My PB + J

maple french toast cupcakes w/ candied bacon {recipe}

yes, you read correctly. maple + french toast cupcake + maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting + candied maple bacon = a happy, happy mouth. i made these cupcakes in 2010 for jim’s coworker. they were a hit then so when my friends sister requested these for her baby shower i knew i had to revisit the same recipe. this time, i candied the bacon, which takes these over the top. the cake is very dense like a stack of french toast but instead of being soaked up my maple syrup and powdered sugar you get a sweet dollop of frosting and crunchy bacon. taking a bite of these made my sunday morning that much better. if you ever want to hear a room full of women go cray cray over a cupcake bring this one to your next get together. you can thank me for later. 
ain’t she purrrttty?! 
maple french toast cupcakes
recipe from food network
I doubled this recipe and I got 22 cupcakes. 

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1 3.9-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch (not necessary, the first time i did not use this, second time i did)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (5 strips) (i omitted this)

For the Frosting:

  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (i used maple extract for a more robust flavor, if you use syrup make sure it’s a good grade)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped (optional) 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the flours, pudding mix, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the bacon.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; beat until combined. Spread on the cooled cupcakes; top with chopped bacon, if desired.

candied maple bacon 

you’re going to need as much bacon as you desire. i used half a package. i sent hubby to the store for bacon from the counter but they were out so he picked up maple bacon thinking it would taste good, he was right! 
brown sugar
preheat your oven to 375 degrees. remove bacon from package and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
place bacon slices on top of paper.

liberally sprinkle with brown sugar. bake for 15-20 minutes or until you have the desired crispness. 

i left the bacon for the hubby to remove while delivering another cupcake order, it went a little too long so just watch it.

crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top of cupcakes or just devour it all before it makes it there. not sayin’ i did that at all. 😉 
linking up with live.laugh.rowe 
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Black Forest Cupcakes

This post was taken from my cupcake blog, Le Petite Kŭp’kāk. I hardly ever post there anymore because when I get orders they are usually for the same flavors but there are some creative flavor combos over there. I think I might start sharing a recipe every Tuesday for a “Too-Sweet Tuesday”. What do you all think? This recipe was first published in 2010 a week after my Grandma passed. Since I first hit that orange publish button it has been the #1 recipe viewed on that blog, like over 2,000 views. Who would’ve thought? 





Black Forest Cake, also known in Germany as Schwarzwälder Kirsch torte is one of my personal favorites. I am a sucker for cake filled with any type of fresh fruit and custard filling but this one takes that over the top. In order to bake this cake correctly the way they do in Germany you have to soak the cake with Cherry Brandy or Kirsch. In America we commonly see this cake soaked with maraschino cherry juice ,which in my opinion, loses it’s flavor in the chocolate cake. The Kirsch has a smooth, robust kick that pairs nicely with the cherries and chocolate. When baking this cake you have several options for cherries; if you take the canned route you will find black cherries in syrup (think cherry pie filling) or you will find tart cherries in water. If time is not an issue you can make your own with a few simple ingredients: a pound of fresh pitted black cherries, a cup of sugar and cornstarch. I wanted to bake a traditional German Schwarzwälder Kirsch torte so I purchased the tart cherries. In my opinion the tart cherries are more pleasant with the sweetness of the cake, brandy and hyped up whipped cream. 

For the recipe I used my go-to dark chocolate cake recipe, don’t have one? E-mail me and I will share mine. You could even jazz up some box mix, too! I lined the tins with greaseproof red glassine wrappers from Sweet Cuppin‘ Cakes Bakery and Supplies. Glassine wrappers are nice because they do not show the grease from the butter through the paper. 
Tip: Though most cupcake wrappers say, “greaseproof” they aren’t. Trust me. If you have a gorgeous wrapper, double line it with a plain wrapper to make sure it isn’t ruined by that baked in butter! Unless you use a glassine wrapper. 
Whipped Cream:
  • Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream until you have soft peaks.
  • Add in 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tablespoon of Kirsch. Continue whipping until you have stiff peaks. Do not over beat, it will separate.
Once you bake the cupcakes and they are cooled cut out the centers. Sprinkle a little kirsch or juice into each cupcake, do not over soak, it will go through your wrapper and then you’ll have a soggy cupcake and nobody like a soggy cupcake. Place 1 teaspoon of whipped cream in the center and top with roughly 3-5 cherries. Cut the cone part of the cake tops off and place tops back onto the cupcakes. Pipe whipped cream on with desired tip (I used a round tip). Garnish with chocolate shavings or sprinkles and a chocolate covered cherry.
Perfect for Valentines day, holiday dinners or just for that someone special! 

Sexy Cupcakes for Annie’s Birthday

Better than Sex cupcakes? Well, that’s what these cute little cakes have been coined. Nonetheless, I found this simple recipe on my favorite cupcake blog, I heart cuppy cakes and knew it was perfect for Jim’s co-worker and our blog stalker, Annie’s birthday. If I could pick any individual to be my biggest fan besides Jim, Annie would be that person. I bake cupcakes so I can hear what Annie thinks, which is funny because Annie and I have never met. We have conversed on the phone about her upcoming wedding and she watches out for me when the girls on theknot.com are paging me. I was so overjoyed to find out from Jim on Wednesday night that her birthday was Thursday, but knew that I couldn’t make them for her actual day, so last night at 12:30 a.m., I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and starting whipping up these luscious cakes for my biggest fan. I really hope that she enjoys these, and if not I know what to change next time. Happy Birthday Annie!!!
Ingredients
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
  • 1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
  • 3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped (I used Heath toffee bits)
  • 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I made homemade, recipe below)

Directions

  1. Bake cake according to package directions for 24 cupcakes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
  2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly spoon the warm topping mixture over the top of each cupcake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm.
  3. Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with swirls of caramel topping.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients

  • 3 cups whipping cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

  1. In mixer with whisk attachment, whip the cream, vanilla extract and sugar on high speed until thick


Step Two: They look so yummy just like this!

With chocolate candy melts, melt them in a microwave safe bowl for thirty second intervals until completely smooth and then place melted chocolate in a Ziploc bag. Squeeze out all the air and then cut a small corner. On a piece of parchment paper write out your message and then place in the freezer to solidify the chocolate. Decorate as you wish.

And voila! You’ve got some pretty damn sexy cupcakes. Enjoy!

Orangesicle Cuppy Cakes w/ Fluff Frosting

I saw this recipe back in March on 52 Cupcakes blog. Right away I thought of my childhood and how much my Mom would love these cupcakes. When I couldn’t find the Orange Supreme cake mix my Mom went into pursuit to find it for me, which low and behold the State Bros. in Lake Arrowhead carries it unlike Albertson’s. I had originally wanted to make these for my Mom back in April for her birthday and have never gotten around to it. Well, my parents have been at my house for five days now and last night I decided to whip these up after dinner. I have to admit they were really easy and it didn’t involve a lot of ingredients. The only thing that I didn’t like about these cupcakes was that the frosting recipe called for regular granulated sugar, maybe I didn’t do something right within the recipe but the frosting was really gritty. I may have to play around with this one. The frosting was so sticky and sweet which paired so nicely with the extra moist cake. Next time I think adding mini chocolate chips would make a great compliment.

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 box Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake
  • Mix1 box Jello Vanilla Pudding (not instant)
  1. Follow directions on box and add in the box of vanilla pudding
  2. Follow rest of box instructions.

For the Frosting:

  • Fluff 7-Minute Frosting
  • 1 c. Marshmallow Fluff
  • 2 egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  1. In double-boiler top over hot, not boiling water, combine all ingredients except vanilla. With hand mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Remove from heat and continue beating until stiff. Beat in vanilla. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.


    Recipe Courtesy of: 52 Cupcakes

Cupcake Pops

Thanks to Bakerella for inspiring me on another cupcake related obsession. I have been googling over these pops ever since I stumbled onto her blog months ago but I was waiting for a special day to roll around for me to spend a few hours in the kitchen. On Friday Jim asked me if I would be able to make red velvet cupcakes for his boss, Imad’s birthday celebration on Monday. Knowing I would say “yes”, I told him with excitement that I had something else in mind but it would still include red velvet cake. It was a fun evening because Jim had baked the cake earlier in the day and then after dinner while he was gardening I rolled the balls and placed them in the chocolate molds. When he was done we worked on them together and a few hours later we were finally done. I will admit that it is a little bit harder than it looks but I think once we do these a few times we will get the hang of it. I purchased a large flower pot from Michael’s and cut Styrofoam blocks to fit within the pot. I then placed the pops into an arrangement of cupcake pop Heaven. If you would like the recipe please visit Bakerella’s blog under Cupcake Bites Made Easy .Thank you Bakerella for inspiring me and for all the creative things that you come up with, you truly are an inspiration for all of us cupcake lovin‘ females out here in cupcake blog-land.

Jim-Boy doing an AMAZING job on the pops.

The finished product. . . not too shabby for our first attempt.

Happy Birthday Imad!

Annie, stop drooling and eat a damn cupcake pop…there at Jim’s desk. 🙂

What I purchased and used:
Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix (Target $1.07)
Betty Crocker Buttercream Frosting (Target $1.29)
Candy Melts in White and Yellow (Michael’s $2.99 each)
Candy Melts in Dark Chocolate (Michael’s $2.99)
Peanut Butter Cup Mold (Michael’s $1.99 x 3)
Lollipop Sticks (Michael’s $1.99)
M&M’s (Target .89)
Sprinkles (Albertson’s $3.99)
Side Note: The chocolate was really thick and difficult to put on the cake, I don’t know if I used too much frosting in the cake mixture as it really soft, or if I should have kept them in the freezer longer. I still have about ten cake balls left so I am going to attempt a few again to see if letting them mold longer will affect it or not. Overall, really tasty and I cannot wait to hear what Jim’s Co-workers thought.