Sweet Treats

Last year there was a flurry of posts about a new cupcake shop on Facebook, in a city where my cousins live, about an hour away. The wedding day cupcakes made my mouth water, they sounded so good. I had made plans to travel there for my birthday last year and partake in some cupcake goodness, but ended up in the hospital that day with Jacob for another treatment.

Months went by and again and again I planned to go but something always came up. Finally, a local deal group had a cupcake voucher for this shop for half price (12 cupcakes for $11). I bought it and within weeks I was able to travel with the kids to pick up our dozen cupcakes. The children stood at the glass case, carefully choosing their flavors (they ended up with Oh Happy Day, The Princess Cupcake, and Chocolate Raspberry) while I finished our order with the wedding day cupcakes. They were pure joy - delicious, moist, everything you could want in a cupcake.

Now I've been craving them ever since. Yet, they are $2 each, and an hour away. I almost talked myself into driving that far to pick up some more, but chastised myself...that would be silly!

Which is why I went to the library instead and scoured the cook books to find a cupcake book. I ran across Big Book of Cupcakes by Jan Moon and found exactly what I was looking for...wedding cake cupcakes!

They didn't turn out quite as fancy as the cupcake shop cupcakes (I chose to forgo the decorations of pearl candy, which I find looks nice but adds nothing else to the cupcake) but they taste almost exactly the same. For a lot cheaper. And no driving.

Cupcakes:

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c shortening

2 c sugar

4 large eggs

2 3/4 c. all-purpose soft-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

paper baking cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts.

Place paper baking cups in 2 muffin pans, spoon batter into cups, filling two thirds full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely.

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. whipping cream

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1 (16 oz) package powdered sugar

Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Beat at high speed 2 minutes or until creamy.

(Recipe taken from Big Book of Cupcakes by Jan Moon. The recipe states making two batches of the frosting, and piping one half into the cupcakes and the other half on top. I decided to only frost the top, as I felt extra frosting would be too rich.)

I think next time I will make jumbo cupcakes, as these seemed just a tad too small! Enjoy! I'm off to make the "First Kiss" cupcakes today.