I have to preface this post by noting that I don’t really care for vanilla cupcakes.  They’re just ok, in my book, kind of boring.  If I had to choose a cupcake, it would almost always be chocolate.  That being said, I am pretty in love with this little guy.  Vanilla-y, moist, and seriously, the creamiest batter you’ll ever whip up.  It’s really the perfect base for any frosting you have in mind.  One caveat – I think these are definitely best if eaten the…

I’m making cupcakes tomorrow for my dear sister-in-law, who’s hosting a baby shower on Friday night.  I still haven’t decided what I want to make yet, so tonight I thought I’d play around with some fondant and try to get some good ideas.  Instead, I came up with these. I also discovered that fondant and I don’t play well together.  I think I’m going to need a lot more practice before I am good enough to make anything fancy.  Plus, I totally hate the taste…

So, my sister is VERY pregnant.  She’s not due for another 9 days, but she’s done.  I can’t hardly blame her, she works on her feet all day long, and then chases a 22 month old around all night.  The girl is always on the go, and quite possibly the hardest worker I know.  Except maybe my Dad, but I suppose that’s where she gets it. Since I’m just as anxious to meet my new nephew as she is, (ok, probably not AS anxious.  But…

  It’s funny where my cupcake inspiration comes from sometimes.  These particular cupcakes were born when I found a bag of mini Reece’s Peanut Butter cups at the grocery store last week.  I thought, “Oh – those are cute, they’d be a good cupcake garnish!”  I then spent all of last week trying to find the perfect peanut butter cupcake recipe to hold my cute little garnish.  I’m sick, I know. I decided on this recipe for a couple of reasons.  First, it’s easy.  The chocolate cake starts with a…

One of my favorite things to make in the summertime is my skillet apple pie – the apple pie filling is made on the stove top in a skillet, then covered with pie crust and baked in the oven.  I had some frozen pie crust in the freezer that I needed to use, so a little brainstorming brought me to this recipe – and voila!  Apple Pie Cupcakes!  Perfect portion sizes for everyone without the hassle of cutting into and trying to serve a pie…and…

I made two versions of this cupcake – the plain, unfilled cupcake with buttercream, and the same cake with a whipped lemon filling.  The plain cakes are for my mom, who LOVES wedding cake.  The filled cakes are for me, because I like to fill cupcakes.  =) This cake actually uses a box mix as the base for the ingredient list – I wasn’t a big fan of that idea and I could really taste the “boxed cake taste” when they first came out of the…

This cupcake was a creation of mine that was born out of the need to clean out my pantry.  I had several almost-empty boxes, bags and bottles of pantry items, and their replacements were crowding things.  So, what to do but make some goodies?  I didn’t really have an excuse for these except that Mom made Sunday dinner and my brother and his girlfriend were going to be there – which means more people to eat and fewer leftovers!    I knew I needed to…

These cupcakes were the result of a little color coordination.  My little sister is expecting a baby boy so I needed a favor for her baby shower.  Our color scheme was brown and blue, so of course I needed brown and blue cupcakes!  These were good cupcakes, but next time I might switch the cake out to a firmer, taller cake so it will stand up to the filling a little better.  These were actually better after they sat overnight in the refrigerator, so if…

Yes, that’s right.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about these cupcakes so I jumped on the opportunity to make these for my sister’s baby shower.  These and my Chocolate Ganache Filled Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream will go into the favor boxes and holy cow, I hope our guests are ready for a sugar high! These cupcakes are a little time consuming – you’ll need a couple of hours to make them.  The base is a chocolate-chip, brown-sugar based batter, with…