MSC: Triple Citrus Cupcakes

For the month of August, Marthe from Culinary Delights chose the Triple Citrus Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I saw Martha make these on her TV show quite some time ago and I remember being shocked at the amount of butter in these bad boys. But hey, at least you are getting some vitamin C! :)

These were very simple to make. I used key limes instead of regular limes, and they turned out great. I liked the fresh taste of these cupcakes, but I could definitely taste the egg in them. I halved the recipe, and even with the recipe halved, it still required 4 and a half eggs!

Alex and I went over to his grandparents' house today, and these cupcakes were perfect. Alex's grandfather is a big fan of anything orange flavored.

The book recommended that these cupcakes be served the day they are topped with the glaze, and that is most certainly the case. Overall these were a good pick, especially in comparison to my failures from the last couple of months. Check back next month...we are making the Cookies and Cream cupcakes. These sound amazing!

Cyle's Graduation Cupcakes

One of my oldest friends, Cyle, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin on May 15th. In honor of his big day, I decided to make cupcakes (big surprise, I know!). When I asked him what kind he wanted, it was definitely a new request for me. Cyle wanted Chocolate cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese frosting. He asked me if I had ever made that kind of cupcake, and I told him that I had made them separately, but never together. But, I'm always up for a cupcake challenge...and here is the result:

A close-up...






I saw this idea on another cupcake blog, and decided to give it a try. I made little flags to go in each of the cupcakes. My picture turned out kinda blurry, though. They say, "Congrats Cyle!" on them, in UT orange.


Here is the graduate with his cupcakes....I may have caught him off guard in this pic.....


For being such an odd combination, these were very good together. But most importantly, Cyle loved them.

Here's the recipe from Wilton.com
* 2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 3 eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups water

Makes: Cake serves 12.
Chocolate-Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray pan with vegetable pan spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips and butter together either in microwave oven or on top of range over low heat. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into electric mixer bowl. Add sugar; beat until well blended. Beat in eggs, one at time. Add vanilla. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add remaining flour and water; mix until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until cake tests done. Place pan on cooling rack. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup chocolate chips over cake; let stand 2-3 minutes or until chips have softened. Gently spread melted chocolate over top of cake. Cool completely in pan before covering.

And for the frosting, also from Wilton.com:
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
* 8 ounces cream cheese softened
* 2 tablespoons key lime juice
* 1 teaspoon key lime zest or lemon zest
* 4-5 cups confectioners' sugar

Makes: About 3 cups.

In large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 4 cups confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time; continue beating until light and fluffy. If icing is too thin add additional confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.

Grandpa Stan's Birthday Cake

Alex's grandpa Stan's birthday was also back in September. In fact, we had Alison's celebration (see below) the night before we had Stan's birthday dinner. Stan is one of my biggest cake fans, and this year he wanted an orange cake with orange frosting. I had never tried either of these, so I was in for a challenge. I found what I deemed to be a suitable recipe, and went to work. Alex's Mom told me that Stan probably wanted a orange cake made with FRESH oranges, and not just orange flavoring. Not a problem....I used orange zest and some orange liquor (!) to make it tasty. The frosting was orange buttercream, and was so incredibly thick and sweet, also thanks to the orange zest.



The orange cake was a huge success, and a great birthday dinner was had by all. :)