Creamy Key Lime Frosting

All I can say is "yum!"

Ingredients

• 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tsps grated key lime peel (or regular lime peel)
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Stir together milk, lime peel, and lime juice in a small bowl; set aside. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold milk/lime mixture unto whip cream until just blended.

Sour Peach Frosting

This frosting tastes strikingly similar to those sour peach gummy rings in the grocery store. Mmmmm....

Ingredients

• 1 box (3 oz) peach flavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup water + 2 teaspoons water
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• red and yellow food colors

1. In a 2-cup microwaveable bowl, stir peach gelatin into 1/4 cup water. Microwave on high 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring 2-3 times to dissolve gelatin.
2. In a large bowl, beat gelatin mixture, powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice and additional water until frosting is thick but spreadable.
   
3. Add 2 drops of red food coloring in one side of bowl and and 2 drops of yellow food coloring in other side of bowl. Swirl frosting together until barely marbled.
   
4. Frost your cupcakes.

How to Decorate a SMOOOOOOOOTH Cupcake

From Stephanie. This is a great little video showing you how to make smooth frosted cupcakes, with a bit of sisterly fun thrown in.



Enjoy!

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

The flavor of cotton candy got me thinking about cupcakes and how I could translate that flavor into a cupcake. I searched the internet to see how other cupcake divas may have handled the problem. Most of them haven't really attempted this idea though--although CakeSpy has come up with a great recipe...I am still working on it, and I think I may have to adapt CakeSpy's version--stay tuned.

In the meantime, I did come up with this version, which is quite tasty and absolutely tastes like cotton candy.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 oz) white cake mix
• 2 cups (1 pint) melted cotton candy ice cream*
• 3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place paper baking cups in 24 muffin cups.


2. With a stand or electric mixer, beat together all ingredients on low speed until incorporated, and then another 2 minutes on medium speed. Divide evenly between muffin cups.


3. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
   


4. Frost.

*Blue Bunny's website states that they sell a Cotton Candy ice cream, however, it wasn't available in my store. I went to my local ice cream shop and bought a quart of Cotton Candy ice cream there--1 pint for the cupcakes, and 1 pint for eating--cake and ice cream go great together ya know. ;)

Cotton Candy Frosting
This is an adaptation of Magnolia Bakery's old fashioned frosting...

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons cotton candy extract
  

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and cotton candy extract. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.


2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.
   


3. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Frosting can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Orange Marmalade Frosting

Yummy, yummy, yummy. Of course, you have to love oranges to love this frosting--but I do! And for that chocolate-orange mix, this frosting can't be beat!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade

Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric or stand mixer on low speed until fluffy--about 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and 2 tbsp orange juice. Blend on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Stir in the orange marmalade. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy--about 2 minutes. Blend in up to 1 tbsp of remaining orange juice if the frosting seems stiff. Frost your cupcakes!

Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This isn't a true buttercream--it's an old-fashioned (but absolutely yummy!) alternative. And, it's Magnolia Bakery's frosting of choice--so you can't really go wrong with it. :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
   
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.
   
3. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe from: More From Magnolia
by Allysa Torey, Photographs Zeva Oelbaum

Strawberry Frosting

This is a quick, easy, and delicious frosting utilizing real strawberries. Yummy! It's great for Strawberry Cupcakes, and just as great on a plain vanilla cupcake. Or try it on a chocolate cupcake for a chocolate covered strawberry kinda taste.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (reserve juice - you might need it)
  

Beat ingredients together well. If the frosting is a bit too thick to spread, add a little of the drained strawberry juice. Enjoy!

Caramel Frosting

Yum, yum, yum! I seem to be in a chocolate candy bar type of mood, because the almonds in the previous post and the caramel in this post are giving me serious cravings! Satisfy your cravings with this yummy frosting, suitable for a variety of cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to low. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.


2. Gradually stir powdered sugar into brown sugar mixture. Place saucepan of frosting in bowl of cold water. Beat with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, 1 tbsp at a time.
   

Easy Chocolate Frosting

Quick and easy--just what the baker called for. And don't forget yummy...this frosting is definitely yummy...

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tbsp baking cocoa
• 3-4 tbsp milk

With a mixer, combine all ingredients until smooth. Frost your cupcakes.

Whipped Cream

We're going back to basics with this easy whipped cream recipe. You could always use a frozen whipped topping, but why? Making your own whipped cream is so easy and tastes soooo much better!

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Place a large (preferably metal--but only if you have it) mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.
   
2. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream is thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes.
   
3. Stop beating and add the sugar and vanilla. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes.
   

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

This is a great frosting that tastes great, transports well (yea!), and has a nice marshmallow-y flavor, which is awesome for adding a touch of sweetness to your "plain" cupcakes, and adds a nice marshmallow-y punch when paired with marshmallow cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup (whole) milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl.
   


2. Place marshmallow fluff, butter, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until the butter and marshmallow fluff have melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in the sugar cocoa mixture and vanilla. Stir until the frosting is smooth and satiny.


3. Frost your cupcakes.
   

~This frosting is courtesy of the Cake Mix Doctor.

Black Walnut Frosting

Let's just talk about gourmet frostings for a moment. You can take an extraordinary frosting and dress up an every day cupcake with it. Or you can put an extraordinary cupcake over the top with an extraordinary frosting. And this frosting is one of those out of this world, extra-special frostings.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Nut extract
• 1/2 tsp Black Walnut extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter, and extracts in a medium bowl until smooth.


2. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until frosting is of a spreading consistency.
   

Marshmallow Frosting

This is about the easiest and the tastiest frosting you can find, using on 3 ingredients. You can use this on so many different types of cupcakes!

Ingredients

• 1 (13 oz) jar marshmallow fluff
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Remove the lid from the jar of marshmallow fluff. Microwave on high for about 45 seconds. Scrape the fluff out of the jar and into a mixing bowl.
   
2. Add sour cream and vanilla extract.
3. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat on medium speed about 1 minute, or until the frosting is fluffy.

White Chocolate Frosting

White chocolate is creamy and delicious; silky and smooth. And it makes excellent frosting--fantastic for dressing up your cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Melt white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of water that is not quite simmering. Make sure the bottom of the bowl rests several inches above the surface of the water. Stir chocolate until smooth and let cool to room temperature on the countertop.
   
   
2. Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl. Using a whisk, stir in the milk until all of the sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth. Add butter, vanilla extract, and salt and continue to beat until smooth and shiny. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cooled white chocolate.


3. Place frosting in the refrigerator until cool enough to frost the cupcakes, about 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is an old standby. It works on a bunch of different types of cupcakes including Strawberry Cream Cheese, Carrot Cake, Red Velvet, and more. And all it takes is a yummy but easy recipe such as this.

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp
  
• 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup), room temp
• 4 tsp real vanilla extract

Using an electric or stand mixer, beat ingredients in medium bowl until smooth and creamy.

Brown Butter Frosting

This is a delightful frosting suitable for a wide variety of cupcakes. You are only limited by your imagination.

The Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-2 tbsp buttermilk

1. In a saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter over medium-low heat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Cool.


2. In a bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add cooled brown butter. Beat until combined.


3. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, ground nutmeg, and a dash of salt. Beat until combined. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons buttermilk until spreadable. Use immediately.