I enjoyed an exciting Memorial Day weekend in Marlboro, New York! It was awesome....even sang...should I call it singing??... backup karioke in "Annie's" with Marie...with my sister, Robin, singing lead...Walkin' on Sunshine, huh?...this is something I have never, ever done before...we were very brave...and...luckily...not to many people were there to witness the event! But, we had a blast...we also had a couple of shooters, jack&diet, etc. to get the courage up...AND, you're probably wondering who the H is Charlie!
Well, he is my cousins'...Marie and Gary...son...and he is an ardent Cupcake Queen supporter and he checks this blog EVERY Monday...as I'm sure you do, too! When my Mom and my sister, Robin, got to New York we went over to Charlie and Jen's lovely house...which we had never seen before...they're going to have a baby in August...so fun!...I asked Charlie what kind of cupcake he would like the CQ to make for the party at his sister's house...Noelle, Chris and Maddie...he came up with the brownie cupcake with peanut butter inside! Okay, I was definitely up for that one!
Of course, that entailed a trip to a local grocery store in Highland...Hannafords...which I explored at lenghth...and I found everything I needed. You may recall that I usually have some funny experience in grocery stores having to do with a loud speaker announcement...this time I was in the candy aisle in the back of the store...here was the announcement: All Managers Please Report to the Freezer...followed by someone in the background saying "Uh-Oh!" OMG...I almost lost it right there...did they have their meeting in the freezer, CQ wondered? N E Wayz...I gathered my cupcake goods and made my way to the checkout lady...who was very nice...I was tempted to ask about the freezer but told myself, no....just get in the car, head back to the house and make those cupcakes before the parade starts!
Okay...so these cupcakes are made with Duncan Hines Brownie mix....I made the "cake-like" version and popped in a Hershey Peanut Butter Kiss...oh yes...I made mini cupcakes this time. More deatails later...but I need to get to work now. I'm leaving you for now with this video hello from Charlie!
Rock ON!
CQ
Whatever Charlie Wants...Brownie Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter Kiss!
Strawberry Field Cupcakes Forever!
Yum! Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting topped with Strawberries Soaked in Grand Marnier!
I'm taking Layla to New York this weekend...specifically, to a little town called Marlboro for a Memorial Day pool opening at what used to be my aunt and uncle's house. Both of them are gone now, and their granddaughter, Noelle, bought their house and moved in a few months ago with her husband, Chris and daughter, Madeleine. Can't wait to see them and the rest of the New York gang: Marie, Jen (who's pregnant) and her honey, Charlie, Meghan and Erik and their boys, Colleen and Richie and their boys. I can't wait! 
Here's the recipe:
1-3/4 cups flour all-purpose
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2-cup walnuts chopped
2 eggs
1/2-cup vegetable oil
1/2-teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
1 cup crushed fresh strawberries mixed with 3 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Mix together flour, baking soda, sugar and nuts in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat together eggs, flavouring and oil until well blended.
Add strawberries and beat at slow speed of mixer until berries are partially broken.
Beat in flour mixture slowly until smooth, but pieces of berries are still visible.
Pour batter into greased muffin tins, filling to half.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until they test done.
Whipped Cream Frosting
1 c. whipping cream
Dash of salt
Rounded 1/3 c. flour, sifted
1 c. butter, soft
1 c. sifted confectioners' sugar, 2 for a stiffer frosting
2 tsp. vanilla
Mix cream, flour and salt until lumps are dissolved. Cook over medium heat while stirring continually with a wood spoon. Cook this mixture until thickened and it forms a paste like ball which pulls away from the sides of the pan easily. Allow the paste mixture to cool.
After the paste is cooled, whip. Add the butter and whip together. Add sugar and continue whipping. Add the vanilla and beat well.
This is a good frosting for those who don't like too sweet frosting. In hot, humid weather this frosting tends to be too soft when beating.
Rock On!
CQ
It's Time to Eat Grad-U-Ate-Tion Cupcakes!
Working on a college campus, you always know SOMEONE who is graduating...either in the spring or winter. So, now is a great time to make graduation cupcakes. Maryland's commencement exercises are Sunday and Monday. Our commencement speaker is U.S. House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, who also happens to be our congressman, and a Maryland alum...class of '63!
Okay...now back to the really important items...like CUPCAKES!
This photo shows several decorated versions of the cupcakes: Hi Dad, ThX Ma, Grad, and BYE. I bought the candy letters at the local Giant and the graduation decorations at Michaels...you know...one of my favorite places...which by the way...now has Martha Stewart Craft items....Martha has a complete aisle to herself...the decorations were in the scrapbook area and are called "Jolee's By You."
The cupcakes I made are from a cake mix by Duncan Heinz... Dark Chocolate Fudge....I meant to add a box of instant vanilla pudding to the mix, but I grabbed the wrong box and added banana pudding!!! It actually turned out okay and the cupcakes tasted pretty good! I had bought some Duncan Heinz Whipped Frosting....awesome taste and easy to work with!
Last...but definitely not least...we have Layla who did graduate from doggie school, gazing at her favorite object...other than breakfast, dinner or her Frosty Paws Frozen Treats, that is!
Hope you have a gr8 week...filled with lots of cupcakes!
Rock On, kids! CQ
Cupcakes Fit for The Queen!
Encouraged by The Queen's Visit...see Thursday's postng below...I got in touch with Nigella...by book, I mean...and used her recipe for what she calls "fairy cakes." They seem smaller than regular cupcakes and are very cute. The cupcakes are pretty easy to make...everything goes into the food processer!
Then, I saw some "spring cupcakes" made by Martha with this cool lavendar icing....which turned out to be delicious! It is kind of like royal icing, really shiny!
Layla is looking especially regal tonight....mailnly because The Queen is in town. Layla may be going to the White HOuse for dinner tomrrow night...who knows?
Recipes are below...enjoy!
Rock On!
CQ
Nigella Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
125g unsalted butter, softened
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
125g self-raising flour
half teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk
500g packet instant royal icing
12-bun muffin tin lined with 12 muffin papers
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6.
It couldn't be simpler to make fairy cakes: just put all the ingredients except for the milk in the processor and then blitz till smooth. Pulse while adding milk down the funnel, to make for a soft, dropping consistency. I know it looks as if you'll never make this scant mixture fit 12 bun cases, but you will, so just spoon and scrape the stuff in, trying to fill each case equally.
Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fairy cakes are cooked and golden on top. As soon as bearable, take the fairy cakes in their cases out of the tin and let cool on a wire rack. I like my cherry-topped fairies to have a little pointy top, but for all floral and other artistic effects, darling, you need to start with a level base, so once they're cool, cut off any mounded peaks so that you've got a flat surface for icing.
Makes 12
Martha Stewart's Lavendar Icing
Ingredients
Serving: Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
3 cups confectioners' sugar
Violet gel-paste food coloring
Directions
Bring milk and lavender just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and let steep 10 minutes. Strain, and discard lavender. Whisk in sugar until smooth. Strain again. Add food coloring until desired shade. Use immediately.
My Sister Photographed Queen Elizabeth Today!
My sister, Robin, works at the College of William and Mary, and today she got to photograph The Queen...that's what you're supposed to call her...today on campus! Robin was so excited, and she got some great shots. Check out her flickr account for more.
I might just have to make some sponge cupcakes with The Royal Icing this weekend!
The Queen visited the University of Maryland in 1957 with Prince Phillip. In honor of The Queen, The Terps went on to upset North Carolina (he he), in what then-head coach Tommy Mont later called his finest moment as coach.
Rock On!
The Cupcake Queen :)
More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream
CupcakeQueen to self: Can we...the royal we... figure out how to make an ice cream cupcake? Well, "we" haven't eaten these yet...they're still in the freezer until after dinner tonight...so we'll have to let you know that part a little later...but the experiement does seem to be a SUCCESS!
You have to admit that this is a novel sight to find when you open the freezer door...it's definitely been making eveyone smile this afternoon. The cupcakes are based on Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes. Very easy to make!
Once the cupcakes are cool, get out the Edy's Ice Cream and let it soften a bit. Meanwhile, use a small spoon or a small ice cream scoop to remove the middle of the cupcake and make a hole. Save what you take out...well, you can eat some of it if you want. You won't need it all! Put a small scoop of the ice cream into the cupcake's hole.
Smush it down into the cupcake and then put part of the top you scooped out, back onto the top of the cupcake and flatten it out a bit. Frost your cupcakes right away and then whisk them into the freezer until dinner time. If you take them out just before you eat dinner, they should be thawed out when it's time for dessert and the ice cream will have begun to melt!
As you can see, Layla...as usual can't wait!
Here's the recipe:
MARTHA STEWART’S BROWNI CUPCAKES:
INGREDIENTS
Serving: Makes 12.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
11 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, (optional)
Nonstick cooking spray
Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners, and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and 8 ounces of chocolate. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat, and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Stir in the melted chocolate until combined. Stir in remaining 3 ounces of chocolate and nuts if desired.
Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake until a firm crust forms on the cupcakes, about 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and continue to cool on a wire rack.
Ice cupcakes with a generous amount of chocolate frosting.
Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting
While this frosting is cooling, you'll need to stir it as instructed; otherwise, the frosting around the edge of the bowl will harden and the frosting at the center will remain liquid. The finished frosting should have a consistent texture. Lois Milman, the creator of the frosting, always uses Nestl; morsels and makes only one batch at a time. Spread the icing on Moist Devil's Food Cake as soon as it is sufficiently chilled; it holds its shape well on the cake.
INGREDIENTS
Serving: Makes 6 cups.
24 ounces Nestlé semisweet chocolate morsels
4 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
DIRECTIONS
Place chocolate morsels and cream in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until combined and thickened, between 20 and 25 minutes. Increase the heat to medium low; cook, stirring, 3 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
Stir in corn syrup. Transfer frosting to a large metal bowl. Chill until cool enough to spread, about 2 hours, checking and stirring every 15 to 20 minutes. Use immediately.
Hope you enjoy them!
Have a great week, CQ
Where Are Those Cow Tales: AKA Apple Caramel Cupcakes Topped with Homemade Cows Tales
This cupcake project took about 4 hours from beginning to end...and that includes the run I had to make to Whole Foods for some dried apples...which turned into a $56.24 excursion! I had a little piece of paper with three items on my list when I went in the store and walked out with two shopping bags of "other duties as assigned" products. At first I was just walking around holding stuff in my arms and soon realized that my stay was going to be much longer than I planned. oh well...it was a cold and rainy Sunday in Washington, DC!
This was going to be a simple...key word here is simple....project, because I wanted to spend some time on my design for my another web site I'm working on. Well, that didn't happen and I just had to let it go. I found a recipe in a cupcake book that's called Cupcakes and Other Goodies, which is sort of dorkie looking and is shaped like a cupcake. Okay, I dealt with that. I found just what I was looking for...and that's when I had to go shopping for the dried apples. I wanted to combine the apple cupcakes with caramel frosting and I wanted to make some Cows Tales to go on top. 
I found a simple recipe for the Cow Tales and they were really easy to make...just caramels, butter, half and half, and confectioners sugar...and some marshmallows. The photos above show (1) the caramel ready to be rolled around the marshmallows, and (2) the rolled up "log," and (below) the final product beng sliced after "the log" was in the fridge for a couple of hours. Whew!
Everything turned out pretty much the way I wanted it to go. The vanilla butter cupcakes (from a cake mix) with the diced, dried apples were good...not great...but acceptable. The caramel frosting was so amazing...it tasted extraordinary. The cows tales...or tails...well, they worked. And, one could eat them separately...without even making the cupcakes...or one could just make the cupcakes with the caramel frosting...or one could just go to Whole Foods. It's really up to you! You can see more of the Cows Tales Cupcakes photos HERE.
And, THIS is the newest baby in our family: Aiden Steele (born April 12) with his daddy, Jason (who will be leaving next week for a another tour of Iraq). Jason, Kristi, and Aiden are from Spokane, WA, and are living in Las Vegas....so, say "Hi" to Aiden....and to his daddy and mommy, too. Stay safe, Jason.
Below are the recipes for the cupcakes and the cows tales!
Cows Tales Ingredients:
• 1/2 lb. Light caramels
• 1/4 c. half & half
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 c. confectioner sugar
• approx. 17 regular size marshamallows
Directions:
• Combine caramels, half & half, and butter in saucepan.
• Heat until caramels melt.
• Once melted, take saucepan off heat and stir in sugar.
• Pour mixture onto buttered wax or parchment paper.
• Spread into a 16x5 inch rectangle.
• Lay the marshmallows end to end along one of the long sides of the rectangle.
• Working with the side of the caramel rectangle that is under the marshmallows, gently
detach the caramel from the paper and roll it over the marshmallows to form a log.
•Wrap the log in paper and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
• When chilled, cut into 1/4 inch slices.
• Try to serve chilled, because once warm, the candy loses some of its dense, sticky
texture.
Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) butter or yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix
1 cup chopped dried apples
Caramel Frosting (recipe follows)
Chopped nuts (optional)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 standard (2-1/2-inch) muffin pan cups with paper baking cups.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpicks inserted into centers come out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to racks; cool completely.
Caramel Frosting
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, evaporated milk and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool to lukewarm.
2. Add powdered sugar; beat until frosting is of spreading consistency. Add vanilla; beat until smooth.
Rock on!
CQ
Hershey's Reese's Chocolate-Covered Cookie Cupcakes: Too Good to be True!
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| I found these new cookies at CVS...who'd have thought...and they inspired this cupcake experiment. And, really the coolest thing about them is the bottom...and it says Reeses! So cute! I really had no idea that it would happen. | |
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| So, I came home, found a box of dark chocolate cake mix, some mini-chocolate chips, and one cup of sour cream. Followed the cake mix iinstructions, dumped in the extras and mixed away. | |
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| I twisted the top of of each cookie and put the bottom with the peanut butter filling on it in the bottom of each cupcake liner. Then I poured the batter the batter in! Baked it for 17 minutes. | |
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| Everyone agreed...they these tasted awesome! | |
| LAST YEAR ON THIS DATE: Week 50: Midnight Madness Cupcakes! | |
