How to Make Beautiful Cupcakes

I received an email from a reader named Ivy who asked to write a guest post for Beautifully Nutty. Ivy works for a bakery called Little Bertha in Melbourne, Australia. I only wish these treats were a little bit closer to home because they look so nummy. They even have gluten-free treats! Anyway, I happily accepted her offer after she mentioned the topic she wanted to write about…

How to make beautiful, tempting, nostalgia-inspiring, flavour-inducing cupcakes!

Hazelnut & Cranberry Meringue Cake

Cupcakes are the greatest pleasure food. They are a beautiful, sweet treat which will give a celebratory and fun feeling to any occasion. They are probably the original party food. Making or choosing cupcakes is not the time to count calories or pinch pennies, because they are a pure escapist indulgence.

Part of the pleasure in a cupcake is that they are pretty and decorative, so you have to take aesthetics into account with your baking. Cakes and baked goods have such great potential to look pretty and rustic. Look for beautiful cake and baking inspiration on Little Bertha.

Get creative with your decoration and presentation. I love using unusual garnishes on the top of my cupcake icing like floral decorations, creamed sugar, marzipan, biscuit crumb, cream cheese, fairy floss, and desiccated coconut. You can use the presentation to your advantage as well, by using pretty cake display plates, cloths, and crockery.

Lamingtons

Themed cupcakes are great for celebrating special occasions, and make lovely little party favours. Using a sweet little filling, like jam or caramel, is a delicious surprise to get when biting into cupcake. Cupcakes, unlike curry, are not better the day after, so try and make them as close as possible to the time they will be consumed so they are fresh and soft and moist. Icing tends to harden when left out in the air.

Pistachio & Raspberry Teacake

Some of my favourite types of cupcakes right now are chocolate buttermilk, salted caramel, iced tea cupcakes, pistachio and rapsberry, and lamington cupcakes. But really, you should just have fun inventing your own!

Who wants to go bake some cupcakes?!

Continue Reading How to Make Beautiful Cupcakes

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

Hi my friends! I really don’t mean to rub it in, but I am currently on a white sandy beach enjoying the warm sun SOOOO…..I have a guest post for you to enjoy and it’s sure to leave you wanting a cupcake. Thanks to Becky for a delicious guest post! NUM!

I’m hoping to check in with you at some point soon! I hope everyone is well. xoxo. Melanie

*******

Hi! I’m Becky from over at Olives ‘n’ Wine – a blog where I share my passion for keeping a balanced life through eating well, tasting great wine, staying active, and traveling to new places – and I’m excited to be doing a guest post for Melanie today 🙂

Becky in Cali

Back in December, Melanie hosted a giveaway of Parkers Farm peanut butter and I was selected as the winner! It is a good thing that Kyle (my husband) and I looooove peanut butter! We’ve been consuming our fair share of peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter toast, grilled peanut butter sandwiches and peanut butter with bananas and apples – YUM! Mitchell (our black lab) has also benefited from Melanie’s giveaway. He’s been spoiled with extra peanut butter Kong treats and he loves licking the empty Parkers Farm peanut butter containers 🙂

As you can imagine, I have been busy finding ways to use an entire case of peanut butter the past few months and I’m excited to share one of my favorite peanut butter recipes with you today!

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes 5

Today, my friends, I present you with: Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting! This recipe is, to say the least, delectably perfect.

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes 1

Creamy, rich and chocolate-y cupcakes topped with a salty yet sweet peanut butter frosting. The combination is as delightful as it sounds.

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes 3

Chocolate cupcake dough stuffed with a chocolate truffle and baked until perfectly gooey. Then coated with a luscious peanut butter frosting and a dusting of peanuts and chocolate chips.

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes 4

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting (Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart)

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

– Cupcakes

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup flour, plus 1/4 cup extra for truffles
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 12 chocolate truffles (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate)

– Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 TBSP milk
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips and/or peanuts, optional toppings

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with liners. Combine cocoa, 3/4 cup flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, individually, beating well after each addition, then mix in vanilla. On low speed, mix in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream. Pour batter into cups, filling approximately 3/4 full. Next, roll truffles in 1/4 cup extra flour (this keeps the truffles from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake) and push one flour-coated truffled halfway into each cupcake. Bake approximately 20 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

While cupcakes are baking/cooling, prepare the peanut butter frosting. Beat together butter and peanut butter until smooth, slowly add in powdered sugar and milk until creamy. Once cupcakes are fully cooled, spread frosting onto cupcakes and top with chocolate chips and/or peanuts. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes

Yes, this really happened in my kitchen and it was A-MAZ-ING! And, in case you’re like me and hate extra candy and treats around the house, this recipe is a fabulous way to use up some of those leftover, tempting Valentine’s Day truffles. 😉

Chocolate-Truffle Cupcakes 2

Other peanut butter recipes that I love include:

SWAT Treats

Reese’s Peanut Butter Bark

Homemade Chocolate + Peanut Butter Granola

Salted Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies

A HUGE thanks to Melanie for allowing me to post on her blog today. 🙂 I hope you’ll stop by Olives ‘n’ Wine and see what I’m all about!

Continue Reading Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes