Caramel Apple Crumb Donut Cuppy Cakes

First of all, Happy Birthday to my amazing husband and happy first day of Fall. This is an amazing time of year and what better than caramel apples sandwiched in between light and airy cupcake batter? This recipe was inspired when my husband gave me his request for his birthday Kŭp’kāks. I knew I had to do a little research for the donut part but the rest I have down. These were really fun to make and the cake rises so nicely! Give 'em a try. . .



Ingredients:



For donut cupcake:

(Recipe adapted from Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen Seen on I heart cuppycakes)

• 2 cups flour


• 1 Tbsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 tsp cinnamon


• 2 large eggs


• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt (I used Yoplait Light Vanilla)


• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar


• 4 tbsp oil


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 1/2 can of Apple Pie Filling (I would have made this from scratch, since I don't care for canned fruit, but to have the Dunkin Donuts taste I opted for canned).

For Crumb Topping:

• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon

For Frosting:

• 1 cup Homemade Caramel Sauce


• 1 stick Butter, at room temperature


• 3 cups Powdered Sugar


• Whipping Cream

For Homemade Caramel Sauce:

(Marthastewart.com)

• 1 1/4 cups Sugar


• 1/2 cup Water


• 1/2 cup Whipping Cream

Directions:

To make cupcakes—

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not over mix; batter will not be smooth.

Divide a small amount of batter among the muffin cups and then add in about a tablespoon of apple pie filling, topping with additional batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in one or two of the muffins come out clean, about 18 minutes. While the cupcakes are baking blend all the crumb topping ingredients together, when the cupcakes come out from the oven dip into butter and the sugar mix. Let cool and then frost.

For the Frosting:

Cream butter and one cup of powdered sugar together. Add in a small amount of cream to moisten, adding in one cup of caramel. Mix in remaining sugar and cream until your desired consistency. Frost to your preference, I used a 1m tip.

For Caramel Sauce:

Combine 1 1/4 cups sugar and 1/2 cup water in medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium-high heat. Brush down sides with damp pastry brush to prevent crystallization. Continue cooking, without stirring, until dark amber color. Remove from heat; slowly stir in cream with wooden spoon until completely smooth; set aside until cool to touch

YUMMERS! These were very tasty but I will admit (and so will everyone else that tried them) that the frosting was a bit too much, extremely sugary! I think next time I will try a less sweet frosting to compliment the tender cake. Enjoy!

Grandma's Oriole Chocolate Cake

As a child I looked forward to any birthday because I knew if were going to Grandma Barr's house that we were going to get Grandma's Infamous Oriole chocolate cake. Since Grandma passed away in 2001 I have only made this cake recipe once for my Dad's birthday. Birthdays and this cake go hand in hand so what better than to make it for my Dad's and Jim's combined Birthday party. Yesterday at our home, I threw my two favorite men a dude ranch themed party, with plenty of barbecued chicken, buffalo wild wings (pork shanks) with my tangy homemade barbecue sauce and enough side dishes to serve an army. All of our friends were present and so were these light and perfectly chocolaty cupcakes. I urge you to give these a try!

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

(I doubled this recipe which made 36 Cupcakes)

• 1 1/3 c. Cake Flour
• 1 egg unbeaten
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted.
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  

For the Frosting

(I doubled this recipe)

• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 Stick Butter, at room temperature
• 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
• Whipping Cream (My Grandma used Milk)
• 2 teaspoons Almond Extract (This is what makes this frosting unique)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add in the unbeaten egg and chocolate.
3. Combine dry ingredients together in separate bowl.
4. Alternately combine dry ingredients and buttermilk until well combined.
5. Spoon into muffin tins.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick is inserted and clean.

While the Cupcakes are baking:

1. Cream butter and chocolate.
2. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, mixing in small amounts of whipping cream in between. Do this until you have your desired consistency.
3. Place in pastry bag fitted with tip of choice.

I cheated, I was going to make an edible sign but I saw this while I was at lunch on Friday at the Champagne Bakery...still totally cute.

Banana Cream Pie Kŭp’kāks

Summer is coming to an end and what better than a slice of banana cream heaven? Banana cream pie is one of my favorites and I truly couldn't imagine the cool pudding and bananas without a flaky pie crust, however, after indulging into these airy cakes you won't even notice that the pie crust is missing.

BANANA CREAM CUPCAKES
(Creatingpostitnotes.blogspot.com)

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Small Package Banana Pudding (I used Vanilla)
• 1 Large Banana
• 1 Container Cool Whip

1. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, beating on high until nice and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Keep mixing on high until the batter becomes really light and fluffy. Slowly add the milk and vanilla while the mixer is on low speed.
2. In a bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Spoon into the butter mixture with the mixer on low. The finished product will be light and airy. Spoon into lined muffin pan.
3. Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove baked cupcakes from pan and let cool on racks.
4. While the cupcakes cool, make a package of Jello Banana pudding mix. Chill to set.Once chilled, add some chopped banana. Take another banana and slice, for garnish. ( I used Vanilla Pudding Mix)
5. To assemble: Cut out a hole on the top of the cupcakes. Put in some pudding. Cut some of the “cone” off the top you cut out. Put the top back on. Pipe with stiff whipped cream and then sprinkle with crushed graham crackers. Top with a banana slice. (I was under a bit of a time constraint when I made these, so I used French Vanilla Cool Whip since I had it in my freezer, I didn't have graham crackers, but I did have mini Nilla Wafers which was just as cute).
   

Light, Airy, Buttery Goodness!

Halloween Cupcake Paper Find

While I was perusing Crate and Barrel yesterday I stumbled upon these cute candy corn cupcake papers. They are so adorably spooky! I cannot wait until next month when I can put these to use! Crate and Barrel: $4.95 for 50 Papers
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/halloween/1 < Crate and Barrel's Halloween '08 Collection

Iron Cupcake Challenge. . .

What do Basil, Chocolate, Grapefruit and Honey all have to do with one another? You'll have to wait and see. . .

Le Petite Kŭp’kāk is Born!

Today marks my official obsession with cupcakes. You know you've got an addiction when you need to have an entire blog based on a petite cake. I have been pondering a name for months, I knew it had to be something that incorporated my two loves; English (hence, what I have my degree in) and lovely little cakes. I originally wanted it to be "Melly's kāks", but I was a little hesitant if people would understand the phonetic form of cake. After putting some serious thought into this I went with "Le Petite Kŭp’kāk". It may seem a little silly but I will always have a love for linguistics. This new blog with solely document my obsession of cupcakes and my journey of discovering the perfect Kŭp’kāk recipes.

Below are some of the cupake recipes I have already blogged about, they are in order from oldest to newest.

Luciously Light Lemon Cuppy-Cakes

Okay, so this recipe is actually my Grandmothers. As a kid if we were at my Grandparents house for any birthday celebration this would be the cake that we ate. All the kids loved it because the frosting was amazing and not like any cake you can buy. I have been meaning to try them as cuppy-cakes instead so here was my first attempt on re-creating my Grandmas legendary lemon cake.

For the cake:

• I used store-bought white cake mix. However, next time I think I am going to try the recipe with homemade cake batter.
• Make the batter according to recipe
• Portion 24 muffin cups 2/3 with batter
• Bake according to package, I baked mine for 18 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Large package of Lemon Jell-O
• Large container of Cool Whip
• Large package of Jello-O Vanilla Pudding, made as directed.

While the cuppy-cakes are baking:

1. In medium bowl dissolve lemon jell-o with 1 c. hot water, add 1 c. cold water once dissolved. (the box will say 2 cups of hot and cold water, I decreased the amount).
2. Once the cuppy-cakes have been removed from the oven, immediately poke them with a toothpick over, and over to create holes for the jell-o to soak.
3. Soak all the warm cuppy-cakes with the mixture. Be generous with this step, give the cuppy-cakes a minute to soak and then add more. You do not want them to be dry in some areas.
4. Place the cuppy-cakes in the refrigerator to cool.
5. Meanwhile, mix vanilla pudding and cool whip in a large bowl. Once thoroughly mixed, place back into cool whip container and place back in refrigerator.
6. Once the cuppy-cakes are thoroughly cooled, place the frosting mixture into a large zip-lock bag or pastry bag.
7. Frost the cuppy-cakes as desired.
8. Enjoy!

Note: If you wanted to make this as a cake, use a rectangular pan and go through all the same steps. You will want to keep the cake or cupcakes in the fridge until you are ready to indulge!

Black Cherry Cuppy-Cakes

I made these cupcakes a few weeks back but I am finally getting around to posting it. The recipe behind this cuppy-cake is the same as my luciously light lemon cuppycakes. I saw a recipe on jello's website and I tried it out. I think I like the lemon recipe better and I am moving on. . .

For the cake:

• I used store-bought white cake mix. Make the batter according to recipe


• Portion 24 muffin cups 2/3 with batter


• Bake according to package, (I baked mine for 18 minutes)

For the Frosting and Cuppy-Cakes:

• Large package of Black Cherry Jell-O


• Large container of Cool Whip


• Large package of Jello-O Dark Chocolate Pudding (made with 1 c. milk vs. 3 c.)

While the cuppy-cakes are baking:

1. In medium bowl dissolve lemon jell-o with 1 c. hot water, add 1 c. cold water once dissolved. (the box will say 2 cups of hot and cold water, I decreased the amount).


2. Once the cuppy-cakes have been removed from the oven, immediately poke them with a toothpick over, and over to create holes for the jell-o to soak.
   Soak all the warm cuppy-cakes with the mixture. Be generous with this step, give the cuppy-cakes a minute to soak and then add more. You do not want them to be dry in some areas.


3. Place the cuppy-cakes in the refrigerator to cool.


4. Meanwhile, mix chocolate pudding and cool whip in a large bowl. Once thoroughly mixed, place back into cool whip container and place back in refrigerator.


5. Once the cuppy-cakes are thoroughly cooled, place the frosting mixture into a large zip-lock bag or pastry bag.


6. Frost the cuppy-cakes as desired.
   Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Cuppy Cakes

Can I say yummy?! This light and lemony cake is paired with fluffy blueberry buttercream. I think this recipe is a keeper!


For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven.


2. Butter, spray or line cupcake pan.


3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes).


4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.


5. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated.


6. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Blueberry Buttercream Frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature


• 6 c. powdered sugar


• 1/4 c. milk


• 4 Tablespoons Blueberry Preserves


• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1. In electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar alternatively with milk.


2. Once all powdered sugar is incorporated add in blueberry preserves and vanilla. (Make frosting until desired consistency).


3. Frost cupcakes as desired. I added purple sprinkles and fresh blueberries.

Two Cuppy Cakes: One Box

I have been meaning to bake some cuppies but without a/c it never seems appealing. Today I was supposed to meet my Mom in Murrieta but she was running late and cancelled so I decided to do something with my afternoon so I baked some cuppy cakes! I started out with Pineapple Upside Cupcakes but I had enough batter for about six more cuppies. After I had baked the plain cupcakes my wheels were spinning as to what I was going to do with them, I had a bright idea that I should try peanut butter and jelly cupcakes. I didn't have any grape jelly (I really think this will taste better) so I used what I had, good 'ole strawberry jam. These two cupcake recipes were so easy and I seriously did everything with cleanup within an hour and a half, leaving me enough time to blog about them, take a bite or two and then go to work. What a chock-full-of-a-cupcake-day!






Ingredients for Pineapple Upside Cupcakes and PB&J Cupcakes:

• 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury Reduced Sugar)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup Pineapple Juice (reserved from pineapple tidbits)
• 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
• 6 Cherries, halved
• 1 Can Pineapple tidbits
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup Butter
• 3/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup Jelly
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
• 1/2 stick Butter, at room temperture
• Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Mix pineapple juice, oil, eggs and cake batter together until there are no lumps.


3. In a small saute pan, melt butter and brown sugar together until completly melted.


4. Spray Muffin pan with Pam and spoon one teaspoon of sugar mixture into each cup.


5. Place one half of a cherry into the center of the sugar mixture and then arrange pineapple tidbits around the cherry. Spoon batter 2/3 into each cup.


6. Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.


7. Let cupcakes rest for about ten minutes and then invert them and let rest until all the cupcakes come out clean out of pan.

For PB&J Cupcakes:

1. Use a cake batter of your choice, I used the left overs from my Pineapple Upside Cupcakes.


2. Bake for fifteen minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.


3. With a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip add in strawberry jam and place tip directly into cupcake and fill cupcake until full.


4. In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, cream cheese and mix with a handheld mixer until creamy. Mix in one cup of powdered sugar at a time, adding in a little bit of milk in between.


5. Place frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a tip of your choice and frost cuppies.


6. I dusted mine with dark chocolate but any candy would work; reeses pieces, peanut butter cups, chocolate wafers, etc.

Carrot Cake Cuppy Cakes w/ Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

I finally made them! I have had carrot cake cupcakes on my list for quite some time now, yesterday I went and bought everything and then I got too hot and opted for a nice quiet nap instead. This morning when I woke up I immediately went straight into the kitchen and starting whipping up these light and fluffy cakes. I can't wait to bring my sister one tomorrow when I go to Murrieta, as carrot cake is her favorite she will be my toughest critic, I hope. I used Ina Garten's recipe for the cake but added pineapple for extra tenderness. I can't wait to try one for myself when I meet Jim for lunch. Yay! For baking in the morning and beating the mid-day's sun.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 oz. Can of Pineapple Tid Bits
• 2 Packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tsp. Powdered Ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.
2. Line muffin pans with paper liners. Scoop the batter into 24 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
3. For the frosting, cream the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add in Ginger once smooth.
4. When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and serve.
   

Cupcake Pops

Thanks to Bakerella for inspiring me on another cupcake related obsession. I have been googling over these pops ever since I stumbled onto her blog months ago but I was waiting for a special day to roll around for me to spend a few hours in the kitchen. On Friday Jim asked me if I would be able to make red velvet cupcakes for his boss, Imad's birthday celebration on Monday. Knowing I would say "yes", I told him with excitement that I had something else in mind but it would still include red velvet cake. It was a fun evening because Jim had baked the cake earlier in the day and then after dinner while he was gardening I rolled the balls and placed them in the chocolate molds. When he was done we worked on them together and a few hours later we were finally done. I will admit that it is a little bit harder than it looks but I think once we do these a few times we will get the hang of it. I purchased a large flower pot from Michael's and cut Styrofoam blocks to fit within the pot. I then placed the pops into an arrangement of cupcake pop Heaven. If you would like the recipe please visit Bakerella's blog under Cupcake Bites Made Easy .Thank you Bakerella for inspiring me and for all the creative things that you come up with, you truly are an inspiration for all of us cupcake lovin' females out here in cupcake blog-land.

Jim-Boy doing an AMAZING job on the pops.

The finished product. . . not too shabby for our first attempt.

Happy Birthday Imad!

Annie, stop drooling and eat a damn cupcake pop...there at Jim's desk. :)

What I purchased and used:

Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix (Target $1.07)

Betty Crocker Buttercream Frosting (Target $1.29)

Candy Melts in White and Yellow (Michael's $2.99 each)

Candy Melts in Dark Chocolate (Michael's $2.99)

Peanut Butter Cup Mold (Michael's $1.99 x 3)

Lollipop Sticks (Michael's $1.99)

M&M's (Target .89)

Sprinkles (Albertson's $3.99)

Side Note: The chocolate was really thick and difficult to put on the cake, I don't know if I used too much frosting in the cake mixture as it really soft, or if I should have kept them in the freezer longer. I still have about ten cake balls left so I am going to attempt a few again to see if letting them mold longer will affect it or not. Overall, really tasty and I cannot wait to hear what Jim's Co-workers thought.

Orangesicle Cuppy Cakes w/ Fluff Frosting

I saw this recipe back in March on 52 Cupcakesblog. Right away I thought of my childhood and how much my Mom would love these cupcakes. When I couldn't find the Orange Supreme cake mix my Mom went into pursuit to find it for me, which low and behold the State Bros. in Lake Arrowhead carries it unlike Albertson's. I had originally wanted to make these for my Mom back in April for her birthday and have never gotten around to it. Well, my parents have been at my house for five days now and last night I decided to whip these up after dinner. I have to admit they were really easy and it didn't involve a lot of ingredients. The only thing that I didn't like about these cupcakes was that the frosting recipe called for regular granulated sugar, maybe I didn't do something right within the recipe but the frosting was really gritty. I may have to play around with this one. The frosting was so sticky and sweet which paired so nicely with the extra moist cake. Next time I think adding mini chocolate chips would make a great compliment.

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 box Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake
• Mix1 box Jello Vanilla Pudding (not instant)

1. Follow directions on box and add in the box of vanilla pudding
2. Follow rest of box instructions.

For the Frosting:

• Fluff 7-Minute Frosting
• 1 c. Marshmallow Fluff
• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In double-boiler top over hot, not boiling water, combine all ingredients except vanilla. With hand mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Remove from heat and continue beating until stiff. Beat in vanilla. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.
   Recipe Courtesy of:

Sexy Cupcakes for Annie's Birthday

Better than Sex cupcakes? Well, that's what these cute little cakes have been coined. Nonetheless, I found this simple recipe on my favorite cupcake blog, I heart cuppy cakes and knew it was perfect for Jim's co-worker and our blog stalker, Annie's birthday. If I could pick any individual to be my biggest fan besides Jim, Annie would be that person. I bake cupcakes so I can hear what Annie thinks, which is funny because Annie and I have never met. We have conversed on the phone about her upcoming wedding and she watches out for me when the girls on theknot.com are paging me. I was so overjoyed to find out from Jim on Wednesday night that her birthday was Thursday, but knew that I couldn't make them for her actual day, so last night at 12:30 a.m., I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and starting whipping up these luscious cakes for my biggest fan. I really hope that she enjoys these, and if not I know what to change next time. Happy Birthday Annie!!!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
• 1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
• 3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped (I used Heath toffee bits)
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I made homemade, recipe below)

Directions

1. Bake cake according to package directions for 24 cupcakes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly spoon the warm topping mixture over the top of each cupcake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm.
3. Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with swirls of caramel topping.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 3 cups whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. In mixer with whisk attachment, whip the cream, vanilla extract and sugar on high speed until thick

Step Two: They look so yummy just like this!

With chocolate candy melts, melt them in a microwave safe bowl for thirty second intervals until completely smooth and then place melted chocolate in a Ziploc bag. Squeeze out all the air and then cut a small corner. On a piece of parchment paper write out your message and then place in the freezer to solidify the chocolate. Decorate as you wish.


And voila! You've got some pretty damn sexy cupcakes. Enjoy!