salted caramel chocolate cupcakes

I found this recipe on pinterest. Yes, I do have a pinterest, and yes, I do actually make recipes that I find on there. I love these cupcakes because they are just heavenly. Salted caramel, chocolate and did I mention salted caramel. Yum!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs (you could easily substitute applesauce here)

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup sour cream

2/3 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350*F. Begin by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla, beating well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Add this mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing on low until just combined. Mix in the water.

Pour batter into cupcake liners* and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Allow the cupcakes to cool while you make the salted caramel filling. This is the salted caramel recipe that I use, although you will find a different one on the original cupcake recipe.

Then cut little divets in the top of the cupcakes using a small, sharp knife. Pour the salted caramel sauce into this divets.

Top with salted caramel cream cheese frosting.

Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

salted caramel sauce to taste

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in butter until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in salted caramel.

These cupcakes are so delicious. I'm serious. My mouth is watering right now as I am thinking about them, and I'm thinking it has been too long since I last made them. Please make and love! :)

*A helpful hint that my sister shared to help with pouring cupcakes is to use an  ice cream scoop. It is super easy and all of your cupcakes come out very uniform.

cupcakes. . .yum!

I went shopping yesterday and found the coolest cupcake carrier. It has two layers, so it can hold up to 24 cupcakes, and it basically just wonderful. I just had to get it. Well, in honor of the new cupcake carrier, I just had to make cupcakes. So I went back to ming makes cupcakes and decided to try a new recipe out.

Espresso Fudge Cupcakes
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup milk (which I didn't have on hand so I used half and half)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar. Add applesauce and vanilla.

The recipe called for espresso powder which I didn't have, so I dissolved 2 heaping Tbsp. of instant coffee in about 2 Tbsp. of hot water and added it to the half and half.


Alternately add the flour mixture and the coffee, half and half mixture to the butter mixture until it is all combined.


Stir in the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


The recipe off of ming makes cupcakes calls for chocolate cream cheese frosting. I happened to have some already made up in my fridge from making a cake a while ago, so I just iced them with that instead of making the frosting listed with the recipe. I honestly can't remember what I put in my chocolate cream cheese frosting.

peanut butter cupcakes

I really love peanut butter. Yep. It's so delicious. There are times that I crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. . .yes, it is my inner five year old self crying out. I saw these on this site, and wanted to try them, but decided to go in a little different direction with the topping. I was wanting it to be a little more like a Reese's. Here's my version:

Peanut Butter Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used 3/4 oat and 1/4 coconut)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
sprinkle cinnamon
about 2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
3/4 stick butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

Combine dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl cream together butter, peanut butter, and coconut sugar.


Then add applesauce and vanilla. Then add almond milk and dry ingredients and mix well.


Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.


And ready to be topped. I decided to do a chocolate buttercream frosting for these instead of a peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
2 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 cup cocoa powder
dash cinnamon
about 1/2 cup milk

Confession: I did not have 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, so what I did was wait and add the milk last to get the consistency that I wanted. It turned out delightful.

Top with chopped Reese's. So delicious!!

*Note: I have to tell you, I have been a little frustrated at how non-fluffy my baked goods have been when I don't use wheat flour. I think I finally figured out a nice remedy. Using a little bit of tapioca flour in addition to the oat and coconut flour made these cupcakes much fluffier than the others I have made without it. Yay!!

chocolate sour cream cupcakes

I am planning a bridal shower for my sister which is about two weeks away (eekkkk!!), and I decided that I wanted to serve several things for food, so of course I am going to have cupcakes. I wanted to do some chocolate ones (because let's be honest, what's a bridal shower without chocolate?), however, I didn't really like any of the combinations that were on Ming Makes Cupcakes, so I decided to make my own combo. I wanted to try the chocolate sour cream cupcakes, but I didn't like the frosting that she put on top, so here is my version.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used unbleached all purpose)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

Combine the dry ingredients.


Add butter, applesauce and sour cream.


Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I think mine baked for 25 minutes. I think I also added a little heavy whipping cream to these because I was a little short on sour cream. Okay, now here comes my twist on these cupcakes. Ming Makes Cupcakes frosts these cupcakes with a nutella frosting, and while I love nutella, I just wanted to go in a different direction.

Chocolate Cinnamon Mascarpone Frosting

8 oz. mascarpone
1/4 - 1/3 cup cocoa
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients and beat until it thickens.


Okay, just to show you what a big deal garnishing your cupcakes is, I decided to take a before garnish and after garnish picture.


See garnishing makes all the difference between a regular cupcake and a fabulous cupcake. These are garnished with chocolate chunks and a dusting of cinnamon.

pumpkin cupcakes

*Personal Note: H, I know you are freaking out because there is pumpkin in these cupcakes. Yes, they are delicious and you should try them.

I was in the mood for something reminiscent of pumpkin pie and pumpkin scones (which I will be posting a recipe for sometime soon, hopefully), and these cupcakes seemed just the thing. I love cooking with pumpkin because it keeps a lot of moisture in the food, and while it has a distinctive taste it isn't overpowering. Pumpkin also pairs well with some of my favorite spices. Here's my adapted recipe from Ming Makes Cupcakes:

Pumpkin Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used 1/2 coconut and 1/2 oat)
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch nutmeg
pinch ginger
pinch cloves
1 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup oil (I used canola)
1 cup pumpkin

In a bowl combine dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl combine the sugar and applesauce. Then add the oil and beat until well combined.


Next add the flour mixture.


Then add the pumpkin and mix well.


Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I think I baked mine for about 25 minutes because my oven runs a little warm.

Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Mix until well combined.

I garnished with slices of crystallized ginger. And then I became addicted to crystallized ginger.


This makes a lovely late night snack with a cuppa tea. :)

sour cream blackberry cupcakes

Fun fact about me #12: I bake when I get stressed. Fun fact about me #39: I love sour cream. So these lovely cupcakes just make me happy. I have a few adjustments that I want to make, but they are quite nice. Recipe adapted from Ming Makes Cupcakes. Originally the recipe calls for apricot preserves (which I wanted to try), but the store didn't have the apricot preserves that I wanted, so I went with blackberry instead.

Sour Cream Blackberry Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used 1/2 oat flour and 1/2 coconut flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
3 Tbsp. applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup sour cream
blackberry preserves

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In case you can't tell, I added cinnamon.


In a separate bowl combine the butter and sugar. Then add the applesauce.

Add the sour cream.


Add the dry ingredients.


Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full. Add a spoonful of preserves.


And cover with remaining dough. One adjustment that I want to make is to put a little less dough on the bottom and make sure that the entire top gets covered. I also would use less jam than I did in these. But all around they were good.

Mascarpone Frosting
8 oz. Mascarpone
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Blend all ingredients and beat until soft peaks form. Frost cupcakes and top with toasted, sliced almonds.

the healthiest cupcake you will ever eat

Okay, please don't let the healthy part of this drive you away. Cupcakes can be both nutritious and delicious. These are simply healthy because of the substitutes and additions that I made. I was also making these so the roommate could have some. She's back from vacation, so I get to cook for her again instead of filling that void by cooking for other people. (Don't worry, other people, you will still get treats too.) This recipe is adapted from Ming Makes Cupcakes.

Carrot Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. applesauce (just an fyi, I use unsweetened in everything)
1/2 cup sugar (I used dark brown)
1/2 cup canola oil
crushed pineapple
2 cups grated carrots
flake coconut

Start with your grated carrots.


Add dry ingredients. Hmmm. . .at this point I may have also added a bit of nutmeg and ground ginger, but I like adding spices. You may do what you like.


Add applesauce.


Add sugar and coconut. (Okay, I admit it, I randomly thought that this would be good with coconut in it, perhaps because I love coconut, and so I randomly added some. Feel free to leave it out if you aren't as obsessed with it as I am.)


Give it a good mixing up.


Fill cupcake papers and bake at 325* for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. My oven runs a little warm, so I think mine were done in about 30, but I could just be making that up.


Ready to be iced and garnished.

Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Mix all ingredients together and spread on cupcakes.

I garnished with sliced almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I can't wait for it to be summer. . .

. . .so that raspberries will be cheaper!! Because I fell in love with these cupcakes! So incredibly delicious!! Recipe from here. Confession: I was really tired when I made these, so I forgot to take pictures until they were ready to go in the oven. Oops.

Sour Cream Raspberry Cupcakes
1 cup flour (I used unbleached all purpose once again)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar. Add applesauce to butter mixture, then stir in the sour cream. Add the flour mixture. Then gently fold in the raspberries. Be gentle with the raspberries. They like the blueberries are sensitive creatures and you want to maintain their integrity.

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Look at that deliciousness waiting to happen!!

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix ingredients by hand and then beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Spread on cupcakes.

As you can see, I garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon and raspberries on top. Delicious!! I'm so ready for summer!!