Who would like a cupcake!

I don't know of anyone who doesn't like cupcakes. I guess that is why the new rage is all sorts of flavored cupcakes. The funniest flavor I have ever heard of was Bacon lettuce and tomato.  I wonder how that would taste?  

I just got done baking some cupcakes and I thought I would try my hand at four different flavors. Triple Chocolate, Exploded Strawberry, Pineapple Coconut, and Lemony Lemon.

Triple Chocolate with Ganache Icing

Exploded Strawberry with Strawberry Cream Cheese filling

Pineapple cupcake with Pineapple Coconut cream filling

Lemony Lemon with lemon filling

Before I get to the cupcake recipes I want to share the best buttercream recipe ever.  I found the recipe for Publix Butercream Icing. If you have never had Publix Butercream Icing before it is worth every minute to make it. The icing is the perfect to use on most any flavor cake.  It is heart stopping but tasts wonderful. 

Publix Buttercream Icing

• 1/2 pounds butter
•  2 cups Crisco Vegetable Shortening
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 teaspoon butter flavoring
•  1/2 teaspoon almond extract
•  2 pounds confectioners sugar
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1 tablespoon meringue powder
•  1 tablespoon milk if needed

Yield: Icing for 2 layer 9 inch round cake, or about 20 cupcakes

Mix butter, Crisco, and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes. Add vanilla, butter flavor, and almond extract, beat until well blended. Turn mixer off and add meringue powder and 1/2 confectioners sugar. Turn mixer on the slowest speed the mixer has, add remaining confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the sugar is mixed in. Turn mixer up to medium and beat until smooth and creamy, this should take about 5 minutes.

Meringue powder and butter flavoring can be found where cake decorating supplies are sold. The recipe can be made without these two ingredients, but the icing tastes better if you use the butter flavoring, and the icing with hold its shape better with the meringue powder.

With all flavored cupcakes I used Betty Crocker Moist Cake and followed the direction on the box. 

Triple Chocolate cupcake

Betty Crocker Moist Cake mix. Make it according to the box instructions.

The Ganache filling:
9 oz of chocolate
1 cup of heavy whipping cream

 Melt chocolate in the microwave for one minute then heat heavy whipping cream to a boil. Slowly add cream to the melted chocolate and blend. Spread on cupcake.
I added a chocolate wafer, chocolate chips and one square of cookie and cream chocolate for decoration.

Exploded Strawberry with Strawberry Cream Cheese filling

Again follow the direction on the Betty Crocker Strawberry cake mix.
I added 2 tablespoons of Strawberry preserve to 1 cup of Publix buttercream icing.  This covered three cupcakes. 

Strawberry filling:
4 oz. of Cream cheese
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract.
2 tablespoons of strawberry preserve

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. To fill the cupcake, dig a teaspoon into the center and remove the cake.  This will leave a hole to be filled with the filling.

Pineapple cupcake with Pineapple Coconut cream filling

Use Betty Crocker lemon cake mix and make it according to the directions on the box.

The filling:

 4 eggs, lightly beaten                               
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Pineapple juice
1/2 cup can pineapple chunks
1/2 teaspoon pineapple & coconut extract
1/4 cup whole milk
Assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and pineapple juice in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in pineapple juice, milk, pineapple and coconut extract and pinch of salt and mix well. Then add pineapple chunks and cook over medium heat until filling gets thick, about 20 minutes. Constantly stir so it doesn't stick to the pot. Let cool and you can fill your cupcakes.

I use 1-3/4 cups of Publix buttercream icing and add 1/4 cup pineapple coconut cream for the topping. Blend well and pipe on top of the cupcakes. I coated some pineapple chunks in sugar and put them in my dehydrator. Once they were dried, I put them on top of the cupcake with some shredded coconut.

    Lemony lemon cupcake with lemon filling

I used Betty Crocker lemon cake mix and make it according to the directions on the box.  


Lemon  filling:

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten                                      
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 2 tablespoons limoncello, or other lemon-flavored liqueur, optional

Assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, milk, optional limoncello, and remaining pinch of salt and mix well. Cook over medium heat until filling gets thick, about 20 minutes.   Constantly stir so it doesn't stick to the pot.  Let cool and you can fill your cupcakes..

Lemon butercream icing:

I use 1-3/4 cups of Publix buttercream icing and add 1/4 cup of lemon filling for the topping. Blend well and pipe on top of the cupcakes. I coated some lemon slices in sugar and put them in my dehydrator. Once they were dried, I put them on top of the cupcake for decoration. 

The lemon garnish is a slice of lemon I covered in granulated sugar and put in a dehydrator.