Now, they’ve added Book 2 to their cupcake anthology.  It’s put together in a similar format ~ gorgeous photos, easy how-to’s, holiday ideas, a slew of original cupcake ideas, and several easy recipes. This is a great follow-up to the first book.

 This month  for Cupcake Hero Clara asked her fellow baking bloggers to post creations they had made from one of these cupcake books. Since this was a monthly homework assignment, I had to get the new book!

And here’s the cool part… Houghton-Mifflin, the publisher is letting me give one copy of What’s New Cupcake? away! So here’s the deal, you have up to three chances to win…

1. Just leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of cupcake~ chocolate, red velvet, classic white, Diet Coke, etc.  Don’t forget to leave me your email, so I can be in touch if you win. Your email will not be posted in the comments.                                                                                                                                                           
2. Tweet this give-away and leave a second comment letting me know.         
3. Join the Grin and Bake it Facebook group (which I will be updating regularly) and leave another comment letting me know you joined. If you’re already part of the group, that counts too. 

The winner will be selected by Random.org and announced on Monday, May 3rd.

Good Luck!!

UPDATE:  Random.org picked #44

Heather from multiplydelicious.comis the winner!  (Check out her blog, it’s super cute!)

Congrats Heather!

Thanks for playing along everyone!!

As far as cupcakes go, I look at every cupcake through the lens of… “Is it worthy of gaining entrance to Cupcakeland?” This month’s cupcake recipe for the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club is Jumbo Chocolate-Filled Cupcakes, selected by Jess at  Cookbook Habit. At first glance at the recipe and picture, I had high hopes for these, but of course, the ultimate decision comes down to taste. Yes, presentation and overall appeal matter, but nothing surpasses taste.

Awhile back, I saw Martha’s Hostess-like valentine cupcakes on her site and thought they were adorable. I saw them again at Bakeat350 and loved them even more, so I glammed these up a bit by adding ganache and pink piping. Piping words and intricate details are a challenge for me. I’m left-handed and have terrible handwriting ~ so perfection, theses are not. I ordered the cupcake liners from BakeitPretty. Their selection is awesome, and they have polka dots galore and a fun selection of baking goodies.

The best part of Martha’s recipe is the cream filling, hands down. It brought me right back to those chocolate Hostess cupcake days ~ when life was bliss and strikes were something people got at the bowling alley. 

                                                                                                                                                    Okay, here’s the not so great part… I didn’t love the chocolate cake. I didn’t even like it. There, I said it! Honestly, what am I doing wrong? I’m beginning to think Martha and I just have different taste when it comes to cake. Or maybe I am forever changed after discovering the world’s best chocolate cake a few weeks back.  From now on, every chocolate cake will be compared to it. This cake was a bit crumbly and dry. I feel bad saying it, but this one hasn’t earned the key to Cupcakeland. But you know what would… the world’s best chocolate cake, Martha’s creamy marshmallow filling, and Bridget at Bakeat350′s recipe for chocolate ganache. Now that’s a cupcake I can’t wait to splurge on! You can check out everyone else’s cupcakes at our group on Flickr.

The theme for Cupcake Hero this month was caramel ~ YUM! Just the word caramel made me reminisce about the caramel frappuccino cupcakes that I created last year. I didn’t want to make the same recipe twice and thought I should be more original… that was until the man at the drive thru said those enticing words, “Would you like to try our new caramel frappe?” ~ Heck yeah! And boy am I glad that I did! 

                                                                                                                                                   Could it be that some establishment has finally trumped Starbucks? I’m not talking about Coffee Bean or Peet’s… I’m talking Mc Donald’s. Yes, someone behind those golden arches had the crazy idea to start selling fancy coffees, and it worked. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy sitting with a friend in those comfy chairs, sipping from those cups with the green logo on them, but for what McDonald’s lacks in ambiance they make up for in the taste and the price (almost half the price of Starbucks). Please don’t burst my bubble by telling me how many calories I’ve inhaled. Really, I don’t want to know!

                                                                                                                                                         So, here’ s where my Extreme Kitchen Bake-over comes in, if frappuccinos can get a make-over, so can my frappuccino cupcakes. This time around I started with a new recipe for chocolate cake. I adapted it slightly from Barefoot Contessa, and it was absolutely amazing ~ the best chocolate cake I have made to date. I was actually a bit worried pouring the batter into the cupcake liners. It was so thin and runny. Don’t worry if you make this and find the same thing. The result was an incredibly moist cupcake!

 Have you tried the Godiva flavored coffees? It’s at the grocery store and completely lives up to the Godiva name. I added the Godiva caramel coffee to the cake batter to make it frappuccino -esque. This truffle inspired coffee has a great undertone of caramel, and gives the cake part of the cupcake just a smidge of that caramel taste. Once the cupcakes baked and cooled, I filled them with caramel sauce. This time around I did not make the caramel from scratch, but have linked the scratch recipe, previously used, below. I topped off the cupcakes with a whipped cream frosting. You don’t think I would forget the  caramel drizzled on top? No way, all of the elements of a frappuccino in cupcake form! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how these taste!. I may have to do another Extreme Home Bake-Over? Hmmm… Do you think Ty Pennington would come over and help me bake it up, or maybe do a little carpentry while I bake them? 

Want more caramel cupcake inspiration? Check out our cupcake group on Flickr, and keep checking I Heart Cuppycakes for Clara to post the round-up.

Caramel Frappe-Frappuccino Cupcakes

 cake recipe (Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

printable recipe

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed, caramel flavored hot coffee

caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought is fine)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into cupcake liners, fill a little more than halfway. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, fill a piping bag, with a medium round tip halfway with caramel sauce. Insert the piping bag halfway into the cupcake and fill with caramel sauce.

Whipped Cream Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups heavy cream

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.* Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak. When cupcakes and caramel are cool, pipe or put a dollop of the whipped cream frosting on the cupcakes.

*You can use a hand mixer with beaters, just be sure to whip until you can form peaks in frosting.

And if you’re hungry, consider making lemon meringue cupcakes. I was super excited to make these. What a great concept, lemon meringue in cupcake form.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Megan from My Baking Adventures picked this recipe out of Martha Stewart’s book Cupcakes for March.  I’ve been looking forward to this one, but unfortunately these did not live up to my expectations.  It’s like when someone tells you about a fabulous new movie, and because your expectations are through the roof, when you finally get to the movie theater, you’ve set yourself up for disappointment.

What I wasn’t loving was the cake part of the cupcake. I’m finding that Martha’s cupcakes are very dense, like a lot of cakes from scratch. I tend to favor the light texture from a boxed mix (Martha would cringe, I know!). I grew up on Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker, what can I say. If made from scratch, it better be moist!

There were a few successes with this recipe though ~ First off, the lemon curd… Amazing! I’d eat this alone for dessert. Second, I was able to whip up Martha’s seven-minute frosting without using a candy thermometer. I’m sure it was a bit of luck. This frosting is like meringue in texture and shine, and was the perfect choice for this cupcake.

Next time around, I would make a moister white cake with lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice. I would make the same lemon curd, and still use this icing, and that would be better! I loved the look of these cupcakes and actually opted against using the torch to brown them a bit. And I rarely pass up an opportunity to use the torch. I liked the white and shiny look of these .

One of the rules of this group is that we do not post the recipes. But I did a little searching and discovered that Martha has a very similar recipe for lemon curd on her site. And the recipe for her seven minute frosting is on there too.

This frosting is more stable than meringue which alllows for piping. What’s Cooking America has great tips on making meringue, which also apply to this frosting. Do you know which eggs are best? Why they should be room temp? Ever lose an egg shell in the bowl and fish it out with your fingers? What’s Cooking America tells you why that may completely mess up the whipping process.

There are days that require chocolate, and then there are double-chocolate days. This past month I have had one too many double-chocolate days. And as much as I love chocolate, I’m craving normalcy. My job has taken precedence over friends, family, fun, and Tivo (among other things). Thank goodness the new season of Glee has not started, because that is where I’d draw the line!

These M&M cookies are great for a double-chocolate day and perfect for the Flavor of the Month theme for February… “Chocolate”. Do you like how these cookies coordinate with my new blog design? I saw the pink M&M cookies Jen at Beantown Baker made awhile back. She got the recipe from Michelle at One Ordinary Day, and now I’m passing it on. That’s why I love food blogging – it’s a community linked together by a common passion – food! 

The specialty color palette M&Ms are pricey, but I couldn’t pass these up.  The cookies were good and a nice change from traditional M&M cookies. Next time around, I think I might try adding M&Ms to the Giant Toffee Cookies (hold the toffee) that I made from Bon Appetit. Those are more brownie-like. These are more cookie-like. Has anyone tasted the coconut M&Ms? I bet these would taste great with the new coconut M&Ms ~ perfect color option for St.Patrick’s Day! Let me know if you try them.

The redesign of my blog has been a long process. About a month ago, I contacted Jen, my cyber-space angel, at Swank Web Style Design Studio. I had started the process back in October, with a different designer. It was only supposed to take a few weeks… By January I was still waiting for things to be finished and a bit frustrated. Jen was a God-send. I am so thankful to have found a designer with the ability to take what I envisioned and give it life. She is efficient, responsive, and knows the ins and outs of the WordPress platform. If you use WordPress, or are considering switching over, make sure your web designer knows it well. The most important feature I wanted was  a way to categorize and list my recipes, with a photo for each. (I still need to go back and update a few posts so that the pictures show.) I’m beginning to go back and make printable recipes so that each recipe has a print link.  Jen also updated my Twitter page to coordinate with my blog, and she’s now working on business cards and Grin and Bake It stickers. I am thrilled with the design and am so thankful for her creativity and expertise.

Want more chocolate? Go check out everyone who has linked up to the Flavor of the Month post at Bakeat350.

Double-Chocolate M&M Cookies    (From One Ordinary Day)

Printable Recipe

2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2/3 c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 c. m&m candies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixing bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture in two or three additions.  Mixture will be quite thick.  Stir in m&m pieces with a wooden spoon.  Drop by large rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 9 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to wire cooking rack.