Coconut Cupcakes

These coconut cupcakes are a little different from regular cupcakes. They are gluten and refined sugar free, even the frosting! But while they are healthy, they're still cupcakes and have calories. They're made using coconut flour which is high in fiber, coconut oil which is full of good for you medium chain fatty acids, and raw agave nectar which doesn't spike your blood sugar levels like white sugar does. They also have shredded coconut in the mix for extra coconutty flavor!

The frosting is Swiss meringue buttercream. I substituted coconut sugar in place of white sugar for the recipe. The taste was great, smooth and creamy from the butter with slight hint of carmel. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be using coconut sugar for SMB again. i=Its less refined and therefore there are some imperfections. These imperfections prevented the egg whites from whipping up to their desired stiff peaks. I beat them for 25 minutes and all I could achieve was medium peaks. This frosting did not pipe well which was very disappointing because I had to use it for cake decorating class.

Coconut Cupcakes 

from Elanaspantry.com

makes about 10 cupcakes

3 eggs, room temperature

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup agave nectar

½ cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 and gather ingredients.

In a small bowl blend eggs, coconut oil and agave nectar with a hand blender

Pulse in coconut flour, salt, baking soda and shredded coconut

Allow batter to sit and thicken for 2 minutes

Line a cupcake tin with paper liners

Spoon ¼ cup cupcake batter into each cupcake liner

Bake for 20-25 minutes

Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes

Frost with desired icing and serve

Makes about 10 cupcakes

Mocha Bouquet

I made this cupcake flower bouquet to give to my mom for mother's day. It was really easy to put together. Its green flower foam inside of a terra-cotta flower pot and the cupcakes are stuck in using a combination of toothpicks and lollipop sticks. I used the square flower foam but net time I will defiantly be using the sphere shaped variety.

I baked chocolate wacky cake cupcakes for the cake base because it is egg and dairy free and my mom is allergic to eggs. This cake was a snap  to make, pretty much just dump and stir, I didn't even need to break out the electric mixer. I surprised how tasty they turned out considering no eggs or butter. They had a strong chocolate flavor and enhanced by the coffee added to the batter with mini chocolate chips throughout the cake. They were also super moist, I like these better than Martha's one bowl chocolate cupcakes. Great tasting and really quick and easy to mix up and bake.

My mom loves coffee so I made a coffee buttercream frosting for piping on the roses. The frosting had an intense coffee flavor and aroma and was really creamy and delicious, at first. I had to add more powdered sugar to the buttercream to make it stiff consistency in order to pipe the roses, in the end, it was a little sugary for my liking but the flowers looked and smelled beautiful. I also used half shortening in the buttercream for decorating reasons but for the best taste I recommend using all butter.

Double Chocolate Wacky Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream

Double Chocolate Wacky Cupcakes

slightly adapted from gingerbreadbagels.com

makes 24 standard size cupcakes

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooled coffee
1 cup tap water
3/4 cup vegetable oil (not olive)
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips mixed with 1/2 tablespoon coco powder

Coffee Buttercream

makes enough to pipe 24 buttercream roses

4 cups powdered sugar, add an additional 1/2 to 1 cup for stiff consistency
12 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening, softened
2 Tablespoon instant coffee (I used sanka)
2 Tablespoon hot water
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
milk or cream as needed for desired consistency


For the Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir or sift together the flour, sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking soda and kosher salt.
Ina separate bowl or large measuring cup mix together the coffee, water, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well until combined.
Fold in the coco coated chocolate chips, coating them prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes during baking.
Dived batter evenly among the cupcake liners. I like to pour it in a measuring cup and then pour it into the  liners but an ice-cream scoop also works well.
Bake for 20 minutes rotating the pans halfway through if your oven doesn't cook evenly.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then remove from pan and allow to fully cool.

For the Buttercream
Sift the powdered sugar. Set aside. Mix together 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of hot water in a small bowl.
In a medium bowl cream the butter and shortening until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add the coffee mixture, vanilla, and kosher salt to the butter and shortening and mix to combine.
Slowly add the powdered sugar on low speed, 1/2 cup at a time. Once it’s combine, increase the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes.
Add desired amount of milk or cream and mix until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Black Raspberry Cupcakes

After making the blueberry cupcakes, my boyfriend asked if I could make them using raspberries. I though this would be even better than the blueberry ones because raspberries have a stronger flavor. It also gave me an opportunity to use my new mini cupcake pan! The baby ones are super cute! I had planned on making my favorite buttermilk cake but my buttermilk was expired so I just made a plain butter cake which was as delicious as the buttermilk cake but with a more vanilla flavor and a slightly less tender crumb. I used the same cream cheese frosting base and just used a raspberry/blackberry puree instead of the blueberry. The frosting tasted like black raspberry ice cream.

Black Raspberry Cupcakes

Makes 20 standard cupcakes or 12 standard and 24 baby cupcakes

For the cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake wrappers. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together over a medium sized bowl and set aside. Lighlty whisk the eggs together in small bowl to ensure even distribution in the batter, set aside. Combine the milk and extracts in a measuring cup and set aside.

Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until its lighter in color and satiny, 30-45 seconds. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Cream for 4-5 minutes until its light in color and fluffy in appearance, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Slowly add the eggs 1 at a time scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. If the mixture appears watery or broken, stop adding the eggs and mix until the mixture appears smooth and silky again then resume adding the eggs.

Do the next part by hand. Add the flour in 4 additions alternately with the milk in 3 additions. To be clear, Add a fourth of the flour, to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, stir just until combined. Then add a third of the milk mixture and stir just until combined. Repeat, making sure to start and end with the flour. Fold in the blueberries.

Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups filling about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Black Raspberry Frosting
adapted from casual baker

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup berry puree*
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the blueberry puree and almond extract just until combined. Add the icing sugar gradually and beat until smooth and spreadable.
Frost the cooled cupcakes as you desired. The frosting is somewhat sticky.

For the berry puree, simmer 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of blackberries in a small saucepan for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before making the frosting.

Blueberry Cupcakes

No food coloring, just beautiful vibrant blueberries produced this lovely purple speckled frosting. Its a cream cheese based frosting with blueberry puree mixed in, very quick and super simple to whip up. It tastes sweet and creamy with a signature blueberry flavor that doesn't overpower. The cupcake itself is my absolute favorite buttermilk cake with blueberries folded in. This cake has a deliciously tender crumb that is magically light and dense at the same time, the flavor is unbeatable. It really needs no adornment but my boyfriend wanted this pretty colored frosting he saw when my laptop was opened on tastespotting so I happily tried it out. The sweet tart flavor from the bursting blueberries inside the cupcake was a perfect match for this delicious and eye-appealing frosting. A perfect cupcake treat for Summer.

Blueberry Cupcakes

For the cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cups blueberries (thawed if frozen)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake wrappers. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together over a medium sized bowl and set aside. Lighlty whisk the eggs together in small bowl to ensure even distribution in the batter, set aside. Combine the buttermilk and extracts in a measuring cup and set aside.

Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until its lighter in color and satiny, 30-45 seconds. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Cream for 4-5 minutes until its light in color and fluffy in appearance, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Slowly add the eggs 1 at a time scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. If the mixture appears watery or broken, stop adding the eggs and mix until the mixture appears smooth and silky again then resume adding the eggs.

Do the next part by hand. Add the flour in 4 additions alternately with the milk in 3 additions. To be clear, Add a fourth of the flour, to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, stir just until combined. Then add a third of the milk mixture and stir just until combined. Repeat, making sure to start and end with the flour. Fold in the blueberries.

Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups filling about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blueberry Frosting
adapted from casual baker

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup blueberry puree*
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the blueberry puree and almond extract just until combined. Add the icing sugar gradually and beat until smooth and spreadable.
Frost the cooled cupcakes as you desired. The frosting is somewhat sticky.

For the blueberry puree, simmer 1 cup of blueberries in a small saucepan for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before making the frosting.

S'mores Cupcakes

This s'mores cupcake is way better than a regular s'more. It has a graham cracker cake base made with pulverized graham cracker crumbs. Its filled with marshmallow fluff and chocolate ganache then topped with more ganache and marshmallow buttercream frosting and garnished with graham cracker crumbs. I had originally saw a s'mores cake that was beautiful and thought it would be a good contender for the cake-off we had at my work. The cake had a major structural problem tho, the recipe contained no regular flour. It used all graham cracker crumbs in place of any flour. I didn't think this cake would hold up to being transported to work so I decided to sub some flour for some of the crumbs  and tryout a cupcake version. They turned out wonderful, yummy s'more flavor but a larger proportion of chocolate. I doubled the batch to make 24 to bring half to my Auntie's surprise birthday party and half to my boyfriends house. The cupcakes were a big hit and everyone really liked them but I personally liked the cookie dough ones better so I made that for the competition. Its hard to top cookie dough.

One problem I had with this cupcake was the chocolate ganache on top of the cake compressed the fluff, as you can see in the picture below, and dispersed the fluff throughout the cake. Next time I would try placing some of the removed cake back on top of the cut hole where the filling is to prevent this problem. It didn't effect the taste at all, it just didn't look as pretty when you bit into it.

I had wanted to make the filling all marshmallow but I ran out of fluff!

S'mores Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes


For the Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers ground in processor)
 1/2 cup all purpose flour
 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
 3/4 cups sugar
 2 large eggs, room temperature 
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature 


Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Gather and Measure all ingredients. Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt in medium bowl. Combine milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Lightly whisk together the eggs.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just to blend and scraping down the sides after each addition. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


For the Ganache
8 ounces chopped semi or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream


Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in small sauce pan on the stove until its just boiling. Pour the cream over the chocolate and do not touch it for two full minutes. Then stir until smooth and let it cool until thickened.


For the Filling
Marshmallow fluff


When the cupcakes are fully cooled, core them using a small pairing knife, melon baller, or apple corer. Fill with marshmallow fluff and spread a thick layer of ganache over the top.


For the Marshmallow Buttercream

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup Marshmallow Fluff

2 tablespoons heavy cream (or more for desired consistency)

In a medium bowl beat together the butter, fluff and powdered sugar until fluffy. Beat in the heavy cream until its the desired consistency. Top cupcakes as desired.

Banana Split Cupcakes

These banana split cupcakes turned out absolutely beautiful. Its a fluffy banana cupcake with sweet strawberry filling topped with fresh whipped cream, rich chocolate ganach, rainbow jimmies and a maraschino cherry. I love maraschino cherries, I order rum cokes just for the cherries and sneak them from the bar top when no ones looking lol. Back to the cupcakes, this recipe made 30 so I brought a dozen to work and a dozen to my boyfriend and his roommates leaving the rest for my family. These tempting treats were quickly devoured by my coworkers and family and my boyfriend had one for breakfast. They were a huge hit.

gather all necessary ingredients and equipment before
 you start to make things go more smoothly

I found this recipe on Annie's Eats and copied it exactly for the most part. I think the only thing I changed was omitting the canned pineapple because I hate canned pineapple. I considered using fresh but worried about the enzymes destroying the cake. I also used thawed frozen strawberries and added and extra tablespoon of powdered sugar to the berries. I also had to double the amount of whip cream because the amount she listed was not enough for all 30 cupcakes.

unusual beginnings

A big concern I had when decorating these was worrying the ganache would melt the whip cream. To avoid this catastrophe, I let the frosted cupcakes chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours. I also let the ganache cool to the touch before applying it. Another concern was having to keep these treats refrigerated, I think refrigeration dries out cake and kills flavors however, these cupcakes are incredibly moist and were just as good the next day. I had also never made cake were the butter and sugar creamed like this recipe. Usually creaming yields a light and fluffy butter and sugar combo but this was grainy looking and I was concerned they were not going to rise properly. Lucky for me they rose perfectly but this could have been due to the large amount of baking soda. I think if I were to make these again I would cut down the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 cups to get a more standard batter.

Peanut Butter Truffle Cupcakes

pretty

This cupcake is for serious peanut butter fanatics. It starts with an easy one bowl moist chocolate cupcake based off a Martha Stewart recipe. Then its cored out and filled with a rich peanut butter and white chocolate truffle. Its topped with a peanut butter buttercream frosting which taste like a Reese pieces. I had intended to fold the chopped pb cups into the cake batter but I forgot! Instead I folded some into half of the truffle center which was much better than the plain truffle. While this cupcake is  good, I think the truffle center is too rich. If I were to make these again I would simply omit it and just have a plain chocolate cupcake (possibly with chopped pb cups mixed in) with the smooth peanut butter buttercream frosting.

bought half price after valentines day!

Peanut Butter Truffle Center

Ingredients
3/4 cup peanut butter cups, chopped
1 bag white chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter

Directions
1. After chopping the pb cups, stick them in the freezer for at least and hour. This will keep them from melting into the truffle batter.
2. Melt chocolate in a medium sized bowl in the microwave (or preferfed melting method). Add the peanut butter and stir to fully combine, you may need to put it back in the microwave for a 20 seconds or so.
3. Fold in the pb cups and refrigerate until its set, about an hour or two.

extreme peanut butter

Peanut Butter Buttercream

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions
1. Using an electric mixer, or stand mixer if you're lucky, cream the butter and pb until its light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream and beat until fluffy. Start with just 1/2 a cup of cream and go from there adding more if necessary, it should have a smooth consistency.

Cookies n' Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cupcakes were delicious. I saw something like this on Martha Stewarts website and it just looked too good not to make. I made a few changes to Martha's original recipe. For the crust, she simply puts a whole Oreo in the bottom of each cup in the muffin pan. While this method is quick and creates a beautiful presentation, I didn't think it was practical for eating. When just eating Oreos no one bites into the whole thing, you twist it apart and dunk it in a big glass of milk, biting into the thing whole would just create a crumby mess. To solve this problem, I just made an Oreo crumb crust using cookies and a few tablespoons of butter which held together perfectly when bitten into. I followed her cheesecake filling exactly and it was everything I expect from Martha, delicious. Crushed Oreo chunks are suspended in the thick cheesecake creating a crunchy contrast to the creamy smooth filling. Unfortunately, Martha's cupcakes were frosting-less, which is just crazy, every cake needs frosting. I made a simple whip cream frosting with a couple handfuls of very finely crushed Oreo crumbs folded in. the light whip cream balanced the heaviness of the cheesecake and made them look beautiful. Be sure to finely crush the crumbs for the frosting otherwise your pastry bag will get clogged and drive you crazy.

finely crushed

Cookies n' Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients
for the crust
half a box of oreos
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the cheesecake
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
pinch of salt
half a box of Oreos, crushed in the food processor

for the frosting
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla exract
1/2 to 2/3 a cup very finely crushed Oreos

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners
3. For the crust, combine Oreos and melted butter in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add more butter if necessary, it should hold together when pressed but should not feel greasy.
4. Using a shot glass, press heaping tablespoons of the buttery crumbs into the lined muffin tins.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 275 degrees.
6. For the cheese cake, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually stream in the sugar and continue to beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla.
7. Add the eggs in slowly, beating to combine and scraping the sides of the bowl with each addition. Beat in the sour cream and salt until combined. Fold in the Oreos by hand as you would chocolate chips in cookie dough.
8. Cheesecake doesn't rise so you can fill the cups almost to the top. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. They should be slightly springy like Jello when you check for doneness.
9. Leave them in the muffin tins to cool. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 4 hours.
10. To make the frosting, beat the whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, don't give up its only about 3-4 minutes but you'll get a shoulder workout. Gently, fold in the cookie crumbs by hand.

These are the cupcakes as soon as I took them out.
They poof up a little but fall flat when cooled.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

layers of cookie dough

Whenever I make chocolate chip cookies it takes all my will power not to just take a spoon to the batter and forget the cookies. I love cookie dough so when I saw a recipe for these cupcakes I had to try it out. These cupcakes consist of a chocolate chip cake that replaces regular white sugar with brown sugar to give them that traditional chocolate chip cookie taste. Then they have a cookie dough truffle filling which  is super incredibly AMAZING, I have no words to describe how delicious this filling is, if nothing else just make the filling. And if thats not enough cookie dough goodness, to top off this incredible confection, they are frosted with cookie dough buttercream which incorporates more brown sugar for even more classic cookie dough taste. All of these elements are incredible on there own, but together they create an over the top dessert that is perfect for cookie dough addicts.

I used the recipe found on Annie's Eats and followed the cake part exactly. The only thing I changed was adding a couple extra tablespoons of brown sugar to the filling and frosting because I wanted the chocolate chip cookie flavor to be extra prominent. Annie's Eats has a ton of delicious looking treats but I feel like the directions for filling the cupcakes weren't there for someone who is new to baking so I thought I would give some direction for that.

Method for Filling

1. Refrigerate the filling for at least an hour so its easier to work with. I made the filling a day before which is a great option if you don't have a lot of time on the day you plan to serve them.

2. Roll the filling into 1/2-1 tablespoon balls, just like if you were going to bake cookies. Try not to eat too many :)

3. Cut a hole in the cooled cupcakes big enough for the dough balls to fit. I used a melon baller for this task but a pairing knife or an apple corer will also work.

cut holes

4. Smush dough balls into the cupcakes. Don't worry if they don't fit perfect, the frosting will cover any imperfections.

fill

5. Frost! I had about half the buttercream left over so if your a frosting fein you can really go nuts here and have a 2:1 frosting to cupcake ratio.

decorate with mini chocolate chips

enjoy!

Fake-stess

garbage

I tried my first hostess cupcake a few weeks ago because my boyfriend was surprised I never had one. I was not impressed, it tasted like I would expect a plastic wrapped cupcake to taste like- dry cake and sugary chocolate frosting. The ingredients were also gross and included beef fat (ewww!) and all kinds of weird chemicals that aren't even food. I decided I could make some that tasted much better and while my homemade ones aren't healthy for you either, I think butter and sugar are much safer to eat than whatever is in that shelf stable hostess.

For the chocolate cupcake I used Martha Stewert's one bowel chocolate cupcake recipe. It calls for buttermilk which is similar in flavor and acidity to sour cream and yogurt and also produces a better textured crumb. Buttermilk can be hard to find in grocery stores which is surprising because its commonly used in cornbread, biscuits and southern fried dishes. I have found it in the more expensive grocery stores like Big Y and Shaw's but if you can't find it, you can try subbing keifer (like a drinkable yogurt) or you can try making your own butter milk by mixing regular milk with white vinegar. I have never tried making my own but have subbed  keifer for buttermilk in a cornbread recipe and it turned out great. Buttermilk is definitely worth seeking out, especially if you want your cake to have a tender crumb.

Fake-stess

For the filling, I googled "Hostess cupcake recipe" and came across this recipe on Annies-eats. I copied her filling recipe exactly and it was so good I could have scraped the fake-stess idea and just ate filling.

The chocolate frosting is just ganache. I used semi sweet chocolate because I didn't want it to be super rich-I was going for close to hostess-ness here. It turned out just slightly rich and it was super smooth and easy to spread on the cupcake. It also had an appealing glossy shine.

For the Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

1C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2C heavy cream

1T unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until its hot to the touch. You do not want to boil or scald here.

2. Place chocolate in a metal bowl.

3. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and whisk until is nice and smooth.

4. Let it cool slightly before spreading it on the cupcakes. It shouldn't be too thin when you frost because it will just drip over the cupcakes and make a mess. You should have to spread it with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

fun to decorate

This whole recipe was pretty simple. The cake is super fast and easy, I made that and the filling in the hour I have between school and work. Assembling them takes longer because you have to cut a whole in each cupcake (I used a melon baller) and keep refilling pastry bags. These Fake-stesses are totally worth the effort and are much better than any garbage in a plastic wrapper.