Mini Sweet Potato Pies

I made these little pies for Thanksgiving, which lets you know how behind I am with my posts haha. Another recipe from Allrecipes, though I added the toasted mini marshmallows on top, because what sweet potato pie is complete without marshmallows?

Rather than peel and chop whole sweet potatoes, I grabbed a bag of sweet potato fries at the store and chopped them up. Saved me a lot of time. 

Draining the potatoes

Mashing the potatoes with a fork since I don't own a potato masher.

Yep, totally used store-bought pie crusts too.

I used a circle cookie cutter to cut the crusts out

I then pressed them into the mini cupcake pan with the end of a small rounded bottle since I've got long fingernails.

Mixed up the filling ingredients in my blender.

Ready to go into the oven. I put a tablespoon of filling into each shell. 

Fresh from the oven. Yum yum. 

I then put some mini marshmallows on top of each and toasted them in the oven until golden. 

They were half gone halfway through dinner. Definitely a keeper recipe.

Mini Sweet Potato Pies (from Allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust
• 3/4 cup evaporated skim milk
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup halved cranberries (optional)

Directions

1. Place the sweet potato in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until fork tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and mash with a fork or potato masher.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Divide the pie crust into 24 small balls. Press them into the cups of two 12 cup mini muffin pans to make tartlet shells. Set aside.
3. Spoon the sweet potato into a blender or food processor, and add the evaporated milk, egg whites, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Puree until smooth. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of this mixture into each tart shell.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the tarts comes out clean. Cool in the pans over a wire rack. Garnish each tart with a cranberry half before serving.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 69 | Total Fat: 2.5g | Cholesterol: < 1mg

Chocolate Espresso Mini Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

These were made for my mom's Marketing class. She's been working on a group project of developing a marketing plan for my imaginary cupcake business (which will not come to fruition until I at least get some business classes and cake decorating classes under my belt, so don't get too excited), and asked for something to sample during their presentation. So, I made mini chocolate espresso cupcakes with mocha buttercream, and topped them all with a chocolate-covered espresso bean. They were a hit.

I got both the cake and frosting recipes from Allrecipes.com.

My KitchenAid mixing up the batter like a champ

This recipe makes a TON of minis. Filled up two pie carriers and my two-dozen mini cupcake carrier, with a few to spare for David to take to work.

Chocolate Mocha Cake I Recipe (from Allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 1 cup hot water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. (I of course used mini cupcake pans and liners, adjust the baking time to about 10 minutes per pan)
2. Measure flour, sugar, cocoa, oil, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Dissolve instant coffee in hot water, and add to mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 318 | Total Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 36mg

Coffee Butter Frosting (from Allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee (I used two tablespoons for stronger flavor)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder. In another bowl, beat the butter until creamy, gradually beat in the sugar mixture, being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl, occasionally. Finally stir in the coffee, and beat until smooth.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 105 | Total Fat: 5.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Mini Bundt Cakes

Sorry it's taken me so long to post these! I made these mini bundt cakes a couple of weeks ago to use up some overripe bananas I had. They've got a Pralinutta (same as Nutella but cheaper) "ganache" (really just warmed up Pralinutta with some water added) on top! The cakes came out so moist and delicious.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it's very versatile. You can add so many different things to it and have it still come out delicious. And, it doesn't have milk! I didn't have milk on hand at the time, so I was very excited to find this recipe.

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Mini Bundt Cakes (adapted from Serious Eats)

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter (I used I Can't Believe Its Not Butter)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 c. sour cream or plain yogurt (I used Strawberry Banana Yoplait because it's what I had on hand)
• 3 oz chopped chocolate (I of course used half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease mini bundt cake tin with baking spray (I use Crisco Baking Spray). Beat butter with mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then the egg, beating for about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the banana mash. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don't be surprised if the batter curdles), all the sour cream or yogurt, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate by hand. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake the little cakes for about 28 to 32 minutes (my oven cooks faster then this, I just always take them out when I can smell them). Transfer the tin to a cooling rack for around 3 minutes, then gently turn them out of the tin (I place a clean dish towel on top of the tin, then flip quickly and carefully onto the table). Cool to room temperature on a rack. The cakes will keep at room temperature if stored tightly for 2 to 3 days, or you can freeze them for up to 2 months.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Mini Bundt Cakes

These were made for my friend Becca's 21st birthday party. They're chocolate hazelnut Nutella mini bundt cakes with Nutella, tiramisu mascarpone cheese, fresh raspberries, and homemade raspberry sauce on top. I got the idea from Passionate About Baking, but tweaked it a bit to suit my needs.

For the cakes, rather than follow Deeba's recipe, I decided to use a box of chocolate cake mix that I had in the pantry. I added to it some chopped toasted hazelnuts, a cup of strong espresso, some chocolate chips, and Nutella. 

To make the raspberry sauce for the tops of the cupcakes, I simply heated a jar of sugar free raspberry jam over the stove. You can add in whatever you like to it at this point, so I added a teaspoon each of rum extract and vanilla extract. I also added about 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur (I used Paula's Texas Orange). Then you strain the seed out of the jam, and you're left with a fabulous sauce that is also great on ice cream!

Then, I just assembled the cakes by putting Nutella in the center of the cakes and somewhat on the top, then a dollop of tiramisu mascarpone (it's infused with espresso, making it perfect for tiramisu), then a fresh raspberry, and a drizzle of sauce!

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutella Cake

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup of toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup of strongly brewed coffee (I used instant espresso granules)
• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 small jars of Nutella
• 1 tub of tiramisu mascarpone cheese
• fresh raspberries
• raspberry sauce (see recipe below)

Prepare chocolate cake mix according to instructions, substituting the coffee for part of the water. Stir in hazelnuts, chocolate chips, and one jar of Nutella. Bake according to instructions on box. Garnish with Nutella, mascarpone, raspberries, and sauce. 

Raspberry Sauce

• 1 small jar of raspberry jam (I used sugar free just because)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp imitation rum extract
• 2 tbsp orange liqueur (I used Paula's Texas Orange)

Heat jam in saucepan over medium low heat until viscous. Stir in vanilla, rum extract, and liqueur. Strain with mesh strainer to remove seeds and pulp. Refrigerate until needed. 

Unfortunately, this may be my last post for a little while. Why? Because we're moving!!!!! Yes, we're finally moving out of this duplex and into a house! So no cupcaking for at least a month since we need to save up for deposits and whatnot, and also we'll be settling into our new place. Updates will come as soon as they're available.

P.S. 22 followers? Really??? You guys are AWESOME!!!

Mini Gingerbread Eggnog Cupcakes

Alright, time to play catch up. I've neglected this blog way too long!

Oh yes. They were quite scrumptious. I made them for work for no particular reason other than to be nice and that I wanted to make some Christmas-themed cupcakes. They're mini gingerbread cupcakes with Southern Comfort (non-alcoholic) eggnog frosting and mini candy cane sprinkles and white sanding sugar on top. And yes, the liners have little gingerbread men on them too! 

Gingerbread Cupcakes

• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. unsulfured molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. hot milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter or line with paper liners a 12-cup muffin tin or 24-cup mini muffin tin. Cream 5 tablespoons of the butter with the white sugar. Add the molasses and the egg and egg yolk. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot milk. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the hot milk mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10-15 minutes or until slightly springy to the touch. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and remove to a rack to cool.

Egg Nog Frosting

• 1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pinch kosher salt
• 1/4 c. SoCo Egg Nog (any egg nog will do)
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Add the powdered sugar and continue to mix until it is well incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until frosting is very airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Use immediately to frost cookies or cupcakes, or store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Possibly Next Up!

I was browsing deviantART this morning and stumbled across these amazingly adorable cupcakes, made by Kimography:

They're French Toast Mini Cupcakes!!!!! Can you believe it? I love french toast, so this sounds like heaven to me.
After some googling, I found her recipe:
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 2 Eggs
• 2 teaspoon Maple extract
• 1/2 cup Milk

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350'F and line baking pan with paper liners.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Make sure the butter is cool or you'll have scrambled eggs.
4. Whisk in maple extract and then alternate between whisking in flour mixture and milk. Make three additions of flour mix and two of milk. Beat until smooth.
5. Scoop batter into prepared mini-muffin pan and bake 12-14 minutes until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched.
6. Cool the cupcakes on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 3 cups

• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
  
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
  
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, then increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more.
So now, I just need a reason to make them. David doesn't like french toast, and I don't wanna pig out trying to eat them all by myself. I think I'll see if his dad likes french toast.