Cupcake bites

A few of you asked for the recipe for these when I posted about them on my other blog. So, to make it easy, I will post it here. My friend Yvonne taught me how to make these a couple of months ago. They are definitely a sweet treat and something you might want to consider sharing with others, as they are LOADED with sugar, sugar, sugar, lol.

Step 1: Make a cake, any cake. Whatever flavor you like
Step 2: Pick a can of frosting that will go well with the flavor of cake you baked
Step 3: Pick up 2 different kinds of Wilton candy melts (I used chocolate for the bottom on these ones and then red colored ones for the top shell)You can pick up white ones and add food coloring to make them the color you want if they don't have a color you are looking for.
Step 4: Take the can of frosting and the cake, put them in a bowl and mix them together until mashed and blended well. With a big baking pan/platter, roll the cake/frosting mix into golfball size balls (maybe even a little smaller) and place them on the sheet
Step 5: put the cupcake balls on the sheet in the fridge while you are making the base for the cupcake bite
which, you will need some of these for:

Step 6: Use a frosting bag or a plastic bag (with a tip you can cut off) to put in about 1/4 of the candy melts that you want to use for the base, and melt it in the microwave (or melt it in a ceramic bowl if you don't want to microwave plastic) Start with 20 seconds and add more time if needed
Step 7: pipe the melted candy base into the molds, take the cupcake balls and set them on top of the melted candy base. You want to make sure the mold is almost all the way full of the candy melt base, otherwise the cupcake cake part will not stick to the base when you refrigerate it
Step 8: Put the molds with the cupcake ball on top in the fridge to set, for about 5-10 minutes
Step 9: Take the candy melts that you want to use for the hard candy shell and put them in a microwave safe bowl, big enough for you to be able to dip into. Melt the shell candy until completely smooth
Step 10: Take the base with the cupcake bite out of the fridge, and carefully pop the bases out of the molds. Then, tip the cupcake bite upside down and dip the top into the shell of the candy melt.
Step 11: If desired, top with a garnish of your choice, nonpareils, sprinkles, M&M's (we used white sprinkles and M&M's) and place back onto the baking sheet/platter and let sit in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes
Step 12: Once the shell of the cupcake bite has hardened, you are now ready to enjoy your delicious cupcake bites

FYI: This entire process took us about an hour, not including the baking of the cake (this we did ahead of time), so it's a bit of a lengthy process, but the cupcake bites are worth every minute in the end.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

This recipe is from my friend, Jaime Green. It's delicious and always a huge hit! Mike, who doesn't love pumpkin pie, LOVES this pumpkin pie cake. The picture doesn't do it justice. But it's super easy and super yummy!

Step 1
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
1 Egg
1/2 stick of butter - melted
*Save 1 cup of the cake mix (to use later)

Mix remaining cake mix, egg and margarine. press into 9X13pan.

Step 2
1 Large Can of Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2/3 Cup Canned Evaporated Milk
3 Eggs
*Combine and pour over pressed cake mix.

Step 3
1 Cup reserved cake mix (from step 1)
1/4 stick butter - melted
3/4 Cup of sugar
*Mix and sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.

Bake approximately 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with whipped cream

Molten Chocolate Cakes

I love, love, love getting molten chocolate cakes at restaurants. I love how the gooey chocolaty center spills out when you eat it and it is all warm and delicious. Mmm. I always thought that these must be really hard to make. I mean, how to do make the decadent "lava" that comes out of the cake? It just seemed way hard. I was a wrong. I came across the recipe in my Southern Living: Incredible Chocolate Recipes book, attempted to make them for a friend's birthday, and found out they were quite easy and way delicious. Wanna know the secret? The lava is batter that just didn't cook all the way. Pretty simple huh? But they are made with egg substitute so you don't have to worry about getting sick from uncooked eggs. My suggestion when cooking them is to really watch them in the oven. If you over cook them, they won't have much "lava" and if you under cook them, you won't be able to flip them over and keep the "lava" inside. I hope you enjoy the "explosion" of flavor!

Ingredients:

- 2 T. butter, melted

- 2 T, unsweetened cocoa

- 3/4 c. butter, cut into pieces

- 3 (4 oz) bars of premium chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)

- 1/2 c. whipping cream

- 1 1/4 c. egg substitute

- 2/4 c. granulated sugar

- 2/3 c. flour

- powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Brush 16 muffin cups (I used silicone flower baking cups) with 2 T. melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with cocoa, shaking out excess. Place in refrigerator to firm butter.

2. Place 3/4 c. butter and chocolate in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until butter and chocolate melt. Slowly whisk in cream; set aside.

3. Combine egg substitute and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly thickened; add chocolate cream and flour, beating until blended. Pout batter into muffin cups, filling to within 1/4 inch from tops. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

4. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 11 minutes or just until edges of cakes spring back when lightly touched but centers are still soft. Let stand 3 minutes before loosening edges with a knife. Quickly invert cakes onto a baking sheet. Transfer to dessert plates using a spatula being careful not to crack the bottoms and spill out the center. Sprinkle with powders sugar using flour sifter.

Yield: 16 cakes

If you like peanut butter....

These are heavenly. And they are a little bit more healthy for you because they are Gluten Free.
This recipe is taken from http://www.glutenfreeda.com/, one of my most visited sites for GF recipes.
Recipe for Gluten Free Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 eggs2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1-1/4 cup gf flour, I recommend Carol Fenster's Sorghum blend, which is:
1 1/2 cup(s) sorghum flour
1 1/2 cup(s) potato starch/cornstarch
1 cup(s) tapioca flour
(or regular flour if you don't want to do the GF kind)
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

For the frosting:
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup milk
1-3/4 to 2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat with a hand mixer the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gf flour baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with 1/4 cup milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing after each addition.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Remove cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the peanut butter; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add 1/4 cup milk, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Gradually add powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla, beating with a hand held mixer until thickened. (Note: Start by gradually adding up to 1-3/4 cup powdered sugar. You may find that you will need to add more powdered sugar to get the consistency of frosting.) Spread frosting over cupcakes.

NOTE:....In order to make the cupcakes a little bit softer (as GF tends to become hard quickly), I recommend splitting the egg whites and leaving them until the very end. Then, just before baking the cupcakes, whip the egg whites until they are fluffy, almost like whipped cream. Fold in egg whites with a spatula until completely blended in.
It is also recommended that you cover the cupcakes once baked and place them in the refridgerator. This will help them stay softer, longer.