Awesome cupcakes!

Just thought I'd post some cool and inspirational cupcake ideas. How about a cupcake cake for the next upcoming birthday. Hmmmmm……..

              Of course, if you know me, you know that I can't let an Angry Bird cupcake go unnoticed! These are great birthday party cupcakes. Love them! all the top artwork is done with fondant. 

                   These cupcakes are so springish! (computer just told me that springish is not a word. Oh well:)) if you look closely, you'll see that these cupcake decorations are not just made from fondant. No, that's not the only solution to cupcake decorations, as you'll see in the later pictures:)

                I don't know why, but these make me think of a baby shower. Anyway, they're definitely for a girly girl!

                   These are sooooo gorgeous! These would be perfect for a Valentine dinner. hint, hint???

              My dad would totally love this! This is awesome! Great for an electronic lover's b-day!

                These are so simple, yet so sophisticated. I'm wondering wether that's an initial or just a decoration. Well, I think putting a chocolate initial on a cupcake is a great idea, anyway!

                 This cupcake and the next are great fall or thanksgiving ideas. I love the way they use the               jellybeans as corn kernels! These cupcakes would impress anybody! And to add to the fall theme on the pumpkin cupcakes, you could make a pumpkin spiced cupcake to match the toppers.

           My little brother would die if he had this for his birthday. I just might try it! Isn't that just awesome! Both grownups and kids will go crazy over this cupcake cake.

                   This screams SPRING!!! I'm pretty sure that the petals are piped. I have a video of how to make petals similar to these on another post. And, you can add pizazz by sprinkling each different flower with different colored sparkles!

                 I know this looks like such a simple cupcake, but I just had to put it. The blue is so bold, it must of taken a lot of food coloring. I love the polkadots! I bet if you cut our little brown fondant polkadots and scattered them on the frosting, it would look awesome!

                 This is a crazy cupcake! I doubt I would actually ever make it, too much food coloring. But the idea is awesome. I don't think the cupcake is different colors, I think that's just the paper. I'm pretty sure the cupcake is red velvet.

                  I made something similar to this, just in cookie form. Love the pairing of bright green and pink!!! and the chocolate chips as seeds, clever:)

                     This is a great idea for a birthday. I know a lot of people like to do a special birthday "cupcake" instead of a birthday cake. But, I can't imagine how hard it would be to put 40 candles on one cupcake!!!

             Bon Appetit! dinner is served, or sort of. :) besides making the noodles, this cupcake should be a sinch to make. I'm pretty sure the "meatballs" are strawberries or blackberries drenched in a raspberry sauce. cool!

This is so clean cut and artistic. Great idea for an artsy birthday party. 

The piping is probably not very hard, but look at the perfect swirling of colors. That's crazy! 

                  Busy as a bee! I love these. just find some honeycomb paper to wrap around the cupcake liners, and you're done. that is,  after you've torched the merengue on the cupcakes:)

                   What I love about these cupcakes, is that they're probably the easiest to make out of all of the previous ones. But little girls will go crazy over these!

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling!

These cupcakes are one of the moistest, chocolatiest, cupcakes I have ever tried. The creamy inside balances the crumbly cake perfectly. The extra chocolate chips on the top add just a little more for the chocolate-lovers!

Here's the recipe to all the goodness!

 Ingredients:
For the filling:
~1 egg
~1/2 cup sugar
~1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

For the cupcake:
~2 1/4 cup water
~3/4 cup vegetable oil
~1 tablespoon vanilla extract
~5 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
~3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
~3/4 cup cocoa powder
~2 teaspoons baking soda
~2 cups sugar
~1 teaspoon salt
~3/4 chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2.With an electric mixer, beat the egg, sugar, and cream cheese together on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until smooth.
3.Prop up a pastry bag in a sturdy glass with the wide opening folded over the rim of the glass. Transfer the filling mixture to the pastry bag and set the glass aside.
4.In a bowl, combine the water, oil, vanilla, and vinegar and set them aside. (No need to stir)
5. Using a whisk, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl unti evenly blended.
6. Stir the water mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula or whisk. (The batter will be quite runny)
7. Due to the runniness of the batter, you can fill the muffin cups by pouring the mixture straight from the bowl, or transfering the batter in batches to a measuring cup and pouring it from that. Fill the cups about 3/4 to the top. Do not fill them any fuller or else the filling will have nowhere to go when the batter rises!
8. Using the pastry bag, fill the centers of the cupcakes with the cream cheese filling. You will see the chocolate batter rising as you fill them. Keep in mind that you have 24 cupcakes to fill, and try to distribute the amount of filling for each cupcake accordingly.
9. Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with the chocolate chips.
10. Bake the cupcakes for 26 - 28 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
11. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them finish cooling for another 30 minutes. Enjoy!

It may seem a litttle odd putting balsamic vinegar in a cupcake, but you really can't taste it after they're cooked. The vinegar activates the baking soda, which requires an acid in order for it to start working. Many recipes call for lemon juice, buttermilk, or white vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives the cupcakes a rich, full flavor. Though the list of ingredients and many steps may intimidate you, it's' well worth the effort. Just grab one of the still warm cupcakes, a mug of hot coffee, and curl up in front of a nice, warm fire. It's what I would call a "comfort sweet treat"!