If you like lemon anything, I guarantee that you will LOVE these "frozen concoctions" to quote Jimmy Buffett! No baking involved in this one either....this recipe is sooooo easy. It involves only a few ingredients: sugar, lemon, whipping cream for the "cupcake." Butter, graham crackers, sugar and corn flakes for the bottom! 
I found the recipe in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. She has lots of other fun ones, too, but this is by far the easiest, most elegant, and at the same time, phun cupcake. I made 12 and only this one was left to be photographed! I made six using silicone cupcake holders and another six using these chocolate "cups". Believe it or not, everyone wanted the regular ones...not the chocolate...well, obviously the chocolate ones got eaten in the end!
The glass that the cupcake is in with the initials EC belonged to my Nana's "gentlemen friend", "Chappy"...whose real name was Edmund Chapman. This glass reminds me of the fun times we had with both of them. I think he would have loved this photo!
And, then we have Layla...the LayLays....aka the Baby...the Queen...our Diva...Wiggles...gazing longingly at the Frozen Lemon Cupcake! What a sight! I wish I could have shared them with all of you.
Here's the recipe...the easiest cupcake I've ever made:
Aunt Florence's Frozen Lemon Cupcakes
Makes: About 12 cupcakes
Lemon Cream
1 cup sugar
Juice and finely grated rind of one lemon
2 cups whipping cream
"Crust"
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup crushed grahma crackers
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
Jellied lemon sliced or small berry for topping.
1. Making lemon cream: combine sugar and lemon juice and rind in a large bowl. Gradually beat in cream.
2. To make the bottom crust: melt butter in a pan over low heat and stir in crushed graham crackers, corn flakes, and sugar. Remove from heat.
3. Press down crust mixture into the bottom of a silicon cupcake holder or cupcake liner. I used the silicon holder because it was more rigid and removed it after the cupcakes were frozen. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Unmold and top with a jellied lemon slice or a small berry of some kind.
4. These will make you very happy! :)
Rock On!
CQ
Ohh La La! Aunt Florence's Frozen Lemon Cupcakes
A Birthday Cupcake for Steph: Inspired by "The Tale of One Cool Cookie"
This past Wednesday I found the most awesome salt-topped oatmeal cookie recipe that I just had to try. It was in the Washington Post Food Section and it's by Leigh Lambert. You know...I'm not really a cookie baker, but her article was so enticing that I couldn't stand it. That very morning...before work...if you can believe it...I whipped up the cookie batter and and let it sit in the fridge all day, baked those puppies that evening and took a few of them to work on Thursday...and the "testers" couldn't get enough! They agreed it was the B. E. S. T. oatmeal cookie they ever ate! I love the way Layla's blinking...she's so cute!
So, of course, I needed to bake more and figure out how to incorporate them into a cupcake. I decided that a dark chocolate one would be best because I added chocolate chips to this batch of the oatmeal cookies. Yum! And, this cupcake is dedicated to Stephanie Harvill for her birthday which is today! If you see her, say Happy Birthday! She lives in Pittsburgh. Steph: I promise I'll make you these cupcakes when you guys come to visit...yes, it's a bribe!
I used both chocolate and vanilla frosting...because some people like chocolate and some like vanilla! I had such a good time stuffing these puppies with frosting. One of them collapsed over night! Here it is...and it still tasted great! You might need a fork to eat these!
The cupcake is from a Duncan HInes cakemix with some chocolate chips thrown in. The frosting is Duncan's too. It's all too easy! But, the fun of this one is making the cookies. If you make this cupcake, remember that the cookies need to be in the fridge (recommended by Leigh) for at least an hour. Here's the link to the recipe: Salted Oatmeal Cookies. Believe me, you won't regret making them!
Rock On and enjoy yourself!
CQ
Yabba-Dabba Do! Nectarine Cupcakes with Hot Pink Frosting!
You would not believe the week the Cupcake Queen had LAST week! Work...work...work! So, last week there were no cupcakes. no cupcakes=bad :(....Here's the way it went: I was working no a video for the University of Maryland. Fun, yes...but very time-consuming. Monday was more work on the video. Tuesday we had a directors' retreat in Baltimore at a VERY FUN place called the "American Visionary Art Museum." Here's how cool it is: Have you heard of the Ace of Cakes? Well, Duff will be there on June 16th for an event they are having called: Home and Beast Feast! Here's the description: "A GALA EXTRAVAGANZA featuring Ace-of-Cakes Duff Goldman, Charm City's very own Homeboy and Food Network's #1 star! Yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too! Dress Country Chic & Comfortable. Beware of Roaming Cameras–you may be captured in an episode of "Ace of Cakes." Vittles by Charles Levine Caterers & Events. Country Music Dancing with a dash of Polka. Contact Katie: 410.244.1900 x238 or katie@avam.org."
Now that would be fun go to! Then, on Wednesday, I had signed up to go to a conference on campus called "The Disney Keys to Excellence". It was all day and was an awesome experience! If you ever get a chance to go to one of these...DO IT!
And, now we're (the royal we) back on a semi-regular schedule and we made cupcakes this weekend! All is right with the world! I had some nectarines and decided to use them in one of my yellow box cakemixes. So, I pureed a really ripe nectarine and added it to a cake mix, along with a box of vanilla instant pudding. 
I did the same thing with the frosting (I used Billy's Vanilla Vanilla frosting recipe) and also added some La Grande Passion liqueur (which Layla, above, just loved...just kidding.... These cupcakes were very moist. They were a big hit at the office today and quickly disappeared! That makes us very happy! But, the best thing is that the cupcakes were pretty much right out of the box! I just added a couple of ingredients and a got a really cool cupcake!
ROCK ON!
CQ
p.s. hope you like Fred!
