Minty Deliciousness

Mint and chocolate are one of many classic combinations and you can't go wrong pairing them together whether it is in a brownie, a cookie, a cake, a pie or a cupcake.

My family has always enjoyed the Mint layered brownies, but when I wanted to make cupcakes for someone's birthday, I thought why not chocolate and mint with a Thin Mint cookie decoration. Not to forget the ganache filling and coating on top of the cupcake. Or for either of those to be outdone by the Butter Mint frosting that tastes just like an after dinner butter mint.







Thin Mint Cupcakes


Cupcakes
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. instant coffee
3 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
24 Girls Scout Thin Mint Cookies (for decorating)
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (for decorating)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard size cupcake tin with paper liners. Pour cake mix into a medium sized bowl. Add in eggs and mayonnaise, stir until combined. Add water with coffee mixed in, stir just until combined. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full of the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the baking time. Do not overbake (dries out your cake).

Chocolate Ganache
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions for Ganache
Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave just until heated through. Pour the warm cream over the chopped chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for about a minute. Then mix until it looks smooth and glossy.

Set the warm ganache aside. Allow to cool before using it in cupcakes.

Butter Mint Frosting
1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups of powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 tbs. heavy cream
1tsp. peppermint extract
1 tbsp. Crème de Menthe

Instructions for the Butter Mint Frosting
In a small measuring cup, add the Crème de Menthe, peppermint extract, salt and cream. Mix until salt is dissolved.

Cream the butter until smooth and it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar a little at a time, beating until combined. Add the liquid ingredients, and beat again until light and fluffy.

Assembling the Cupcakes
Once cupcakes have cooled, core out a 1 1/2 inch diameter circle in each cupcake. Save the top of the cored cupcake piece to put back on top after filling with ganache.

Fill the hole with a heaping teaspoon of cooled chocolate ganache. Replace the top of the hole with the reserved cupcake piece.

Spread a thin layer of the ganache over the entire cupcake. Immediately press mini-chocolate chips, around the edges only, into the wet ganache.

Pipe the frosting on each cupcake inside of the rim of mini chocolate chips.

Drizzle left over ganache over cupcakes. Top with a chocolate mint cookie.

Notes & Swaps
You can add more mint flavoring to either the ganache or the cupcake, but I didn't want the mint to overpower the chocolate flavor. 

Follow me on Facebook

Or find me on Pinterest

Click this image to subscribe

Join me on Google+

From the bottom of my heart.............. 

   

Going to the Chapel

I am told repeatedly by friends and family I should open a restaurant or bakery.  My reply: " Too much work.  I only bake for family and friends."

Seriously,  just about the time you think you have a recipe down pat, you make it and it is flop.  For instants, this past weekend I made an Oreo cake with Pudding Frosting and wouldn't you know it, the frosting was a flop.   I have made the recipe hundreds of times, but for all intense purposes this weekend it did not turn out.   I had to doctor it up or throw it out.  Thankfully, doctoring it up worked.  

Now back to baking for family and friends: My nephew asked if I would make his wedding cake with not much information other than he was all about chocolate and his fiancé requested strawberry or marble.   They weren't fussy and said I could have free range, but they were expecting around 150 people at an outdoor reception.

I am not crazy.   I have only made a large tiered wedding cake one time in my life and that was for my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  It's a lot of work and you need a special cake stand.

Not a great photo of the cake but the only photo I have.   My mother cutting her 50th Wedding Anniversary Cake.  Not sure where my dad was, but most likely wanted no part in cutting of the cake.   

I decided for my nephews wedding to make three smaller cakes and lots of cup cakes. This would make it easier to travel and suit a variety of  tastes.   Plus, cupcakes are all the rage these day.

As you can see from the photo below the Grooms cake was all about chocolate.  A chocolate cake with pudding cream cheese frosting topped with ganache and chocolate covered strawberries.

The Grooms cake.

The Brides cake was Strawberry cake layered with strawberry jam,  frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and topped with white chocolate covered Strawberries

The Brides cake.

The Mr. and Mrs. Cake was a Marbled cake, frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and drizzled with chocolate ganache and topped with both white chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries.

My display for the cakes was a three tier  Victorian style stand.

Besides the three smaller cakes I baked several different flavored cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcake with peanut butter mousse frosting topped with ganache and peanut brittle.

Chocolate High Hat Cupcake with dark chocolate mousse frosting dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

Banana Cupcake with Banana pudding frosting topped with marshmallow banana and dried banana chips

Pistachio Cupcake with Pistachio frosting and nuts



Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting topped with mini chocolate chips and maraschino cherry.

Strawberry cake topped with jam, cheesecake frosting and white chocolate dipped strawberry.

Lemon cake with lemon pudding frosting and candy lemon wedge.

There is no recipe today, just photos, but some of the recipes have been posted in the past.  Follow the links for those recipes.  

 For more recipes, click the button below:



Follow me on Facebook
 

Or find me on Pinterest

 Click this image to subscribe

Join me on Google+

From the bottom of my heart.............. 

Not your usual Zucchini Recipe

What does one do with all of those Zucchini's that come from the garden?   To often I get stuck in a rut making the same old recipes because they are tried and true and family favorites.   Yes, I have made zucchini bread a lot of times.  The one with cinnamon and chocolate chips is our favorite.  Coming in second is Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread.   Then of course there are savory dishes of Zucchini Stew and Stuffed Zucchini.   Not to mention sautéed and pickled.    

This year I researched the recipe's for Lemon Zucchini Bread. I even had a few sent to me.   The combination of the two made perfect sense to me.   I have always liked the flavor of lemon and this recipe does not disappoint.  The lemon flavor is not over bearing and the cake isn't overly sweet, making for a nice snack with a glass of milk or cup of tea.   

This recipe is very versatile.  I made cupcakes, but you could easily make it in a loaf pan or a cake pan.  It tastes great plain or frosted.   You could even use a glaze if you like.  

Please click on the photo below.  It will open in a new window.  Right click on the photo and select print image.    

Click on photo to open photo. Once open right click to save to your computer for printing later.



For more recipes, click the button below:



Follow me on Facebook
 

Or find me on Pinterest

 Click this image to subscribe

Join me on Google+

From the bottom of my heart.............. 

Recipe Card Creator

It never ceased to amaze me that I can get on the computer and find something new to entertain myself on a daily basis.  

Today's find was PicMonkey.  Well actually I found it a couple of months ago, but today I found a tutorial on how to make recipe cards with it. 

Below are a couple of Saint Patrick Day Recipe Cards that I made.   Not bad for a first couple of attempts.  

The key is find and save all the elements before you create the card.  I also discovered a short  recipe is best.  



For more recipes, click the button below:



 

Follow me on Facebook
 

Or find me on Pinterest

 

 Click this image to subscribe

 

 

Join me on Google+

 

 

 

 

From the bottom of my heart.............. 

 

You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum

Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie

You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop

Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye

And I love you so and I want you to know

That I'll always be right here

And I love to sing sweet songs to you

Because you are so dear

Two of my Favorite Cupcakes are  Oreo Fudge.........

and Red velvet Cream Cheesecake.............

I can promise you neither of these are or ever will a disappointment.    They are moist and delicious.   and the recipes are similar but lead your tastes buds down entirely different paths.   Who wants dessert?    You should make a batch of each and host your own cupcake wars.    

Oreo Fudge Cupcakes

1 Devils Food Cake Mix (mixed and baked as directed for cupcakes)

1 Jar of Hershey's Hot Fudge Sauce (to frost cupcakes when cooled)

1 8 oz. pkg Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups of Cool whip, thawed

1 tsp. vanilla extract/flavoring

12 regular sized Oreos

1 can miniature Oreos or decoration of your choice

Mix cake mix and bake as directed for cupcakes.   Let cool.  When cooled frost with small amount of hot fudge sauce.   Place 12 regular sized Oreos into food processer and whir until it looks like sand.  Set aside. Mix together in mixing bowl:  cream cheese (beat until creamy), sugar, vanilla, and cool whip.  Once it is all mixed you can stir in the crushed Oreos.   Pipe onto fudge frosted cupcakes.  Top with mini Oreo.   Keep in frig.  

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cuppy's 

1 Red Velvet Cake Mix (mixed and baked with the following swap)

Replace water with Moscato Wine

1 8 oz. pkg Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups of Cool whip, thawed

1 tsp. vanilla extract/flavoring

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

1 jar Maraschino cherries with stems (drained and patted dry)

Mix the cake mix as directed but swap out the water and replace it with Moscato wine.  Put into cupcake liners bake and cool.

When cupcakes are cool.  Mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cool whip until creamy.   Stir in 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips.   Pipe onto cooled cupcakes, top with a maraschino cherry.

 

 



For more recipes, click the button below:



 

Follow me on Facebook
 

Or find me on Pinterest

 

 Click this image to subscribe

 

 

Join me on Google+

 

 

 

 

From the bottom of my heart..............