Applesauce & Cinnamon Cupcakes - Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 tbsp. confectioners/icing sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 small red eating apple, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the butter, icing sugar, flour and eggs in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on low-medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the applesauce, cinnamon, pecans and raisins with a whisk or large spoon, until well combined. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Lay a few apple slices on top of each cupcake and sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes

>>>Want to try some apple cinnamon cupcakes, but you're not in the mood to MAKE them? Why not let me make some for you! From the Cuppy Love line try: Cran-Apple Splash! An apple cinnamon cupcake with cran-apple filling, topped with 'a hint of orange' buttercream icing and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. Leave your comments below, or contact me at carina@heartofthebatter.com<<<

Banana, Pecan and Maple Syrup Cupcakes - Recipe

1 3/4 cups mashed bananas (about 4 whole bananas)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tbsp. margarine, melted
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, maple syrup and margarine. Beat with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until well combined. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt and continue beating until well blended. Fold in the chopped pecans with a a large spoon or spatula, until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.

To turn these muffins into cupcakes...
1 1/4 cups confectioners/icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp. maple syrup

Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until texture is smooth and spreadable. Frost each cupcake and top with additional chopped pecans, if desired.

Make approximately 18 cupcakes

Strawberry Lime Ricotta Cheesecake Cupcakes - Recipe

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp. margarine, melted
2 tbsp. honey
2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups confectioners/icing sugar
1 tbsp. freshly grated lime zest
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
additional strawberries, if desired

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a food processor, combine the graham crumbs, margarine and honey. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes (or until set). In a large bowl, beat the ricotta with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until soft. Beat in the eggs and icing sugar until well combined. Gently fold in the lime zest and chopped strawberries with a large spoon or spatula until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4-1/3 of a cup of cheese mixture over the graham crusts. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Top with additional sliced strawberries before serving, if desired.

Makes approximately 12 mini cheesecakes

Orange Walnut Ricotta Cheesecake Cupcakes - Recipe

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp. margarine, melted
2 tbsp. honey
2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups confectioners/icing sugar
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
additional chopped walnuts and/or honey, if desired

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a food processor, combine the cracker crumbs, margarine and honey. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom. Chill for 20-30 minutes (or until set).

In a large bowl, beat the ricotta with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until soft. Beat in the eggs, icing sugar and orange extract until well combined. Gently fold in the walnuts with a large spoon or spatula, until evenly dispersed. Spoon 1/4-1/3 cup of cheese mixture on top of graham crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove mini cheesecakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Drizzle with a little honey and sprinkle a few chopped walnuts on top before serving, if desired.

Makes 12 mini cheesecakes

Banana & Honey Muffins - Recipe

1 3/4 cups mashed bananas (about 4 whole bananas)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp. vegan margarine, melted
2 cups self-rising flour
*(substitute almond flour to make this recipe gluten free)
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
18 banana chips (if desired)

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine bananas, sugar, honey and margarine. Beat with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until well combined. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat gently on low speed until well combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts with a large spatula or spoon until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Top with a banana chip, if desired.

Make approximately 18 muffins

March Break Madness

Hello my learning loving adventurers!
Depending on where you live, you are probably thinking about March Break right now. What to do with your time off of school (or your kids time off of school). Well I've brought you some fun ideas to bring together experimenting in the kitchen with exploring your city.
So here are 5 ideas to keep your whole family's tummy happy, keep their brains engaged and their bums off the couch.

Day 1: Bake a batch of cupcakes (DUH!) Today try out this awesome barn cake and fill the barnyard with these adorable chickens, sheep and pig cupcakes that anyone can make, or be creative and make some animals of your own like cows or horses! The barn can be baked in an 8" square tin, and should use about 2.5 cups of batter. The remaining batter should bake about 12 cupcakes. You can decorate 4 cupcakes today, and save some for decorating on day 2, 3 and 4. You can also choose not to make the barn, in which case you'll have 24 cupcakes to spread out across the week. Follow the link below for full instructions and video from the amazing team at Betty Crocker on how to create this barn cake and farmyard cupcakes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnF_JkOS1Nc&feature=fvwrel

Turn this fun baking experience into a learning adventure. Take a trip to a local petting zoo (or make friends with your local farmer) and let your family meet some real live farm animals. This is a great way to get kids involved with animals, teach them about the names of different animals and what their babies are called and teaches young children how to be gentle (and brave)! Petting zoos are generally very cheap (if not free) for admission and offer a whole day of fun and exploration.

Day 2: Have any sports fans in your family? I hope you saved a few cupcakes to decorate today. Try out these super easy baseballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, and basketballs. Or make all 4 to match your favorite sport. The fabulous team at Betty Crocker also came up with this great idea. Follow the link below to show you what you need to create each kind of sports ball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyRTqDgSDw

Pack this tasty treat up and take it to a game with you. This time of year you can take in a basketball game, hockey game, or baseball spring training. Public sporting events are a great way to get your family into the excitement of a game, and a great opportunity to introduce your child(ren) to new sports, teach them about working together as a team, and have a chance to jump up and down screaming and cheering for a team. (Hey, its my experience anytime kids are ALLOWED to jump and scream, they don't care what the occasion is, they're in!!!)

Day 3: So by now, you should have 4 cupcakes left. And what better to do with them than make them into jungle pals. You can create a brave lion, a daring tiger, a prancy zebra and a cheeky monkey. Another amazing idea from Betty Crocker to get your kids involved and create something silly and fun, and of course so delicious. Follow the link below to a great video tutorial teaching you how to make these jungle cupcakes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjskbAnvWaY&feature=relmfu

I think you can already guess where I'm going with this one... A trip to the zoo! The zoo is great any time of year, but I'm sure your local zoo will have some great activities going on for March Break. Like the petting zoo, the city zoo is an incredible place for kids to learn all about animals and get to see some animals from parts of the world they've never been to, or rare animals they might never see anywhere else. It's also a great place to learn about the habitats of different land animals as well as water dwellers.

Day 4: I've talked about the jaw dropping amazingness (is that a word???) of Hello Cupcake and What's New Cupcake... so here is a link to a video by the creators (Karen and Allan) showing you how to make pretty much any kind of incredible cupcake you can think of, using normal house hold foods, and snacks you can find in any grocery store.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSKYmV5chuc&feature=related

Looking for some more inspiration to bring out your inner sculptor or cupcake artist? Take a trip to a museum or art gallery. Many museums also have special events for kids over March Break. I love the variety in a museum! You can see paintings and sculptures and tools and jewelry, clothing and even dinosaur bones!!! This is such a fantastic way for kids to get exposure to art, world cultures and history. Try recreating some of the art you saw with your cupcakes...like this:

This idea, and all the instructions on how to recreate it can also be found in Hello Cupcake (just incase you were wondering). How's that for cupcake genius!

Day 5: Alright, so let's be honest. By now you're probably glad your cupcakes are all done. So lets try something different today. Sweets on a stick are quickly becoming 'the new IT thing'...so why not try making some of your own. Of course, you can follow my earlier directions on how to make cake pops, or you can try making some chocolate lollipops. Here is a link to show you how to make chocolate lollipops with an extra POP surprise to them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2dA1l9-ZQQ
To make it even easier, you can by candy melts made by Wilton or Merckens. They come in every colour of the rainbow, and a few flavors as well. Wilton also makes a plethora of lollipop molds so you can try out different colours and designs, make something really interesting! For something simple try these smiley face lollipops (by Wilton).

These are just so cute with their giant smiles, I just can't help but feel happy when I look at them!
If you're ready to try something a little more complex why not try these sea creatures (also by Wilton)...maybe you even saw a few of them the other day at the zoo!

Whew, March Break just flew by didn't it?! I hope I've given you some ideas to keep your kids hands and minds busy this break. You'll have a blast with your family, and I guarantee you'll never hear the words every parent dreads during school breaks "I'm bored"! I hope you all have a fantastic break with your family this year. And don't worry about eating all those cupcakes, you'll walk them off during your explorations (hehe)!

Until next time,
Happy baking, caking and tasting!
Love and sprinkles xoxo

>>>A lot of these cupcake decorating ideas are also perfect for theme and birthday parties! If you have any questions about these march break ideas, products you'll need, or ideas on theme parties please leave your comments below.<<<