Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

I seriously cannot believe it is already August; where has the time gone? It's amazing how at one point, summer felt so far away and in an instant, it's gone in a blink of an eye. I'm still looking forward to my vacation at the end of the month though - it seems like it has taken forever to come. 

I'll be going to Cancun, which I wasn't all too excited about at first because it's a little cliche and overrun with tourists, but I decided I was gonna make the best of it. I started researching all the awesome places to go, like here and here and here, and now I find myself incredibly excited. Underground caves? Yes, I'd like that, I'd like that very much. A fine example of why you shouldn't judge things too quickly.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure I made these last summer, goes to show how much of a procrastinator I am. But since it's summer now, these cupcakes are perfectly fitting for the season. We actually have gorgeous peach trees at home, both yellow and white, so I love baking with them. These cupcakes will inhabit your dreams, they do mine, while I reminisce about eating them last summer...

Full of fresh peach chunks and a tender cake, then topped with a crispy-crunchy top. On top of that, a fluffy frosting made of pudding mix! I wanted to try something new and I'm glad I did. It's perfectly rides the line between being too sweet and not sweet enough and it's velvety on the tongue. Definitely a home-y, comforting little cake.

Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes adapted from here. Frosting adapted from here.

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup peaches, skins removed, roughly chopped (about 2 medium)

For the crumble:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

For the peach-pudding buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 stick salted butter, room temperature

1 pkg. white chocolate instant pudding mix

1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream (depending on how thick you want your frosting)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of cardamom

1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more depending on your taste)

To make the crumble, mix everything in a bowl with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugars in a stand mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the peaches. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full. Sprinkle each cupcake with about 1 tbsn. of the crumble mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

To make the frosting, in a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and silky. Turn the speed to low and add the pudding mix, when incorporated, slowly add in the cream, a little at a time. When fully incorporated, bring the speed up to high and beat for 5 - 7 minutes this ensures you beat the grit of the pudding mix out). Turn the speed back down to low and add the powdered sugar, tasting along the way. When it is sweet enough to your taste, beat again at high speed for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and spices then bring the speed back to low and beat for 3 minutes longer.

Guinness & Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Remember that time when I attempted alcohol & cupcakes? Yea, wasn't too successful. Well, being the person that I am, I attempted it again. And guess what? Yep, successful. And who do I owe my success to? No one other then the Smitten Kitchen queen herself, Deb.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. THREE different kinds of alcohol! I went from failing at alcohol & cupcakes to stuffing alcohol into each and every part of the cupcake! Let's start with the chocolate stout cake. When it comes to chocolate cake, I love it dense. Give me a dense, thick-as-hell chocolate cake over a fluffy-airy one any day. This cake was dense, rich with just a hint of the stout. Definitely delicious.

Next, onto the chocolate ganache. I've always had a problem with it. For some odd reason, it never comes out right. No matter what recipe I try, it just never seems to thicken up. This ganache was perfect. Thickened just enough to handle with a spoon but not too much so that when you bit into the cupcake, ganache would spill out. I think next time though, I would nix the alcohol from the ganache, as the cupcake was a bit too alcohol-y for my taste. BUT if you are a self-proclaimed alcohol/ Bailey's lover then go ahead and add some more!

Lastly, the Bailey's buttercream... how could you go wrong? Butter, sugar and Bailey's. I think they call that the Trifecta, if I'm not mistaken. Yummm is all I can say about this one. I actually loved the alcohol in this, so perfect with the stout cake. Overall, I think the cupcake was delicious but still a little too sweet for my taste as I did use a traditional buttercream rather than my preferred Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I think the perfect accompaniment to the stout cake might be a Bailey's cream cheese frosting... YUM must try that next time!

Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

For the Guinness chocolate cupcakes:

1 cup stout beer/ Guinness

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

For the Bailey's ganache filling:

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tbsn. butter, room temperature

2 tsp. Irish whiskey OR Bailey's Irish cream

For the Bailey's buttercream frosting:

8 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 - 8 tbsn. Bailey's Irish cream

(I also used some half&half to thin the frosting out w/o adding more alcohol)

Use the cone method to remove a little hole:

Then fill with ganache, and pop those extra cake pieces in your mouth and enjoy!

To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. Combine stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend. Add stout mixture and beat to combine. Mix in dry ingredients on low until incorporated. Divide batter among cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the ganache, place chocolate in heatproof bowl. Heat cream in saucepan until simmering, then pour over chocolate, let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Add butter and Bailey's and stir until combined. Set aside until cool and thick enough to be piped (you can use the refrigerator to speed the process but stir every 10 minutes to ensure even cooling). Meanwhile, cut a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method and once the ganache is of the right consistency, pipe the ganache into the centers.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated. Mix in Bailey's until smooth. Add more if necessary until frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired and enjoy!

** Decorate with excess chocolate ganache

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

I haven't seen my best friend, Cherish, in quite a while. Though a drive lasting only a few good songs is the only thing that separates us, we both have completely overwhelming schedules that has dwindled our time together to mere phone tag and sometimes, if we are lucky, 10 minute conversations. This weekend, I'd thought I'd spend an early Valentine's day with my other lover! And my sister! And maybe a handful of these deliciously sweet cupcakes! A day well spent indeed.

These earl grey cupcakes were light and delicately sweet. Although I halved the recipe, I used the full amount of tea leaves in the original recipe because I wanted a full tea flavor, and I definitely got it. The earl grey was so fragrant! I don't like oozes of frosting so I layered a thin base layer to cover the tops and then a little dollop for extra sweetness. I would suggest to eat these little beauties with a nice, steaming hot cup of tea but well, it's a two for one. The lemon buttercream also paired wonderfully with the bergamot notes within the tea itself.  

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Yields: 12 - 15, I halved the original recipe

Original Recipe can be found at Desert Candy

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of flour

2 tbsn. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2  bags of earl grey tea

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 cups of powdered sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 tbsn. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill a cupcake pan with liners. Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are incorporated thoroughly. In a bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, including the tea leaves. Next, add half of the dry mixture. Add the milk then the remaining flour, stir until combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, cream the butter until nice and smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Next, add the lemon zest and lemon juice, making sure it is well incorporated. Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

* You can also add some loose tea leaves into the frosting for a stronger earl grey flavor. 

To frost my cupcakes, I  flattened the cupcakes by shaving off the tops. Then spread a thin, smooth layer of the frosting over the cupcake and dip them in a bowl full of clear sprinkles. Using a piping bag, fitted with any desired tip, pipe a small rosette in the center of the cupcake and you are done. Enjoy!