Cupcakes Part 3-Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Beautiful twirl of frosting

Wow, I'm really getting serious.  A third post on cupcakes.  Unbelievable.  I wasn't kidding when I said I loved making them.  Well, this cupcake is just begging to be made during the Fall season.  It's down on it's hands and knees...begging.  You can't say no, it wouldn't be nice.
The cake recipe is from another vintage cookbook, All About Home Baking.  I will say, these turned out a bit dry, but it's because I was naughty and didn't sift the flour and then measure it.  I hastly dunked my measuring cup in the cake flour box.  Not.a.good.idea.  Please be sure to sift the flour, then scoop the flour with a spoon into your measuring cup and then level with a knife.  That should take care it. 

The blend of spices gives the cake several layers of flavor and an amazing aftertaste.  Strange, but true.  I  added about a 1/2 tsp of ginger for a bit of a punch.  And, the molasses gives depth and richness to the flavor of the cake.  Oh, and I added some walnuts...just for the Self-Professed Nerd.

Yumminess on the inside

Spice Cake
Adapted from All About Home Baking 1933
Yield: 24-30 cupcakes

4 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened, or shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk (or even better, buttermilk)
3 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat ove to 375 degrees.  Grease muffin pans or line with paper liners.
Sift flour, then measure and pour into a medium bowl.  Add baking powder and salt to flour.  Stir to combine.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter thouroughly, add sugar gradually and cream together until light and fluffy.  Then add eggs and mix well.  Add flour mixture, alternately with the milk, a small amount at a time.  Beat after each addition until smooth.  Add vanilla, molasses, spices, and walnuts.  Mix until incorporated.  Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans, fill about 2/3rds full.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or unitl a toothpick comes out clean.

I must love Martha's Vanilla Frosting recipe, because I've used it several times.  I'd say it's more of a cream cheese frosting than vanilla, but so what, who cares (in my best Joy Behar voice). 

Vanilla Frosting (Martha Stewart)

This is the original recipe, doubled:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

8 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat until well combined.

Cupcakes Part 2-Vintage Cake recipe

Remember the post, where I declared my love of cupcakes?  Well, here's the sequel ladies and gentlemen.  What's special about this recipe is that it's a vintage recipe. This lovely chocolate cake recipe came from my 1956 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.  There's something quite unique about baking from vintage cookbooks, you're transported to another era.  You know, where you dress like the ladies from Mad Men  and your house is as well kept as June Cleaver's. Only in my dreams.

The frosting recipe is from Miss Martha and is simply titled Vanilla frosting.  The light cream cheese flavor goes well with the chocolate cake.  I dare you to not dip your finger into that big bowl of goodness while frosting these puppies.  I doubled the recipe and I had plenty of frosting to cover more than two dozen cupcakes. 

Ok, let's face it, this recipe isn't earth-shatteringly unique, but all of us need a good chocolate cake recipe.  I know that there are tons of chocolate cake mixes on the shelves of every grocery store, but homemade cake is so much better.  In fact, it's infinitely better than any box cake.  Plus, it doesn't have all those crazy preservatives. 

Here's the recipe, as written in the cookbook:

Popular Chocolate Cake (Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, 1956)

Grease and flour.................................2  9" layer pans or 13x9" oblong pan

Cream together until fluffy................2/3 c.   shortening

(Beat 5 min. high speed                     1 1/2 c. sugar

  on mixer or by hand)                        3 eggs                      

                                                    

Blend in............................................2 1/2 sq. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Sift together......................................2 1/4 c. flour

                                                            1 tsp baking Soda

                                                            1 tsp. salt

Mix in alternately with.....................1 1/4 c. buttermilk

(Use low speed on mixer)

Temperature: 350 degrees (mod. oven)

Time: Bake layers 30 to 35 min, oblong 40 to 45 min.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake unitl cake tests done.  Cool.  Finish with icing.

Vanilla Frosting (Martha Stewart)

This is the original recipe, doubled:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

8 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat until well combined.

Cupcakes

(You can find this print on Etsy)

So, I've decided that I love to make cupcakes.  There are two problems with this:  1)  If I make them too much, I will then weigh 547.5 pounds.  Not good.  2)  They have been the 'it' baking item for a while now and I don't really like copying people or going with trends too much. 

But, they're so pretty, so very, very pretty, and fun to decorate, and fun to eat, and...did I say, pretty?  So, to heck with the problems.  I'm going to make cupcakes until my fingers fall off.  I will need help with #1, however, so if you ever want a cupcake, I'm more than willing to share with you.  :)

First up, Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes.  Um, I died and went to baking heaven after I ate one of these.  Seriously, it's the best cupcake I've ever had, period.  The recipe calls for Raspberry Extract and I couldn't find it, so the raspberry flavor in the frosting was very faint.  But, they were still the most delicious cupcake ever and the frosting was creamy and yummy and tasted like a professional made it. (was that a run on sentence?)   Next time, I will be scouring the Twin Cities to find that extract, come heck or high water.   Ahhhh, life is good. 

My Raspberry Lemon cupcake, all decorated for Easter

This is a Dorie Greenspan recipe, but I found it on the blog My Baking Addiction.  Seriously, I will never make a cake from a box again.  Well, that might not be totally true...I'm weak, what can I say.  :)