Vanilla Bean Raspberry Key Lime Cupcakes & Chocolate Marshmallow Cheesecake Cupcakes

One of my sweet daughters Chantri . . . is giving a special friend a Baby Shower.

She had so many things to do, so I offered to make the little Mini cupcakes.

It was quite fun!

Her colors are bright pink and lime green, which made the cupcakes colorful & happy.

I made:

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry or Lemon Filling & Key Lime Butter Cream Frosting.

Chocolate cupcakes with Raspberry or Marshmallow filling & Cheese Cake Cream Cheese Frosting.

The inside is quite yummy.

Some of the Key Lime Cupcakes have a lemon Curd filling as well.

I forgot to mark which were which flavor . . . and after biting into 15 of them to take a picture,

I gave up!

You will just have to trust me here.

FYI:  Look closely at some of the cupcakes.  Notice how a few of them have darker edges than others? This happens when you fill the liner a bit too full.  Remember that!  It’s difficult to fill mini’s tins.  It just doesn’t take much batter at all. Fill them 2/3 full and that’s all! I topped these with Lime zest and little pink pearls.  The Swiss Buttercream is really yummy, and you can flavor it anyway you like.  Rush’s in I.F.  has every flavor of Oils under the sun! For this frosting, I used the juice from 2 limes, but also made it a little zippier with Key Lime oil.

The Bright Pink cupcakes are filled with Marshmallow or Raspberry. Again . . . I gave up after having to eat a dozen of them.  I made Cream Cheese Frosting, and flavored it with Cheese Cake Oil.  The Oil flavoring are really nice, because they are concentrated and you don’t have to use very much at all. Add a small amount at a time.  You can always add more, but you can’t take flavor away!

If you want to make your own sweet little cupcakes, here are my recipes.

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MY FAVORITE WHITE CAKE

* makes approximately 24 cupcakes or 48 plus mini’s

For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
lemon zest from two lemons (opt)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract or Coconut flavoring (opt)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray

To Make The Cake:
1.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
3. Put the sugar and lemon zest (opt) in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes for standard cupcakes and 10 to 12 minutes for mini’s, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out clean.
Cool on wire rack.

MY FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE

*This recipe made about 72 mini’s, and will make about 30 standard.

1. Combine the egg whites, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and place over simmering water.
2. Continuously beating with a whisk, heat until egg whites are hot and all the sugar is dissolved (~140 degrees). If the sugar is not completely melted, your final product will be grainy, so make sure!
3. Remove from the heat and place on the mixer. Whisk on medium speed until meringue is stiff, and the mixing bowl is cool to the touch. The meringue will be white with a bright sheen, and very sticky!
4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and on medium speed add the butter a few cubes at a time. Please note, if the meringue is not completely cool, the butter will melt instead of combining evenly.
5. Continue beating until all the butter is incorporated. At one point it may appear as if the mixture has broken, and as if it just won’t blend together…….looking watery and separated like curdled milk. Continue mixing, and mixing . . .it will all come together.  (Don’t throw it out – it’s supposed to look like this)
6. Increase speed to high, and beat until smooth.
7. Add flavorings of your choice and tint with coloring paste

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