One more reason I love cupcakes:

For all you cupcake eating climbers out there:

Cupcakes are to Cake 

like 

Boulders are to Cliffs 

Just think about it. 

(This is what I think about instead of final exams) 

Pirate Vs. Ninja Cupcakes: Chocolate Cupcake w/ Cookies & Cream Icing

So I know it has been a while since my last post, so sorry, I have been  fully immersed in end of semester craziness, Somehow I found time to make these super cool cupcakes for the last Ladies Climb night. This was the first chance I had to tell you about them. As you can see they are Pirate vs. Ninja themed goodies. I made chocolate cupcakes that turned out moist and delicious (see recipe below). For the icing, I just made a basic buttercream but added a packet of cream cheese and crumbled lots of Oreo's into it. It turned out tasting just like cookies and cream ice cream. Yum!

I bought the Pirate decorations from Bake it Pretty in downtown Asheville (My new favorite place!)
For the Ninja's I used the cream half of Oreos and painted ninja faces on with black decorative icing. I was pretty psyched on how they turned out! I also got to play for the first time with a large open star tip, also acquired from Bake it Pretty. Teaching myself how to make professional looking cupcakes is super fun and challenging. ( I should have taken a picture of the mess I made in my kitchen).

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe: (This is the doubled recipe and made about 18 regular and 24 small cupcakes)

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder 

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 sticks of butter (room temp)

2 cups of sugar

6 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla (I used maple syrup because I was out of vanilla and wanted to experiment) 

1 cup sour cream 

In one bowl combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla (or maple syrup in my case)

In a separate bowl combine cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add the cocoa mixture and sour cream in three sections, beginning and ending with cocoa mixture.
Once blended, fill baking cups half way and bake for 15 minutes (small) or 20 minutes (regular) Time varies according to oven!

Let cool and then frost, decorate, and ENJOY!

       

Hilarious SNL short featuring Cupcakes....among other things

Check it out!

Check out this guest-post by yours truly on the wilder coast, an amazing blog by my good friend Melina.

thewildercoast.blogspot.com

Wonder-Woman Coconut Cupcakes with Key Lime Buttercream

 W- is for Wonder Women! I made these tasty cupcakes for this weeks Super Hero themed Ladies Climbing Night.

 Coconut Cupcake Recipe

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup milk with 1Tbs lemon juice combine and let sit for 2mins before using) 
• 7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

The icing is a basic buttercream with 1Tbs lime juice, 1Tbs lemon juice, and zest from about six key limes. 

Then I added food coloring and sprinkles to end with some SUPER-cupcakes!