Cupcakes for Breakfast

Yum! Today, I had mini blueberry muffins for breakfast. Then I had this brilliant idea! If I had put a little bit of frosting on top and I would've had cupcakes for breakfast! I found this mouth watering recipe from Foodie with Family. Both the picture and recipe are straight from website. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• grated zest and juice of a lemon
• 1 cup milk, divided
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries (or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained), tossed with 3 tablespoons of flour
  To Serve:
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• additional lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Line 24 muffin tins with muffin papers (you may have enough batter to make a few extra cupcakes, so if you have more tins and papers, keep them handy.)

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer or sturdy spoon, cream together the softened butter, sugar and lemon zest on high speed or until light and fluffy and even. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs -one at a time- beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix in well, add about 1/3 each of the milk and lemon juice and mix well. Repeat until they are used up, ending with the milk and lemon juice.

Shake any excess flour from the blueberries and gently fold them into the cake batter. Fill the prepared muffin tins 2/3 full of batter. Tap the pan gently on the counter two or three times to settle the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed in the center and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out without gooey batter on it.

Turn out of the pans onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Store the cupcakes, unadorned, at room temperature in a tightly covered container for 3-4 days.

Just Before Serving:

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer or whisk) on high speed, whip the whipping cream and confectioner's sugar until it holds a peak when the beater is removed from it. Pipe or dollop the whipped cream onto the cupcakes and top with a pinch of fresh lemon zest.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Turn the brown and white color scheme into a rainbow! A pot of sprinkles awaits at the end. :)

More creative cupcake creations!

Another busy and fun filled weekend of birthday parties at my work. When I saw these two birthday cupcake creations, I knew I had to share them on Sweets4Soul! The first is a cupcake garden complete with Oreo dirt, gummy worms, and edible flowers! Honestly one of the best birthday desserts I have seen to this day. The next are cute Cookie Monster cupcakes. This party went all out with the Cookie Monster theme with a dozen character balloons of Cookie Monster himself, blue tableware, and goody bags. These cupcakes were not only cute as can be, but extremely delicious! ~~~~N

Kara's Cupcakes at Ghiradelli Square

Last stop on our cupcake tour was Kara's Cupcakes located in Ghiradelli Sqaure. Kara's is an extremely popular cupcake shop that we are always hearing about, but have never been to! We both decided it was a must taste on our journey. Kara's has many other locations so you don't have to go far for a sweet treat. When we ordered our cupcakes, they were placed in cute individual boxes to make us feel like we were opening a present. The surprise inside was the perfect end to a great day!

A: I think I ordered the Caramel Banana flavor. I don't remember because I was in a sugar coma but I do remember it was very tasty! The giant blue sprinkle on top excited me! The inside was filled with warm caramel while the outside was a moist banana cake. I never thought the two flavors would taste good together...but they did. My final cupcake topped it off.

 

N: I had the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcake. Since chocolate and peanut butter is my weakness in life, I felt I had no other choice but to go for that one. I was in paradise when I had my first bite and felt like I had just been transported to cupcake heaven. I definitely wished I had some milk to counter the rich flavor, but enjoyed it nonetheless. The cake was perfectly baked and the peanut butter frosting was amazing. I could eat the frosting alone with a spoon for hours!

American Cupcake

The next stop on our San Francisco cupcake adventure was American Cupcake on Union Street. It was the perfect pit stop after a bit of walking and an exciting ride on the Muni Bus. The shop was very modern with white tables, chairs, and walls, with pops of colors from the lighting. The cupcakes were also very modern looking with their simple toppings and flavors. American Cupcake also serves brunch, lunch, dinner, and a variety of other delicious desserts. One day we will go back and try all of their other crazy creations such as the Pink Popcorn flavored cupcake or the Red Velvet Fried Chicken (yes the batter is red velvet and they fry it!)

N: I had the Worms and Dirt Cupcake. Worms and Dirt was a fond childhood memory of mine so I wanted to see how it translated in cupcake form, and it did not disappoint. The chocolate cake and the simple buttercream frosting were a perfect match. It was topped with Oreo crumbles which added the perfect crunch and two fun colored gummy worms! A definite two thumbs up!

A: I tried the Black & Tan cupcake. Isn't that also a beer? Well fortunately this cupcake didn't taste like beer. It had a slight coffee flavor. The powder pink frosting on top was the icing on the cake...ha! It was very sweet and creamy. I'm not sure why, but I really like sprinkles. The sprinkles on this cupcake made all the difference. It was a challenge eating this dainty cupcake, daintily! Three thumbs up!

Cupkates Truck

After staring at a map for at least ten minutes, we finally found where "Off the Grid" was. It turned out to be directly in front of us at the base of the most prominent building in sight...city hall! Looking like we didn't know where we were going (we didn't) was so worth it after taking a bite into the delicately decorated goodness. Since 2009, Cupkates Bakery Truck has been named “Best Food Truck” by SF Weekly and East Bay Express. Since it's the only food truck that has served us cupcakes, we'd have to agree.

N: I ordered the salted caramel flavor. After licking the caramel off my fingers, I was able to enjoy the perfectly rich blend of chocolate, caramel, and the pinch of salt. The cake was moist and fresh. Even better, we bought it from a nice lady driving a cupcake TRUCK :)  Can't say I do that everyday.

A: I ordered the March special, lemon meringue pie. It tasted exactly like the real thing only it was better because it was in the form of a manageable cupcake. At the bottom was a graham cracker crust; probably my favorite part. The moist lemon cake was filled with tart lemon curd topped off with toasted meringue frosting and coconut shavings. Probably the best breakfast I've ever devoured.

We both give ours 4 stars!

Extreme Cupcake Creations

It seems like nowadays everyone is turning to cupcakes to add that extra something to their celebration. Whether it be for birthdays, baby showers, company parties, etc. Cupcakes seem to be the desired dessert of choice. At my job, I see hundreds of different creative dessert creations for kid's birthday parties. The amount of effort that some of these parents put into treats for their children amazes me every weekend. I have it all to the classic grocery store cupcake, professional cupcakes that cost a fortune, the popular theme of Angry Birds, to treats that have the birthday child's face on them. I could go on and on about all of the interesting cupcakes we see on a weekly basis. No matter what the theme is, these cupcakes always leave a lasting impression on the guests and add the perfect amount of sweetness to the party. Cupcakes have become a staple in celebrating any occassion and people will go to great lengths to make sure their cupcakes are perfect to impress their guests.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Cupcake

Last night, while I was wandering along the aisles of Trader Joe's I came across this ^^ beauty. It made my tastebuds tingle because 1) I am a sucker for peanut butter, 2) Who doesn't like dark chocolate?, 3) It came in a four pack. I planned to share. I was looking forward to enjoying one of these after my morning run. Unfortunately, the mix of dark chocolate and peanut butter flavors was not complementary. The dark chocolate overpowered the peanut butter making for a rich dessert. This made up for not having dessert yesterday! I give it 2 stars.

Welcome!

This is going to be where we confess our love for cupcakes and why we eat them. We will post images of mouth-watering cupcakes and give insight to how eating these masterpieces make us feel.

A cupcake a day keeps the tears away :)
~N/A