Spicy Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Ok, so as if we haven't eaten enough Halloween candy... here are the general steps to make the homemade frosting I whipped up for the apple cupcakes I shared here and here.

I say general, because I had a specific taste in mind and didn't find a recipe to follow -- and that means I made a lot of it up as I went along.  I was also making a very large batch of frosting for 3 batches of cupcakes (biggies and mini's), so I haven't scaled this down yet for one dozen cupcakes. 

If you give this a try I would be very interested to see what variations you make and the results!!  Let's dig in!

I stared with pre-made (store bought) caramels and unwrapped a whole bunch -- the more you use the more caramel flavor you will add.  If you were really feeling ambitious, homemade caramel would work too!

I popped a bunch of caramels in the microwave to melt them 10 seconds at a time -- stirring in between each zap -- until I got a gooey sauce like this.

While the caramels were melting I put 2 sticks of unsalted room temperature butter in the mixer with a bunch of powdered sugar.  I let this mix and kept adding powdered sugar until the butter looked consistently mixed and had stiffened a bit.

I then tried to just add the caramel to the butter.... didn't work.... the caramel cooled too quickly as it hit the metal bowl, hardened and made all the drippy mess that you see on the sides of the bowl. 

This is part of the fun of experimenting, right?!!

With that not working, I decided to add a little bit of apple cider and vanilla extract to the melted caramel to loosen it up a bit.  And then I ended up also adding a small amount (2-3 tablespoons) of the sugar-butter mixture to the caramel goo to keep it from hardening.  And it worked! 

I did mix in more of the sugar-butter just to make sure the caramel was really softening.  Then, it looked like this... a little bit lighter in color and a little more soupy.

Next, I was ready to incorporate the caramel into the remaining sugar-butter.

Gave it a good whizz in the mixer.  Don't you love mixer in action pictures!!  I know I do!

I also added spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper... add to your liking.

When you step back and take a peak at how I roll in the kitchen you can see I'm all over the place!  Lots of things out, using a lot of counter space, and happy happy as a clam!!

When I picked up the paddle and the frosting started to look like it does below; I knew we were there!  Not too thick that I can't pipe it.  Not too thin that it would run off the cupcakes.  Just right.  It's neat how the caramel gave a bit more of a goo-texture to the buttercream.  That's buttacream -mmmm!

This turned out to be a tasty experiment!

I put the frosting in a big plastic zippy bag (in lieu of a real piping bag) using this measuring cup to help support the effort.  Cut off a very small part of one of the corners of the bag and start frosting.

I made swirls since I knew I could do a ton of swirls rather quickly.

Yum!  I love how you can see the black pepper and cinnamon flecks in the frosting!

More yum!  I enjoyed mixing and matching cupcake liners for a more festive presentation!

A peak at my display for the actual competition!!

I felt really good about this effort! 

And I received so so so so many compliments on the cupcakes.  The judges did their thing and I didn't end up placing, but hey... I had fun, made people smile, and got to spend quality 'cooking with Katie' time in the kitchen -- and that's all that matters!

What goodies have you experimented with lately?

I am also linking to the Creative Juices linky party over at These Creative Juices... hosted by the lovely Beckie!  Check out the other creatives there!!

Apple Bake Challenge Cupcakes

Yup, like the title suggests I entered an Apple baking challenge!  It's really a cooking with apples challenge, but you get the point.  For my entry I decided to go with an apple spiced cupcake.  You know I can't resist a reason to make cupcakes!

I have made this recipe a few times now but more recently I made them this weekend as a trial run and then I made my big batch of the cakes last night.  These snaps are a mix from those two baking sessions.

I started by peeling and dicing a bazillion apples.  Not really a bazillion... it's actually only 1 cup of diced apples for 12 regular sized cupcakes.  Pretty reasonable in my book. 

I know it only called for 1 cup, but I thought a heaping cup made more sense!

In the mixer I creamed 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature.  I really like how this cupcake 'feels' more healthy overall -- you will see what I mean in a minute!

Then I created a mix of the dry ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and baking soda,  1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (I may have added a bit more), and 1/8 a teaspoon of nutmeg and cloves.

I added 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mixture, then 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mixed it up.

Then you add my favorite part... 3/4 cup of homemade strawberry applesauce (healthy!) that I showed you here as Straw-pple Sauce.  The recipe called for regular applesauce, but I liked the twist! 

Add the remaining dry ingredients.  And lastly fold in the chopped apples.

This is the batch from Saturday.  So pretty as the rough chunks of apples stick out of the cupcake liners!

As, yes the batter tastes as good as it looks.  The cinnamon and apple flavors really stick out!  Can you see all those cinnamon flecks!!

This is a snap of the triple batch I made last night.  I seriously think this is the most I have ever had in my mixer bowl at one time.  It's a light batter thought.  As soon as the mix is together the chemical process takes over quickly and adds a lot of air to the dough!

One change I made last night was to tuck a small piece of caramel in the center of each uncooked cupcake as a sweet surprise once you bite into it!

I was making both regular and mini cuppies last night.  I think the mini's will be a real crowd pleaser as the crowd gets to sample and pick their favorite dish!

Batch after batch I popped cupcakes in the oven.

And yes, I am going to leave this hang right here.  I am whipping up spiced caramel butter cream frosting tonight and decorating all bazillion cupcakes.  I will be sure to take a ton of photos and see if I can't get a few on here pronto. 

Till then, I leave you with the smell of baking apples and cinnamon in your nose and the thought of biting in to fluffy moist cupcakes!  I'm a stinker... ain't I?

Sweet Buns

It's lunch time.  And I have food on the brain.  This is a recent treat that was made in the Happy house!

I admit these aren't made from scratch.  Really all I did was pop open on of those pre-made roll cans and put them in the pan.  To make them a little more special I did make some extra frosting. 

I mixed powdered sugar with a few drops of water and a splash of vanilla extract.  Added a little extra yumminess to these delights!

Just look at the toasty, roasty, brown, goodness!!

Oh and how about the way the frosting warms and drizzles down the sides of the buns!

Last thing I did was to sprinkle a little bit of extra cinnamon on them for presentation and flavor.

Pretty now, right?  I really can't tell you the last time we have cinnamon buns or as I remember them being called ... sweet buns in the house. 

I think the sweet buns name comes from my Hawaiian side of the family.  Must be something that is sticking with me (no pun intended) from my childhood.  I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but if I remember I will be sure to share! 

These disappeared quite fast!  It's funny, looking back at my pictures I could have sworn I took a plating picture and for the life of me I don't see it. 

Making a special something as a treat and filling the house with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon = happiness!