Cupcake

Recent Recipes

• 1

  Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Passion Fruit Curd

  These cupcakes are everything I want in a spring (or Easter) dessert—light, fruity, and a little unexpected. The base is a tender coconut cupcake, topped with a fluffy coconut cream cheese frosting, a spoonful of not-too-tart passion fruit curd, and a halo of toasted coconut around the edges.

  While there are multiple components to these cupcakes, you can make both the curd and cupcakes ahead of time, then quickly assemble them the day of. They’re great for Easter brunch (especially since they resemble little eggs) or if you just want something bright and bakery-worthy for spring.

  Tips & Tricks:

  • If your cream cheese isn't super softened, you can microwave it for a few seconds. This will ensure it's soft enough to combine into the frosting quickly without having to whip it too much.
  • If you don’t have piping bags or a piping tip, spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes then use a spatula to smooth it out.
  • To toast coconut flakes in a skillet, add them to a dry pan over medium-low heat and stir frequently until they’re golden and fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. Once toasted, immediately transfer them to a bowl to cool.
• 2

  Thanksgiving Cupcakes From Crystelle Pereira

  Fall is here and that means that it’s finally time to bring out those warming, comforting, and beautifully spiced dishes that we all know and love. Pumpkin pie is a perfect example of this, and it’s an absolute classic—crisp pastry, warming hints of cinnamon, ginger, and clove with the sweetness of pumpkin. It’s a perfectly balanced flavor and texture sensation. I do, however, feel that pumpkin pie is one of those desserts that can only really be had at Thanksgiving – or at least at a large, celebratory gathering. And this seems like a shame, because I think we deserve to eat that all year-round. So I found a solution. What if we took the essence of a pumpkin pie, and made it more bite-sized and portable, say, in cupcake form? And what if we paired it with the flavors in a classic pecan pie?
  
  For me, cupcakes can often be quite underwhelming—I’ve eaten my fair share of cupcakes with dry sponge and an overwhelming amount of cloyingly sweet frosting. However, this recipe is an explosion of textures and flavors—neither the cake nor the frosting is overly sweet, and with the addition of a custard center and a biscuit base, the flavors and spices balance out perfectly, to result in a multi-dimensional, pocket sized treat, that brings back all of those flavors, reminiscent of pumpkin pie, as soon as you take a bite.
  
  First, we have a spiced, nutty biscuit base that is packed full of flavor, thanks to the spiced Biscoff biscuits and buttery pecans. Then, we have a light and fluffy pumpkin spiced cupcake with olive oil to keep this extra soft—and here, we're making our own pumpkin spice blend, with a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove—as I find that adding the individual spices packs in much more flavor than pre-made pumpkin spice. Then, we’re making silky smooth pumpkin custard that is infused with orange and cinnamon, and this is what fills the middle of the cupcakes.
  
  Finally, we’re topping the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting made with brown butter to really capitalize on those nutty flavors. The tanginess in the cream cheese really cuts through the sweetness of the cupcake to result in a beautifully balanced treat. To really get into the feeling of autumn, I’ve even thrown in chopped pecans into the cupcakes for a bit of crunch. These cupcakes really do have it all, and every bite will make you feel warm and cozy inside, with flavors and textures that are somewhat reminiscent of that classic pumpkin pie.
  
  If you want to prep any elements beforehand, you can make the pumpkin custard the day before and simply cover this with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
  
  If making the pumpkin purée from scratch, add 95g peeled and diced pumpkin or butternut squash to a tray, and toss in 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tbsp maple syrup. Roast these for 45 minutes at 325℉ until soft). Add this to a food processor along with 1 tbsp maple syrup and blend until smooth.
  
  If you want to prep any elements beforehand, you can make the pumpkin custard the day before and simply cover this with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use. —Crystelle Pereira

• 3

  Easy Mini Cheesecakes

  Easy Creamy Cheesecake Cupcakes. These are so very simple to make and I include my "Tasty Tip" for these Easy Cheesecake Cupcakes that makes them Creamy!

• 4

  Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

  Martha Stewart's Angel Food Cake turned into cupcakes, filled with a strawberry-sugar mixture, and topped with a strawberry whipped cream frosting. For step-by-step photos, go to my post at: http://www.icancookthat.org/2013/02/strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes.html

• 5

  Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

  This is my take on that boxed strawberry cake (you know the one...it’s pink), but mine is made with fresh strawberries. It takes a bit of time to reduce the strawberry mixture to a thick, jammy purée, but it's worth it, since it gets used both in the cake and also the frosting to create a beautiful—and delicious—swirl effect. I like these best decorated with lemon wedges and/or strawberries, but you can never miss with sprinkles!

• 6

  White Cake Cupcakes With Mascarpone Whipped Cream & Berries

  My mom adores what she calls wedding cake, which is a super moist white cake—flavored with just a hint of almond extract (OK, OK, so I like it a whole lot too.) So for this cupcake recipe, I decided to pair one of her favorites with one of mine. One of my go-to (and simplest!) frostings is a mascarpone whipped cream, which is denser and creamier than whipped cream alone. This means it can stand up to some fresh fruit juice, which can serve to tint and flavor the frosting. It’s the perfect pair to these sweet cupcakes—then they are begging to be decorated with fresh fruit.