Perfect Picnic Cupcake

Yesterday I had a school picnic to go to and the girls were asked to bring desserts. So it was a perfect opportunity for me to make my cupcakes and share them with some friends. I was looking through my cupcake cookbook and I found the Butterfly Cupcakes. I had never seen these kind before so because if it's name and it's uniqueness, I thought it was a perfect fit for an outdoor event. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Generous ¾ cup self-rising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoon soft margarine (light)
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk (skim)
confectioner sugar, for dusting

Filling:
6 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups confectioner sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep time:  About 25 minutes
Bake time: 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Instructions:

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the margarine, sugar, eggs, and milk. Using an electric hand whisk, beat together until smooth. Spoon the batter into the paper cases. Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

2. To make the filling, put the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Sift in the confectioner sugar, add the vanilla extract and beat together until smooth and creamy.

3. When the cupcakes are cold, use a serrated knife to cut a circle from the top of each cupcake and then cut each circle in half. Spread or pipe a little of the butter cream filling into the center of each cupcake, then press the 2 semicircular halves into it at an angle to resemble butterfly wings. Dust with confectioner sugar.

               *KD's advice* I stuck my cupcakes in the freezer for about 5-7 minutes and they cooled off right away.

 Helpful Hint: If you are only have one 6-cupcake pan and want to cook the cupcakes all at once, you can take 12 double-layered paper cupcake cases, set them on a cookie sheet and bake them like that. 

What I learned: Sometimes to make butter-cream frosting you have to add some sugar or butter to get it to the thickness you want. 

Variation:  If you want lemon butterfly cupcakes, add ½ grated rind of lemon to the batter and instead of vanilla extract, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in the filling.

KD’s rating: ★★★★☆

Nutrition info (per cupcake):

Calories:               163
Carbs:                  27
Fat:                     6
Sugars:                 20
Protien:                2
Fiber:                   0
WW Points:            5

Bake N' Blog

I have this little cook book called "Cupcakes and Muffins: A collection of over 100 everyday recipes" (I would tell you who the author is, but I don't know) and since I love to bake and to blog, I thought it would be a fabulous idea to combine the both of them and share these yummy desserts with you. I am hoping (hoping being the key word) to make a new kind of cupcake or muffin each week, so keep posted!

This weeks cupcake is Peaches N' Cream!  

Prep time:  About 25 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes at 350 degrees
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

14oz canned peaches
½ cup of sugar
2/3 cup of (light) butter
2 eggs
¾ cup self-rising flour
2/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Drain the peaches, reserving the juice. Set aside 12 small slices and finely chop the remaining slices.

                 *KD’s advice*  I chopped up about 3 peaches and that was enough for me, but do as you wish.

2. Place the butter and sugar in large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Sift in the flour and gold into the mixture. Fold in the chopped peaches and 1 tablespoon of the reserved juice. Spoon batter into cupcake pan.

3.Bake for 25 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown. Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. When ready to decorate, place the cream in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.

                *KD’s advice*  I also added some sugar and leftover peach juice to give it the true “Peaches N' Cream” flavor

5. Spread the cream on top of the cupcakes using a knife to form the cream into peaks. Place the reserved peach slices on top to decorate. Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
                *KD’s advice* I cut the peaches in half for the decoration. Full peach slices seemed too big for the cupcake.

Helpful Hints: When using heavy cream to make whipped cream, it’s best if the cream, bowl and the utensil you are using are extremely chilled. I put mine in the freezer the whole time the cupcakes were in the oven. Otherwise it will be difficult to make it thick.

What I learned:  All-purpose flour and self-rising flour are not the same! My cupcakes tasted great, but they defiantly did not rise the way I wanted them to. They only filled the paper baking cups half way.

*KD’s rating:* ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Next week: Butterfly Cupcakes

Nutrition info (per cupcake)*: 

Calories:           120
Carbs:              14
Fat:                  8.5
Sugars:             17
Protien:             1.75
Fiber:                0
WW Points:        4

*These nutrition facts may vary depending on what brand of product is used (I use low-fat butter).