Birthday Cakes - 3/4 - The Idea Room

Strawberry Cupcakes & Vanilla Frosting

Well, my baby just recently turned three! So we had a little family birthday celebration for her. We served strawberry cupcakes because my little girl LOVES “strawbrees” and the color pink. They were delicious, if I do say so myself! I began searching my favorite recipe sites for a strawberry cupcake recipe and found this one from one of my favorite sites…Recipe Girl.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe from Recipe Girl

2¼ cups cake flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
2¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup pureed frozen strawberries (about ¼ of a 1 pound bag)
4 large egg whites
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 cupcake pan with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl with electric mixer, blend butter with strawberry puree. Add flour mixture and blend until light and fluffy (batter will be very thick).

4. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, milk and dye. Add whites in three parts to the batter mixture, mixing only until incorporated after each addition.

5. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Instead of using a buttercream recipe like Recipe Girl, I made my favorite Vanilla frosting recipe. It is so light and fluffy. I have a hard time eating buttercream frosting anymore after discovering this yummy frosting recipe a couple of years ago.

Fluffy White Vanilla Frosting:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a pan on the stove. Cook over medium heat until bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. In a mixing bowl, combine egg whites and vanilla. Add sugar mixture to egg whites, bit by bit, beating constantly. Beat frosting until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frosting your cake or cupcakes. This recipe makes quite a bit and will easily frost a larger cake or 18 cupcakes.

Yum! Go ahead and try this recipe! If you like strawberries, you are going to love these cupcakes!

★Amy

September 20, 2010 · Filed under: Birthday Cakes, Birthdays, Recipes Tagged with

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

27 Comments

You all should know by now my love for chocolate, but even better…is the combination of peanut butter with my chocolate. When I was a kid, I would sneak a spoonful of peanut butter and dip it into the bag of chocolate chips. My mom did NOT love this little trick.

Apparently I have passed this love on to my eldest daughter. She recently celebrated a birthday and could not make up her mind about what kind of cake she wanted. She wanted a “grown-up” cake and not a “silly” little girl cake. Then I remembered seeing this cake over at Bakerella. I knew I had to make it for her.

She loved it…and so did I. Really one of the easier cakes I have made. If you like peanut butter and chocolate, you will love this.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

Peanut Butter Cup Cake
*recipe originally from Parents.com

1 devil’s food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2+ cups chopped peanut butter cups
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.

Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool cakes completely.

Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.

Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set. Remove and serve.

May 25, 2010 · Filed under: Birthday Cakes, Recipes Tagged with Chocolate cake, Chocolate Cake Recipes, peanut butter and chocolate recipes, Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Peppermint Cake

16 Comments

Had a craving for some peppermint marshmallow chocolate cake…YUMMMMMMM! I found this recipe here, at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

I made this quite a while ago. After working on this post, I am suddenly craving it again. Too bad I am still on a dessert sabbatical (except for that one moment of weakness…or two).

I pretty much followed her recipe, but instead of adding her 2 teaspoons of peppermint, I only added about 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. I only wanted a nice subtle hint of peppermint.