Life Update.. Part 1 (May)

Hello everyone!  It’s been a while since I did an update on my life and it is much needed.  A lot has changed for me in the month of June and July, all for the good.  I am currently relaxing in premium economy on a flight to the UK.  Yes you read that right Premium economy… life is good!  :)

Lets go way way way back to May, which seems so far away right now.  Mother’s day weekend, I walked in SNHU’s graduation for my Masters even thought I hadn’t officially ended yet.  My Mom, Dad, Brother, Great Grandma, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, Uncle’s Fiancé, Jeremy (my boss), Liz (boss’s wife), and Catherine (boss’s newborn) where all in attendance and I couldn’t have asked for a louder wonderful supportive group to attend my graduation from grad school.  My family is loud, now I mean loud and I love them for it, but it can be embarrassing at times!  And of course my family couldn’t hold back on sharing many Rachel stores to my boss and his wife.  I also understand why my family is loud; they love me and are very proud of me, as I am the first in the family to get a Masters!  Which I know is a huge accomplishment as I am also proud of myself!

After a very long normal graduation ceremony, we had a great celebration dinner at Firefly.  This included everyone at graduation as well as my SNHU work family and their families and the roommate!  Everyone at dinner was who has supported me through everything and I was very happy that all the people most important in my life were there.  I may not sometimes be the best at saying thanks, but I honestly am so thankful for the supportive family and friends that I have in my life.  As I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them all!  I also just want to add, growing up I always hoped my great grandma would be to watch all my graduations in life and I can say that she has!  Now she may have not exactly seen me walk across the stage, but she was there!  Next on the list is to see me get married, she is 92 and doing well, so we shall see!

As much as I love my family, spending a weekend with them can sometimes be a little much (love you all :)).  If I heard one more time do you have a boyfriend or what about that guy, want me to get his number, I was going to flip.  Luckily I had the support of my brother (surprisingly) who just kept telling me to ignore them.  I say surprisingly as he is the protective brother type (which not going to lie I do secretly love), but since college has been very respectful of my life and guys (which took me a lot by surprise as it was the total opposite of what high school was).  Honestly life has been crazy being a grad student and working two part jobs times that equal a full time job.  I have just a small amount of time to focus on me let alone to worry about having a boyfriend.  I understand I am currently the oldest in the family that is single, but come on I am only 23 and have a full life ahead of me! My time will come.. after grad school! :)

So after graduation, not much more happened in the month of May besides classes and the craziness of my jobs!   The month did fly by though as June was coming up which was going to be the craziest month of my life.  … to be continued!

 Love always, aloterella :)

Week 26: Rainbow Nerd Cupcakes!

Hello!  So this will be my last cupcake blog until the fall due to the lack of membership for the summer.  I did however make it half way!  Working at my company has been a little crazy.  Lately our motto, “keep calm and carry on” has turned into “it’s all about rainbows and unicorns”!  That was my inspiration for this week’s cupcakes. .. Rainbow Nerds Cupcakes! Aka the new and upcoming fun-fetti cupcakes!!

I got this week’s cupcake from:  http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2011/08/rainbow-nerds-cupcakes/

Rainbow Nerds Cupcakes:

Yields: 24 Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 box of white cake mix, plus ingredients needed on box

1 tablespoon instant grape Kool-Aid Mix

1 cup of nerds

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cupcake tins with 24 cupcake liners.  Make cake mix according to box instructions.

Set aside 1 cup of batter and mix it with the Kool-Aid mix and set aside.  Mix the nerds with the rest of the white batter.  Fill the cupcake liners ½ full with the white batter nerd mix.  Top each liner with a spoon full of grape batter and swirl with toothpick or sharp knife.  Bake for 15 minutes or until tops springs back when lightly touched.   Leave in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

4 sticks butter, room temperature

4-6 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons lemon extract

½ tablespoon instant grape Kool-Aid

Orange and red food coloring

Additional nerds for decoration

In a bowl of a mixer, beat butter, milk and lemon extract on medium speed until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat on low until combined and smooth, use as much sugar to your preference using a cup at a time. 

Divide frosting into three bowls.  In one bowl add the Kool-Aid and mix well.  In the other two bowls add orange food coloring to one and red to the other, until well combined.  Pipe each color onto the cooled cupcakes.  Top with additional Nerds for more color!

Ps. I finished before I left for the airport!  Now to finish getting ready and I am off to the UK!

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 25: Key Lime Blackberry!

Hello!  To catch up as I was behind in June with making the cupcakes, I made two types of cupcakes in one week.  Since I did lemon blueberry, I figured I’d stay pretty similar and go with key lime blackberry!  This was a little more difficult as it involved making a jelly like filling from scratch but I was up for the challenge.  It turned out really well and had a balance of sweetness and tartness.

I got this week’s recipe from: http://www.bakedperfection.com/2011/04/key-lime-cupcakes-with-blackberry.html

Key Lime Blackberry

Yields: 15 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 ½ eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

 Juice of one lime

Zest of one lime

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cupcake tins with 15 cupcake liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs, one a time.  Add the vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest; mix well.  Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.

Fill muffin cups with ¼ cup of batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack until cooled completely.

 Blackberry Filling:

16oz of frozen blueberries

3 tablespoons of sugar

Juice of one lemon

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Place blackberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let it sit and thaw.  Drain blackberries, reserving liquid.  Squish the blackberries and push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, set aside.  Add enough water to blackberry liquid to equal 1 cup.  In a large saucepan, combine the blackberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt.  Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens.  Cool completely.  

Once cupcakes and filling are cooled, you will need to use a cupcake center remove to remove the center of the cupcakes.  Make sure to save what you remove.  Fill the cupcakes with filling and then place what you removed back in spot. 

Blackberry Buttercream:

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup blackberry jam

Pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Container of fresh blackberries

Beat the butter and vanilla until creamy.  Mix the blackberry filling and salt.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined.  Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. Frost cupcakes and then decorate with fresh blackberries.  

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 24: Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!

Hello!  Three more posts to go and three more hours till I leave!  If I had to pick my favorite fruit I would have to pick blueberries.  And what goes better with blueberries than lemon!  Blueberries were starting to come into season, so I figured it was time to make a lemon blueberry cupcake!  Plus it’s still following my summery cravings!

For my last work retreat at SNHU, we went and decorated pottery.  I of course decorated a cupcake stand and made it match everything in my kitchen.  This was the first time I was able to use it in photos!!

I got this week’s recipe from: http://annies-eats.com/2011/05/06/lemon-blueberry-cupcakes/

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

¾ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour divided

¾ cup cake flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 2 tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cupcake pans with 15 cupcake liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cups all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Blend in the milk.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries in the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.  Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full.  Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 large lemon

Additional blueberries, for decoration

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth.  Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.  Decorate with fresh blueberries! Below are a few ways you can decorate using the blueberries!

 Love always, aloterella :)

Week 23: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

Hello!  So since impress my managing director with last week’s cupcake didn’t go well, I had to go all out for this week!  I mean what goes better and is impossible to mess up than peanut butter and chocolate.  Of course they turned out amazingly but my managing director never go to try one, due to lack of communication.  Just my luck but I got to have an extra cupcake! :)

I got this recipe from: http://annies-eats.com/2009/11/06/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes/

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Filling:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.  Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (you will need at least 24) and set aside on a baking sheet.

Cupcake:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk together and set aside.  In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the sour cream, milk and vanilla extract.  Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix until just incorporated.

Spoon a tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner.  Place a ball of the peanut butter filling in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

8oz cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

½ cup creamy peanut butter

3 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter until smooth.  Slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth and well blended.  Mix in the whipped topping until smooth and fluffy.  Frost cooled cupcakes!

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 22: Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting!

Hello!  I have a goal to finish all the cupcakes blogs before I get on a plane to the UK in 25 hours!  Ready.. set.. BLOG! J  To continue my summery/citrus craving I decided to go with a lemonade cupcake with raspberry frosting.  They seemed pretty easy and seemed to be a recipe I couldn’t mess up.  My Managing Director was over from the UK and has been dying to have a cupcake, so the pressure was on.

Of course the cupcake didn’t turn out correct.  Even after the second attempt, the frosting would not mix correctly and was lumpy.  Cleary the puree had too much liquid. Below is the process I would do the next time if I was to make them again. :)

I got the original recipe from: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/08/22/lemonade-cupcakes-with-raspberry-frosting/

Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

Yield: 24 Cupcakes

Lemonade Cupcakes:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

Grated zest and juice of lemon

1 cup milk, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Line 2 cupcake tins with 24 cupcakes liners. 

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the butter mixture a third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour.  Beat until just combined.

Fill the prepared tins and bake for 20 minutes, until springy to the touch.  Leave the cupcakes in their tins for about 5 minutes and then move to wire rack.  Let them cool completely before frosting. 

Fresh Raspberry Frosting:

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and half the sugar until smooth.  Add the raspberries, then more sugar until you have a fluffy, spreadable consistency.  Frost cooled cupcakes! 

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 21: Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes!

Hello!  So life has been a just a little crazy and I apologize that it has been over a month since I last posted.  I will be doing a life update post soon but until then I will try to catch up on my cupcake posts! :) SO way way back when, I decided to try orange cream pop cupcakes, as they looked cute and also knew a few of members enjoyed orange cream pops.  It also seemed to be a summery cupcake flavor!  They were very simple and quick to make as it uses a box mix! I would highly recommend these for your next summer party!

I got the original recipe from: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cupcakes/orange-cheesecake-cupcakes/

Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes

Yields: 24 Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

3 ounce package of orange-flavor gelatin

1 box of white cake mix

4-serving size package cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling mix

1 ¼ cups of orange juice

4 eggs

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cupcakes tins with 24 cupcake liners.  Set aside 2 tablespoons of the gelatin for the frosting. 

In a mixing bowl beat the remaining gelatin, the cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, eggs, oil and vanilla.  Evenly spoon the batter in the 24 cupcake liners and smooth out the batter with the back of the spoon. 

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes in cupcake tins on wire rack for 5 minutes.  Then remove cupcakes from cupcake tins and cool cupcakes completely on the wire rack.

Cream Cheese Pop Frosting:

8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

6 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel

Few drops of orange food coloring

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.  Add in the reserved orange gelatin, shredded orange peel, and orange food coloring.  Beat until completely combined. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake to cover the top. 

Love always, aloterella :)

Week 20: Caramel Frappuccino

Hello!  Ever since I started this cupcake club, I have wanted to make Caramel Frappuccino cupcakes.  However things kept coming up or I would find something better.  Since I wasn’t really sure what to make and there were no holidays I figured Caramel Frappuccino cupcakes it is.  Also, it was really nice this weekend and Frappuccinos are such a nice refreshing summer beverage.

I should also let all my followers know, that my co-workers took me out for a graduation celebration lunch and got me an awesome present.  This awesome present was a box filled with tons of cupcakes supplies.  So be prepared to see some new tools or special things in future weeks! J  Here is the best photo I could take of everything, as it was a lot:

I got the original recipe from: http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/09/caramel-frappucino-cupcakes.html

Caramel Frappuccino Cupcakes:

Yields 18 cupcakes:

Cupcakes

1 & ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cups cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed dark blend coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 2 cupcake tins with 18 cupcake liners.  In a medium sized bowl, mixed together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; and set aside.

Brew the coffee and set aside.

Using an electric mixture, beat the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla together on medium speed until well combined.  With the mixer on slow speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, mixing until only just incorporated.  Add the coffee and stir until combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. *Please note this is a very liquidly batter but they come out very moist!

Fill the cupcake lines ¾ full and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes in pan and then transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack until completely cooled.

Caramel Filling:

1 Bottle of Carmel Ice Cream Topping

*I was lazy and used Carmel sauce in the fridge from a previous recipe.  I would recommend making a homemade caramel sauce and not using caramel sauce.  Unless short on time or going to eat right away, as it will all eventually seep through the cupcake and cupcake liner.

Using a cupcake corer, core your cupcakes.  Fill with caramel and replace with the slice of cake you cored out.  If there is extra, set aside to save and drizzle on top of the frosting.

Whipped Cream Frosting

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Chill your whisk attachment and bowl before whipping the cream.  For faster results, stick it in the freezer.  Having a cold whisk and bowl will help whip the cream faster.

Beat the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat further until incorporated.

Place frosting in a piping bag with a large round tip and decorate cupcakes as desired.

These cupcakes were very moist and delicious.  I heave learned that the more liquid the batter, the more moist the cupcakes will be.  The heavier the batter the more dense and heavy the cupcakes will be.

Love always, Aloterella :)

Week 19: Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes!

Hello!  Now a few of my family members have hinted quite a bit that they wanted cupcakes when they came up for my graduation.  They of course had to pick the craziest weekend to want cupcakes.   I did ask my mother what cupcake she would prefer because it was mother’s day that Sunday.  Her request was Strawberry Shortcake.   To make this happen, I made the cupcakes Thursday night before class and then got up at 5:00am on Friday to make the icing for the cupcakes and put them together.   Now for those who don’t know me I am not much of a morning person, so this was all out of love.  Even though I had to get up early these cupcakes were totally worth it, and were amazing!   I also do want to note that as much as I love Pinterest, this was the first recipe that I did not find through Pinterest!

I got the original recipe from: Delish.com

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Yields: 24 Cupcakes

Topping- (if you can make the night before topping)

2 quarts strawberries (hulled, thickly sliced)

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Toss strawberries several times in a bowl with sugar and lemon juice until very syrupy.

Cupcakes-

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 350 degree F.  Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.  With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and sour cream until combined.  Continue to beat on medium until batter is thick and smooth.

Fill cupcake cups until about 2/3 filled.  Bake for 24 to 26 minutes, until lightly golden and pick inserted comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely.

Icing-

3 cups cold heavy cream

6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat cream confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Use a skewer to poke several holes into top of each cupcake.  Spoon some syrup from bowl over top, allowing it to absorb into cupcakes.  Top with sliced strawberries and a dollop of cream.  Arrange a few sliced berries in cream and drizzle with remaining syrup.  You can layer it however you would like to do it.

Love always, aloterella :)