Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

 Cinnamon Cupcakes smothered with Dulce de Leche 

and topped with a Toasted Marshmallow Meringue Frosting

That is all...

Ingredients 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with liners (makes 12-14).  In a large bowl mix 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter with an electric mixer on mid-high speed. Add 3/4 cup light brown sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg and scraping bowl as needed. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour mixture and 1/2 cup milk alternately, beating just until combined after each addition. You should start with flour mixture and end with flour mixture until all ingredients are just combined. Try not to over-mix. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. There are many ways you can make the Dulce de Leche. I used sweetened condensed milk and heated in a saucepan on the stove over mid-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until it was a thick caramel consistency.  Check out this link for all the ways you can make it: Dulce de Leche When the Dulce de Leche and the cupcakes are cooled completely, top the cupcakes with a big dollop of dulce de leche and then frost to your liking (see frosting recipe below).  TIP: If the Dulce de Leche gets too thick upon cooling, you can add some milk, heat in the microwave a little and stir well. Keep adding milk and stirring until desired consistency. It should be very thick so it doesn't drip off cupcakes.

Marshmallow Meringue

3 egg whites
1 cup sugar

Mix 3 egg whites and 1 cup sugar in a bowl. Mix this well.  Heat a pan on the stove. When heated,add the egg white mixture and stir constantly until warmed and all the sugar is dissolved. You don't want to scramble the eggs, but you do need to be sure all the sugar grains are dissolved. The mixture should be warm to the touch and should not feel grainy. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the whites on the highest setting until stiff peaks form. This will take about 6 minutes. Frost as desired. You can toast the marshmallow meringue by popping the cupcakes under the broiler for about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Watch them closely so they don't burn. Toast them to your liking and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes My hubs loves chocolate chip cookies! He is always asking me to make them, but it gets kind of boring always making the same thing - you know.  In an attempt to mix things up a bit, I decided to try making a cupcake that looks and tastes like a chocolate chip cookie and according to Don, I was successful!  I made these yesterday and when he came home he said "ooooooooh!!" As he's downing his first one. Then he said all surprised like "Wow, that is really good!"  as if it wasn't going to be good! Sheesh!  He ate another right away! and then when we got home late last night, he ate two more!!  Me thinks he likes 'em haha Guess what he had for breakfast this morning?? He's a monster! A cupcake monster!! Luckily I took 1/2 of them over to his mom's house, so there are only two left. Scratch that...he ate one when he got home - there's one lone cupcake left and that poor thing will not make it through the night haha Ingredients 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup chocolate chips Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with liners (makes 12-14).  In a large bowl mix 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter with an electric mixer on mid-high speed. Add 3/4 cup light brown sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg and scraping bowl as needed. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beating just until combined after each addition. You should start with flour mixture and end with flour mixture until all ingredients are just combined. Try not to over-mix. Fold in the chocolate chips and divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I topped these with a marshmallow meringue frosting because the cupcake is rich just like a chocolate chip cookie. I didn't want to take away from the wonderful flavor of the cupcake, so using this simple frosting works great! Also, I didn't have ingredients to make a butter-cream or cream cheese frosting, so I went with what I had :)

Marshmallow Meringue

3 egg whites
1 cup sugar

Mix 3 egg whites and 1 cup sugar in a bowl. Mix this well.  Heat a pan on the stove. When heated, add the egg white mixture and stir constantly until warmed and all the sugar is dissolved. You don't want to scramble the eggs, but you do need to be sure all the sugar grains are dissolved. The mixture should be warm to the touch and should not feel grainy. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the whites on the highest setting until stiff peaks form. This will take about 6-8 minutes. Frost as desired. Top with mini chocolate chips. You can toast the marshmallow meringue by popping the cupcakes under the broiler for about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Watch them closely so they don't burn. Toast them to your liking and enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue Frosting are really delish and you only need 1 bowl to make 'em!! How awesome is that?? This is the moistest cupcake and full of chocolaty flavor! It's our fave! Even Don gobbles these up and ask for me, and he says he doesn't like chocolate <smile>

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

My husband has developed quite the sweet tooth. He never used to like sweets and rarely ate them, but since Madison took up baking he has gotten a bit...well...addicted!

After Madison left for college, the baking to satisfy his cravings has fallen on me. I was never much of a baker, but as you can tell by the Sweets section on the blog - I have been doing quite a bit of baking over this past year.

Recently I sent some cupcakes with him to work for a friend's birthday, and when he came home with the empty cupcake carrier he said, "It's ready for a refill" haha  That same day, I saw a post online regarding a friend and fellow Allstar's Sweet Vanilla Cupcake recipe on allrecipes.com. Everyone was raving about this recipe! and the recipe creator, Marianne, mentioned how she likes topping these with lemon curd - that gave me a great idea! Lemon Meringue Cupcakes!!

I made the cupcakes as stated in the recipe for Sweet Vanilla Cupcakes. I made one small change and reduced the oven temp to 325 degrees F. This keeps the top of the cupcake flat instead of domed. I like a flat cupcake for decorating purposes. I baked them for 22-25 mins. I knew these were a hit when I gave a little taste to the batter and it was so light and delicious - I couldn't wait to take them out of the oven! 

While the cupcakes were cooling I whipped up some Luscious Lemon Curd and put it in the fridge to chill. Then I made the Marshmallow Meringue topping as follows... 

3 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar

Mix the egg whites and sugar in a bowl while heating a saucepan on low.  Place the egg mixture into warmed pan, remove from heat and whisk.  You will be putting this on and off the heat until the mixture is warm to the touch and all the sugar is dissolved.  We aren't trying to scramble the eggs here, so be careful with the heat. When the egg mixture is warmed to the touch, remove from the heat, transfer to a medium mixing bowl, and beat the egg whites on high (using whisk attachment) until they form stiff, shiny peaks, about 5-8 minutes.

When the cupcakes and lemon curd cooled, I assembled the cupcakes by topping the cupcakes with a dollop of lemon curd and then piping on the marshmallow meringue. I used a round decorating tip for these, and then I popped them under the broiler for about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Watch them closely so they don't burn. 

These are so tasty! Just like individual Lemon Meringue Pies! only easier to make, imo!