Chocolate Cupcakes w/Buttercream Frosting (with recipe)

Today is National Cupcake Lovers Day!  In honor of this, Thing #5 was happy to make some cupcakes for the blog last night!  That girl loves to bake!

We used a cake recipe turned cupcake recipe I loved from one of the kids' birthdays and a frosting recipe we downloaded in an e-book from a blog I discovered.  Thing #5 is going to be gaining a LOT of baking insight from them in the future.  Pretty sure they're her soulmates.

Do make sure you have enough time to make these, don't rush it.  Very important to let cupcakes cool completely before putting your frosting on .... but you all know this, right?  You don't need details on how to make a cupcake.

Here are your recipes for cupcakes and homemade buttercream frosting!  On National Cupcake Lovers Day, calories don't count!

CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspooon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (can't find it?  Here are some alternatives)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Place cupcake liners in muffin tin
• Add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl, whisk or stir with a fork to combine.
• Add milk, oil, egg and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined.
• Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter, Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
• Evenly distribute cake batter to your cupcake liners - start with 1/2 full and keep distributing until batter is gone
• Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Organic Powdered Sugar 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Organic Butter
• 2-3 teaspoons of Vanilla (we used 3)
• 1-2 tablespoons Milk

Directions:

• Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl with softened sticks of butter, vanilla and 1 tbsp. of milk
• Beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated.
• Move mixer up to medium-high speed, scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.
• When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry



First try at piping frosting!  She
did a great job!

• Add milk in small amounts at a time until frosting is the consistency you're looking for.

Thing #5 was gifted with her first beginner's frosting piping tips and bags last night and after watching a tutorial on YouTube, she tried her hand at making pretty swirls!  You can just as easily pile on your frosting with a butter knife as we've all done for years.  Either way - these are hands down the BEST chocolate cupcakes with the most amazing frosting .... Happy Cupcake Lovers Day!!!!

BJ's Old Fashioned Ice Cream

When we heard that Baskin Robbins in Albany was closing - it was a jab to the heart.  Admittedly, I haven't been there in quite a while but it had been a fixture in our town since we were kids.  Fond memories there!

First I panicked .... where would I get peanut butter and chocolate now!?  But recently, 31 Flavors seemed to have changed their recipe to include crunchy peanut butter so I had switched to Tillamook anyway.

Of course there was rumor that BJ's was moving into the space.  Brownie and I love this place.  We visit Florence often and always try to find time to stop by BJ's.  I mean .... Brownie & Jen!?  Hello!?  :-)  It's one of our things.

While we were visiting the coast with Things #3, #4 and #5 we decided to stop at BJ's and introduce ourselves to Albany's newest ice cream.  Little did we know that the Albany location had already opened!  That was a quick transition!

BJ's on the coast has salt water taffy, caramel corn, fudge and several different kinds of desserts.  We took pictures of it all but we were there for the ice cream!

We kept it simple and the kids and I just ordered 1 scoop.  Well, one scoop may seem a bit expensive on the menu but as you can see in the pictures - it isn't just one scoop!  It's actually quite a bit of ice cream!  The kids tried different cones, I stuck with mine just in a dish.  Brownie went for two scoops!  That's his on the right.

 My dish may look less impressive, but it was creamy peanut butter (of course I tried the chocolate peanut butter!) and it was really good!

Now, none of us are fans of saltwater taffy; we're terrible Oregonians that way.  We took a picture for you anyway.  I doubt they'll bring this into the Albany space, but you never know!  They had a huge variety of flavors!

Did we mention they have fudge!?  Why yes, they do!  This isn't just an ice cream parlor!  We got 1/4 lb of chocolate mint and we all tried a little piece.  It was very rich and a few of us were too full from our ice cream to try it.  The kids did make some time to play with the fudge on their cones, however.  Gotta love Thing #4.

 We always enjoy our experience at BJ's and I know the kids loved it!  On a whim,we bought a bag of the caramel corn just so we could try it and tell you how it is.  This. Is. The. Best. Caramel. Corn. I've. Ever. Eaten.  I sincerely hope they bring the caramel corn in with the new location in Albany!  It is buttery and sweet and salty and FANTASTIC!

I know we Albany-ites are possessive with our favorite places and Baskin Robbins will be greatly missed as part of our town.  But don't blame BJ's and don't hesitate to go in and try their ice cream.  It's made right here in Oregon on Hwy 101!  It may not be healthier than 31 Flavors in many ways, but they have just as many flavor choices and it's very good. You'll like it; I promise!

Go give them a try and let us know what YOU think!  Craving more caramel corn now....

Avocado Chocolate Pudding (with recipe)

This was an easy recipe and I'm happy to report that Thing #5 loved it!

Ingredients:

2 Large Organic Avocados
1/2 Cup Organic Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Organic Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or coconut milk, sweetened if you prefer)
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
Pinch Ground Cinnamon

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the food processor (or blender if it's all you've got) and blend!

A few notes on what I discovered making this:

• Make sure your avocados are ripe and soft, but not brown and bitter inside - you'll taste it if they are!
• You may have to process/blend longer than you'd imagine and take breaks to scrape down the sides to make sure no little person gets their tongue on a chunk of avocado!  Whoah to you you if you let this happen! hahahaha
• This tastes very much like dark chocolate pudding .... adjust sugar/maple syrup as desired
• It's very rich!  Have a glass of sweetened almond or coconut milk at the ready!
• I would make these batches fresh if possible.  I chilled some in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning it was still good after some stirring but ... I wouldn't push it too far.

Asian Pears Foster

Just a quickie!

We just moved in to our new house - we now have a huge kitchen, a gas stove and apparently - an Asian Pear tree!  So Brownie made Asian Pears Foster with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Ginger Snap Granola and Fresh Mint - it's divine!  I think we're going to love living here!