Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup-cakes

What is it about that delightful combination of chocolate and peanut butter? I know it gets me every time I see it; I just have to have it. This cupcake and frosting combination is one I have been making here for a long time and it is always a real favorite.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cocoa powder

½ cup all vegetable shortening

¾ cup water (or for an extra special flavor use cold left over coffee)

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare muffin pan with paper cupcake liners (20-24)

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the shortening. With a mixer beat to combine well. Add water and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat another 2 minutes.

Transfer batter to prepared pan

Bake approximately 15 to 20 minutes (test with a toothpick)

Peanut Butter Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup all vegetable shortening

3 Tablespoons milk

Combine powdered sugar, peanut butter and shortening in mixing bowl and beat to combine. Gradually add milk to make frosting consistency you want, beating for at least 3 minutes to get a nice fluffy frosting.

I prefer to use a disposable decorating bag (or a ziplock storage bag with the corner cut off) to apply this frosting to the cupcakes.

Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles if desired.

Mini Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting for Easter (or any time)

I love cupcakes; there is just something so wonderful about being able to have a little cake all to yourself. I have been wanting to go even smaller by using my mini muffin pan to make some really tiny ones and a while back on a stroll through my local dollar store I came across some adorable little tiny mini cupcake papers in Easter designs. I had to buy them, they were just too cute to leave in the store. So this weekend I put them to good use and made my go-to cake recipe into mini cupcakes and paired it with my very favorite Lemon Frosting. Way back in the dark ages I used to eat a lot of those hard lemon candies, the ones that are sour lemon on the inside and coated in sweet sugar, do you know the ones? This frosting reminds me of that childhood favorite, it is sweet and tart all in the same bit.

Mini Cupcakes

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Line the cups in you mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners

Begin by combining all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Add the oil and milk and beat with a mixer for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and continue to beat at with a mixer for 2 additional minutes.

Fill the mini cupcake liners in the mini muffin pan with the batter (mine took about 2 Tablespoons per cup)

Bake at 400 for 10 to 15 minutes, test with a toothpick for doneness.

Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes then remove to a rack to finish cooling

Lemon Frosting

2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar

¼ all vegetable shortening

2 – 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine the sugar and shortening until blended through.

Add the lemon juice beating until it reaches a spreading consistency.

Makes about 4 dozen mini cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

I came up with this recipe a year or so ago when I needed to find a dairy free cupcake. I served them at a family party and not only did no one guess they were dairy free, I got a request for the recipe. I think that means they were a huge success!

When you get to the part of the recipe that tells you how many cupcakes you are going to get it is a large range. There are a few factors in this one being the size of the muffin/cupcake pan you use. Also I have found that the brand of coconut milk I use has some effect too. If the coconut milk is runny (almost watery) in consistency you will get fewer cupcakes, if the coconut milk is thick the batter will end up with more volume (more air) and you will get a few more. If you stick to one brand of coconut milk you will have consistent results. Either way they are fabulous!

Coconut Cupcakes

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable shortening

2/3 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

In large bowl of mixer combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add shortening and coconut milk and beat for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs and beat 2 more minutes.

Fill prepared muffin cups with batter, filling about ½ full. (I use an ice cream scoop to do this step)

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan about 10 minutes and then move to a rack to cool completely.

Coconut Frosting

2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

¼ vegetable shortening

2-3  Tablespoons coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Shredded coconut, as desired

Blend the sugar and shortening together completely and add the coconut milk and vanilla to make a smooth spreadable frosting.  If your coconut milk was really thick you may need to add a Tablespoon of water to the mixture.

Spread cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle with (or dip into) coconut as desired.

12-18 cupcakes

Note this can also be baked in a 9” square cake pan- in that case bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

I love Pineapple Upside Down Cake and I have been in this cupcake zone for a while so it was only a matter of time before the two came together. This idea actually came to me while I was watching TV the other day and I just had to try it. If you love pineapple upside down cake and cupcakes here is the perfect treat. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup pineapple juice (from can of pineapple for topping)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Topping (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Prepare cupcake pan with paper liners

In mixer bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix together. Add oil, pineapple juice and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.

Add eggs and beat for another 2 minutes.

Fill cupcake pan with batter about ¾ full, use an ice cream scoop or ¼  cup measuring cup to help get them even.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until baked through. Remove from oven and top with topping. Place under broiler until bubbly and starting to brown.

Allow to cool in pan 30 minutes before removing to rack to finish cooling

Pineapple topping

¼ cup room temperature butter

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup shaved or shredded coconut

1 cup crushed pineapple (canned) drained well

2 to 3 Tablespoons half and half

Combine in a bowl and mix to together to form topping. You want it to be slightly loose and spreadable. Use about 2 Tablespoons for each cupcake, there is enough here to top 18 cupcakes so divide it among them evenly.

Note extra topping is wonderful spread on toast and broiled to make it bubble.

16- 18 cupcakes