Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

Hooray, I'm back!

Hey, remember that time that I got in a car wreck and ruined my car? It was good times, also then I got the stomach flu and was the sickest I've ever been in my life. And then it was Thanksgiving. And I got a new car. And then I went to THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTERRRRRR! So it's been kind of a weird month.

But my triumphant return to blogging is going to be these, which turned out pretty magnificent.

Who doesn't love Cinnamon Toast Crunch? It's my favorite cereal (apart from Waffle Crisp, which they don't make anymore so I try to forget that it ever existed). And in cupcake form, it's delicious.

Your ingredients: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, butter, cream cheese, oil, vanilla cake mix, cinnamon, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and powdered sugar (and buttermilk-pretend it's there)

First combine your eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Add in the sour cream. Then add in some cinnamon and throw in some crushed up Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Now pour it into some liners, and bake it. Try not to faint at how good it smells.

While they're cooling, let's make our frosting. Beat your cream cheese and butter until it's fluffy, then add in some more crushed cereal. Except, crush your cereal a lot finer than I did mine, or you'll end up with lumpy frosting, like I did.

Now add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until it's frosting-y. (See? Lumpy. Don't be lazy like me.)

Now just frost up your cupcakes and enjoy!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch CupcakesFrom Your Cup of Cake

Cupcakes:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 box vanilla cake mix

3/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch, slightly crushed up

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup very finely crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Preheat oven to 350° and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk. Add in sour cream and mix. Add in cake mix and cinnamon, mix until the batter is smooth. Stir in the crushed cereal.

Pour the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting.

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the finely crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch, then add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.

Frost the cupcakes and top with Cinnamon Toast Crunch!



Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

You guys, it has not been a good week. I mean, I've said that before, in like a "Wow, I'm so busy, this week is crazy, whew!" But this... this has not been a good week.

This week was my first week in my new job, and that part of it has been great. A little crazy, but in a good way.

But also. I got into a cark wreck on Tuesday. Bodily, I am fine. Car-ily... not so much. And since I was the rear-ending car, it's of course going to go down on the record as my fault. So now I'm probably out a bunch of money we don't really have, and we're down to one car this week. Which you know, is sort of fun in a bonding activity kind of way, but certainly not in a convience way.

But as usual, all of that drifted away as soon as I started sifting my flour. Baking is like therapy, and I should probably start some sort of program for it.

Oh by the way... this cake is awesome. You should probably make it, even if you haven't had the kind of week that I had.

Also, don't be cheap and have to beg your husband to do this math- just buy cake flour.

Your ingredients: cake flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, an orange, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt

Sift together all the dry ingredients except the cocoa powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in your eggs one at a time, beat well between each egg. Beat in your vanilla.

Now add in half your flour mixture and beat until combined. Now add in the sour cream, mix it in until just combined, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Your mixer is going to be working really hard at this point, but don't worry, that's just how this cake rolls.

Now- here's where it gets interesting. Divide your batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, add the orange juice and orange zest and mix together. In the other bowl, mix in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

Spread your orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan evenly, then spread the chocolate batter on top of that evenly. Now bake it!

Voila! A very pretty, fancy-looking (slightly blurry, sorry) cake that tastes heavenly!

That makes you forget, for a second, about your smushed-up, towed, leaking fluid car. For a second.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Adapted very slightly from the always fabulous Joy the Baker

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 eggs, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups sour cream

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp. orange juice

4 tbsp. sifted cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease a bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. Beat in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add the sour cream, beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture, beat until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, put the orange zest and orange juice and mix. In the other bowl, put the chocolate chips and sifted cocoa powder and mix.

Spread the orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan and smooth out. Spread the chocolate batter on top of that, and smooth out.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon-y Lemon Lemon Cake

So, I don't know if I told you guys this, but I recently got promoted- yay! I'm going to be a real classroom teacher now. The current teacher is pregnant, and won't be returning after having the baby, so this is it! It's the real thing! I'll be half in charge of a classroom full of 12-month olds to 18-month olds!

So the thing is, this girl has been really great during the transition, and even gifted me her lesson-planning binder, which is a bigger deal then it sounds like.

Being crafty, I asked her what her favorite desert was and got the answer lemon cake- she dosen't like chocolate and peanut butter together, is that not the craziest thing you've ever heard?

So I decided to make her this beauty, which is a Joy the Baker specialty. And let me tell you, it is delicious. (I only know because the recipe makes 2 loaves, I didn't eat off of hers)

Your ingredients: cake flour, vanilla, lemons, eggs, baking powder, cream, sugar, butter (you're going to melt your butter and then let it cool while you're doing the other steps)

First, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside

Then, in a seperate bowl, zest the lemons into your sugar and then work the zest into the sugar with your fingers or a spoon so that you have lemon-drenched sugar. (I got to use my new Microplane, as you can see, and it is AWESOME, it makes me want to zest everything.)

Whisk in your eggs, vanilla, and then cream until you have a deliciously lemony gloop that looks like this.

Then switch to a rubber spatula and add in the flour mixture in 2 or 3 steps. The flour and the lemon-eggs are not going to want to blend, but you just gotta get in there with your spatula and say "YOU WILL PLAY NICE." Eventually they'll combine. Then just fold in your melted butter. Then pour into loaf pans and bake!

Comes out looking like this- delicious. There is a syrup that I skipped this time but if I made this recipe again I think I would do it. So I will include it for you.

Lemon-y Lemon Lemon Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker
2 2/3 cup cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or 1/2 a vanilla bean, scraped out into the lemon sugar and incorporated)
6 eggs, room temperature
17 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup heavy cream
zest of 2 lemons
2 1/3 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease 2 loaf pans and put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Put the sugar into a large mixing bowl. Zest the lemons into the sugar, then work in the zest with your fingers or a spoon until you have lemon-drenched sugar. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated, then whisk in the vanilla, then the heavy cream.

Add in the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions, combining well with a rubber spatula.

Fold in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions.

Pour into the loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, testing until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pans onto the racks to cool completely.

Syrup:
Joy the Baker
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper and, using a thin skewer, cake tester or thin-bladed sharp knife, poke holes all over the cakes. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup, working slowly so that the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.




 

Apple Cream Bars

So I have this awesome cousin, her name is Kate, and she has a blog of her own! You should check it out- A Dash of Salter.

She alerted me to this recipe and so, I decided to "give these a whirl," as she suggested.

And you know what, they're easy, they're delicious, and Brandon had two. And the Husband says he even likes them better than Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes- I know, I know. Blasphemy.

So grab a couple of ingredients, and give these things a whirl, because my cousin Katie-poo had a stroke of genius when she told me about these things.

Your ingredients- a can of apple pie filling, yellow cake mix, sour cream, an egg, butter, sugar, and cinnamon

First, melt that butter and mix it together with the yellow cake mix until it looks crumbly like this.

Press it into the bottom of your pan and bake it a little bit.

Now, spread the apple pie filling evenly over that crust, then mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Then take a moment to think about how cinnamon and sugar together is never wrong.

Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top of the apples. I know it looks like a lot of sugar. It is, my friends, and I was nervous that it was way too much. But put it all on there , because it turns out delicious. Trust me.

Now, beat your egg, mix it into the sour cream, then spread that on top of the apples. If you want, you can reserve some of the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it on top, like I did. Now bake that mess.

And look at that! Trust me, it doesn't look exciting but it tastes delicious.

Apple Cream Bars

From my beautiful cousin Kate

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can apple pie filling

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix together the melted butter and yellow cake mix until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Spread the apple pie filling evenly onto the crust. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the apples. Mix together the sour cream and beaten egg and spread over the cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until they are set.



Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

I can't believe that I haven't shared this recipe with you yet! Because this recipe is my specialty. This is the one that started it all. This is the first desert I made for Game Night, and it was a hit.

And the best part is, it is so easy, and it's a total crowd pleaser!

Not to mention, it's Oreos, and it's cheesecake. What could be better?

I decided to make this batch Halloween-y, because Paige-y Paige gave me this wonderful batch of Halloween Oreos, and I only ate a few of them before using them in the cupcakes. See how much self-control I have?

Your ingredients: Oreos, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and cream cheese

First, line all your muffin pans with cupcake liners and put a whole Oreo into the bottom of each one, like this.

Now, beat your cream cheese, add in the sugar and beat, add in the vanilla and beat, then the eggs, then the sour cream. At this point it looks very cheesecake-ish and delicious.

Stir in the chopped-up Oreos by hand. Mine looks orange because of a little food coloring magic, but yours will look white with delicious Oreo flecks.

Spoon the mixture evenly into your cupcake liners and bake for 22 minutes, until the middle doesn't jiggle. Take them out and them cool on a wire rack.

Look how cute and orange they are!

I am going to give you the recipe halved, because the first time I made this I wound up with an obscene amount of these, like 40 cupcakes. So I almost always half the recipe, but sometimes it messes with my brain trying to look at the full recipe and half it. Let's just say that it doubles well- really well.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Makes about 18 cupcakes

From Handle the Heat

1 lb. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature

24 Oreos, 18 whole and 6 coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

dash of salt

Preheat your oven to 275°. Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners, put a whole Oreo in the bottom of each one.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the sugar a little at a time, beat until combined. Add the vanilla, beat until combined. Pour in the eggs a little at a time until combined. Beat in the sour cream and salt until combined.

Stir in the chopped cookies by hand. Pour the mixture evenly into cupcake liners. Bake for 22 minutes, until the middles don't jiggle. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.

Pumpkin Salted Caramel Blondies

Hooray, getting over my prejudice towards pumpkin deserts! And hooray for me overcoming my fear of making caramel!

 

Making caramel is scary- all the watching, the monitoring, the constant fear of burning- it's one of the scariest aspects of baking (see also: assembling layered cakes). That's why I've never done it before, even though I love salted caramel, I mean I LOVE salted caramel.

 

But my dad was in town this weekend so I had to go big or go home.

 

 

And guess what... I did it. And this stuff tastes awesome. And you know what else? That's not even the whole desert! I also made this deliciousness that the sauce just goes on top of.

 

So please make these, and I hope you're enjoying Fall as much as I am!

 

Your ingredients: Flour, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, salt (I finally got to use my fancy sea salt!), Baking Soda, butter, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree, Caramel Sauce

 

Whisk together your flour, cinnamon and nutmeg

 

Cream together the butter and brown sugar, then add the egg and vanilla, then the pumpkin puree, then add the flour mixture slowly until just combined.

 

Spread half the batter evenly in the pan, bake it for 10 minutes. Pour on some caramel sauce, spread the rest of the batter on top, and bake for 30 more minutes. When you take it out of the oven sprinkle some sea salt on top.

 

Serve it warm with some of that caramel sauce drizzled on top- you can use store-bought sauce if you put some sea salt in it, but you should make this sauce, because it was easy and it's delicious, and cutting open a vanilla bean and scraping out the seeds made me feel like probably the most fancy, professional baker ever. And it's gorgeous. Look at it.

 

Pumpkin Salted Caramel Blondies

From Baked Bree

2 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

Sea Salt and Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x9 square pan.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla, then the pumpkin puree. Add in the flour mixture slowly until just combined.

 

Spread half the batter evenly into the pan, then bake for 10 minutes.

 

Pour caramel sauce over the top, then spread the rest of the batter on top. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Poundcake with Cinnamon Glaze

I was all set to tell you a story about how my friend (and future co-teacher what-what!) Paige's mom's pumpkin cookies changed my blah attitude towards pumpkin deserts.

But that was before the missing baking soda. Remember how I don't like to stray from the recipe at all? Well, as I was stacking up ingredients, I realized the baking soda box was gone. "Baking soda," I said. "Where is it?"

"Oh sorry," said the Husband. "I used the last of it trying to clean the dishwasher."

What ensued was me freaking out, and him trying to get me to find a substitute, and saying "That's how I cook," and me snapping back, "Well I'm not cooking I'm baking, and I don't like improvising, and I'm already using canola oil instead of vegetable oil!!"

To which he quietly replied, "They're practically interchangeable," and I said, "BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME THING."

Then I turned on Rick Astley and decided, aloud, to turn my attitude around. I had been looking forward to baking this cake all week. I finally learned a trick to foil my dastardly oven (Literally, because putting foil over my cakes and breads makes them cook evenly, LIKE MAGIC). So I put on a smile and made myself happy.

And then I promptly left brown sugar out of the ingredients picture. But don't worry, because that long story brought you here. To this wonderful, beautiful, spicy fall cake that even sounds impressive.

And after pulling my perfectly baked cake out of the oven, I turned the bundt pan over, and in an unprecedented event, it came out PERFECTLY. It didn't stick at all- it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and I called the Husband in and he danced with me and so the story has a happy ending.

Make this cake. The end.

Your ingredients: Flour, sugar, brown sugar (pretend it's there), baking soda (pretend it's there), pumpkin puree, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, vanilla pudding mix, powdered sugar, and vegetable oil.

First, whisk together the brown and white sugar and the oil. Then whisk in the eggs one at a time.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, vanilla pudding mix, and salt- it smells delicious and spice-y.

Alternately add the pumpkin puree and the flour mixture to the sugar-oil-egg mixture. Whisk together until smooth. Be aware that if you're not a huge fan of the smell of just plain ol' pumpkin, this is not a good time for you. But don't worry, it all comes together.

Pour it into your greased bundt pan and bake! I greased mine with Baker's Joy spray, which is pretty awesome in my opinion.

And if you're lucky the cake comes out looking like this- HOLY MOLY that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

YUM.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Glaze
Adapted very slightly from Baked Bree

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil
3 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3.3 oz pkg. vanilla pudding mix
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
Glaze:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp. water
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350°. Grease a bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the two sugars and the oil. Then whisk in the eggs one at a time.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and pudding mix.

Whisk the pumpkin puree into the sugar-oil-egg mixture, alternating adding it and the flour mixture until all is combined.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan, smooth and even it out, and then bake it for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning the pan over to get the cake out. Let the cake cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, water, and cinnamon. Pour over the top of the cake once it has cooled.