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wellownedbkupi'm so excited cupcake hero is back! i mean, i came in on the tail end of it with the "Made of Awesome" cupcakes and i *still* have no idea whether they received my entry or not and... well, whatever. the past is just that because it's baa-ack. huzzah. i was so happy to find that out, despite finding it out rather late.
august's challenge ingredient was bananas. which generally lends itself to banana (nut) bread for me. which, ok, i don't *hate* it, per se. but i've been so burnt out on fruity breads with bits in them. just gets on my nerves. and i was at such a loss thereafter because, although i know there's more to bananas than banana bread, i couldn't think of anything.
except, maybe, the best smoothie flavor i've ever had outside of mango: banana pina colada. which, surprising, as i don't like coconut at all. not at all. but i was going to make it happen. a pina colada cupcake, replete with banana.
boldly, i strode into the store and bought what necessities were required for this endeavor. thankfully, living at home meant the perks of mom paying for the pineapple, bananas and the extracts, but it also meant that i was on a fixed staple budget. no fancy stuff for me, no sir.
i ran a trial run on sunday, just seeing how my flavors worked and who would eat it. 12 cupcakes in a 5 person house? lasted the half an hour it took to cool them from the oven. no frosting/icing/whatever at all. which, you know, helps because i didn't have the other necessity for my icing--cream cheese. no matter. at least they went over pretty well.
so, last night was the big run. my brother'd just set off for a vacation in japan and i knew that the cupcakes would last just a smidge longer, even if my sister came up with her daughter (the cupcakes still didn't last long. in fact, they were barely out of the pan before the first 7 were gone.). and this time, i was prepared for a double dose of pina colada goodness.
on the whole, i'd consider it a success! i'll probably still tweak the recipe here and there just in case i want a stronger flavor (i'm still looking for pineapple extract to up that sweet and tarty flavor), but on the whole, i like it. i was debating what to call it, really. it is two pina coladas: one in the cupcake and a second in the icing. but it will only fit in one hand! it could always be the drink that gives you the slip. but, you know, puns are highly overrated.
so, i present:
Two Pina Coladas
Cupcake:
1/2 c butter * (I like to use a ratio of 2/3 butter + 1/3 vegetable shortening= all butter in recipe; thus, 5 tbs butter, 3 tbs Butter Crisco)
1 1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp banana extract
1 c mashed bananas
1/2 c warm milk
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 c sweetened angel flake coconut
Cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs, extracts and bananas. Sift together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Then add 1/3 the dry ingredients, half the warm milk, then repeat until mixed thoroughly. Stir in pineapple and coconut.
Oven should be at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and the cupcakes will cook in 20-25 minutes. Let cool before frosting. Keep refrigerated.
Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz butter
1+ c powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1 banana, mashed
1 tsp coconut extract
1/8 c crushed pineapple, drained
Cream together cream cheese and butter until soft and fluffy. Add powdered sugar. Add rest of ingredients until mixed together.
(my frosting was very, very wet. that may be because i half-assed my measurements. and it's very easy for me to just... taste and see that it's good, but much harder to eyeball those measurements as correct.)
Pictures can be found here @ flickr
august's challenge ingredient was bananas. which generally lends itself to banana (nut) bread for me. which, ok, i don't *hate* it, per se. but i've been so burnt out on fruity breads with bits in them. just gets on my nerves. and i was at such a loss thereafter because, although i know there's more to bananas than banana bread, i couldn't think of anything.
except, maybe, the best smoothie flavor i've ever had outside of mango: banana pina colada. which, surprising, as i don't like coconut at all. not at all. but i was going to make it happen. a pina colada cupcake, replete with banana.
boldly, i strode into the store and bought what necessities were required for this endeavor. thankfully, living at home meant the perks of mom paying for the pineapple, bananas and the extracts, but it also meant that i was on a fixed staple budget. no fancy stuff for me, no sir.
i ran a trial run on sunday, just seeing how my flavors worked and who would eat it. 12 cupcakes in a 5 person house? lasted the half an hour it took to cool them from the oven. no frosting/icing/whatever at all. which, you know, helps because i didn't have the other necessity for my icing--cream cheese. no matter. at least they went over pretty well.
so, last night was the big run. my brother'd just set off for a vacation in japan and i knew that the cupcakes would last just a smidge longer, even if my sister came up with her daughter (the cupcakes still didn't last long. in fact, they were barely out of the pan before the first 7 were gone.). and this time, i was prepared for a double dose of pina colada goodness.
on the whole, i'd consider it a success! i'll probably still tweak the recipe here and there just in case i want a stronger flavor (i'm still looking for pineapple extract to up that sweet and tarty flavor), but on the whole, i like it. i was debating what to call it, really. it is two pina coladas: one in the cupcake and a second in the icing. but it will only fit in one hand! it could always be the drink that gives you the slip. but, you know, puns are highly overrated.
so, i present:
Two Pina Coladas
Cupcake:
1/2 c butter * (I like to use a ratio of 2/3 butter + 1/3 vegetable shortening= all butter in recipe; thus, 5 tbs butter, 3 tbs Butter Crisco)
1 1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp banana extract
1 c mashed bananas
1/2 c warm milk
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 c sweetened angel flake coconut
Cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs, extracts and bananas. Sift together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Then add 1/3 the dry ingredients, half the warm milk, then repeat until mixed thoroughly. Stir in pineapple and coconut.
Oven should be at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and the cupcakes will cook in 20-25 minutes. Let cool before frosting. Keep refrigerated.
Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz butter
1+ c powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1 banana, mashed
1 tsp coconut extract
1/8 c crushed pineapple, drained
Cream together cream cheese and butter until soft and fluffy. Add powdered sugar. Add rest of ingredients until mixed together.
(my frosting was very, very wet. that may be because i half-assed my measurements. and it's very easy for me to just... taste and see that it's good, but much harder to eyeball those measurements as correct.)
Pictures can be found here @ flickr
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Uhm... Yum!!!!
Date: 2009-09-12 05:08 am (UTC)With permission of course!
Date: 2009-09-12 05:13 am (UTC)Re: With permission of course!
Date: 2009-09-12 05:17 am (UTC)but, yeah, go wild. :D