Ambrosia Cupcakes

These were made for my Gramp's 80th birthday celebration. He's a big coconut fan, so they definitely won him over. I got the recipe out of a Taste Of Home magazine. The only things I did differently were using root beer concentrate in place of rum extract (they were all out of rum extract at HEB and I happened to have the root beer concentrate on hand), and I sprinkled chopped pecans on the tops of some. The frosting was dangerously delicious. I could have probably eaten it by itself straight from the bowl.

And here's my Gramp enjoying the 80 balloons we blew up for him with a note about why we love him attached to each one. 

Ambrosia Cupcakes

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
• 2 c. sugar
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp. rum extract (I substituted root beer concentrate)
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. apricot nectar
• 1/4 c. pineapple preserves
• 1/4 c. apricot preserves
• 2 c. cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. chopped pecans

In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, apricot nectar, and preserves. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixtures alternately with sour cream mixture. Beat just until blended. Stir in pecans. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. (Yields 3 dozen)

Ambrosia Frosting

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 c. pineapple preserves
• 1/4 c. apricot preserves
• 3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 c. flaked coconut
• 36 maraschino cherries with stems

In a small bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and extracts until light and fluffy. Beat in preserves. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until blended. Frost cupcakes; sprinkle with coconut (it was easier for me to kind of dip the tops of the cupcakes into a bowl of coconut since the coconut wouldn't stick otherwise). Garnish with cherries. 

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, topped with cherry sours and rolled in white nonpareils. Made for David's stepmother's birthday. Both cupcakes and frosting are made from the Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" recipes:

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake (from the Hershey's website)

•      2 c. sugar
•      1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
•      3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa     
•      1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
•      1 1/2 tps. baking soda
•      1 tsp. salt
•      2 eggs
•      1 c. milk
•      1/2 c. vegetable oil
•      2 tsp. vanilla
•      1 c. boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (from the Hershey's website)

•      1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
•      2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa (any cocoa will do of course)
•      3 c. powdered sugar
•      1/3 c. milk
•      1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Yields about 2 cups frosting.

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Well I'm finally up to date. These are the cupcakes I made about 4 days ago. They're cherry chip cupcakes with chocolate frosting and either a cherry sour or a twin cherry gummy on top. They're delicious. I made the cupcakes from a box mix, simply for convenience and the fact that I was just making them for myself really.

Here's the recipe I used for the frosting, which is by far the most amazingly chocolatey frosting I've made:

Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (from the Hershey's website)

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa (any cocoa will do of course)
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Yields about 2 cups frosting.