Entries Tagged 'Cupcake Hero' ↓

I recently purchased the cookbook “Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey; Desserts For The Serious Sweet Tooth” and I have been OBSESSED with this book. The title itself says it all. Truly decedent desserts! Although you will not find this Cupcake Hero entry in this cook book I definitely took inspiration from it. I love this book, I actually take it to work with me every day and just look at the pictures and read the recipes. I can actually taste all of these delicious goodies before I bake them. If you don’t have this book run out and get it RIGHT AWAY! You will not be disappointed; I guarantee it!

I like to call these little guys “The Devil Made Me Do It”. I took EVERYTHING that love and shoved it all into one little cucpcake liner; These little guys definitely put me into sensory overload! The sight, the smell (I would walk in and out of the house just to smell it over and over again), and the TASTE! So moist, so sweet and yummy. I’m getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it These little bad boys are truly SINFUL…. and I LOVE IT!

The cake itself chocolate & coconut, with cream cheese and marshmallow floater. Drizzled with chocolate & caramel glaze. Topped with toasted coconut, and roasted marshmallow….. and YES you guessed it…. drizzled again with caramel and chocolate. There I go again, gettin all worked up!… whew!

The Devil Made Me Do It

makes 24 cupcakes

Cake Batter

• 1½ cups cake flour
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• ½ brown sugar
  
• ¼ cup cocoa powder (do yourself a favor, don’t use Hershey’s! I myself use Ghiradelli. But I have heard good things about Askinosie.. but it isn’t sold in my area and I am far too inpatient to wait for it in the mail)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup mayonnaise (fully leaded… do not attempt to use the low/non fat stuff)
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320ºF. In a large bowl sift together flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Add boiling water and stir till mixture is completely wet. Add milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and mayonnaise whisking well after each addition. Fold in coconut.

Cream Cheese & Marshmallow Floater

• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup small marshmallows

Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and egg. Add vanilla and salt stirring and stir well. Fold in marshmallows.

Fill cupcake cup ¼ of the way. Drop in a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture, and then pour batter over. The cream cheese and marshmallow will float up to the top when baking. Bake till a skewer comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out a thin layer of coconut. Bake at 450ºF until toasted brown. Pull out and immediately toss.

Chocolate Drizzle

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• ½ stick butter
• ½ cup heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium size bowl add chocolate, butter, and salt. Bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate, and stir till it reaches a creamy consistency. Add vanilla and let cool.

Caramel Drizzle

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup heavy cream

In a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat bring sugar mixture to a boil. Once it starts to boil swirl pot frequently to prevent burning. Once sugar turns to an amber color immediately take off of the heat and quickly add heavy cream. This will cause the sugar to seize and stop cooking. This is important because at this temperature the sugar can go from caramel to burned nasty mess in an instant. Put the mixture back on the flame once the sugar has seized and stir constantly until it reaches a smooth consistency. Allow to cool and stir often.

Drizzle Chocolate and caramel over your cooled cupcakes. Pile on a little bit of toasted coconut, and place 2 small marshmallows on top. With a culinary torch roast those marshmallows! Be careful not to catch the liner on fire… I did it a few times. Just blow it out. Once your marshmallow has toasted then drizzle on more chocolate and caramel.

For April’s Cupcake Hero contest there wasn’t a specific ingredient. Instead, in honor of Earth Day the theme was “Green”. So I knew that what ever I made needed to be organic & Vegan. Beyond that; I had no idea what to do. I had decided to do a Persian cupcake with cardamom, saffron, and pomegranate juice. But it ended up tasting like ass. So, I went to the grocery store hoping that I would be struck by a stroke of inspiration. And there they were green organic granny smith apples…. UREKA!!! So, there is the story. These bad boys turned out just like I had imagined that they would. Moist and very very yummy! Great apple flavor… and is not all dense and dry like a muffin would be. No sir!!! You can definitely tell that this is a cupcake and NOT a muffin!!! I love the sweet and tart combination. And even my daughter liked the cream cheese frosting…. and she is a total meat lover. No soy anything for her - but I fooled her! Muuaahhhahahaaha I am SO evil!! The cupcakes themselves had a nice rise and did not deflate… that is super important for me as it is a pet peeve. I hate craters in my cupcakes!

For this challenge I made a special trip to Central Market, and I bought everything that I could find that said “Organic” on it. I had organic flour, oatmeal, sugar (who knew), apples, pecans, juice, powdered sugar……. everything in this cupcake is organic!

Anyways, meat lovers and vegans can now live in perfect harmony… behold the Green Apple Cupcakes!

Vegan Green Apple Cupcakes

makes 30 cupcakes

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh organic Granny Smith apples
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup oatmeal
• 1 cup organic apple juice
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 cups organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 ounces plain soy yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Peal and chop apples using a food processor on pulse. You want a coarse chop… not apple sauce, and set aside. In a electric mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment mix together: canola oil, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, soy yogurt, vanilla extract, baking soda. Add flour and cane juice (sugar); and mix on slow. In a slow steady stream add apple juice and continue to mix on slow. Fold in apples, oatmeal, and pecan pieces. Pour into cupcake cups and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, softened
• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped pecans

In an electric mixing bowl fitted with a paddle cream together cream cheese and margarine until smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, mixing and scraping down the sides. Add vanilla, and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Gently fold in chopped pecans.

Streusel Topping

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• ¼ cup pecan pieces
• ¼ cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

Preheat oven to 450ºF. In a medium size bowl add flour, sugar, and margarine. Mix together with a fork to create crumbs. Add pecans and toss. Spread out evenly onto cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake until golden brown. Once cooled toss and break up crumbs, use as topping for cream cheese frosting.

For the past 2 months the ingredient for Cupcake Hero has been of the adult nature and my darling daughter has been left out in the cold not able to enjoy my cupcakes. So this month it is all about Stasia!!! Her favorite foods are simple; she is not really into all of the ultra “gourmet” foods. She likes her hamburgers with ketchup and pickles only. Her sandwiches peanut butter and jelly. Her burritos beans and rice only…. No cheese, no sauce, no onions, no meat….. NO Maa’m not for her! Anyways you get the point. These cupcakes will not be containing items such as rosewater, saffron, or ginger. I am taking it old school for this month’s entry… no frills just down and dirty kid friendly yummy goodness!

Her FAVORITE ice cream is Rocky Road; she could eat it every single day if I would let her. So I thought that I would make for her a Rocky Road Cupcake Sunday. I wanted a rich creamy chocolate flavor cake, so creamy that you would almost forget it is a cupcake. And of course…. Has to have soft creamy marshmallow. I have to admit, this is one of my FAVORITE creations. She absolutely LOVED it… as did I. Husband and I took these to work and both got RAVE reviews. Everyone loved how they looked like an ice cream cone Sunday! I even gave one to my boss’ boss…. So they better be good or I stand a good chance of being fired – LOL

Makes 18 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcake

• 18 cake ice cream cones
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• ¼ cup chopped almonds
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a Pyrex bowl over steam continuously stirring melt chocolate and butter till smooth. Take off of the heat and add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar and stir together. Add buttermilk and stir smooth, then add flour and water and stir till smooth. Fold in chopped almonds. Fill ice cream cones about ½ ways full. Place on a baking sheet standing up and bake for about 15 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

*Helpful tip: scratch the bottom seam of your ice cream flat cone so that it will stay standing and not want to tip over. Also, do not over fill your ice cream cone or else when the batter flows over it tips the whole thing and then your cones go down like dominos.

Marshmallow Topping

• ½ tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup of melting chocolate

In an electric mixing bowl fitted with a whisk add gelatin and ¼ water and let sit for at least 5 minutes. In heavy sauce pan mix ½ cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla on medium low heat, heat till 244°F without stirring. Remove from heat and slowly pour into mixing bowl while on LOW speed. Gradually …. Very gradually or else you will make a big ole mess… move up to high speed. Let it whip till it triples in volume, around 15 minutes. Fold in chopped almonds. Let stand for 5 minutes. With an ice cream scoop; place 1 scoop on top of each cupcake. My ice cream scoop mysteriously had disappeared and I had to use a spoon (I tried a piping bag and that didn’t work out). It is ok, I actually think that it looks more Yummy kinda sloppy!

Melt some chocolate in a double broiler and dip each cone and finish off with sprinkles.

THEN I GOT TO THINKING….. Since I am taking it old school may as well go FULL FORCE; all the way back to the days of MY childhood. My favorite snack when I was a kid was Hostess SnoBall. I LOVED LOVED LOVED to peel off the marshmallow top and roll it up and shove it all in my mouth at once. Then enjoy the cupcake with a tall glass of milk.

Makes 15 Chocolate Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcake

• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a Pyrex bowl over steam continuously stirring melt chocolate and butter till smooth. Take off of the heat and add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar and stir together. Add buttermilk and stir smooth, then add flour and water and stir till smooth. Fill cupcake cups 1/3 of the way and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Marshmallow Topping

• ½ tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large bag of shredded sweetened coconut
• Pink gel food color

In an electric mixing bowl fitted with a whisk add gelatin and ¼ water and let sit for at least 5 minutes. In heavy sauce pan mix ½ cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla on medium low heat, heat till 244°F without stirring. Remove from heat and slowly pour into mixing bowl while on LOW speed. Gradually …. Very gradually or else you will make a big ole mess… move up to high speed. Let it whip till it triples in volume, around 15 minutes.

With a 1 inch round cookie cutter, carve out a hole into your cupcakes.

Using a piping bag filled with marshmallow fill your whole. Cut the top off of your cupcake core and use and place on top filling the hole (kind of like a cork).

Place coconut into a bowl and add a few drops of pink food color. Toss with your hands until you have a nice even coloring. In a small bowl fill with marshmallow goo and add a few tablespoons of water to thin out. If you don’t it will be too hard to dip your cupcake into. Staying true to the SnoBall form it is a thick marshmallow coating. Therefore I dipped each cupcake 3 times. I gave each cupcake 1 coat and rotated back around till I had 3 coats giving each layer time to set a bit.

On the third coat immediately place cupcake upside down in coconut; be sure to cover all of the marshmallow with coconut.

I then took a pretty cupcake cup (because the original cup got all icky with marshmallow goop) and placed it on, turned my cupcake right side up and shaped it firmly with the palms of my hands to get a nice round shape. And viola! You have a SnoBall!!! AND I LOVE IT!!!

OK OK… So “Liquor In The Front” is actually a Rev. Horton Heat album; one of the best mind you! But when I thought of this months Cupcake Hero ingredient that is what my mind immediately raced too. I have to admit that when the announcement was made for this month’s ingredient I was at a complete loss. Way too many possibilities for me to even know where to begin. Totally over whelmed. I felt like a deer starring into the headlights! I decided that the best possible thing to do in this situation would be to procrastinate!!! As it turns out that was a good thing. Last week David (this guy who sits in the cube behind me) came into work boasting about this cake that his mother had made… an how it used nearly every bottle of liquor in the cabinet. So, I made him go and get me the recipe! As it turns out his mother bakes using a mix. I myself can not do that! I just can’t!!! I think that if I were to bake from a mix God would strike me down dead BOOOM DEAD I SAY!!! Also, her cake was NAKED!! So, I read the recipe and got the general idea. And then changed it up to match what I already had in my liquor cabinet… and my moms (that is what she gets for living 1.28 miles away from me).

The cupcakes came out pretty darn tasty… and I love the little puff of alcohol that the oven omits when you open the door. The only thing that I did not like about this recipe is that my cupcakes did not make the pretty little dome that I usually get. I think that the pudding mix was too heavy and weighed it down. So I am going to recommend a few extra egg whites here to help puff it up. Regardless of how it looked; it was tasty. And I decided that was what mattered. Beauty is only skin deep! But a tasty cupcake will last a lifetime - on your hips that is! LOL!! OK, getting back on track here is the recipe. I like to call it “Stuff I Had In My Liquor Cabinet… and That I Stole From My Mom’s House”:

Makes 24 Cupcakes

Black Russian Cupcake

• 1 ½ cups of cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large envelope chocolate pudding
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup vodka
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 6 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 325ºF Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate pudding, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl mix together milk, vodka, and vanilla. In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter and 2 cups of sugar till pale in color; about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down sides and add vanilla and sour cream and mix on low. Add flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with liquid mixture beat until just combined. In a separate bowl fitted with a whisk attachment beat egg whites on low till foamy then gradually add 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff high peaks form; about 4 minutes. Fold egg whites into mixture. Bake approximatley15 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Candy Coating

• ¼ cup Sherry
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of sugar

Mix all ingredients together in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil for approximately 2 minutes. Or just long enough for the sugar crystals to dissolve. Using a soft pastry brush, glaze the tops of cup cupcakes.

Frosting

• 1lb powdered sugar
• ½ cup Crisco
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons & 1 teaspoon meringue powder
• 1 tablespoon Crème Bouquet
• 4-5 drops of pepper mint extract (for subtle flavor)
• ¼ cup of Baileys

In a mixing bowl using the paddle attachment add all ingredients together. Start mixing very slowly and then work your way up to high. Beat for about 4-5 minutes giving the meringue powder a chance to fluff up. Add more Bailey’s as necessary for consistency. Frost cupcake and top with a maraschino cherry… Or my mom has these cherry’s that she got from my grandpa’s house. And they have been soaking in some sort of liquor & look absolutely yummy! But, I knew there was no way that I could talk her out of them… maybe next time.

So, as the old saying goes…. If you don’t succeed – try , try, try again! Well, I did not get the Cupcake Hero award last month for “mint”. Not to say, that once I win… I will stop entering. This has been so much fun… I’m LOVIN’ IT!So, this month’s ingredient is coffee. Whenever I think of coffee, my mind instantly races to an ice cold Starbucks Frappucino – mhhhhhhhmmmm YUMMY! Sugary sweet, creamy, ice cold caffeinated goodness! So, when the Cupcake Hero ingredient for this month was announced of course I was going to make Frappucino cupcakes. I am a bit concerned as the guest judge is Jao (Laurie’s Husband – Laurie runs the Cupcake Hero). Laurie wrote that her husband is a no frills kinda guy. Likes his cupcakes plain and simple. Well, this could be a problem. But the way that the flavors and textures all work together for this cupcake, it is purely magical. As my dad would say, it is a total “Tongasim”! So, I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one! Either way, I am very proud of my little creation here.This challenge was a labor of love. I did not get it right the first time… or the 2^nd for that fact. But, I came through and it is in my mind PERFECT! Like its predecessor the Frappucino, this cupcake is best when served cold.

This recipe makes 42 cupcakes.

A Beautiful Simple White Cupcake

• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 8 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 325ºF Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter and 2 cups of sugar till pale in color; about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down sides and add vanilla and sour cream and mix on low. Add flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with milk, beat until just combined. In a separate bowl fitted with a whisk attachment beat egg whites on low till foamy then gradually add sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff high peaks form; about 4 minutes. Fold egg whites into batter mixture. Bake approximatley15 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Mocha filling

• 1 pint of heavy whipping cream
• 4 oz of milk chocolate (I use Ghirardelli)
• 1 tablespoon really good vanilla
• 1 ½ cup freshly brewed espresso
• ½ cup cornstarch

Add cornstarch to shipping cream and mix well (very well… make sure that the all the cornstarch has dissolved prior to heating the cream). The cornstarch is necessary because of the amount of espresso being added. In a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat pour in whipping cream, chocolate, espresso, and vanilla. Stirring constantly until chocolate has dissolved, do not allow your mixture to boil. Transfer a medium size bowl, cover, and place into refrigerator for a few hours. Place water and ice into a large bowl and set your medium size bowl with your mixture into it so that it can get ice cold. Let it sit for about an hour. I do this instead of putting into the fridge because my family life is NUTS… and if I put it into the freezer I am likely to forget about it and it will freeze rock hard and be ruined. If you are using your kitchen aid mixer rinse your bowl whisk with water and place into freezer for at least a half of an hour. Pour mixture into bowl and whip at high speed for about 10 minutes. * Note: You must wait until your cupcakes are completely cool before piping your filling into them.

Frappucino Butter cream Frosting

• 8oz of softened mascarpone
• 4oz of softened cream cheese
• 1 ½ cups of Crisco
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder
• Dash of salt
• 1 oz unsweetened bakers chocolate
• ½ cup of freshly brewed espresso
• 2lbs. powdered sugar

With your paddle cream together mascarpone, cream cheese, and Crisco till smooth. In your microwave melt chocolate at 50% heat in 30 second intervals stirring in between until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Add chocolate, meringue powder, and salt to bowl and continue creaming for 2-3 minutes. Add powdered sugar in 3 batches alternating with espresso. Go easy on the espresso as you do not want to add too much and cause a watery icing. Just add enough to reach your desired consistency. Then beat on high for 3-4 minutes, this gets the meringue powder working and makes your butter cream fluffy. Refrigerate for an hour or so. This gives the espresso time to really come alive and for the cheeses to set.

When you frost your cupcake with the Frappucino Butter cream use a 1M tip to create a hollow center and do not close the top. It should look like this.
Fill it with yummy creamy goodness!

Whipped Cream Frosting Filler (I don’t know what else to call it)

• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 12 ounce can of evaporated milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl sprinkle gelatin and add a few tablespoons of water and let sit until gelatin soaks up water. On the stove top on medium high heat mix together evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. DO NOT BOIL!!! Just heat the mixture enough to get the sugar to completely dissolve. Add mixture to gelatin and stir well. Cover bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Place water and ice into a large bowl and set your medium size bowl with your mixture into it so that it can get ice cold. Let it sit for about an hour. If you are using your kitchen aid mixer rinse your bowl & whisk with water and place into freezer for at least a half of an hour. Pour mixture into bowl and whip at high speed for about 10 minutes. You can not over whip this stuff, the more the better.Place whipped mixture into a piping bag and fill in the fill in the hollow center.Dust with coco powder and place a few chocolate covered espresso beans on top. OF COURSE, I make my own chocolate covered espresso beans! It is so easy; I bet you can do it too! Melt your favorite chocolate. Mine is Ghirardelli, drop some espresso beans into it and then roll them into coco powder. Repeat this process 2-3 times. See, so simple.. and EVERYONE will be so impressed!

For years I have had an obsession with cupcakes. Until now, I thought I was all alone. Then I found the Quirky Cupcake and discovered that I was not alone. Every month the “Quirky Cupcake” has a “Cupcake Hero” contest. It is kind of like the Iron Chef but NOT! They give you an ingredient and then you have to come up with a kick ass recipe and submit pictures.

This totally excited me like you would not believe! Seriously, it was like my life all of a sudden had a purpose (kind of sad – but NOT). Feeling totally rejuvenated and inspired I purchased sinfullysweetconfections.com and set up this blog site. Now I can start my journey to becoming the NEXT CUPCAKE HERO. Bitches best step aside, and make room!

The ingredient for December is mint. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me but the first thing that popped into my head was ginger. I ran the idea by a few friends and everyone rolled their eyes and said “YUK”. Well, I don’t know why I bothered to ask them in the first place because I really don’t care what they think! So, I hit the kitchen and gave it a whirl. Let me tell you, usually I am very good at refraining myself to a single cupcake. However, before I had realized it I had eaten 4 FREAKIN cupcakes!!! The cupcake was so moist, yet firm enough to easily remove the wrapper… and the flavor combination was sssooooo perfect! It was like I had gone on auto-pilot mode and could not help myself.

To be sure that I wasn’t just patting myself on the back (I do have a tendency to do that) I took a batch to work and passed them out. Everyone LOVED them! It was crazy; I had people coming up to me in the hall asking what I had put in them to make them taste so good. I even had someone walk up to me and tell me that this is the only cupcake that I should make for the rest of my life. I was even receiving emails from co-workers asking for the recipe. One person said that she took one home to her wife and that she ate it so fast that she had frosting all over her face! So, I think that I may be onto something here.

I now present to you without further adieu Ginger Ale Cupcakes with Peppermint Butter Cream Frosting.

This recipe makes around 36 cupcakes.Preperation:For this recipe you will need candied ginger. Since you don’t know me yet let me inform you that I am completely crazy; and totally believe in making everything from beginning to end. However, you could purchase pre-made candied ginger. If you have never candied ginger before it is EASY to do. When you make it everyone will think that you are super woman *stupid mortals*.Using fresh ginger, peel and slice about 1/8” thick… do not, and I repeat do not try and get all fancy by dicing, chopping, or julianning – you will regret it! Slice it! Toss it into a crock pot. Pour Sprite over the ginger until it is just covered. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water - stir. Cook on medium heat for around 8 hours. All of the liquid will reduce down to thick syrup. Pull the slices out and let them dry on a wire rack. Once cooled, toss in granulated sugar. *As a little side note, the syrup that is left behind is fantastic in hot tea… I highly recommend it!

Ginger Ale Cupcakes:

• 4 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ cup Ginger ale
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• ¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• ½ cup sour cream
• 6 egg whites

Start by beating butter on high with the paddle attachment of your electric mixer. Once it turns to a pale color add the sugar and cream for 3 minutes. Add salt, baking powder, fresh ginger, and sour cream. Put ginger ale, milk, and vanilla into a separate bowl. Slowly add flour in parts of 4 alternating with liquid mixture. Once complete stir in chopped candied ginger. Beat egg whites until they have a stiff peak and fold into mixture.

Bake at 350F for approximately 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peppermint Butter cream Frosting:

• 2 sticks softened unsalted butter
• 1 cup Crisco (do not be cheap here and try and use generic brands, you will be sorry!!)
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp popcorn salt
• 2 lb. powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons clear vanilla
• 1 tablespoon Crème Bouquet
• ½ cup cold water to start, adjust as necesarry
• ¼ - ½ tsp. Peppermint Extract (this depends on your brand of extract as some are more potent than others.)

Crushed candy canes for garnish

Cream softened butter and Crisco for 3-4 minutes. Add Meringue powder, salt, popcorn salt, crème bouquet, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Add powdered sugar in batches of 4 alternating with water. Mix on high speed for 4-5 minutes (this really whips the meringue powder into shape and makes your frosting light and fluffy). Add peppermint extract, start off light and keep adding until you get to a nice mild pepermint flavor. Becareful, this stuff is strong and you don’t want it to be overwhelming.

Once you have frosted your cupcakes sprinkle on crushed candy canes.