Chocolate Tamale Cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo

When I was a shy girl in pigtails, I collected stickers in my gold vinyl sticker book. I would regularly flip through the book admiring my latest puffy unicorn or scratch 'n' sniff Strawberry Shortcake, deciding which stickers to keep and which ones to trade with a friend.  I still love stickers; there is something so tactile about them in today's world of screens.  My son and I add one each night to the wall calendar by his bed to reveal the next day's plans.

Easter Cupcakes Baked in Real Egg Shells

I watched my Grandmother's face when she realized that I hadn't handed her a hard boiled egg but rather a cake baked inside a real egg shell.  Her eyes were filled with wonder and I could envision what she must have looked like as a tyke the very first time she saw a red balloon float across the sky or the the trunk of a giant elephant spewing a stream of water.

"Crack it on the table," I told her.

 

Eggs were cracked, cupcakes were eaten, and I was perceived as a cupcake Houdini.

How to Make Cupcakes in Egg Shells

Bunny Tails - Donut Holes for Easter

The egg hunt is done and the Sunday dresses have been traded for play clothes. You're frantically looking for the next activity that will entertain your kids and all of their cousins before they decide to play another game of "Let's empty the entire closet onto the floor."  You suddenly remember this post and heave a sigh of relief.  You click on this download link to print out a bunny coloring sheet for each child (the same as the bunny above, minus the color). 

While the kids are coloring, you entice other adults to hang out with you while you prepare the bunny tails.  As each child finishes coloring his/her bunny, you present them with a tail, take a photo for posterity (if that's your thing), eat the tails, and optionally start over.  Warning: You might want to have a special prize for the best coloring job.  Otherwise, you'll find that the bunnies will be hop-hazardly colored as every-bunny hurries to be the first to enjoy their treat.  To stretch out the fun - head over to my Facebook page and upload your pictures.  I'd love to see them!

How to Make Bunny Tails

Sour Cream Frosting

Sour cream frosting is the obvious choice for sour cream cupcakes. This sour cream frosting is based on a basic vanilla bean buttercream frosting. However, instead of using milk in the frosting, the sour cream frosting uses sour cream.

Even if you are not a fan of sour cream, you still may enioy the sour cream frosting. The sour cream flavor is subtle. It adds a pleasant tang which helps to counteract the sweetness of the buttercream. Try it and let me know what you think!

• 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 t vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 2 T sour cream
  

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
   
2. Add vanilla bean paste and sour cream and continue to beat for another minute.
   
3. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.

Do You Live in A Divided Home? Make Vanilla and Chocolate Cupcakes at the Same Time

Some families are all about chocolate cupcakes, some are all about vanilla, but some families are mixed-flavor homes. What are these divided homes to do?

a) Make the flavor that the baker likes best.
b) Rotate and make vanilla half the time and chocolate the other half.
c) Never make vanilla or chocolate and instead make pumpkin cupcakes every day.
d) Make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes at the same time, using the same recipe!


Answer: D

I used a sour cream cupcake recipe to make both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. Both cupcakes had what I would consider a classic cupcake consistency (light and fluffy, not very dense). The vanilla had a vibrant vanilla flavor and the chocolate had a mild but satisfying cocoa flavor - you could make them more chocolaty with the addition of chocolate chips.

To make two recipes out of one, you simply prepare the batter for the vanilla cupcakes. Then, fill half of the cupcake liners. Next, add chocolate to the remaining batter and fill the other half of the cupcake liners. Bake and make everyone happy!

Vanilla and Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

To make these vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, I used a vanilla sour cream cupcake recipe from Seriously Simple Holidays by Diane Rossen Worthington. I am including the recipe below along with my modifications to make both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.

Makes 6 vanilla and 6 chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C flour
  
• 1/2 t baking powder
  
• 1/4 t baking soda
  
• 1/4 t salt
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1 C sugar
  
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
  
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 C sour cream
  
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate
  

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until light and creamy.
   
3. Add the butter and vanilla and beat on low speed for about 1 minute, or until well blended.
4. Beat in the dry ingredients on low speed until blended.
   
5. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth and well blended.
6. Fill 6 cupcake liners about halfway full.
7. Melt the chocolate (either using a double boiler or in the microwave).
   
8. Mix the chocolate into the remaining batter.
9. Fill the remaining 6 cupcake liners with the chocolate batter.
10. Bake at 350 F for about 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean and the tops are firm.

Sour Cream Frosting

While you can top these cupcakes with any frosting, you might want to try a sour cream frosting.  The sour cream adds a nice tang to a sweet buttercream.