Piña Colada Cupcakes

So the summer is coming to a close, but we still want to hang on to the laid back summer feel. How can we do this? With a drink that makes you think of paradise - Piña Coladas! So...doing what I do...it's gotta be a cupcake!

These tasty little gems were inspired by adding Jell-O's summertime edition flavor pudding. I was going to add it to my batter for the umph. My first batch tasted so yummy...but they didn't set up right & I couldn't figure it out. As I finished baking them (thinking it was the pudding addition), I realized I forgot something really important: eggs. *sigh* So I had to redo them...

I went to try to find more of the pudding mix, but my close-by stores didn't have it. So I had to be creative. I used pineapple juice, coconut extract & rum extract to get my flavoring right. I added actual coconut to the bottom of each baking liner, too. I topped each one with the same flavored buttercream - Piña Colada! I made the regular buttercream & added crushed pineapple (drained), coconut (plus some extract), and rum extract so the flavor would be consistent throughout the whole cupcake. I also cut several pineapple slices into 1/8s & baked them on a separate cookie sheet to dehydrate them a bit so I could garnish the top of each cupcake with a piece.

I am so pleased with how these turned out! They turned out quite a bit better than my Margarita Cupcakes, for sure!

Now, can someone please have a luau so I can bring them?

Auburn Neapolitan Cupcakes

I recently was asked to make some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing for a friend. However, when I made them, I think I may have added too much liquid, so they ended up...ummm...not right. Tasting OK, but I would never deliver them to anyone & be all right with it.

But somewhere it made me start thinking that I might be able to try a red velvet icing...hmmm...

So I baked vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry flavored buttercream icing, topped with a red velvet buttercream. I call them Auburn Neapolitan Cupcakes! Like the ice cream, but with red velvet instead...so it's auburn...like my hair!

This time around, my red velvet icing attempt didn't set well, so I need to keep the cupcakes very cold! I added a little bit of sour cream...however, I think I got fat free sour cream, so it was separating within the frosting. Bummer. Cuz the flavor is really good!

They need a couple of tweaks, but the flavor is pretty good! Apparently...they taste like ice cream for sure!

S'More Cupcakes

Well, Happy National S'mores Day, everyone!

How should we celebrate such a day when it's too hot to sit around a campfire to toast your marshmallows? You make 'em into cupcakes, that's what!

I have wanted to make these for quite some time now. But my Rocky Road Cupcakes kept distracting me. But I had to be focused enough to make these cuties...so I did!
I made a rich devil's food chocolate batch of cupcakes with a crushed graham crust on the bottom of each cake. I left space in the middle to put my filling in...my marshmallow buttercream that I finally made on my tweaked Rocky Road cupcakes. I wanted to top these off with a couple of mini marshmallows...but then discovered that someone ate my mini marshmallows. Bummer. I had planned on toasting the marshmallows on top, but attempted to toast the marshmallow buttercream. It slightly melted into a film on top, but not the results I'd hoped for. I then made a delightful chocolate buttercream to surround the filling. I sprinkled a little more crushed graham on top & placed a Hershey bar piece in the center for the perfect garnish.
They are so adorable & so yummy! I want to make these again when I have some mini marshmallows to toast on top.

On that note...I wish you Happy National S'mores Day again, and hope you had a chance to have s'more, too!