"You can't look at a cupcake without smiling" :D

Little cupcake hints
(for my friend Danny ;)

These are some ways I have tried when making cupcakes that just make them extra special! Its so simple and makes such a big difference.

First, one little secret many people don't know is the sour cream trick. Alot of people think "ew, gross" but adding sour cream to cakes and cupcakes can make such a huge difference in how much more moist the cake becomes. I'm not talking about a whole cup here people. Just a couple tbsps.http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7083039798842004967&postID=7430702669411490650

Find a good recipe that you like. This might take many batches of bad cupcakes.
My all time favorite cupcake recipe that I've recently found and tweaked it a little is just a simple moist vanilla cupcake. Vanilla cupcakes are the best bc you have a lot of room to play with the topping and fillings!

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened -1 cup white sugar -1 room temperature egg - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract -1 1/2 cups of flour - 1 teaspoon baking powder - 1 cup milk - 1 teaspoon of sour cream - 1/2 teaspoon salt (this is necessary in any desserts. Salt brings out the sweetness in sweets! Just like adding 1/2 tsp of sugar in your salty foods brings out the saltiness!)

-Start out creaming the butter, sour cream and sugar. then beat in the egg and vanilla. Then *sift* the flour, baking powder and salt and beat it all together adding the milk slowly. (sometimes you'll feel like you don't need a whole cup. That's fine.)

-After your dough looks smooth, use an ice cream scoop to put them in paper liners. Bake @ 350 for about 20-30 mins. You just have to keep an eye on it. When the sides start turning golden its ready; or just keep checking until a toothpick comes out clean.

So then, when you find a recipe you love, It might not be the same as mine, but here are some little things you can do to add flavor to your cupcakes:

-These are some of my favorite!!! Using the batter above: separate the cupcakes into 3 different bowls. It will usually make about 9 cupcakes. (these are pretty big cupcakes, so if you want to make little ones just separate them into more paper liners)
--leave one bowl just regular batter, and place them in the cups
--mix 1/4 cup of sweetened shredded coconuts and 1/4 cup of mini choc. chip in one bowl and beat it for a second just to mix it. (coconut chocolate chip cupcakes)
--and in the other bowl, mix 1/4 cup of powdered cocoa and 1/4 cup of marshmallows. (marshmallow chocolate cupcakes)
-Place them in the paper liners and you'll have 3 different kinda of cupcakes with just one batter by adding a couple yummy treats to each! Trust me, these are all to die for!!

-Strawberry jelly cupcakes: after you've placed the batter inside the paper liners, add a dime size drop of jelly in the middle and just barely press it down and then bake it like you normally would. The surprise filling is always a treat when people get to the middle of the cupcake. You can do this with any kind of jelly!
-cutting up small pieces of fruits like cherries or blueberries and mixing it in with the batter is also a great way to make cupcakes more flavorful.

Easy toppings:
Store bought frosting is so yuck! and homemade frosting is SO much better tasting and so easy to make! So save up your money and take 5 mins to make these delicious frosting that will make your cupcake much much more special and you can say you made an entirely home-made cupcake!

DE-LI-CIOUS CREAMY chocolate frosting: (will make ab..1 1/2 cups)
-1 bar cut into pieces of unsweetened chocolate (melted, and cooled) OR mix 1/2 bar of unsweet and 1/2 bar of white chocolate, even better!
-1/2 can sweetened condensed milk -1/4 cup of water - 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract - 1/2 cup heavy whipped cream (if its not whipped, beat it separately first) -1/2 pack of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding (this really makes it delicious!)
--blend chocolate and cond. milk.
--Gradually whisk in water, vanilla and the pudding. Then you'll want to just fold the whipped cream in,(mix it in very softly)

For just a regular butter-cream frosting, I use:
-2 tbsp of flour -1/2 cup milk -1/2 tsp of vanilla extract -1/2 cup sugar -1/2 cup butter
-In a small sauce pan, cook the milk and flour stirring constantly until it forms into a ball and then cool it.
-separately beat together butter and sugar until fluffy and add the two mixtures together and beat it until smooth.
-You'll probably have to refrigerate it for about 1/2 and hour until it becomes spreadable.

Always make sure you frost your cupcakes after they've been cooled.
A good trick to make cupcakes (or cakes) more moist, is to stick them in the freezer for about 30 mins after making them and them letting them defrost again before eating them. It really does wonders!

-This will be a never ending post. As soon as I come up with more things, I'll add it on here! This is just the start for our cupcakes!
Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to add anything yourselves! I'm dying for new recipes!! :D