Banana Split Cupcakes

My narcissistic boyfriend thinks he is the master of EVERYTHING...including cupcakes. Seriously, the boy has never browned hamburger meat, but suddenly nobody knows how to cook better than him. I don't get it. I am always staring at him in amazement over his arrogance...although it makes me laugh. He had a "much better idea" than I did about how to decorate BANANA SPLIT cupcakes. His idea was to top a banana cupcake with strawberries...Ummmm helloooooo! That would make a strawberry banana cupcake, not a banana split cupcake.... buttttttt I digress. HERE IS HIS CUPCAKE:

Note: I added the pretty strawberry on the side for photo purposes....

ANYWAY...

Lets get to the how to. For the banana cupcake recipe you must give credit to one of my favorite cupcake bloggers, Kristan, over at confessionsofacookbookqueen.com



For the icing and toppings I got a little creative, see below.

Banana Cupcakes:
1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 stick butter, melted
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin

2. Beat all of the ingredients together

3. Pour into wells and bake for 15 minutes or until tops spring back when touched slightly

I made homemade vanilla whipped cream for the icing by beating 1 cup of heavy whipping cream on high speed until fluffy and light. I added about a teaspoon of vanilla and about 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. I folded in crushed pineapple and finely chopped strawberries to taste.

I topped the whipped cream with a chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and a cherry!

ENJOY!!!!

Whoopie Pies

Mmmmmm Don't these look yummy??




What a weekend! So one of my best friends and sorority sister, Kaitlyn, came home from Austria last week to visit. Yea, Austria...she moved there for work. My friends are so fab! I'm super jeal! Anyway, we shopped all day on Saturday and had a super sexy photo shoot.....see for yourself! Sooo much fun!


We questioned if anyone actually wears these things for any event other than tacky hat day?? Then it hit me, I could see many of the Southern Baptist women who attend church with me praising the good Lord wearing one of these bad boys!
I was so tempted to buy one of these hats just in case I ever get the oppurtunity to attend the Kentucky Derby or some other glamourous event where I could pull it off. A few were actually cute....Example #1....

Example #2


Example #3


Ha got ya! So I was joking about Example #3...

Moving on...

I planned on making some banana split cupcakes last night, but I was CRAVING chocolate so I decide to try Whoopie pies. Yes, craving chocolate. I have been complaining about needing to get back into shape before bikini season, and I am devouraring Whoopie pies as we speak. Don't judge.

I had never tried Whoopie Pies before, but they seem to be becoming very popular so I gave them a shot.

They are one of my new favs! I love the moist cake-like cookie with the cream filling. Pair it with a glass of milk and HEAVEN! I recommend that you give these a try too!

This recipe is from http://www.foodnetwork.com/
Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
Filling, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or preheat a convection oven to 315 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until well combined. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and beat or stir to blend. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and beat again. Add the remaining dry mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and beat until blended.

4. With a large spoon, scoop out 32 circles of batter onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

5. Spread filling onto 16 circles and place remaining circles on top.

6. ENJOY!!

Filling:
1 1/2 cups shortening

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/3 cups marshmallow topping

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all ingredients except the milk and beat well. Add just enough milk to achieve a creamy consistency. Spread filling across cooled cookie circles.

*I halfed this recipe and it made 13 big Whoopie Pies*

That's my sweetie Nick. He doesn't even like Whoopie Pies, but he's a damn good sport.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

It's hard to believe, but I have never had Red Velvet until I made these. My supervisor at work yesterday told me that I should make Red Velvet Cupcakes because "everyone likes Red Velvet". I didn't follow this recipe exactly after reading the reviews, so I have written my revisions next to the original recipe. And of course, this is Paula Deen's recipe. www.foodnetwork.com

The icing is TO DIE FOR! But...then again...I do LOVE icing. And as usual, I was eating it with a spoon...don't judge.

This cake was not as red as it will be if you follow the original recipe because I added a lot more cocoa powder then the original recipe called for. If you try them, let me know what you think!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder (I used about 6 or 7 tsps....yea a lot more than it called for)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used a little less than 1 cup)
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 3 tsps of vanilla)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line cupcake tin.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer.

5. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

6. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.

7. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick.

8. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

9. ENJOY!!!

Cream Cheese Icing

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.

2. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated.
Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.