume beating.)

Ingredients

4 ounces fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Direction

Puree strawberries in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Fill medium saucepan with about an inch of water and bring to a simmer. Add egg whites and sugar to the metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a large heatproof bowl). Set bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved (about 140°F on an instant read thermometer). Remove from heat.

Attach bowl to stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until egg mixture is a glossy white meringue with stiff peaks and the bowl no longer feels warm (about 10 minutes). Switch to the paddle attachment. Beating on medium-low speed, add butter one piece at a time, letting each piece incorporate before adding the next. Once all butter is incorporated, scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add strawberry puree and vanilla, and continue beating until frosting is smooth again.

Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes (I used a giant star tip) and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

So you’ve made your pineapple curd and there’s a little bit left that you haven’t eaten straight out of the container. And then there’s those leftover egg whites. What are you going to do?

You’re going to make Pineapple Angel Food Cupcakes, that’s what.

Beautifully light, fluffy, fat-free angel food cupcakes, filled with pineapple curd and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. These are about as healthy as cupcakes get! They’re best assembled and shared the same day (though leftovers will store in the fridge for a few days), making them a perfect treat to end the first cookout of the year.

Pineapple Angel Food Cupcakes

Adapted from Gastronomy Blog
Makes 12 cupcakes

It’s very important that your egg whites are at room temperature and that there is absolutely no egg yolk in them, or they won’t beat up nicely. If you’re not sure how to beat egg whites to soft / stiff peaks, Baking Bites has a nice guide with pictures. Note: These cupcakes are best frosted just before serving, and once filled should be stored in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pineapple Curd (for filling, optional)
Whipped Cream Frosting (below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, flour and salt in a small bowl.

Beat egg whites in the large bowl of a stand mixer mixer (or with a hand mixer) until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar slowly, while beating, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in dry ingredients by hand in 2-3 small increments, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

Divide batter evenly among prepared liners, filling almost to the top, and bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

To fill cupcakes with prepared pineapple curd, cut a cone shaped hole in the top using a small, sharp knife and reserve the removed “cake cone”. Using a pastry bag or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, fill the resulting hole with pineapple curd. Cut the pointy end of the “cake cone” off and replace the “lid”, sealing the hole.

Frost cupcakes with a dollop of whipped cream frosting (below) and top with additional pineapple chunks. Store in the refrigerator.

Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients

2 ounces (8-10 chunks) of pineapple chunks
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Chop pineapple chunks in a food processor, pulsing until pineapple is in small bits but stopping before it becomes puree. Drain pineapple bits and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat whipping cream with a mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat to stiff peaks. Fold in pineapple.

And I do want to.

If you’ve been reading food blogs for more than about 5 minutes, I’m sure you’ve heard about Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake. (If not, Google it.) I’ve had my eye on that cake since I got Baking From My Home To Yours about a year ago, but I have yet to find an occasion to bake it. Tired of waiting to sink my teeth into that fantastic cake, I decided to make it for myself for my birthday. Since I don’t need to eat a whole cake, however, I decided to make it in the form of cupcakes – beautiful, pre-portioned, easy to pawn off on friends cupcakes.

I can say without reservation that these are my favorite non-chocolate cupcakes ever. The cake is light and tender, with a firm crumb that holds together well when sliced. And the buttercream? Oh my. I’ve only ever made quick buttercream frostings before, the kind that use just butter and powdered sugar. But after tasting this magnificent light, fluffy, silky smooth meringue-type buttercream frosting, I’ll never go back to quick buttercream frosting again. The step that requires cooking on the stove intimidated me, not to mention the horror stories of broken, curdled buttercreams, but ultimately it was easier than it sounds and the frosting came together beautifully. It’s so worth the extra effort.

Dorie’s original cake recipe calls for raspberry jam between the layers of cake, and I knew the cupcakes wouldn’t be the same without it. I couldn’t make up my mind about how I wanted to incorporate the jam, so I did it both ways! The first set of cupcakes were hollowed out and filled with the jam, then topped with the frosting and a sprinkling of coconut. The other set gave me an excuse to play with my new pastry bag and tips that I finally bought. I topped them with a thin layer of the buttercream, piped stars around the edge, then spread a layer of jam on top. The end result looked like adorable mini-cakes!

I really can’t recommend this recipe enough. As a cake or as cupcakes, you should come up with an excuse to make this cake right now. And because it’s my birthday, you have to do what I say.

Perfect Birthday Cupcakes

Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Makes 12 cupcakes

This is Dorie’s recipe for the Perfect Party Cake, but halved to make 12 cupcakes. Depending on how much frosting you like on your cupcakes, you may have leftovers. With their light, subtle flavors and a mild amount of sweetness, these cupcakes are perfect for grown-ups, though I would be surprised to find anyone who didn’t like them. Don’t like coconut? You can skip it.

Ingredients For the Cake

1 cup + 2 tablespoons of cake flour
1/2 tbsp of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of buttermilk
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup of sugar
1-2 teaspoons of lemon zest
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract

Ingredients For the Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of butter, room temperature
1/8 cup of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Decorating

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg whites.

In a mixer bowl, combine lemon zest and sugar with your fingers until the sugar is damp. Add the butter to the lemon sugar and beat using the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very light. Beat in the lemon extract. Beating on medium speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients (flour mixture) and the wet ingredients (egg mixture) in 3 steps, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. (So 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 egg mixture, 1/3 flour mixture, remaining egg mixture, then remaining dry.) Once incorporated, beat well for 2 minutes to ensure the better is well mixed and airy.

Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups, filling about 3/4 from the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. The cupcakes will still be very light in color, so don’t let them cook until they brown. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a rack.

Frosting and Assembly

To make the frosting, measure the sugar and egg whites into mixer bowl. Place the mixer bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until hot (140°), about 3 minutes. The sugar will dissolve and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow. Remove from heat. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg mixture on medium speed until cool, about 5 minutes. Switching to the paddle attachment, add butter ½ stick at a time, beating until smooth before adding the next ½ stick. Once the all of the butter is incorporated, beat the frosting on medium-high for 6-10 minutes, until thick and smooth. (If the frosting breaks or curdles, keep beating and it will come together again.) Beating on medium speed, pour in the lemon juice a little bit at a time, combining each bit well before adding the next. Finally, beat in the vanilla extract.

Cool cupcakes completely before frosting. To fill with jam, measure the jam into a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds or until runny when stirred. Cut a cone-shaped hole in the top of the cupcake, slice off the pointy part of the cone, fill the hole with jam, and place the cake “lid” back on top. (Step by step directions for filling cupcakes, with photos, at Baking Bites) Frost cupcakes and stop with a sprinkling or coconut or a layer of jam, as desired.

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator well covered for 2 days, or freeze to store longer. (As if you’ll have any left to store that long.) Let the cupcakes come to room temperature before eating to enjoy the full range of subtle flavors.

This past weekend, I made chocolate chocolate cupcakes for my dad in honor of his birthday. (I inherited my deep love of chocolate from him!) For the cake part, I used the cake recipe from the Irish Carbomb Cupcakes, but (here comes the scary part) I substituted fresh brewed coffee for the Guinness. Then I topped them with the same chocolate glaze I mentioned in my previous Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes post. They were fantastic. Moist, not overly sweet, dark, delicious and super chocolaty. This will definitely be my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe from now on. (I didn’t take any photos because we were too busy eating them they looked exactly like the last batch of chocolate chocolate cupcakes.)

In other news, my mom bought me Ina Garten’s new Back to Basics cookbook a few weeks ago. I’ll eventually write a real review for it, once I have a chance to try some of the recipes, but so far I really like it! Lots of pretty photos (a must in my opinion) and the recipes sound delicious. Plus, any cookbook that has a “recipe” for a cheese plate is a winner in my book!

I could go on and on about the rich chocolaty flavor of the cupcakes and the icing that makes me swoon, but I’ll just say this: these cupcakes are my favorite cupcakes EVER. I’ve eaten many cupcakes in my life, but these would be the cupcakes I would request for my final meal on earth.

The entire final meal, not just the dessert part.

You maybe be wondering about the rose petals in the photo, and while I confess that I do love chocolate and Bailey’s (especially together), the real reason is that I made these cupcakes for Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day is long gone now, but St. Patrick’s day is coming up fast and these delicious cupcakes made with both Guinness and Bailey’s are the perfect way to celebrate the Irish in all of us.

Irish Carbomb Cupcakes
Makes 20-24 cupcakes, a perfect dozen when halved
(from Smitten Kitchen)

Note: While the Guinness will mostly bake out of the cupcakes, the frosting has full proof Bailey’s Irish Cream in it, which is to say that if you or the lucky recipients of these cupcakes don’t drink, these are not the cupcakes for you.

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness) (feel free to substitute fresh brewed coffee)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling (Optional – I skipped it and they were still heavenly!)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag, though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work. (Not needed if you skip the filling.)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.) They store very well, even frosted, in the freezer if for some reason you don’t want to eat them all at once.

Sometimes you just need a little chocolate, you know? Everyone has their vices. Some people get high, some people get drunk, but my drug of choice is chocolate. After a long stressful week, I decided I needed chocolate. I also decided that I didn’t need to eat a whole chocolate cake by myself, so making cupcakes and freezing some for later seemed like the logical choice.

The cupcakes are an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe, halved to make a perfect dozen. The original recipe calls for them to be topped with a rich, creamy peanut butter frosting. While the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is one of my all time favorites, my goal on this occasion was to cram as much chocolate as I could into one little cupcake. I recently got a new cookbook, Cooking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It has Dorie’s recipe for chocolate chocolate cupcakes (which I decided not to use, for reasons I can’t remember now) with a decadent chocolate glaze – just the kind of topping I was looking for.

So here are the results of my Ina Garten cupcakes with Dorie Greenspan chocolate glaze – heavenly chocolate cupcakes! Even though I didn’t use good quality chocolate and I slightly over baked them, they are exactly the chocolate treat I was craving. I have a feeling I’ll be making these again!

Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Chocolate Glaze Recipe
(From Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tbs confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of shimmering water. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let stand for 5 minutes.

Using a small whisk or rubber spatula, stir the confectioners’ sugar into the chocolate, followed by the pieces of cold butter. The glaze may be very thin at this point or may be perfectly spreadable. If it is too thin to spread or use as a dip (I often dip the tops of the cakes into the ganache, then give the cakes a little twirl as I pull them out, so they have a squiggle of glaze in the center), stir it over ice water for a few seconds – really less than a minute. With a small metal icing spatula, give each cupcake a crown of shiny ganache, and let the glaze set at room temperature (or in the fridge if you are in a hurry). If the ganache loses its gloss and you miss it, give the tops of the cakes a puff of hot air from a hairdryer right before serving.