Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious and festive combination of all your favorite Fall flavors.
I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #FallFlavors recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
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St. Patrick’s Day Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes are decadent chocolate cupcakes infused with Irish Cream Liqueur, then decorated with a trendy buttercream piping technique in various shades of white and green. Top with a fun sprinkle mix that will shamrock your St.Patrick’s Day.
This recipe was created for and sponsored by Dixie Crystals. All opinions are my own.
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By Love and Confections
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
The cream cheese frosting is literally the ‘icing on the cake’. There is something really great about the mixture of tart and sweet when it comes to blueberries, lemon and cream cheese. These flavors compliment each other so well.
When I made the cupcakes, I put a few aside and added purple sprinkles for the Little One; because you can never have too many sprinkles, right? The rest got decorated with simple fresh blueberries and a small sprig of mint for color.
I experimented with two different kinds of baking cups. One was a colorful grease-proof liner and the other was my normal white baking cups. While the purple grease-proof looked beautiful, you can’t see the blueberries in the actual cupcake. I mixed them up for the photos, just so you can tell there are blueberries in the cupcake too.
If I’m not shopping for my blueberries at Publix, I am picking them in a Fresh From Florida field. Blueberry season is a much anticipated time of year. My family thoroughly enjoys all the baked goods I make, breakfast recipes, and eating blueberries by the handful.
We even keep a bowl on the counter with washed berries, so anyone can grab some throughout the day. It is a healthy, fresh and delicious snack that the whole family enjoys. Blueberries end up in our shopping basket nearly every week.
I use them in my morning smoothie and also pack some in the Little One’s lunchbox for pre-K. I love blueberries on salads, making jam, and syrup too. Blueberry cocktails are also a favorite, like my Blueberry Sangria! You can use the search bar to find that recipe in the archives.
When making cream cheese frosting, a little trick I learned from culinary school will help. Sometimes the cream cheese gets clumpy when you beat the butter and cream cheese together, and it doesn’t create a nice, smooth frosting. If you beat the butter first, then slowly incorporate the softened cream cheese, it should be a nice, creamy, and lump-free frosting. Also, don’t forget to sift your powdered sugar!
By Love and Confections
Yield: 26 cupcakes
Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
The perfectly pink frosting gets its color from cinnamon candies. I warmed some milk and let the candies sit in the milk before straining and adding it to the buttercream. I have seen some people try and pulverize these candies in the food processor, but they are pretty tough. Soaking in milk really brings out the cinnamon flavor and you don’t have to worry about grainy candy bits ruining the frosting. I added 1 small drop of gel food coloring just to brighten up the pink.
Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
I have an ongoing relationship with Dixie Crystals as a recipe developer and brand ambassador. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Love and Confections possible. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links – if you make a purchase after clicking the link, the price will not be higher, but a portion of the sale will go towards the sustainability of this website. As always, all opinions are my own.
Are you hosting a New Year’s Eve bash? These are the perfect cupcakes for your countdown to midnight. Vanilla bean cupcakes with white chocolate frosting, gold sprinkles and sparklers are definitely the way to party in style. I love having bite-sized treats for New Year’s Eve because everyone is mingling, eating and drinking at their own pace and finger foods are great for crowds.
You can’t go wrong with a classic vanilla cupcake, but I upped it a notch with my favorite flavoring – vanilla bean paste. I love seeing those little vanilla seeds in baked good and ice creams. The white chocolate frosting is a perfect accompaniment to the cupcake. I didn’t want a colored or chocolate frosting for our New Year’s party and an all white cupcake definitely makes a statement.
It also shows off the beautiful gold sprinkles. I seriously have a sprinkle (and paper straw) addiction. New Year’s Eve is extra special so some extra sparkle or bling is necessary for the occasion. Speaking of extra sparkle, I topped my cupcakes with sparklers. Talk about some serious glow! Please be sure to read package directions, because even cake specific sparklers say they are for outdoor use only.
For table decorations, I am keeping with a simple black and gold theme. Gold, stemless champagne flutes with gold straws are for the bubbly. Cake stands on a black tablecloth show off the yummy cupcakes and create an interesting display with different heights. My friends at Revel created some beautiful laser-cut gold-leaf wooden “cheers” signs for my tablescape. These would also be perfect if you were having a formal dinner for a place setting.
I hope you have a fun, happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year, while enjoying some delicious sweet treats with family and friends!
Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
I have an ongoing relationship with Dixie Crystals as a recipe developer and brand ambassador. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Love and Confections possible. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links – if you make a purchase after clicking the link, the price will not be higher, but a portion of the sale will go towards the sustainability of this website. As always, all opinions are my own.
I have an ongoing relationship with Dixie Crystals as a recipe developer and brand ambassador. I receive product, coupons and/or compensation for posts featuring their products. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Love and Confections possible. As always, all opinions are my own.
For the past year and a half, little girls all everywhere have been in love with Frozen. Clothes, toys, dolls, birthday parties, you name it, Frozen is everywhere. I like the movie and thought it was cute, but I am still a classic Disney girl at heart. I recently had an opportunity to help make a little girl’s Frozen-themed birthday party spectacular.
If you are a pastry chef or baker, then you most likely get asked to help make goodies for family and friends – holidays and birthday, being the most popular occasions. So, when one of my friends asked me to make her daughter’s Frozen birthday cake, I got right to work.
You can find anything and everything online nowadays and there are so many ideas for Frozen birthday parties. I combined a few of my favorite and added some of my own flair to come up with this adorable Frozen-themed cake and cupcakes.
There are so many different snowflake ideas out there. Most of them are fondant, gumpaste and white chocolate. I decided to make mine from royal icing because it’s very easy to make and dries hard.
A little sparkling sugar and luster dust made the cake and snowflakes pop. The color was spot on, and I used a little toy the birthday girl owned as a cake topper. I got the idea for rock candy from BuzzFeed. The cake turned out perfect and everyone had a great time at the party, especially the birthday girl!
Royal Icing Snowflakes
Recipe adapted from Wilton
Click here for printable snowflake template
Royal Icing Snowflake Ingredients:
– 1 & 1/2 tablespoons Meringue Powder
– 2 cups sifted Confectioners’ Sugar
– 3 tablespoons warm Water
– Piping Bags
– Piping Tips – size 2 & 3
– Cookie Sheets
– Wax Paper
– Sanding Sugar (optional)
– Luster/Disco Dust (optional)
Royal Icing Snowflake Directions:
1. Place templates onto a flat cookie sheet and tape down. Tape Wax Paper on top of the templates.
2. Make sure the bowl and whip from your stand mixer is completely clean and grease-free. If necessary, wipe down with a paper towel and lemon juice.
3. Place the Meringue Powder, Confectioners’ Sugar and Water in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on low until incorporated. Raise the speed to medium-low for 7-10 minutes until stiff peaks form.
4. Scoop Royal Icing into a prepared piping bag with tips. Use size 3 for the large snowflakes and size 2 for small snowflakes.
5. Pipe snowflakes onto the wax paper. You can sprinkle Sanding Sugar or Luster Dust onto the snowflakes for a little sparkle. Let them air dry overnight. Gently remove from the wax paper using a small offset spatula or pairing knife. Store in an airtight container until use. Do not store in the refrigerator. Place onto the frosting just before serving.
Until next time
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
I love going to the movies and we always enjoy our favorite concession stand candy, drinks and popcorn before grabbing a seat for the show. These days, with a toddler, going to the movies doesn’t happen often. I usually have to wait for movies to come on DVD or Blu-ray. I wasn’t able to see Big Hero 6 while it was in theaters and have waited patiently for it to be released at our local Target for our own movie night at home.
I always joke that you can tell who parents of little kids are, by when they go shopping. If you happen to be at Target before 10am on a Saturday morning, you can bet that you will see tons of parents with small children in tow. I always go in with a list and it never fails that I come out with more than planned. It’s so much fun roaming around and picking up random things – especially from the seasonal candy and movie aisles!
Since we stay home to watch our movies, I wanted to create the same movie experience at home, but with a twist. I LOVE cupcakes and always have fun coming up with new flavors and ideas. My favorite concession stand candies are malted milk balls – so what better candy to make into a cupcake!
I have a chocolate cake recipe that I tweaked a bit and added Malted Milk Powder. I baked the cupcakes in wrappers and once they were completely cooled, gathered all my ingredients for the frosting.
The Malted Milk Pudding Frosting is my favorite part of this cupcake. It tastes just like a malted milk ball! Having a proper piping bag and piping tip make decorating the cupcake a breeze. My go-to tips are usually a large round or large star tip – they create a really pretty topping. Make sure you keep your heavy cream cold and in the refrigerator until you need it – heavy cream whips up better when it is extremely cold.
Top the frosting with a malted milk ball and pop them into the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Do you stay in or go out to the movies? What is your favorite concession stand treat? I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as I did!
Malted Milk Ball Cupcakes
A Love and Confection original recipe
Click here for a printable recipe
Yield 16-18 cupcakes
Malted Milk Ball Cupcake Ingredients:
– 1 cup Granulated Sugar
– 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
– 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
– 1/3 cup Malted Milk Powder
– 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
– 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
– 1/2 teaspoon Salt
– 1/2 teaspoon Espresso Powder
– 2 Large Eggs
– 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
– 1/2 cup Whole Milk
– 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
– 1/2 cup Hot Water
Malted Milk Ball Cupcake Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350F. Line 2 cupcake tins with 16-18 wrappers.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add Granulated Sugar, Flour, Cocoa Powder, Malted Milk Powder, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Espresso Powder. Using the paddle attachment, mix until combined.
3. Add in the Eggs and Vanilla Extract and mix together. While the mixer is on, slowly add the Milk, Vegetable Oil and Hot Water.
4. Using a scoop or measuring spoon, fill the cupcake wrappers half full. The batter rises quite a bit. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then place then on a rack to cool completely before frosting.
Malted Milk Pudding Frosting Ingredients:
– 2 & 1/4 cups Heavy Cream – keep cold and in the refrigerator until needed
– 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
– 1 cup Malted Milk Powder
– 1 3.9 ounce Instant Chocolate Pudding Package
– 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
– Malted Milk Balls for decoration
Malted Milk Pudding Frosting Directions:
1. Measure the Heavy Cream and place it in the metal stand mixing bowl. Keep the mixing bowl and metal whip attachment in the refrigerator 20 minutes before making the frosting – cold cream whips up better.
2. Sift the Powdered Sugar, Malted Milk Powder and Instant Chocolate Pudding onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper, to easily pour into the whipped cream.
3. Whip the Heavy Cream, starting out slow and gradually increasing to high speed for 1-2 minutes until whipped and fluffy. Do not over-mix the cream.
4. With the mixer on low, add in the sifted dry ingredients, followed by the Vanilla Extract. Once it is combined, whip on high until smooth and fluffy. If not using the frosting immediately, store in the refrigerator for up to a few hours.
5. Fill a piping bag with the frosting and pipe onto your cupcakes. Place a Malted Milk Ball on each cupcake. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are made, but can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!
