Mango Cupcakes with Seven-Minute Frosting

Mango Cupcakes with Seven Minute Frosting

These light and fruity cupcakes are super simple and perfect for summer!

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cream
1 cup pureed mango
1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Sift in flour and baking powder. When well-combined, stir in 3/4 cup mango, ginger, and milk.

Fill baking cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 13 minutes, turn, bake 13 minutes. Let cool.

Makes 12.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 egg whites
1/3 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice

Using a handheld mixer, mix all ingredients together in a stainless steel bowl. Place over a saucepan of boiling water to create a double boiler. Continue to mix for seven minutes, or until frosting forms stiff peaks. Add food color to taste.

Core your cupcakes using a small, serrated knife blade. Take the extra mango puree and gently spoon in enough to fill each cupcake.

Top with the frosting and add sprinkles if desired.

Voila!

Cupcakes adapted from The Foodie's Kitchen

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

These cupcakes are SO GOOD. I had no idea they were going to be so delicious and I was completely blown away. That said, summer is not the best time to make them, because they melt in the heat.

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup cake flour

5/8 (about 2/3) cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened and cuber

2 eggs

1/2 granny smith apple, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Stir together milk and almond extract.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flours, sugar, bp, and spices. At in cubed butter a little at a time, mixing on low speed, until the batter looks sandy in texture.

Add eggs, then milk mixture. Mix until combined. Add apple pieces.

Fill cupcake tins 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, bake 12 minutes. The cupcakes will be brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Makes 18.

Cinnamon Frosting:

1 stick butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp cream or whole milk

1 tsp cinnamon

green food coloring, if desired

Beat butter until soft and fluffy. Sift in powdered sugar and cinnamon, then add cream. Beat until frosting reaches the correct consistency for piping. Add one or two drops of food color.

Caramel coating:

1 bag unwrapped caramel pieces

2 tsp cream or milk

Melt the caramel and milk together. If you do this in the microwave, be careful to do it in small increments and with lots of stirring to prevent the caramel from burning. It may take a while for the ingredients to combine fully. Let the mixture cool for a little while.

When the cupcakes are cool, pipe a spiral of frosting on top of each. Dip the frosted cupcakes upside down into the caramel. You need to do this somewhat quickly, especially if the caramel is still warm, or it will melt the icing. Let some of the excess caramel drip off if possible.

As soon as the cupcakes are coated, move them to freezer and let them sit for a while so the caramel can sit. The milk will keep it from becoming crunchy, but it will firm up enough to look really good. In this weather, they will melt almost immediately, so keep them in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to serve them.

Warning: these cupcakes are super messy!

Adapted from The Baking Robot.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting

Cupcakes:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, room temp

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

24 oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder, then add butter and beat slowly until mixture forms sandy crumbs. Slowly pour in 3/4 cup milk and beat until just mixed.

Whisk together 1/4 cup milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into the flour and beat until ingredients are combined and batter is smooth, about one minute. Be careful not to over mix.

Split the oreos in half so that one half has the cream and other is smooth. Take the cream side and place one in the bottom of each cupcake liner in your tins, cream side up.

Crumble all but 8 of the remaining naked sides and stir them into the batter.

Fill each liner about 2/3 full -- these rise a fair amount, so don't overfill.

Bake for 14 minutes, turn, bake 14 minutes.

Let cool.

Makes about 24 cupcakes.

Frosting:

2 cups xxx sugar, sifted

8 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp butter, room temp

3 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup strong coffee

Sift together xxx sugar and cocoa powder, then beat in vanilla and butter. Add coffee slowly until icing reaches a spreadable consistency.

In retrospect, I was reminded of why I generally steer clear of cocoa powder in frostings: I think that the confectioner's sugar tends to blend with the cocoa powder in a way that brings out the cocoa powder's less pleasant qualities. The recipe would be less quick, but I think considerably better tasting, if you used bittersweet chocolate, melted with the butter, and blended that into the sugar. If someone tries this recipe, you will have to report!

To finish:

Take the remaining 8 naked-sided oreos and process them in a food processor -- or just crush them really finely using a mortar and pestle or something -- until they become fine crumbs.

Ice each cupcake moderately and sprinkle with oreo crumbs.

Cupcake recipe adapted from The Kitchen is My Playground.

Black Raspberry Shortcakes

Black Raspberry Shortcakes

These super delicious cupcakes are also very low on sugar, if you're cooking for someone who is trying to avoid refined sugars. I used black raspberries because I want to take advantage of the season, but obviously any other fresh seasonal fruit would be great.

Cupcakes:

3 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp almond extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in the butter. You can do this either with a pastry cutter or your hands, mushing it together until it forms coarse crumbs. If you have ever made pie dough, this is the same idea.

Stir in whipping cream, almond extract, and eggs, using a fork or bread hook, until dough forms.

Roll medium-sized balls of dough and place into the bottom of lined cupcake tins. They should fit evenly into the tins.

Bake for 8 minutes, turn, bake for 7 minutes. Let cool.

Makes 22.

Black Raspberry Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups fresh black raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

Wash black raspberries and mix with sugar. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Whip the cream until it gains body and forms stiff peaks. Be careful not to whip for too long or you will get butter!

Drain the raspberries of any residual liquid, then stir into the whipped cream.

To finish:

3/4 cup fresh black raspberries

Remove the shortcakes from their wrappers and slice them in half using a serrated knife. Top each bottom half generously with the whipped cream, then replace the top. Add fresh black raspberries to garnish.

Adapted from Betty Crocker.