Gingerbread Cupcakes aka.. the very first baking disaster

I couldn't find this recipe in my cookbook, so the odds are that I ripped it out and threw it away in a fit of frustration after the implosion/explosion that these cupcakes went through.

I followed the directions perfectly and was still left with an exploding mess that left me boggled, not to mention took about 45 minutes to scrape out of the oven. Oops.

The Horror!

S'mores Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients
3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 Cups A.P. Flour
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 Tsp. Salt
2 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Warm Water
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Cupcake Directions

• Fill Cupcake Liners and preheat oven to 350.
• Sift together Cocoa, Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Poweder & Salt.
• Add Eggs, Water, Buttermilk, Oil and Vanilla. Mix until combined and smooth.
• Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.

Frosting Ingredients
2-3 Sticks Butter
1 Pound (2 cups) Powdered Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
16 oz Marshmellow Fluff

Frosting Directions

• Cream the butter on high until light and fluffy.
• Add the sugar 1/4 at a time.
• Beat in Vanilla until encorporated
• Dump in Fluff and mix well.

I sprinkled some crushed graham cracker crumbs to the top of the cupcake and placed a Hersheys square in the middle, for that authentic campfire s'mores taste.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups A.P. Flour
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Baking Cocoa
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Sticks butter [ Room Temperature]
5 Large Eggs
1 Cup Buttermilk [ I substituted regular milk]
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Red Food color

Cupcake Directions

• Fill cupcake liners and preheat oven to 350 Degrees
• Combine Flour, Cocoa, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt. Sift Three times.
• Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.
• Add 1/4 of the Dry ingredients to creamed mixture, then 1/4 milk, alternating until combined.
  
• Mix in vanilla and food coloring.

Frosting Ingredients
2-3 Sticks Butter
1 Pound (2 cups) Powdered Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
16 oz Marshmellow Fluff

Frosting Directions

• Cream the butter on high until light and fluffy.
• Add the sugar 1/4 at a time.
• Beat in Vanilla until encorporated
• Dump in Fluff and mix well.
  

I had originally planned to use a Cream Cheese frosting for these cupcakes, but was left over with an abundance of Marshmallow frosting from the S'mores cupcakes so decided to add a few drops of food coloring and use up the rest of the Marshmallow frosting.

I had never actually tasted a red velvet cupcake before, so was unsure as to how they were supposed to actually taste. I did however get good reviews from people that had previously tasted Red Velvet, so that made me happy.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cupcake Ingredients
4 Eggs
1 2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Oil
1 Can Pumpkin
2 Cups A.P. Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Baking Soda.

Baking Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Beat together Egg, Sugar, Oil and Pumpkin Mix.
• In large bowl beat together Flour, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Salt and Baking Soda.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients, mix thoroughly.
  

Icing Ingredients
1 Package Cream Cheese (3 oz)
1/2 Stick Butter Softened
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Icing Directions

• Cream together Cream Cheese and Butter.
  
• Stir Vanilla and Sugar in slowly.
  
• Beat until smooth and fully incorporated.
• Dip cupcakes in icing.

These were one of, if not the very first introduction to cupcake baking from scratch. At first I was freaking out about the icing being too thin, (Because at the time I kept confusing a frosting with an icing) But the cupcakes were met with rave reviews, so naturally I felt much better.

Halloween Cupcakes

Coerced my mom and grandma into helping me make four dozen fully decorated cupcakes to take to work for Halloween. Stayed up pretty late with this endeavor.

This was slightly before my newfound obsession with making cupcakes from scratch, so I do admit that the cakes were made from a box and the frosting straight from a can.