Gluten- Free Lemon Cupcakes

Recently I threw a big beautiful baby for a friend and co-worker of mine recently. The theme was Children's Books with a gray and yellow color scheme. Since the mommy-to-be's MIL has a gluten intolerance, I did my best to accommodate and provide some food and dessert options for her.  

 

I made a regular Strawberry cupcake with Strawberry buttercream frosting and then make a semi-homemade Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcake with Lemon Buttercream.

 

 

Semi-Homemade Lemon Cupcakes

 

1 box (15 oz) Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup water
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, stir cake mix, water, 1/2 cup melted butter, the eggs and lemon peel just until dry ingredients are moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

Gluten Free Lemon Frosting 

• ½ cup butter at room temperature
• ¼ cup cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar (make sure it’s made with corn starch)
• 2-3 tablespoons half & half
• a drizzling of more freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

• Whip butter and cream cheese together using a standing mixer with the paddle attachment: whip together at medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Slowly add sifted sugar to icing on slow speed, gently increasing to medium speed for 5 minutes.
• Mix in other ingredients and continue mixing until smooth, fluffy, and creamy.

Freezer Meals Part 2

I eat a lot of chicken so I knew I needed to have a few meals in the freezer for dinner while on maternity leave. I bought 2 small whole chickens in which I boiled and cooked myself to make my own chicken both. I froze any the left over chicken broth I did use for my freezer meals to later use. I then made all my chicken meals in one evening, one at a time as a little assembly line to make things easier on me. 

 

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

• 10 soft taco shell
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

 2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream. 

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Chicken Pot Pie
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and cubed (or 1 lb cut up chicken pieces)

2 cups mixed frozen vegetables

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tsp rosemary, oregano, or thyme (I like to mix up which spice I use each time)

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1 egg

1 Tbsp water

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.) Unroll and place one pie crust in a pie pan, leaving the edges to crimp later.
2.  In a separate bowl, mix chicken and frozen vegetables, set aside.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix chicken and frozen vegetables, set aside.

3.  In a saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent, . Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and herb of choice. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.  

4.  Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, and seal edges. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.  Mix egg and water and brush over the top of the pie crust.  Sprinkle with extra herb you used in the filling. 

5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cover edges of pie if start to get too brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Freezer Directions: Brush on egg wash and cover first with plastic wrap very tight, making sure to press down in all the creases, almost making a second skin.  Pop in the freezer until completely frozen, then cover very tightly with aluminum foil.  Write baking directions on top of foil.  If baked frozen add at least 15-20 minutes on cooking time.  If defrosted about 10 more minutes.  Watch for burning crusts!

Chicken Spaghetti
Yield: 10-12 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken
3 cups broken spaghetti
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 jar (4 oz) pimentos, drained
2 cups chicken broth (I use the broth from my chicken)
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make three cups. If you don't have a cut up fryer chicken, you can substitute any chicken pieces (sometimes I just use breast meat).  Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth (or in boiling water) until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except 1 cup sharp cheddar.  Spread mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top and bake for another 15 minutes.  Another option is to go ahead and sprinkle with cheese just be careful the cheese doesn't burn, if it starts to turn, just cover with foil.

Freezing Instructions:
Prepare casserole, add cheese to top of casserole but do not bake.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and freeze up to three months.  Allow casserole to defrost and bake as directed.

sausage dip

This one was a complete surprise. I read how good this dip was but have been pretty hestitate about making it because honestly, how good can sausage and cream cheese be?? But I was dead wrong. I swear this is highly addicting! And it's another super easy recipe with only 4 ingredients. It was a huge hit served with Fritos Scoops.  

 

Spicy Sausage Dip

1 (16 ounce) package pork sausage
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese; room temperature
hot sauce to taste ( I used Sriracha)

Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until evenly browned and no longer pink. Drain. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the tomatoes and cream cheese until evenly blended. Cook just until heated through. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Dip

This tastes just like pumpkin cheesecake and takes minutes to make. Plus it has only three main ingredients and you can play around with the rest. I found many different recipes but liked this one mainly because I already had everything in my pantry and refrigerator. Once I made it I did make a few changes and added what I thought would taste best. It turned out creamy, sweet and delicious. Dip ginger snaps into it for a major crowd-pleasing dessert! I loved dipping green apples, the sweet dip and tart apples went really great together.

Pumpkin Dip

1 c. granulated sugar, sifted
2 (8oz.) cream cheese blocks, softened
15 oz. pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix cream cheese and pumpkin together until well blended. Add sugar, cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin pie spice, mix until well combined. Refrigerate at least one hour. Serve with ginger snaps, graham crackers, Nilla wafers, or fruit for dipping.

Baptism

Another first for me....my first Baptism cake!

I got the honor of making our friends Chad and Kelsey a cake and cupcakes for their son Jackson's Baptism. I always feel so honored when asked to make special cakes for any occasion and especially for this precious little boy! 

White Vanilla Cross cake with light blue marshmallow fondant ribbon.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting and each topped with a fondant cross

These cupcakes were definitely a hit with all of little Jackson's family!! 

Happy Baptism Jackson and may God bless you! 

Stuffed Mushrooms

The perfect appetizer. Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms. I was never a big mushroom lover, that might have been because growing up my mom only bought the canned mushrooms (gross!), they definitely don't compare to the real thing. Stuffed mushrooms with cream cheese and bacon are now one of my favorite appetizer and they are very easy to make! You can even prepare them ahead of time and pop them into the oven when guests arrive.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

• 1 pkg whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 3 slices cooked bacon, chopped (optional)
• Panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet, cook until tender. Turn heat off and stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese, bacon, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing and top with Panko bread crumbs. Arrange the mushrooms on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and lightly golden brown.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

I've been wanting to make these Double Chocolate Zucchini cupcakes for a very long time now but have been hesitant since there is goat cheese in the frosting and I've never used goat cheese for anything. These cupcakes are filled with chocolate ganache and topped with a creamy goat cheese and cream cheese frosting. The frosting taste just like a cream cheese frosting you put on banana or pumpkin bars but with a little added tangy from the goat cheese that makes them even more delicious!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup whole milk, room temp
1 cup shredded zucchini
3/5 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped in chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake trays with 18 cupcake liners. Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside. Cream butter with a mixer in a large bowl. Add sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla one at a time, mixing well with each addition.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chunks until combined.

Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full and place in oven immediately. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped in chunks
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Place chocolate and whipping cream in the microwave. Heat in 30 seconds intervals, stirring in between until melted. Blend thoroughly. Add sugar and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour ganache into a small plastic bottle. Insert opening of squeeze bottle halfway into cupcake center and squeeze ganache until you see it start to surface.

Creamy Goat Cheese Frosting
5 oz goat cheese, room temp
3 oz cream cheese, room temp
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift sugar and set aside. Beat goat cheese, cream cheese and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, mixing and scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl in between additions. Spread frosting on top of cupcakes.

Fastest Dinner Ever!

I was getting ready for work the other morning thinking what the heck am I going to make for dinner tonight! I have no idea what's in the pantry, haven't been to the grocery store yet and all the meat we have is frozen! 

I admit, even though I love to cook and bake.....I am in NO WAY organized. I rarely am prepared ahead of time for dinners, I kind of just wing it! I buy a lot of the staples and then make short runs to the store on the way home, or just find something else to make :) I'm horrible.

That's when I thought about throwing something into the crock pot so it would be ready by time I got home. Chicken tacos! This literally took me all of 5 minutes to throw together beforehand and 2 minutes to shred the chicken once I walked in the door and then it was ready to serve! 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

1.5 lbs frozen chicken breasts

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 contained Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Santa Fe

1 pkg soft tortilla or hard shell tacos

Add ins - mushrooms, lettuce, salsa, avocado, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Add frozen chicken (yes FROZEN) to bottom of crock pot. Mix together crushed tomatoes, black beans and cook cream, then pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Stir together to combine well and serve in soft or hard shell tacos and top with your favorites.

Now that's what I call a no fuss meal!

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate

I know I've shared the recipes for these Hershey's Chocolate cupcakes here and chocolate cream cheese frosting here but they are just too good not to blog about again! I could eat the chocolate cream cheese frosting all by itself if it came too it, it's just seriously that good!! So when asked by my friend Meghan if I could make her come cupcakes for a little girls night get-together I knew these two would be the perfect pair to offer.

I even had some marshmallow fondant left over from the baseball cake I cut flowers out of and used as a cute little decoration.

Homemade Bagels with Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Bagels are one of my favorite breakfast foods! Unfortunately where we live now there are no bagels places anywhere close, we would have to drive at least 20 minutes just for a bagel! So I decided to try my hand at making homemade bagels. Then I found this recipe for Pumpkin cream cheese that sounds absolutely amazing that I just had to made BOTH as soon as possible. I made the bagels with white whole wheat flour (slightly more healthy) and didn't use the full amount of flour. They are best toasted.

Homemade Bagels

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.

Don't worry they get bigger once boiled!

Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling.

Dough will sink the bottom once in water, made sure to move them so they don't stick to the pan. They will rise to the top within a few seconds.

Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering. When the bagels are ready, put about 4 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once.

Nice and puffy!

Drain them on a towel. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.

Ready to Eat!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and syrup til creamy. Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

I made the cream cheese with fresh pumpkin from in a previous post. This pumpkin cream cheese is all that I hoped it for. It was very easy to make and came together in 5 minutes. It is soo delicious I made a double batch!!

Strawberry Heaven

In celebration of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month and my co-worker Tami's birthday (who picked this weeks flavor) I made strawberry cupcakes with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. Both recipes are from Martha Stewart, the cupcake recipe is all over the Internet. So many people have tried this recipe out that I wanted to see what the big deal was and have been waiting for the perfect occasion to made them. I must admit after making them and trying them, I was not impressed with the cupcake cake. It just wasn't enough strawberry flavor for me and too dense. So I will be on the hunt for the perfect strawberry cake recipe. However I was blown away by the frosting! It seriously really does taste like strawberry ice cream!!! I think I could sit down with a bowl of this frosting and eat it with a spoon it's that good!! In fact I have some left over and that thought is pretty tempting...hmmm.

The cupcakes and frosting are both a very light pink, I swear, I just have a cheap camera that doesn't take very good "detail" picture (hint, hint Christmas present Dave :)) I bought a container of fondant from Michael's awhile ago and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. I used a small flower cutter to cut out a dozen flowers and used an edible marker to write "Check your Ta Ta's" on them. I've actually never tasted fondant before and wasn't sure what to expect as I've heard it's not very good, but to my surprise it really wasn't that bad at all. On the other dozen cupcakes I wanted to make pink ribbons. For these I melted 4 squares of white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, added a small amount of pink gel to make the chocolate light pink. I let the chocolate cool slightly and poured it into a squeeze bottle. I printed off a page of ribbons which I laid under wax paper and then used traces the ribbons in chocolate. I then put the wax paper with chocolate ribbons in a cookie sheet and places in the refrigerator to harden overnight until I assembled my cupcakes the next day.

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcake
Makes 1 dozen.

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing

• 1/2 cup whole strawberries
• 1 stick unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, slightly cold
• 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 22 ounces of confectioners’ sugar (approximately 1.4 pounds)
  

Directions:

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the cream cheese and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not over mix or frosting will incorporate too much air.

Note: The frosting is able to be piped, but is on the soft side and definitely needs to be refrigerated!

White Chocolate Raspberry

I'm eating one of these cupcakes as I write this post because they are THAT good! The chocolate cupcake, delicious, the white chocolate raspberry cream cheese, phenomenal!! I think this is one of my favorite chocolate cupcakes so far, they are moist and soft and chocolately. However because they are so soft they fall apart easily and can be quite messy, especially with kids. I made these for a jewelry party I hosted last night and got lots of great reviews! Highly recommend these!!

Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until you get a thin batter (will be runny). Pour batter into muffin tins with cupcake liner, full 3/4 full. Bake 19-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Yields 24-28 cupcakes.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
• 6 oz melted white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bars)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsps raspberry extract
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar (depends on your desired consistency)

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water NOT boiling. I used a saucepan filled just under 1/2 full of water and places a glass boil over, stir chocolate occasionally. Once the chocolate is melted, set aside to cool slightly. Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy, gradually add in melted white chocolate and beat until smooth. Beat in butter, vanilla and raspberry extracts. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until it is all incorporated and smooth. After the frosting is well blended, you can mix in your preferred color. I used a very small dab of pink gel icing color (a little goes a long way!). I wanted a soft light pink color just to add to the raspberry theme. Mix until color is thoroughly mixed. I piped the frosting using a decorating bag without a tip.

Blueberry basil Cheesecake Cupcakes Oh My!

Yup, that's right blueberry AND basil cheesecake in a cupcake form! That's what I thought too. But these are surprisingly SOOOOOO good!! I made them last week for a "going away potluck" party at work. This recipe made 48 cupcakes!! With knowing that, I still didn't cut it in half, which I debated doing since I wasn't sure how they were going to taste, and I'm so glad I didn't! Because they are DELICIOUS! I took just over half the batch to work and left with only a hand full. I got rave reviews from everyone at work. I believe my manager ate 3 and one of my co-workers ate 4!! You can taste the basil but it blends in nicely with blueberry and cream cheese. Definitely will make these again!

Blueberry Basil Cheesecake Cupcakes Ingredients:

The Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham crackers, ground in a food processor
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1.5 cup regular sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 8 oz. sour cream, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
  

Blueberry Basil Filling

• 1 can of Blueberry Pie filling
• 1 Tbsp ground basil
  

Cream Cheese Filling

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  

Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsp Blueberry Basil Filling
  

For the Blueberry Basil Filling: Purée the blueberry pie filling and ground basil in a food processor. Set aside.

For the cake: Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and ground graham crackers in a large bowl and stir with a wire whisk until combined. Set aside. Cream both sugars and butter with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well with each addition. Add vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

For the cream cheese filling: In another bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the cream cheese filling and mix until thoroughly combined.

For the Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping (You can make this while the cupcakes are cooling): Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in a chilled mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Add Blueberry Basil Filling until combined. And throw in some extra ground basil if you want the taste stronger.

Assembly: Fill each baking cup about halfway. Spread a spoonful of the blueberry basil filling on top. Spoon some of the cream cheese filling on the top of that so that they are filled about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. Cool. Top with Blueberry Basil Whipped Topping and whole blueberries, if desired.

Note: You can keep some untopped cupcakes refrigerated. Then, heat them up a little and add the cold blueberry basil whipped topping when ready to eat.

Naked Cupcakes

Deliciously topped cupcakes :)

Ready to be eaten cupcakes!

Chocolate+Cream Cheese+Buttercream = Happiness

Just looking at these I get hungry....hmmmmm they were so good! Ok so I think I've become obsessed with cupcakes lately! I found this chocolate cupcake recipe and the buttercream recipe from a website I LOVE, http://www.bakerella.com/ (I've become obsessed with her website as well). I made all chocolate cupcakes and then two different frosting's a buttercream frosting in which I tinted with pink coloring and a chocolate cream cheese frosting in which I filled 1/4 of the cupcakes with and then frosted with either of the frosting's. I only filled some of the cupcakes because I thought it might be too much but apparently I was dead wrong! I took the to a BBQ and it seriously like looking for Willy Wonka's golden ticket! All the girls were lifting up the cupcakes comparing weights trying to find the filled ones and if they picked a regular cupcake they pond it off on their husband and picked a new one. It was hilarious. I of course didn't distinguished the filled ones with any certain frosting or decoration so it really was a game of chance. I loved it!!

24 chocolate cupcakes ready to be frosted

I borrowed my mom's cake decorating tips, I really want to start learning how to decorate cakes and cupcakes so here is my first lesson.

All ready to go get eaten in my new cupcake carrier from Target

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/4 c milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake pans with 36 baking cups. With a wire whisk, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In a mixer, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides with each addition. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture to the creamed butter in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour) Bake for about 15 minutes or until done. Cool and frost.

Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 lb powdered sugar (3 3/4 cups)
• 1-3 tsp milk, half and half, or cream

Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. If you want your frosting a little more creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. Then use icing colors to tint the frosting the color of your choice. This is usually just enough for a 2-layer cake, double the recipe for a 3-layer cake.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1- 8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temp
• 4 cups sifted powdered sugar (decrease the amount of you don't care for it being stiff for piping
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time. Mix in cocoa powder.

These cupcakes where wonderful!! I recommend them. If you make them let me know what you think! I plan on making many more cupcakes and will be trying new kinds as well! Happy Baking :)