Well it is now in the evening here in Michigan so my Easter day is just about concluded. Too many words that could add to the summary....haha....hmmm first off, praise God!! Thank you Jesus for all you have done! Now the next few words of course will be family, food and fun but c'mon all mother's and busy women, another main word is: TIRED!!! haha After playing Easter bunny to the kids and of course forgetting a few things and having to race to Meijer at 7:30 in the morning, running into the morning rush there which of course is chaotic....yep, less than thrilling. My mom came for a visit and so by the time I got back to my house I was surprised by her appearance on my couch and then I began to bake these yummy cupcakes I found last month that I made for my daughter's birthday. They are Shirley Temple Cupcakes and are oh sooo yummy! There are many blogs that have slightly different recipes but this is the one I will give the credit to since this is the blog I initially found the recipe from and have used since.
http://thewhimsicalcupcake.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/shirley-temple-cupcakes/
So here is my first words of advice on these delightful cupcakes.....If you don't have at least two hours to spare in the kitchen then you just might want to save these for another day...hehe. I made the first batch last month and it gave me 12 just like the recipe said, which to me is sooo amazing in of itself. Today I made a double batch which I for some reason never seem to like to double the ingredients in the same bowl, so I use separate bowls which takes even more time....LOL. The buttercream frosting I was able to make a "double" batch in the same bowl and because I ran out of maraschino cherry juice and the frosting was a little too thick for me I added some milk to it and it came out a creamy, perfect confection. I am not opposed totally of using a box cake mix but to me since I have been baking for many years and have learned on my own since I wasn't able to inherent that from my mom or grandma since they weren't too interested in the land of baking haha.....anyway back to my point. To me there is just this really good, warm, fuzzy feeling I get when I can make a cake or cupcake completely from scratch to finish. The one I can't wait to learn one day is how to properly decorate my delightful desserts.....one day I will take the proper training but until then I will just keep smearing my load of frosting on with my pampered chef decorator :) that I have had for about eight years now and it hasn't failed me yet.
Soooo give these yummy cupcakes a try!!!! I hope everyone had a great Easter celebration!!!
Shirley Temple Cupcakes
Yields 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:1 and 1/2 cups (6 oz) plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking
powder1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup Cherry 7-Up, at room temperature*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
Red food coloring
To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a cupcake pan with your desired
paper liners, set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your
stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), add the butter and sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. (My mixture looked satiny at this point.)
Reduce the mixer speed to low, and alternate adding the flour mixture and the Cherry 7-Up, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, mixing well. (My mixture actually looked a bit curdled but they baked up great!)
Place about 3/4 cup of the cupcake batter in a separate small bowl and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour, maraschino cherry juice, and red food coloring (to your desired tint).
Evenly distribute the red cupcake batter among your prepared liners, about 1-2 teaspoons per liner, gently smoothing out the batter.
Once the red batter is in place, evenly distribute the remaining cupcake batter among the cupcake liners, making sure not to mix the two batters. Be sure to cover the red batter completely so it doesn’t bake up the sides and to the top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (do not overbake). Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the Buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch salt
2 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
For garnish:
12 maraschino cherries with stems
To make the Buttercream Frosting: In the bowl
cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the pinch of salt, powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, lemon juice, and maraschino cherry juice into the bowl. On low speed, incorporate the ingredients until the powdered sugar is mixed in. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 2-3 minutes. If you like your frosting thicker, add more powdered sugar (small amounts at a time) and if you like it thinner add a bit more cherry juice or add a little milk if it is too thick and you run out of cherry juice.
Pipe as desired onto your cooled cupcakes and garnish with a maraschino cherry. Enjoy!
Have fun with life and have fun with baking!!!
