Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing for my work potluck. Yummy!

2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
4 tsp Baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.
3. Cream butter and gradually add sugar.
4. Mix in one egg at a time to the butter and sugar, then add vanilla extract.
5. Stir in melted chocolate and blend well.
6. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
7. Pour into greased and floured cake/cupcake pans, or lines cupcake pans.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes for cake pans, 15 to 20 minutes for regular cupcake pans, and 8 to 12 minutes for miniature cupcake pans.
9. Test with toothpick in the middle of the cake to make sure it doesn't stick to the toothpick.
10. Cool completely before icing.

Mom's Birthday Cake - White Cake with Cream Filling and Butter CreamIcing

This was my first time ever making a filling for a cake.

It turned out great!

I made a batch of my basic white cake recipe and baked it in two 9" round baking pans for 35 to 40 minutes.

I let them cool then placed one on a plate and smothered it in the cream filling. I then put the other cake on top and thinly iced the cake with my famous butter cream icing.

Once I sealed the cake with the thin layer of icing, I followed up with a thicker layer of icing. I dyed half of the remaining icing with red food coloring and put it in a piping bag with and str tip. I iced " Happy 59th Birthday Linda" and piped pink along the edge. I topped it off with sprinkles and it looks awesome and tasted even better!

Here is the recipe for the cream filling.
Makes enough for the middle of one 8" or 9" round cake

You will need:

2 tbsp Corn starch
Dash of salt
6 tbsp sugar
1 Cup Milk
1 Egg
1 tbsp butter
½ tsp vanilla

1. Mix together corn starch, salt and sugar in a saucepan
2. Gradually add cold milk stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbles for 1 minute.
3. Beat egg slightly and add part of hot mixture to egg.
4. Blend and return all to saucepan.
5. Cook, stirring constantly for two minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Making the Cream Filling

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat over to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Mix first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a medium sized bowl, cream butter with sugar, then add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla once combined.
Add wet ingredients to dry and spoon onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Once cooled, icing with butter cream frosting and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Anytime Sugar Cookies

Whenever I make these cookies and bring them to a party, people are always taking some home to their family members.  They are the best sugar cookie I have ever had.  They aren't too sweet, and light and fluffy, and look very nice with colorful icing and sprinkles!

1 ½ cups butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter and place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.   Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven and cool completely before icing.

Perfect icing for decorating these cookies.  My cousin’s wedding was on July 23, 2011, and we had a few events for her.  I knew her colors for the wedding were going to be pink and green, so for one of her Bridal Showers I iced star shape cookies with bright pink and green icing.

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tsp milk

2 tsp light corn syrup

¼ tsp almond extract

Assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity.

Use a knife to spread on icing or dip the front of the cookie in the icing.