Iron CupcakeEarth Voting

The time has come everyone - the voting has opened for this month's ICE challenge. Here is a quick recap of my entry:

The theme ingredient was wine, so I decided a light champagne-infused cupcake would be a good place to start. I paired that with a bit of bakeapple syrup, but could not decide on a good frosting.... Then I got to thinking, what is delicate enough to pair with champagne, but rich enough to give the cupcake some weight - white chocolate!!! I added some booze to the frosting, just for good measure :)



Head on over to http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/ and cast your vote!

#40) Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

This will be the last installment of my banana bake-athon for a while. We all started to get tired of banana this and that after so many recipes LOL.

These cookies were made for my Grade 9 homeroom's pizza party this past Friday. The kids loved them and asked for more HaHa. They were relatively easy to make and have a great banana taste that is just right with a cup of hot tea :)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2 cups chocolate chips

Steps

-Spray cookie sheet and preheat oven to 350°F.
-Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Set aside.
-Stir together dry ingredients. In three additions, stir the dry mixture into the banana mixture.
-Stir in chocolate chips.
-Bake for 7-10 minutes.

#39) Homemade Granola Bars

Wow! I made these little guys about an hour ago and we have the pan pretty much half gone already!!!

I have been wanting to make my own granola bars for some time now, mainly because I work at a school where nuts are not permitted, and it is quite difficult to find nut-free bars. Also, with the homemade version I know exactly what I am eating, and it doesn't involve any strange chemicals or weird preservatives :)

I found some homemade recipes for granola bars that involved sugar, but I decided the corn syrup was sweet enough, but if you are looking for an even sweeter treat, I would add about 1/3 cup brown sugar. As for the add-ins, I plan on trying raisins and cinnamon, maple syrup and banana, oh the list goes on - be as creative as you can be!

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice crispies (I used the Christmas ones, hence the green and red LOL)
2/3 cup coconut
2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used half white and half milk chocolate)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened (suggestions on how to lessen this amount?)
1/2 cup corn syrup (or honey if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla

Steps (so simple!!!)

-Mix all ingredients together with your hands.
-Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and pat down.
-Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
-Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting into bars.

*Makes 16 bars

Printable Recipe :)

#38) Lemon Cranberry Muffins

I know the title says "muffins", but I gotta say, these little guys have a more cake-like texture. Thus, they are more of a cupcake than a muffin. But, despite the unintended texture, the taste is great - nice and lemony with a nice bite form the cranberries. Not bad for my first foray into the world of cranberries :)

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chopped cranberries
zest of 1 large lemon

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners.
-Mix dry ingredients together.
-Beat eggs with milk, lemon juice, and oil. Stir into dry ingredients. Mix just until moistened.
-Add cranberries and zest and fold in.
-Divide batter between lined muffin cups.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes.

#37) Old Faithful Banana Loaf

This time-tested sweet treat is the continuation of my banana bake-off. I searched high and low for a "new" banana loaf recipe, bit not one seemed as reliable or as tasty as this one. Enjoy it with some butter, fruit sauce, or even peanut butter, and it always tastes good :) (It is pictured above with bakeapple syrup - what a combo!)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13 baking dish.
-Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, banana, and milk. Mix well.
-Stir together dry ingredients and add to banana mixture in three additions. Beat until combined.
-Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

#36) Big Banana Crunch Muffins

One of the downsides to living in Labrador actually became a surprising plus today at the grocery store... The past week has been absurdly cold here, like -50°C - so cold that on Thursday and Friday the schools were closed!!! Now, how on Earth did this turn into a plus for me??? Well, fiance and me went grocery shopping today and as soon as we walked in the door there were these HUGE bags of bananas that were in terrible shape, pretty much black all over - they must have got hit with the cold on the way to the grocery store. Perfect for loads of banana recipes, right? Oh yeah, I was all over it! The best part is that these giant bags of recipe-ready bananas were only 99¢!!! Stay tuned for more banana baking :)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup crushed pecans

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a jumbo muffin pan.
-Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
-Add banana and beat well.
-Stir together dry ingredients. Add to banana mixture in three additions.
-Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
-Divide between 6 jumbo muffin cups.
-Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

#35) Chocolate Banana Burritos

Tonight we had a couple of friends over for supper and in the planning that went into the meal over the past couple of days, the evening took on a somewhat Mexican theme. The menu was to include chicken quesadillas, Mexican rice, and tortilla chips. I intentionally made yesterday's brownies as this particular meal's dessert, but my finace decided dessert should also be slightly Mexican.... That is what led to this wonderfully simple and tasty sweet treat. These were great and I would definitely make them again, and again, and again! LOL

Burritos

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup chocolate chips
5 large flour tortillas

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a pyrex dish.
-Cream sugar and butter. Add banana, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
-Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and oil. Beat until combined.
-Spread 1/5 of banana mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and roll up. Place in dish seam side down.
-Bake for 30 miunutes, or until golden.

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tbsp shortening

Steps

-Melt all 4 ingredients together in a saucepan and drizzle over baked burritos.

#34) Brownie Bites with Mocha Glaze

This recipe came from a great cookbook my parents gave me for Christmas... Seriously, I have bookmarked nearly every recipe :) This is the first one I have tried and it was quite a success... Other than the glaze not really living up to expectations, the brownie was chocolatey deliciousness!!!

Brownie Bites

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 egg whites
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°and spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray.
-Melt butter and set aside.
-Beat egg and whites until foamy.
-Add sugar and beat until thick.
-Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg mixture. Beat until blended.
-Add melted butter and beat until blended.
-Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
-Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completey on wire rack.

Mocha Glaze

Ingredients

1/4 cup icing sugar
3/4 tsp cocoa
1/4 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp hot water
1/4 vanilla

Steps

-Stir together icing sugar and cocoa.
-Dissolve coffee in hot water. Add to cocoa mixture.
-Add vanilla. Mix until smooth.
-Drizzle over brownie bites.

#33) IronCupcake:Earth Wine, to Toast the New Year - Bakeapple & Bubbly Cupcakes with White Chocolate Champagne Frosting

A long title, I know... but these cupcakes are multi-dimensional and therefore warrant a wordy introduction.

This is my first official entry to ICE so I am very excited to be a part of this great blogging activity for the first time :)

Our January ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

DOGBONE ART - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=22042
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!
As an added bonus for January, our friend at SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in another treat as well, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. NEW, BEGINNING IN JANUARY; our new friends at UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/ will be providing our winner with one of their cute cupcake attitue t's! Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

My cupcake creation is a light and delicate treat topped with a wonderful swirl of melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate frosting. The champagne undertones are complimented nicely by the bitter but subtle bite of the bakeapples. It is a sweet treat that elevates the everyday cupcake to a more elegant and refined class!

Bakeapple & Bubbly Cupcake

Ingredients

2 egg whites
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup champagne
1/4 cup bakeapple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tray with paper cups.
-Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
-Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined.
-Stir together champagne, bakeapple syrup, and vanilla. Add to butter mixture.
-Add flour, baking powder, and salt to mixture and beat until well combined.
-Gently fold in egg whites.
-Divide between 12 muffin cups.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Champagne Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp white chocolate
1 3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup champagne
1/2 tsp bakeapple syrup
6 tbsp butter

Steps

-Melt chocolate in double boiler. Let cool to room temperature.
-Mix together icing sugar, champagne, and bakeapple syrup. Add butter and beat until smooth.
-Add cooled chocolate and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
-Pipe on cooled cupcakes.