Vanilla Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

These vanilla cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting are the perfect birthday (or everyday) treat. They are simple, classic and delicious! 

This April weather has seriously got me down. We had a huge ice storm here this weekend. If you looked outside you would have sworn it was January and not almost May! We were stuck inside all day on Sunday, since the car was completely frozen over. I made a huge pot of tomato sauce for dinner and decided that we needed something classic and comforting for dessert.  The vanilla cupcakes are delicious and moist. They have a great crumb and nice bite to them. The real star here however, is this whipped milk chocolate frosting. It is light, fluffy and oh so delicious.  The frosting on its own reminds me of a big glass of chocolate milk. The sweetness of the milk chocolate makes the frosting lighter than your traditional chocolate frosting made with either cocoa powder or semi sweet chocolate. 

I decided to keep the cupcakes fairly casual. I didn't use my usual cupcake decorating technique but instead I used an off set spatula to quickly frost these cupcakes. I couldn't wait to dig into them and I love the more relaxed look this frosting technique gives. There is something nostalgic about it. Of course I had to add sprinkles! They brightened up the cupcakes (and the grey weather that we have been having). 

Vanilla Cupcakes With Milk Chocolate Frosting

Makes: 1 Dozen

For the Cupcakes 

½ c butter, at room temp

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½  tsp baking powder

1 ½ c flour

½ tsp salt

½ c milk

For the Frosting

1 c butter, at room temp

3 c powdered sugar

100 g milk chocolate, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a time, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Mix until just incorporated. Add in the vanilla. 

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. On a low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

Fill cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3s of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely. 

For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium-high speed cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Switch to a whisk attachment, over medium speed, mix in melted chocolate. Whisk on medium - high speed for an additional 2-3 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.  Once cupcakes are fully cooled, frost as desired.

Lemon Blueberry Scones

These lemon blueberry scones are bursting with flavour while being light and moist! The juicy sweet blueberries pair perfectly with the bright tartness of the lemon! Enjoy with cup of tea or coffee!

 The combination of lemon blueberry reminds me of spring and I am hoping that these scones inspire some spring weather! I am so over winter and all the snow. I am ready for some warmer days and pretty spring flowers.  

I love that scones are so quick and easy to make! They only take a few minutes to mix together and they only take around 15 minutes in the oven. All in all, you can have a fresh batch of scones in a half hour! Which is particularly awesome, if like me, you decide you HAVE to make scones at 10:30PM on a Monday evening. 

These lemon blueberry scones are full of flavour! The lemon brightens these scones and brings a delicious fresh flavour to them. While the blueberries add sweetness. The scones are deliciously buttery and have the perfect crumb. They make for a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack. I love them with a warm mug of tea (or coffee!).  

Lemon Blueberry Scones 

Makes 8 Scones

Ingredients

1 ½ c flour

¼ c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Zest, from 1 lemon

½ c butter, grated

½ c heavy cream

1 egg

1 c blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Using either a pastry cutter, a fork or your hands, cut cold butter into flour mixture. Course crumbs should form, almost like a wet sand.

In a small bowl, beat together egg and cream. Add liquid ingredients to flour and butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Add in the blueberries . Mix until incorporated.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until combined. Shape dough into a large circular shape, about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 equal triangular pieces. Spaced evenly apart, place scones onto prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with extra cream.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Allow scones to cool on baking sheet before transferring to serving platter. Store in airtight container.

Mocha Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream

These mocha cupcakes are a delicious combination of coffee and chocolate! Turn them Irish - and top them with a decadent Bailey's buttercream! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. If you asked my boyfriend, he would probably tell you its his favourite holiday. Lol. A day to drink beer and listen to Irish music - he's in.  I knew that I couldn't let St. Patrick's Day pass without making something for the occasion. I used Guinness last year for these brownie sundaes - so this year I wanted to make a dessert with Baileys. Switch things up a bit!

So I know that bakers always say "Trust me! You can't taste the coffee at all!" when we tell you to add coffee to your chocolate cakes. It's true - coffee enhances the chocolate flavour and typically you cannot taste it. However - that was not the goal with these cupcakes. I wanted a hint of coffee flavour to complement the Bailey's buttercream.  So, brew your coffee extra strong! Like double or triple the amount of coffee grounds you would normally use when making coffee. Trust me :) 

Mocha Cupcakes 

Ingredients 

½ c strong hot coffee

¼ c cocoa powder

1 ½  c flour

½  tsp baking powder

½  tsp baking soda

½  tsp salt

½  c butter, cut into cubes

½  c sugar

½ c brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

¼ c sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together coffee and cocoa powder. In another medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Stir occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. On medium, beat butter & sugar mixture until it begins to thicken (approx. 4-5 mins). You want to ensure the mixture has cooled slightly before adding your eggs. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla and coffee mixture. Mix until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Mix until just incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake liners. Fill liners 1/2-2/3rds of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Baileys Buttercream

Directions

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy

Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined. Beat in Baileys

Ingredients

1 c butter, at room temperature

3 c powdered sugar 

¼ c Baileys