Chocolate Spice Cupcakes - Martha Stewarts's Cupcake Club

I love cupcakes! Truth be known, I love all sweets but cupcakes are one of my favorites. When I first purchased the Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook, I spent hours thumbing through it as I do all of my new cookbooks. This book contains so many unique and delicious cupcakes recipes. I've been participating in the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club for three years and have hosted twice. This month, I am excited to host again and share with you Chocolate Spice Cupcakes.

This recipe is easy to put together, not too many ingredients and nothing overly complicated. These would be fun to make with kids, you could teach them about the spices. When Tim and I were in Grenada in February, we visited a spice plantation and I brought home some nutmeg. I've never used fresh nutmeg before, it's so different than what you buy in the grocery store.

Be sure to butter and flour the pans well. The batter is so moist, it sticks to the pan. After mixing the flour into the batter, I read the recipe again a couple of times. The batter was VERY runny. I was just sure I'd measured something wrong. For once, I hadn't. The measurements I'd used were all correct, the batter is just very thin.

My complaint about many of the recipes in this cookbook, they aren't as moist as I would like. If you watch Cupcake Wars, you know those judges are all over the bakers when they present a dry cupcake. These Chocolate Spice Cupcakes are very moist. I just wish the flavor matched the texture! The molasses overpowers the spices and becomes the predominate flavor. Of course, the chocolate ganache is heavenly as always. I'd like to bake these again, increasing the spices and reducing the molasses.



You can find the links to the other MSC bakers here!

Chocolate Spice Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350º

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

In a heat-proof bowl, stir together:

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup boiling water

In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream until pale and fluffy:

5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

Beat in:

1 egg, at room temperature

Add, and beat until combined:

2/3 cup unsulfured molasses

baking soda mixture

Reduce speed to low and add:

flour mixture

Beat until well combined (batter will look lumpy). Divide batter among 12 paper-lined tins and bake 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out and let cool completely.

To finish, peel papers off cupcakes and invert on wire rack set over a baking sheet or some paper towels. Spoon chocolate glaze over tops and let it run down the sides. Top with chopped candied ginger.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

makes about 1 1/4 cups

Place in a medium heat-proof bowl:

6 oz good quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

In a small saucepan, bring just to a simmer:

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp light corn syrup

Pour cream mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.

Using a spatula, gently stir chocolate and cream together until smooth and shiny. If any chocolate solids remain, strain chocolate through a mesh sieve and discard the pieces.

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes - MSC

I am not sure how many cupcake recipes I've made from Martha Stewart's Cupcake book but I do know I haven't made very many that I thought were real winners. January's recipe, Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes is the exception. These cupcakes are delicious and I will make again, soon!

The recipe called for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. I love dark chocolate, so I decided to use that instead. After you make the batter, you scoop one tablespoon into the cupcake pan, put a peppermint patty on top and scoop on more batter. I didn't have peppermint patties but I did have Andes peppermint chips. They worked out as a great substitution. The mint pairs nicely with the chocolate and these are a dense chocolately "cupcake". These are more like a brownie in a cupcake wrapper. Regardless of what you decide to call to call them, give this this recipe a try! It's a keeper!



Thanks to Rebecca of The Baking Sisters for choosing a winner! You can find the recipe on Martha's website and links to all of the MSC bakers here!

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!

Red Velvet Cupcakes - MS Cupcake Club

Last Friday, we had all new appliances installed in our kitchen. I am so excited about my stove. It's a GE Cafe, their restaurant inspired appliances. Our local furniture store had on of this model left and we were able to get a great deal on it! The oven is convection and there's also a second oven that can be used for baking!

Having read a few articles about convection baking, I decide to bake these cupcakes on the convection setting. I baked these at 325 instead of 350 the recipe called for. I also began checking them at 15 minutes. Some of them seemed to have a bit of a crunchy top but all in all I was pleased with my first attempt at convection baking.

I remember my mom making Red Velvet Cake when I was a little. I'd never made one until this one I baked with Sweet Melissa Sunday's. The MS recipe was very similar to the SMS one. I did use a gel food coloring in this recipe and not only were my cupcakes more red, so were my hands.



Thanks to Cindy at Everyday Insanity for choosing this month's recipe. These are a perfect cupcake for the holiday season! You can find the recipe on Martha's website here!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday.

Rhubarb Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

Do you watch Cupcake Wars? My favorite part is seeing all of the flavors of cupcakes, icing and filings the bakers make. Inspired by Cupcake Wars, I decided to make a rhubarb syrup to flavor a cream cheese frosting. I used frozen rhubarb and was concerned they would be too wet. Quite the opposite, they were moist and delicious. The rhubarb cream cheese frosting just added that extra touch of sweetness.



If you have some rhubarb in your freezer and want a delicious cupcake, give this one a try. Lorraine, the PhDcupaker is our host for this month and you can find the recipe on her blog. You'll find the other MSC baker's cupcakes here!

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

When Rachael asked me to host June's Martha Stewart Cupcake Club, I thumbed through the book trying to decide which recipe to choose. Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes, the perfect choice for June.

Don't tell Martha but I cheated a bit on these. (Didn't she do that on something, too?) Anyway, with a lot going on preparing for Mike's graduation party in Minnesota, I used a boxed cake mix! Okay and canned frosting, too! At least I am honest and letting you all know, I could have passed them off as homemade and you'd you have never known.

These cupcakes were so fun to put together. After searching everywhere for something to use for the golf ball, I settled on a white gumball. Since the gumball was kind of large, I made giant cupcakes. The balance of the ingredients were easy to find! I used construction paper for the pin flags. If you're looking for something fun to make for Father's Day, give these a try.

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes

24 Cupcakes (Your choice of flavor)
White Icing of your choice
1 to 2 cups green sanding sugar
18 round white candies
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (3 -4 sheets finely ground in food processor)

1. Using an offset spatula, spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of icing. Pour green sanding sugar into a small bowl. Dip tops of frosted cupcakes in the sugar, then sprinkle more on top to coat completely.
2. To create putting greens, make flags (you will need 18). Cut out lengths (3 to 4 inches) from white grosgrain ribbon. Fold each length around one end of a wooden skewer, and adhere folded sides together with hot glue or double sided tape. Cut ribbon into a triangle shape and plant the skewer into a cupcake. Place a small white candy "ball" near the flag.
3. To create sand traps, spoon about 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs in the center of each of 6 cupcakes. With your thumb, make an indentation in the middle of each pile of crumbs, shifting to one side to form a steeper side or an irregularly shaped trap.

Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.




You can find the other MSC member's cupcakes here!

I am linking this to Sweet Tooth Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday !!

Chai Tea Mini Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

I have been such a slacker when it comes to participating in the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club. The last time I participated...September! I love cupcakes but it just seems like I never have enough time to participate in all of the baking groups or blog parties I'd like to. Do you like Chai Tea? I love it, almost more than coffee. When I saw this month's recipe was for Chai Tea Cupcakes, I couldn't wait to give them a try.



Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It will be interesting to see what everyone else thought. I cut the recipe in half and ended up with 24 mini's. I thought these were just BLAH! They only had a hint of Chai Tea flavor and the frosting wasn't very tasty. My other challenge with these, they were DRY. I feel like most of the Martha cupcakes I've made have been dry. If anyone has a secret for moist cupcakes, I hope you'll share.

I'd love to find a good Chai Tea cupcake recipe. If you have one, let me know. Thanks to Rachael of Simple Girl for hosting this month. You can find the recipe on her blog. If you're curious what the other MSC bakers thought, you can find those links here.

Next up for MSC...Tiramisu Cupcakes.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Icing - MSC

Do you like snickerdoodles? Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. I was so excited when I saw the September recipe for MSC was Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. YUM!!!!!

I've been baking with the MSC cupcake group for about a year. Many of the cupcakes have been too dry for my tastes. I think at first I was leaving them in the oven too long. Even after I corrected that, I still felt like they were too dry. Sue Woodhouse of Cupcakes Actually was on Living Today on Martha radio a couple of weeks ago. She addressed the subject of cupcakes being too dry. She suggests adding canola oil and buttermilk. I must admit, I adapted this recipe to include those two ingredients. I still think I left them in the oven too long, when will I learn? They're not as dry but still not as moist as I would like.

The Martha recipe calls for the cupcakes to be frosted with Seven Minute Frosting. I wanted to continue with the cinnamon theme. I made Martha's Honey Cinnamon Frosting. It was the perfect compliment to the cinnamon flavor of these cupcakes.



This month's recipe was chosen by the talented Katie of Katiecakes. You can find links to the other MSC bakers here.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

It's been months since the last time I participated in the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club. I love cupcakes but sometimes there's just too many sweets in the house.

This month's recipe isn't a traditional cupcake. It's a cheesecake in cupcake form. These were easy to put together and delicious. Also, there's so many possibilities for this recipe, different cookies or candy bars. I have a delicious butterfinger cheesecake recipe that could be easily adapted to "cupcake" form.



Thanks to the talented Nina of Nina's Cupcakes for choosing this month's recipe. You can find the links to the other MSC bakers here.

Tres Leches Cupcackes - Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club

Never having made or eaten tres leches cake, I wasn't sure what to expect. Tres leches means three milks and is a Latin American dessert.

These cupcakes were easy to put together. The only thing that takes any time is brushing on the milk mixture after they're done baking. I made 1/4 of the recipe and ended up with 6 cupcakes. The instructions call for using foil cupcake liners. I didn't have foil liners. I decided to take my chances and use two regular liners. It worked fine!

Tres Leches is on My 50 list. Cross another one off the list, 6 down 44 to go. I loved the texture and moistness of these cupcakes. The recipe says to let these sit at least 30 minutes before eating. We ate one the first night and I found the flavor to kind of blah. I ate one the next day and LOVED it. Waiting 24 hours is the key to these cupcakes. I will be making these again. I am already trying to decide how to tweak the recipe with other flavors.



Thanks to Lisa of Smiley's Sweets and Creations for choosing such a great recipe. You can find links to all other other MSC bakers here!

Chocolate Filled Cupcakes - MSC

Happy Birthday, Dad! Although he will never read this, my Dad turns 91 today. Amazing, 91!! Cake and ice cream, with heavy emphasis on the ice cream are Dad's favorites. Black Walnut ice cream to be exact. I've never liked it but it was always in the freezer when I was a kid. Usually there was another carton of a kind I liked because I remember getting a bowl of ice cream many nights before I went to bed. I think I can thank my Dad for this sweet tooth I have today!!!

Okay on to this month's MSC recipe, Chocolate Filled Cupcakes, chosen by Jess of Cookbook Habit. I love filled cupcakes. We've had way too many sweets in the house these days, so I made a half recipe. The recipe is an easy one to put together. Chances are you'll have the ingredients in the pantry. The batter had a delicious chocolate flavor. I thought this batter was really thick. My cupcakes cracked on top. What makes them do that?

I checked these cupcakes at 20 minutes and didn't appear anywhere close to done. I set the timer for five more minutes. When I checked them, they were done, possibly overdone. After they cooled, I noticed they had these light brown dots on the tops of them. What's up with these cupcakes?

I followed the directions and used my melon baller to scoop out the middle for the filling. This didn't go well. Now I knew these were overdone. As I scooped out the middle, it just fell apart in crumbles. I tried to fill one. I cut it in half and it didn't look filled. So what the heck, let's just eat this one. I took one bite and threw it away. They were so dry and crumbly. Now what do I do with these really dry cupcakes?

The filling was my favorite part. A nice creamy marshmallow flavor. Filled cupcakes are on My 50. I don't think I can cross these off the list, you have to complete the recipe successfully for it to count!!!




Maybe it's my cupcake baking skills but I've yet to find a recipe in this book that I love. Maybe next month? Have you found a favorite?

Sad Sally's Cupcakes - MSC

Shortly after we were married my husband began calling me Sally. Where it came from, I am not sure but it stuck and it's become my nickname. Seemed only fitting to title this post, Sad Sally's Cupcakes.

Megan from My Baking Adventures chose this month's Martha Stewart Cupcake Club recipe, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. The cupcakes were easy to put together and turned out beautifully. They have a beautiful lemony flavor and fragrance. It's the steps after this where Sally's cupcakes went south. I frosted 5 cupcakes with the Seven Minute Frosting. The two in the photo are the best of the bunch. You should see some of the others but I am not posting those.

The cupcakes are topped with Lemon Curd and Seven Minute Frosting. Lemon Curd is on my list of Top 50 recipes. I can cross that one off the list. I love the flavor of this lemon curd. Since I only used a little bit of it, I am looking forward to finding other recipes to use the remainder.

If you follow my blog, you know taking a cake decorating class is one of my 2010 blogging goals. Recently I purchased a cheap piping bag. It came with 5 tips. Of course they weren't marked as to which tip was which. There was a star tip but I think it was too small for this frosting. As I was struggling to get the frosting in the bag and then struggling even more to pipe it on the cupcakes, I was thinking how much I wish I knew how to pipe frosting. This is another one of those recipes where my mother would have said, "You get an A for effort".

I really liked the flavor of these cupcakes. I would make them again with a lemon frosting or possibly the Seven Minute Frosting AFTER I learn to pipe.

Check out the posts of the other Martha Stewart Cupcake bakers, I know you'll find lots of cupcakes that aren't sad!

One Year Ago - Nana's Quick Chocolate Cake

Smores Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

Blogging certainly takes committment. In my case, it also takes a wonderful husband. Tim is my photographer, taste tester and never minds when we have to hold up dinner to take pictures of a dish. Thanks, Tim for all you do!!

Last Saturday, after a long day of shopping and errands, I remembered I needed the graham flour for this recipe. Tim thought we were headed home but instead we were headed to Whole Foods. Omaha only has one Whole Foods and it's always crowded. After two circles around the parking lot, we finally find a spot. First we head to the bulk foods section...no graham flour, then to the flour aisle...no graham flour. The trip isn't a total loss, we walk through the cheese section and taste some wine and cheese. We tasted a robusto cheese. It was so delicious.

Figuring I would use the whole wheat flour I had in the freezer, I went to the freezer to dig it out. Only to discover it was WHOLE WHEAT GRAHAM FLOUR!! Sorry, Tim!

We had too many sweets in the house, so I cut this recipe in half and in half again. It made 6 cupcakes.

I love Smores. They remind me of campfires and childhood. How do you like your marshmallow? As a kid, I always burned mine. Now I can take the time to just toast them until golden. Cake decorating is on my list of things to learn this year. Until then, I don't own a piping bag, so needless to say, my frosting doesn't look at all like the frosting in the book. I did make a couple of these in honor of my childhood smores, a little burned!




I loved these cupcakes. They taste just like a Smore. Once I learn how to pipe frosting, I will be making these again. Thanks to Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen for choosing a great recipe. You can find the links to all of other Martha Stewart Cupcake Club bakers here.

Gingebread Cupcakes - MSC

Gingerbread Cupcakes...hmmm? Gingebread, Gingerbread Cookies, Gingerbread Houses but Gingerbread Cupcakes? I am not a big Gingerbread fan but it is one of those signature holiday dishes, so knew I was baking this one. I really wanted to like these cupcakes but the truth is, I didn't. Now that wasn't really because of the flavor, it was because they were DRY!!! I followed the recipe exactly! As I was scooping the batter into the cupcake pan, I thought it seemed really thick. I even baked them for less time than the recipe called for. With some of the earlier Martha Stewart Cupcake bakes, I felt like my cupcakes were overbaked. I bought an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature was right on. What happened? I am anxious to read the other Martha Stewart Cupcake baker's blogs to see if I am the only one who experienced dry cupcakes. Now I am trying to decide what to do with the cupcakes because while on the first day they were dry but edible, on the second day, they're too dry to eat. Maybe some sort of bread pudding?

Thanks to Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table for choosing this great holiday recipe for this month's bake. You can find the links to all of the other Martha Stewart cupcake baker's here!

Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes- Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club

These cupcakes remind me of the sweet potatoes we had for Thanksgiving dinner when I was a little girl. Lots of marshmallows. Today, I actually prefer my sweet potatoes without marshmallow goo!

I stood in the kitchen for a few minutes trying to decide whether make a half or quarter of this recipe and whether to make mini cupcakes or standard size cupcakes. I just wasn't sure we would like these, so I figured we'd go with one bite mini's. As I was assembling these, I kept thinking...sweet potato??

Boy was I wrong, these are delicious. The sweet potato flavor is mild and the cupcakes are light and airy. YUMMY!!

Trying to brown the marshmallows with my torch, I almost set the kitchen on fire. So as not have to call 911, I decided to try putting the marshmallows under the broiler. All the while I kept thinking how do they stick to the top if you're browning them on top? So ladies, how do they???As I was setting up little trio's of marshmallows, it occurred to me I had a jar of fluff in the cabinet. Flame free and easy.



This month's MSC recipe was chosen by Karen at Karen's Cookies, Cakes and More. Thanks Karen for picking a recipe I would not have tried otherwise!!! You can find the links to all of the other MSC baker's here.

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes - MSC

A quick note before we get to MSC, I am starting a new group around Francois Payard's book, Chocolate Ephipany. Looking for a few more members. We''ll create once a month and I want to keep the group small. Also, I am having a cookbook giveaway!! http://chocolatewithfrancois.blogspot.com/

When I think of Fall desserts, I think pumpkin. Pumpkin is one of those ingredients where I tend to make my favorite recipes, rather than try new ones. I created this blog to encourage me to try new recipes. This month's Martha Stewart Cupcake Club did just that. These cupcakes are delicious and a great addition to your Fall recipe collection.

I did not make any changes to the recipe. I used cream cheese frosting, yummy! The cookbook showed these topped with marzipan pumpkins. I've never made marzipan and although I would like to try it, not this particular day. I thought the candy corn made a nice addition.



This month's recipe was chosen by Kim from What the Wisk. Thanks Kim for choosing a good one!! You can find all of the other MSC bakers here! Be sure to check out their creativity with this recipe.

Banana Pecan Cupcakes - MS Cupcake Club

When I saw the Banana Pecan Cupcakes were this months bonus bake in the MS Cupcake Club, I was thrilled. My husband has a banana almost every morning with his cereal and I always have bananas in the freezer. My go to recipe for bananas is Mrs. Flint's Bread but I am always looking for new and different banana recipes.

Sometimes a cupcake can be more like a muffin. For me, this is one of those cupcakes. You can find the other MS Cupcake Club members who participated in this bonus bake here.



On another note, I love chocolate and I would love to start a baking group based on Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard. If you like to join me in this yummy baking adventure, please leave a comment.