Do you have a hobby or an activity that you love to do, but never get to? Besides the array of possible answers, some people would reply with running, swimming, going to the movies, or cooking. In my case it is baking cupcakes. I love baking cupcakes. I have a variety of cupcake tools, gadgets, and decorating items that I have received as gifts. Due to my overwhelming abundance of cupcake tools, I have these items stored in my personal cupboard in the kitchen. Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule I do not make cupcakes as often as I used too. I even had a year that I made cake balls covered in different colors of chocolate and decorations from a cake ball maker I received for Christmas.
Now, back to the cupcakes. First, I always make cupcakes for my family during the holiday season. Second, I make everything from scratch. If I am really baking cupcakes you will rarely find me with a Betty Crocker cake mix or a jar of frosting. Finally, I don't just stop at cake and frosting. My cupcakes are always filled and topped with something delicious. I normally follow recipes I find on the internet like the two cupcake batches I made for Christmas last year. One was an egg nog gingerbread cupcake and the other was a cranberry cake topped with sugared cranberries. Often, I combine recipes here and there to create something of my own. Once, I combined a homemade chocolate cupcake, filled with raspberry jam, and topped with raspberry flavored frosting to imitate a dark chocolate covered raspberry cupcake. Recently, my cupcake love has been reduced to pinning possible recipes on Pinterest instead of actually getting in kitchen. I used to say the best cupcakes I ever made were my homemade, peanut butter frosted, peanut butter cupcakes filled with strawberry jam. They tasted just like the classic PB&J! Here's the scoop on my new favorite cupcake recipe that will make you say, "Two please!"
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes http://www.virtuallyhomemade.com/2014/03/lemon-cupcakes-with-fresh-raspberry-buttercream-frosting-and-raspberry-curd.html
I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and I knew I had to try it out! I normally fill my cupcakes with jams or fruit compotes from the store. This recipe called for a homemade filling. I was very excited to try it out!
I started with the raspberry filling. I melted butter in pan and added sugar, egg yokes, and a pint of raspberries. (Quick hint; crack an egg into any type of bowl, take an empty plastic water bottle, squeeze the opening of bottle on top of yoke, release the pressure and the yoke squeezes right into the bottle. Simply squeeze out into another bowl.) The process continued for another ten minutes. There was constant stirring the whole time. I added a pinch of salt and some lemon juice also. The curd began to thicken and it smelled like warm raspberry pie! The recipe does make extra, as it says on the website, and I tried spreading it on toast and swirling it into some greek yogurt. Honestly, eating it plain with a spoon was just as good!
Next, I started on the cake. I prepared the wet ingredients (butter, vanilla, eggs, sugar) and the dry ingredients. (flour, baking soda, salt) Then I started on the lemons. I grated two medium sized lemons to get the lemon zest and then squeezed the juice from the two. Both were added to the batter. The cupcakes were then cooked at 350 degrees for about 20-21 minutes.
Finally, I moved on to the frosting. I started with a food processor. I thoroughly blended and pureed a cup of fresh raspberries. I pressed them into a sieve to remove the seeds from the juice. The juice was then added to the butter/sugar/vanilla base. The frosting tasted like fresh raspberry cream! The color turns out to be an extremely pretty shade of pink. No food coloring or artificial raspberry flavoring needed.
After the cupcakes were filled, frosted, and topped with a raspberry they were ready to eat. The overall product was a light, fresh, refreshing cupcake with a perfect balance of sweet raspberry and tangy, tart lemon. Better than the taste itself was the ability to spend some time with my little sister as my sous-chef. There is no doubt that when the cupcakes were eaten at dinner my family members said, "Two please!"
Now, back to the cupcakes. First, I always make cupcakes for my family during the holiday season. Second, I make everything from scratch. If I am really baking cupcakes you will rarely find me with a Betty Crocker cake mix or a jar of frosting. Finally, I don't just stop at cake and frosting. My cupcakes are always filled and topped with something delicious. I normally follow recipes I find on the internet like the two cupcake batches I made for Christmas last year. One was an egg nog gingerbread cupcake and the other was a cranberry cake topped with sugared cranberries. Often, I combine recipes here and there to create something of my own. Once, I combined a homemade chocolate cupcake, filled with raspberry jam, and topped with raspberry flavored frosting to imitate a dark chocolate covered raspberry cupcake. Recently, my cupcake love has been reduced to pinning possible recipes on Pinterest instead of actually getting in kitchen. I used to say the best cupcakes I ever made were my homemade, peanut butter frosted, peanut butter cupcakes filled with strawberry jam. They tasted just like the classic PB&J! Here's the scoop on my new favorite cupcake recipe that will make you say, "Two please!"
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes http://www.virtuallyhomemade.com/2014/03/lemon-cupcakes-with-fresh-raspberry-buttercream-frosting-and-raspberry-curd.html
I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and I knew I had to try it out! I normally fill my cupcakes with jams or fruit compotes from the store. This recipe called for a homemade filling. I was very excited to try it out!
I started with the raspberry filling. I melted butter in pan and added sugar, egg yokes, and a pint of raspberries. (Quick hint; crack an egg into any type of bowl, take an empty plastic water bottle, squeeze the opening of bottle on top of yoke, release the pressure and the yoke squeezes right into the bottle. Simply squeeze out into another bowl.) The process continued for another ten minutes. There was constant stirring the whole time. I added a pinch of salt and some lemon juice also. The curd began to thicken and it smelled like warm raspberry pie! The recipe does make extra, as it says on the website, and I tried spreading it on toast and swirling it into some greek yogurt. Honestly, eating it plain with a spoon was just as good!
Next, I started on the cake. I prepared the wet ingredients (butter, vanilla, eggs, sugar) and the dry ingredients. (flour, baking soda, salt) Then I started on the lemons. I grated two medium sized lemons to get the lemon zest and then squeezed the juice from the two. Both were added to the batter. The cupcakes were then cooked at 350 degrees for about 20-21 minutes.
Finally, I moved on to the frosting. I started with a food processor. I thoroughly blended and pureed a cup of fresh raspberries. I pressed them into a sieve to remove the seeds from the juice. The juice was then added to the butter/sugar/vanilla base. The frosting tasted like fresh raspberry cream! The color turns out to be an extremely pretty shade of pink. No food coloring or artificial raspberry flavoring needed.
After the cupcakes were filled, frosted, and topped with a raspberry they were ready to eat. The overall product was a light, fresh, refreshing cupcake with a perfect balance of sweet raspberry and tangy, tart lemon. Better than the taste itself was the ability to spend some time with my little sister as my sous-chef. There is no doubt that when the cupcakes were eaten at dinner my family members said, "Two please!"