cupcakes

Blueberry Cornbread Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

January 20, 2014

I’m a southern California girl. I was born in Mission Viejo near Laguna Beach. I left when I was about 12 and headed to the melting pot known as Florida. I loved my little hometown. From what I remember, it was fabulous. I was barely a tween, but I had good memories. In my profession I meet people from all over the world. So whenever I come across a southern Californian, I’m excited and tell them I’m from little Mission Viejo. Quite often, I get a little smirk or chuckle. A little confused, I finally asked what was so funny. Let’s just say Mission Viejo is New Jersey and Laguna Beach is New York.

So although I was born in the west, my allegiance is to the east. Specifically the south. I love all things southern. Sweet tea, corn bread, pies, fried chicken…I could go on and on. And yes, I’m in Florida. A state where so many argue that it’s not part of the bible belt, so it’s not really “southern”. I say whatever to those people! If the state serves sweet tea in their restaurants, its in the bible belt! So here are some Blueberry Cornbread Cupcakes to commemorate my love for the south.

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Strawberry Cupcakes With Mascarpone & Basil Sugar

January 11, 2014

I have always been a chocolate kind of girl. Always. I think its because chocolate is always loyal and always tastes good. I also don’t want to make something new and be utterly disappointed. So starting this blog has been a teensie bit scary. Honestly, I’m just terrified of everyone seeing my failed attempts at food photography! So as I learn the ropes I’m venturing out and munching on other things besides just chocolate chip cookies. I’m exploring a little more and so far I’m loving it. These Strawberry Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting were created for my husband, Chris. He’s a strawberry kind of guy.

I’ve never made strawberry cupcakes before, so naturally I just googled “best strawberry cupcakes” and prayed I found a blogger that was telling the truth. So with fingers crossed, I baked the recipe from Kara’s Party Ideas. So delicious! The recipe called for fresh fruit and preserves mixed into the batter which I loved. They came out super moist and you got these yummy little pockets of tangy fruit in every bite. To compliment these lovelies I wanted a really light frosting. Definitely made with whipped cream. I went with whipped mascarpone frosting from Martha Stewart and I fell totally in love. It’s sweet enough to mingle with the flavors in the cupcake but doesn’t overpower at all. To garnish them I made a fresh, herbaceous basil sugar. It was incredibly easy to make. Just throw 1 cup of granulated white sugar into a food processor with 3-4 leaves of fresh basil. Pulse until its incorporated and bright green. Of course you can add as much as you want of the basil. The fragrance that hits you right when you open the food processor is enough to make you drool. So this is my new favorite love. Basil sugar. I can’t wait to see what desserts I can work it into.

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Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes

January 6, 2014

So…these cupcakes are no joke. Evident by the rich chocolate frosting swirled with straight dulce de leche, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Shield your eyes New Year’s resolutioners! This little treat is going to make you cheat for sure. I don’t know if you’ve baked much with the Alfajor cookie or if many of you have tasted one. My father is from Buenos Aires, Argentina so I grew up on these things. Along with dulce de leche and comforting Yerba Mate tea. The utterly delicious Alfajor is two soft cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche. The best kind are dipped in dark chocolate, just like the ones I used.

The particular brand I used for these Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes was Havanna. They come wrapped in this beautiful gold foil like a little gift waiting to be unwrapped. Trust me, these will not stay wrapped once you get your hands on these. Of all the Alfajor cookies I have tried, these are by far the most delicious and moist. They bake perfectly in a cupcake. I purchased them from Gaucho Direct, an online marketplace for Argentinian goods. Here you can buy these cookies along with other goods including Yerba Mate. It’s also very easy to browse different types of Yerba Mate plucked from different regions.

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