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This might be my favorite recipe Molly from CakeFYI has shared so far. They look so delicious, I might even eat the photos. :)

As a baker and a blogger, I have definitely been known to have a cupcake for breakfast now and then. I love using breakfast foods as inspiration!

Today, I’m sharing a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes. These simple, flavorful cupcakes are made with a cinnamon and brown sugar cupcake topped with thick cream cheese icing. They’re the perfect treat for a brunch, a party, or anything else in between. I won’t tell you that you should eat one every day for breakfast, but hey, if they’re there, why not give it a try!

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 Cups Flour
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 3/4 Cup Milk

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the milk and mix well.

Add another third of the flour, mix, and then add the remaining milk.

Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Using a ¼ measuring cup, divide the batter equally among 12 cupcake wells. You will have extra batter. I used the extra batter to make an additional mini cake to use as a cake crumble topping.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

• 5 Tablespoons Butter, softened
• 8 Ounces Cream Cheese
• 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.

Add powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in vanilla extract once you’ve reach your desired consistency.

Cinnamon Drizzle

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Butter, melted
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 4 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Milk

Directions:

Whisk together butter and cinnamon. Add in the powdered sugar and milk, and continue whisking until smooth.

Once cooled, top cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing. Sprinkled cake crumbs over icing, and drizzle with Cinnamon Drizzle.

Thank you, Molly, for such a great cupcake take on a personal favorite of mine! To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

 

CakeFYI is here to show you how to make bright, bold, beautiful rainbow cupcakes...

As spring is upon us, and bright colors are beginning to pop, it’s time to add some color to your desserts! You’ve probably seen the infamous layered rainbow cakes filling up your Pinterest feed, but what about rainbow cupcakes? These cupcakes, inspired by those layered rainbow cakes, will serve as the ultimate pop of color at your next event. Starting with a basic white cupcake batter, they’re incredibly easy to make. Use any color combinations you like to make your own unique dessert.

Ultimate Rainbow Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 Cups Flour
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Milk

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the milk and mix well.

Add another third of the flour, mix, and then add the remaining milk.

Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Separate the batter into 6 bowls or cups. You’ll want about 1/2 cup of batter in each. I like to use paper cups for easy clean up!

Color each cup of batter a separate color, from red to violet. I used Wilton gel food coloring, but you can use any food coloring of your choice.

Add one tablespoon of violet batter to each cupcake well. Then add the blue, the green, and so on.

You’ll finish with the red.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool before icing.

Basic Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, softened 3-3 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar> 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 1 Tablespoon Milk

Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and milk and continue beating.

Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Using the same method as above, separate the icing into bowls or cups. This time, I only used 4 colors, but you can certainly use all 6!

Color each cup of icing a separate color. I used violet, green, blue, and yellow.

Prepare a piping bag with your favorite icing tip. To make the swirled color effect, simply alternate colors while filling the bag. Do one scoop of violet, one of green, and so on. Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and milk and continue beating.

Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Using the same method as above, separate the icing into bowls or cups. This time, I only used 4 colors, but you can certainly use all 6!

Color each cup of icing a separate color. I used violet, green, blue, and yellow.

Using slight pressure, pipe thick swirls of icing on top of your cupcakes.

 

Thanks Molly, they're gorgeous! To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

I've been talking about my chocolate soufflé for a while, so I'm finally posting the recipe.

My main takeaway from making chocolate soufflé, is that it's no way near as hard as people say. The main thing to remember is not to get any egg yolk in your egg whites. Otherwise, it's pretty simple.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 oz. dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa content)
• 3 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to coat the ramekins

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease four 3 1/2 inch ramekins with butter. Pour a couple of teaspoons of granulated sugar into each ramekin, cover with saran wrap, and toss to coat the inside. Spill out the remaining sugar. Put the ramekins in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the soufflé mixture.

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, or you carefully microwave it on medium at 30 second intervals until it is melted. Stir occasionally until smooth.

Beat the yolks until creamy in a separate bowl. Remove the chocolate from from the heat and mix in the yolks.

In a separate bowl, use a mixer to whip the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until it starts to foam up (soft peaks). Add the 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar, and continue to mix on high until it it is glossy and firm (hard peaks).

With a spatula, thoroughly mix about 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate. Now very gently, fold in the remaining egg whites into the chocolate sauce in three batches. Keep it as foamy and light as you can.

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. If you want more of a "hat" top (see our cheese soufflé recipe), you can fill to the rim, then run your finger around the inside edge of the ramekin.

Bake for about 12 minutes, then quickly and without jarring the soufflés, remove them from the oven and dust with some powdered sugar.

Serve quickly because they will start to collapse a little after a minute or so (this is just what happens to soufflés), plus they are so stinkin' awesome when they're hot.

Just looking at these photos makes me want to bake another!

Molly Allen from CakeFYI is back with an awesome dessert for Mother's Day... chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes! Big yum from me on this one, Molly!!

When it comes to dessert, there’s nothing more elegant than chocolate covered strawberries. From Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect treat to show your love. Why not take it to a whole new level with chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes? These are sweet strawberry cupcakes topped with chocolate glaze and decked with a homemade chocolate covered strawberry!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter
• 1 1/4 C Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 C Flour
• 1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 C Pureed Strawberries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the pureed strawberries and mix well.

Add another third of the flour mixture, mix, and then add the remaining pureed strawberries. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed. Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

While cupcakes are cooling, make the Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Makes 12 chocolate covered strawberries

Ingredients:

• 12 Fresh Strawberries
• 2 C Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tbsp Butter

Directions:

Wash the strawberries and dry them well with a paper towel. Place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Once melted, stir in the butter until smooth.

Holding the stem, dip each strawberry in the melted chocolate. Swirl the strawberry to remove any excess chocolate.

Place the chocolate covered strawberries on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens, about half an hour.

While Chocolate Covered Strawberries are hardening, prepare the Chocolate Glaze.

 

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 Tbsp Butter
• 1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Milk

Directions:

Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Once melted, stir in the butter until smooth.

Combine melted chocolate, powdered sugar, and milk and whisk well.

Assembly:

Once cupcakes have cooled, use a spoon to smooth Chocolate Glaze over top. Drizzle with additional melted chocolate, if desired. Top each cupcake with one Chocolate Covered Strawberry.

Thanks Molly, for the delicious Mother's Day treat! To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

For more Mother's Day ideas, check out these amazing Mother's Day parties on our site and our Mother's Day free printables!

I was given this challenge from Kraft to "zest up my life" and I choose to step out of my comfort zone and bake things I've never tried before.

My first attempt was chocolate souffle and I have to say I really surprised myself. It turned out wonderfully, and wasn't anywhere near as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I've already made it twice since I first posted.

My second challenge was to try my hand at a tarte tartin, which is fruit tart usually made with carmelized apples, that is cooked upside down and flipped before serving.

Again, I've always put this on my list of things to try, but have never been courageous enough to actually do it.

I have to admit, before starting this I was nervous. There were so many unknowns... How long do I cook the apples in the caramel sauce? How do I successfully press down the puffed pastry to make a seal? Will it really flip out of the pan and look somewhat like all the photos I see on the Internet?

And guess what... It worked (pretty much)! I can't tell you how excited I was yesterday when I was tasting my very first homemade tarte tartin... so fruity and carmely!

So what are my lessons from these two challenging desserts. I have two...

The first is that I've just got to try. I know it sounds trite, but it's true.  I have to get out of my own way, risk the possibility of failure, and get on with it.

And second, I learned that in order to get good at a recipe, I have to do it over and over again. Sounds like life, doesn't it? As I mentioned, I've now made the chocolate souffle twice since my first attempt, and each time it's gotten easier and better. I'm already looking forward to my next tarte tartin, because I know what to expect and what I might do a little differently.

I am definitely a more confident pastry chef today than I was two weeks ago.

I still have one recipe to go for the challenge. I think I might try my hand at crème brûlée or French macarons. I'm actually excited to conquer it, what a change! I'll keep you posted...

APPLE TARTE TARTIN RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen pastry dough
• 4 large apples (Granny Smith or another hard, tart variety)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Quarter apples and core them. You can see my apples are already browning. Toss them in a tablespoon of lemon juice to stop them from browning and to give them a little extra tartness.

Roll out the pastry dough. I used a 10 inch plate to cut out the top to my tarte.

In a cast iron skillet (or other oven safe pan), melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. As soon as it is melted, stir in 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Keep stirring until it starts to thicken and turns light brown.

Add the apples to the pan in a flower shape. I made a few smaller slices to place in the middle. Cook for 15 minutes until the apples are soft.

Remove from heat and carefully cover with pastry dough. I used the end of a fork to press down the edges around the apples, an improvisation that actually worked. Poke some steam holes in the dough.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the puff pastry is nicely browned. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.

Hold the plate over the skillet, and with oven mitts on, carefully turn it over. A few of the apples stuck to the pan so I used a spatula to get them off and place them on the tarte. But I'm still impressed with how it turned out and I seriously wish you could have tasted it!

Kraft Italian Dressing only has one goal in mind... tantalizing your tastebuds. And we're always looking for new ways to help you amp up your zest appeal. Like what you see? Let our Zesty Guy show you even more ways to spread a little zest at getmezesty.com.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kraft via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kraft.

I thought this would be a fun post. We get so many amazing superhero parties, I thought I show off these awesome superhero cakes!!!

(Click on the photo to  see the party the cake is from.)

For more inspiration, check out these incredible superhero party ideas and check out our superhero board on Pinterest.

Need some ideas for last minute Easter treats for your celebrations this weekend? Check out these cool Easter treat ideas!

I'm excited to introduce you to Molly Allen, our new baking contributor, and the woman behind CakeFYI. Here's Molly's first yummy recipe for Catch My Party. Don't these cupcakes look pretty! Take it away, Molly...

What better way to celebrate Easter and spring than with these easy-to-make Spring Vanilla-Mint Cupcakes  with a hint of mint in the vanilla batter. Then swirl your cupcakes with light mint icing, and finish them off with Pearl White Sugar Sprinkles for an extra decorative touch.

SPRING VANILLA-MINT CUPCAKES

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Mint Extract
• 1 1/4 Cups Flour
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Milk

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and mint extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the milk and mix well.

Add another third of the flour, mix, and then add the remaining milk.

Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool before icing.

MINT ICING RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 2 1/2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Mint Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Milk
• 2 Drops Green Food Coloring

 

Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and mint extracts and milk and continue beating.

Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Add green food coloring and beat until color is well incorporated.

Once cooled, top cupcakes with Mint Icing. Top with pearl sprinkles.

Enjoy at your upcoming Easter celebration or just because... they're that good!

Thanks, Molly. Can't wait to share more of your deliciousness with our readers!

I'm a cupcake fiend! And I love anything cute and colorful having to do with Easter. So here are some of my favorite Easter cupcakes from our site!

Click on the photo or the link to see the whole party...

Lynlee's Petite Cake's Bunny Easter Egg Hunt Party

Frog Prince Paperie's Preppy Bunny Party

Andy M's The Bunny is Here!

Piggy Bank Parties' A Springin' Gingham Easter

Tania S's Somebunny Loves You

Melissa P's Happy Easter Party

 Nancy P's Easter Party

For more inspiration, check out all the incredible Easter parties on site, and take a look at our collections of free Easter printables!

 

Everything I read about 3D printing gets me more and more excited about the future. One day maybe we'll all get to 3D print our couches or even our cars!

I received a cookie cutter in the mail from Cookie Caster and when I realized that this is a company that makes custom cookie cutters by 3D printing them, I had to share.

You design the cookie cutter of your dreams using their site. You can upload an image you want to use, draw your cookie cutter freehand, or browse their gallery and choose from there. Then they print it out for you and send it in the mail.

A 3 inch cookie cutter costs $27 and a 4 inch cookie cutter costs $33. From browsing their gallery, I see people have created lots of animals, cartoon characters, letters, mascots, and logos.

They sent me a 3D printed star cookie cutter to try out. Here 's what it looks like.

Now if only they printed couches...