Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream

Must Bake Now! My family and I have been in Hawaii on vacation, and as we got home at 2 am today I was thinking about what kind of cupcakes I could make. So many things I should be doing today and instead I must bake now! I got several fun baking items while we were there and can't wait to start using them! Enjoy!

Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut

Combine Flour, soda, and salt. In mixer combine oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in sugar, pineapple, and coconut. Add flour mixture. Bake at 325 for 20 mins.


Coconut Butter cream

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup coconut syrup (to taste)
3 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients, pipe and spread onto cakes!

I garnished these with pineapple sugar!

Banana Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

I have been wanting to make a cupcake that combined bananas and caramel. My pregnant friend asked if I could fill hers with banana custard! So I made a couple different versions of the same cupcake and believe me they are yummy!

 Banana Cupcakes:

1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large bananas mashed

Mix sour cream & baking soda, set aside

Cream butter and brown sugar in mixer

Add eggs and vanilla to mixer, combine

Mix flour, baking powder, & salt, set aside. Mix mashed bananas to sour cream mixture. alternate adding dry ingredients and banana mixture to mixer.

Add batter to cupcake pan! Bake approx. 15 mins.

Once cooled, spread a small amount of caramel (below) on top of each cupcake before frosting!


Salted Caramel Frosting
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 sticks salted butter
1 pkg of cream cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 cups powdered sugar

Stir together sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cook without stirring until sugar mixture is a dark amber color. Remove from heat, and slowly add heavy cream and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Let cool.

Mix butter, cream cheese,  and salt in mixer. Add powdered sugar and mix. Add caramel, mix on in high until light and fluffy.

Pipe or spread onto cupcakes!

As a garnish I fried banana discs in butter and sugar until golden brown!


Banana Custard

1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium banana

In saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually ass milk and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Cook an additional 2-3 mins. Stir in egg yolks slowly and whisk. Add mashed banana and vanilla and cook until thickened. Cool for 1 hour before using.

Remove centers of cupcake with small knife and fill with custard. Then pipe frosting on top!

Guinness Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

SO today I was on a mission for my husband to have a favorite cupcake. After all if your wife is gonna bake all the time it is crazy not to have a favorite. So in the past he loved the Guinness Chocolate cupcakes (pretty sure it's the concept of beer and cake that realed him in on that one!) and then he always loves Peanut butter frosting no matter what. So I combined them both in hopes of creating a favorite! Hope you love them too!


GUINNESS CUPCAKES

1 cup guinness stout
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Heat oven to 350

Combine Guinness and butter and heat in saucepan until butter is melted. Add cocoa powder and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl whisk together sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
Add to the Guinness mixture.

Sift together flour and soda. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Fill Cupcake liners and bake.


PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING 

8 tbsp of butter
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp of honey

Combine all ingredients and pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes.

Key Lime Cupcakes

Key Lime Cupcakes with Graham Cracker Frosting

These are perfect for summer. The graham cracker frosting sets them apart from other lime flavored treats!


1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup key lime juice

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt
In mixer cream butter and sugar together
Mix in eggs one at a time
Mix sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice into wet ingredients
Add flour mixture to wet ingredients
Divide into cupcake liners
Bake 350 fro 30 mins. Centers may still be wet, that's normal they will set as they cool.



Graham Cracker Frosting
1/4 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 1/3 cups crushed graham crackers

Mix cream cheese and butter. Mix in all other ingredients, adding powdered sugar a little bit at a time.
Pipe onto cooled cupcakes!



Lemon White Chocolate Cupcakes

Tart and Sweet Lemon White Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting!! Yum!

Happy Fourth of July....

Lemon White Chocolate Cupcakes
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter softened
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup plain yogurt
Lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 cup fresh lemon juice
5 eggs
1/2 bag of white chocolate chips

Heat over 350 degrees
mix flour, salt, powder, & soda in a large bowl
cream butter and sugar in mixer
In a medium bowl mix yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice
Add eggs to butter and sugar one at a time
Alternate flour mixture and yogurt mixture in to mixer. Mix until combined. Add White Chocolate Chips and stir.
Fill lined baking cups and bake approx 16 mins. until golden around the edges.

Once cooled press in a small section of the center and pipe
 Fresh Lemon Curd into center of each cake.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pgk of cream cheese
1 1/2 sticks of butter
Juice from 2 lemons. Zest from both also
2 large spoon fulls of lemon curd
4 cups powdered sugar

Cream first 5 ingredients.
Add powdered sugar slowly until combined.
Refrigerate for 20 mins.
Pipe onto each cupcake

Fresh Lemon Curd

Fresh Lemon Curd

12 Tbs. butter softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 bsp. lemon zest

Yields 4 cups

Beat butter and sugar in mixer.  Add eggs and yolks slowly. Beat for 1 min.

Add Lemon juice.

Mixture will loook curdled.

Cook on low heat until mixture looks smooth. Mixture will no longer appear curdled.

Increase to medium heat stir constantly about 15 mins. until mixture thickens.

Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to avoid skin from forming on top.

Once cooled transfer to canning jars or use.

Curd is good for 1 weeek in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer.

Adapted from finecooking.com



Lemons, Lemons, Lemons...

So I ended up with a huge bag of fresh lemons from Brian's grandma Mary. I am gonna try to make my first fresh Lemon Curd.

So later today I am hoping to have White Chocolate Cupcakes with Lemon Curd filling and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.

YUM! Pictures and Recipes to come!!

Cupcakes!

These are just some cupcake pictures to get started! Recipes to follow!

Where to Start....

A food blog is something that I have been thinking about for a long time. Being someone who loves bake and share ideas with others makes blogging seem logical. The question is where to start? I bake to realieve stress, there is nothing like throwing on an apron and finding that peace in the kitchen. Why Sweet Jewel? My sweet grandmother Jewel and the way she looked in her apron and the way the house smelled while she baked, it was amazing.  She is such a tender part of my life, so why not start with her.