all aboard!

I may have missed the cupcake train, but never fear--I hopped aboard a jigger and finally caught up.

My cupcake guru, so it would seem, is Martha Stewart. Specifically, I've been very much inspired by one of her books and find myself wanting to make the majority of the recipes. I've done her snickerdoodle cupcakes, coconut cupcakes, and hummingbird cupcakes, and have had no beef (in both senses of the word) with any of them.

Here are two more creations from my Cupcake Bible, one of which was far more successful than the other. The first is a take on the good ol' peanut butter cup--chocolate cupcake and peanut butter frosting. Simple, but oh-so-satisfying. The second batch was blueberries and cream, which seemed to give me lots of problems, not the least of which was that all the blueberries sunk to the bottom. The batter seemed stiff enough to hold them up, but it just didn't happen. As my standards with Martha's cupcake recipes go, this one was a disappointment.

I hope you don't mind that I was late to the party--those jiggers are hard to maneuver!

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes (I love redundancy!)
(tweaked a bit from here and here)
(makes 12 cakelets)

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners. Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla. Whisk cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Blueberries & Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (there it is again!)
(more Martha)
(makes 30 standard or 60 mini)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish

cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fold in blueberries by hand.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden, about 25 minutes for standard and 15 for mini.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.