It’s time for the final seasonal cupcakes on Lemon & Mocha! Of course not the last seasonal cupcakes I’m ever going to post, just the final ones this year. For those of you who haven’t been following along, last year for my birthday my goddaughter gifted me with unique cupcake toppers from Etsy for each season. The cute toppers inspired plenty of delicious cupcakes all year long, including winter’s Hot Chocolate Cupcakes, the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes in spring and summer’s Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.

There are so many warm and inviting fall flavors to choose from so I decided to go with two of my favorites: apple and maple. These are Apple Spice Mini Cupcakes with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream – and they are crazy delicious. The cupcake is moist, loaded with shredded apple and filled with plenty of the warming spices you find in apple pie, such as cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

The buttercream on top balances both the maple and brown sugar flavors while bringing the perfect amount of sweetness to the little apple spiced cupcakes. There’s also a hint of saltiness in the buttercream, which really works well with the sweet flavors.

I chose to make mini cupcakes this time because I’ve been baking so many desserts that just a little mini cupcake (or two) was preferable to having a huge cupcake every time. They were super easy to frost with a piping bag, too, because each one just needs a little dollop of frosting.

I was worried about making a cupcake filled with fruit because sometimes it can add too much moisture to the batter, as seen from a few failed experiments I had this summer. I’m excited to report that the combination of straining and squeezing the shredded apple dry to get as much liquid out as possible worked perfectly to allow for a moist apple-filled cupcake, while still having that light and springy texture an ideal cupcake should have. I hope you all love these cute fall mini cupcakes as much as we do!

Apple Spice Mini Cupcakes with Maple Brown Sugar Buttercream

 

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Yield: 48 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup buttermilk (see note)
• 3 cups peeled, shredded and strained gala apples, about 3-4 medium apples

for the frosting

• 2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup real maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

for the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 24 cup mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes, scrapping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add the buttermilk and beat on low until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until a few streaks remain. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the shredded apple, making sure you’ve strained the water out and squeezed the apple shreds dry with a paper towel or cheesecloth.
4. Use half the batter to fill the 24 prepared mini cupcake liners. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Let cool for a couple minutes in the pan then carefully move the mini cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Add 24 more cupcake liners to the pan and repeat with the rest of the batter.

for the frosting

1. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the confectioners’ sugar, brown sugar, butter and salt, first on low then on medium until fluffy. Add the maple syrup and vanilla then beat on medium-high until combined. Frost the cooled cupcakes. If piping on the frosting, use a Wilton 1M tip to pipe small star swirls onto each mini cupcake.

Notes

To make your own buttermilk: pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Pour milk, any fat percentage, into the measuring cup until you have ¾ of a cup. Let sit 5 minutes before using.

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Lauren Cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes 2 Comments

We’re celebrating the start of apple picking season here on Lemon & Mocha all week and I saved the best for last. Why is it the best? Because it is heavy on the chocolate and anything involving chocolate immediately jumps to the top of the list for me. Especially when there’s chocolate covered apples, too.

If you haven’t had chocolate covered apples before then you are seriously missing out, but you could remedy that this weekend by making these over-the-top Chocolate Covered Caramel Apple Cupcakes. The base of these cupcakes is my Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes. They are fluffy, moist and rich with chocolate flavor.

On top we have an apple cider cream cheese frosting. We’re using the same technique from Tuesday’s Baked Apple Cider Donuts of reducing down apple cider to get a concentrated spiced apple flavor. This apple cider reduction is whipped into the cream cheese frosting.

Next, we have chocolate covered apple wedges. I decorated mine with mini M&M’s because the more chocolate the better and I love the pop of color they add to the cupcakes. You can use any of your favorite candy apple toppings, such as toffee, nuts or even Oreos. Or you could just drizzle with some melted white chocolate or melted peanut butter chips – yum! Finally, I added a generous drizzle of salted caramel sauce. You could make your own or you could buy your favorite brand and drizzle away.

I made these cupcakes last year for a fun girls weekend where we did all the fall things, including apple picking of course. They were a big hit and I’m getting so hungry looking at the photos that I think I will definitely have to make them again this fall! Enjoy, friends, and have a great weekend!

Chocolate Covered Caramel Apple Cupcakes

 

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Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk, see note
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee, see note

for the frosting

• ¾ cup apple cider
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (use block cream cheese)
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

for topping

• 2 apples, cored and cut into wedges (a total of 24 wedges)
• 1⅓ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Mini M&Ms or other preferred topping
• Salted caramel topping, such as Smucker’s brand

Directions

for the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until smooth.
4. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and stir until combined. The batter will be extremely liquidy. Divide the batter between the 24 cupcake liners, filling them slightly more than half full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back mostly clean. Alternatively, they are done when you gently press your finger on the center of a cupcake and it lightly springs back. I find mine to be done at exactly 19 minutes.
5. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting

1. Simmer the apple cider in a small saucepan over low heat until it has reduced to ¼ cup. It will not thicken, but it will get darker. This may take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. Once reduced let cool completely.
2. Beat the cream cheese and the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitting with a whisk attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and slowly beat until combined, increasing speed as it combines. Add the vanilla extract, salt and reduced apple cider and beat to combine. If the frosting isn’t firm enough to pipe after adding the apple cider add more powdered sugar until the desired stiffness is reached.

for topping

1. Line a baking sheet that will fit in your fridge with wax paper and set aside.
2. In a liquid measuring cup or other narrow, tall microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and the coconut oil for 30 seconds. Stir, then continue heating in 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Use a fork to help you completely dip an apple wedge into the melted chocolate. Place on the prepared baking sheet then sprinkle with the mini M&Ms or other topping. Repeat for the remaining apple wedges. If you need to reheat your chocolate, do it at 15 second intervals. Place the apple wedges in the fridge and let set until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. To decorate the cooled cupcakes, pipe the apple cider cream cheese onto the cupcakes. Top with a chocolate covered apple wedge and then a drizzle of the salted caramel topping. If you aren’t serving right away, wait to top the cupcakes with the apple wedges and caramel sauce. Frosted cupcakes need to stay refrigerated because it’s a cream cheese frosting.

Notes

To make your own buttermilk: pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Pour milk, any fat percentage, into the measuring cup until you have 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.
If you don’t want to use coffee you can use hot water, but the flavor of the chocolate won’t be as pronounced. You can use decaffeinated coffee if you prefer.
The cupcakes, unfrosted, freeze very well if you want to make them ahead of time.

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Lauren Cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes 4 Comments

My summer cupcake post is here! I loved all the cupcake toppers my goddaughter sent me, but I think I was most excited about the summer ones. Look how adorable they are! The crab googly eyes get me every time. Since they are beach themed it felt appropriate to post them at the end of my family’s annual beach week.

I know we’re already halfway through August (UGH), but thankfully these cupcakes are not just summer cupcakes. These are classic vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. And by classic I mean perfectly moist, extra fluffy, damn good vanilla cupcakes. Do you know how difficult it is to find a homemade vanilla cupcake recipe that tastes just as good – or better – than those made from a box mix? I’ve tried several over the years and I’ve been disappointed every single time.

Last week I stumbled upon this delicious vanilla cupcake recipe through a happy accident. I initially was planning on making nectarine cupcakes for the summer cupcake post that were an absolute flop. I plan to revisit that recipe idea, but until then I really wanted to bake and photo something for this post before leaving for beach week the next day.

Deciding to revisit my perfect vanilla cupcake search I looked through all my cookbooks and Googled plenty, but there was one problem with every recipe: we only had one egg left in the fridge and I didn’t want to go to the store. I know, so lazy, but at least it led me to this recipe! Apparently there’s an old-fashioned recipe called a One Egg Cake from the Joy of Cooking and it requires minimal ingredients, is very simple and makes outrageously fluffy cupcakes!

I paired these with a traditional vanilla buttercream because sometimes you’re just dying for a classic vanilla-vanilla combo piled high with frosting like you would get at a birthday party. I used a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 2D tip to frost these cupcakes. If you want something lighter and less sweet then I recommend my mascarpone frosting. Or if you want something chocolatey then definitely make my Perfect Chocolate Frosting. Of course, if you want to turn them into summer cupcakes then make sure to dye the frosting blue and add cute cupcake toppers! Enjoy, friends!

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

 

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Yield: 16 cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

• ⅓ cup butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk, any fat percentage you prefer

for the frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

for the cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with cupcake liners so you have enough for 16 cupcakes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined with a whisk attachment, scraping down the sides as needed.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the large bowl and beat on low with the whisk attachment until just combined. Add the milk and beat with the whisk attachment until combined. If the batter is lumpy keep whisking until it isn’t lumpy.
4. Use a cookie scoop or batter spoon to fill the cupcake liners so they’re half full. You should get 15-16 cupcakes. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes. They are done with they are golden, the tops spring back when you touch them and just a few moist crumbs come out when you stick a toothpick in the center. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the powdered sugar and the vanilla and beat on low until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. I used a pastry bag fitted with a 2D Wilton tip to frost these cupcakes.

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Lauren Cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes 0 Comments

Spring desserts are all about bright flavors and colors so I thought these Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes would be the perfect fit for these cute spring butterfly cupcake toppers gifted to me by my goddaughter. They are technically strawberry lemon cupcakes, but doesn’t strawberry lemonade sound much more fun?

The cupcake is a classic lemon recipe flavored with lemon zest and lemon juice. It’s a nice subtle lemon flavor that doesn’t overpower the strawberry frosting.

If I was making these lemon cupcakes with a plain vanilla or cream cheese frosting I would add lemon extract to really amp up the lemon flavor since I love it so much, but the strawberry frosting is so good you really don’t want a lemon punch from the cupcakes to take away from it.

The strawberry frosting is a buttercream frosting flavored with powdered freeze dried strawberries. I took a cue from my Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Cake Balls; using freeze dried strawberries crushed up into a powder is the ultimate way to pack in real strawberry flavor without any of the moisture of fresh strawberries. I’ve seen freeze dried strawberries in many grocery stores and Trader Joe’s and Target definitely stock it.

I’ve used this strawberry frosting on a chocolate cake before and it tasted just as bright and delicious paired with these lemon cupcakes. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes – they went fast in our house!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

 

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Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup milk
• Zest and juice from 2 lemons

for the frosting

• ½ ounce freeze dried strawberries
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions

for the cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners so you have enough for 12 cupcakes.
2. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla then beat on medium-high until combined. Add the flour mixture while on low until only a few streaks remain. Add the milk, lemon zest and juice then whisk by hand until combined.
4. Fill the cupcake liners with the batter until ⅔ full. Bake for 18-22 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when you lightly press on them. Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

for the frosting

1. Turn the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder using a food processor or by carefully crushing into a powder in the bag with a rolling pin. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the strawberry powder and the powdered sugar, beat on low until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Frost the cupcakes using a pastry bag fitted with a 1M Wilton tip.

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Lauren Cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes 0 Comments

As much as I want it to be spring already, we still have a few more weeks until the first official day of spring. And, considering that I live in New England, it’s usually a few more weeks after that. I decided to embrace the last bit of winter that we have left and make these decadent and cozy Hot Chocolate Cupcakes.

My inspiration for these cupcakes came from these adorable sparkly snowflake toppers! I have the coolest goddaughter who seriously gets my love of baking and cooking. This past fall for my birthday she scoured Etsy to find unique cupcake toppers for each season. I immediately knew the upcoming year on Lemon & Mocha would have to include four special cupcakes, each showcasing the cute seasonal toppers from my goddaughter.

When I was trying to decide what to make for the winter cupcakes I immediately thought of my favorite winter beverage: hot chocolate. The base of these cupcakes is my Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes. I tweaked the recipe this past fall and they truly are the most moist and light cupcakes with a big chocolate flavor. I’ve raved enough about my chocolate cupcakes in the past though so we can move on the frosting, which is what makes these not just chocolate cupcakes, but Hot Chocolate Cupcakes.

Let me get right to it; this frosting is crazy good. All it took was one bite to know this hot chocolate frosting would be an immediate member of my cake repertoire for years to come. And then I sampled a second, a third and a fourth bite just to be really, really certain.

Cocoa powder and marshmallow fluff help give this buttercream frosting that classic hot chocolate taste. There’s less powdered sugar than a traditional buttercream because we are using marshmallow fluff to sweeten the frosting and to make it, well, fluffy! Also because it wouldn’t be a perfect hot chocolate without marshmallows. Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

 

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Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk, see note
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee, see note

for the frosting

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 4 cups marshmallow fluff
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• Mini marshmallows, for topping

Directions

for the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners so you have enough for 24 cupcakes.
2. In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until smooth.
4. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and stir until combined. The batter will be extremely liquidy. Divide the batter between the 24 cupcake liners, filling them slightly more than half full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back mostly clean. Alternatively, they are done when you gently press your finger on the center of a cupcake and it lightly springs back. I find mine to be done at exactly 19 minutes.
5. Let cool in the pans for a couple minutes then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting

1. Beat the butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scrapping down the sides as needed. Add the marshmallow fluff, powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until combined and fluffy, scrapping down the sides as needed. Pipe the frosting using a pastry bag (see note) and top with the mini marshmallows.

Notes

To make your own buttermilk: pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Pour milk, any fat percentage, into the measuring cup until you have 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.
If you don’t want to use coffee you can use hot water, but the flavor of the chocolate won’t be as pronounced. You can use decaffeinated coffee if you prefer.
The frosting recipe is written assuming you will be piping a generous amount of frosting on each cupcake. If you would prefer to simply frost with a knife then you can most likely halve the frosting recipe.

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Lauren Cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes 2 Comments