saturday mornings are for...
-sleeping in, coffee, waffles and then more sleeping in.
what could be more perfect? adding baking? yes!
well every sunday at church, we have a coffee break. it's fun to catch up with friends and chat with family and hang out. Also, every sunday, a congregation member who is on the schedule brings a snack for the whole church to eat. last sunday, it was my turn to bake for the church. usually i will just do a coffee cake or muffins or something simple like that. (i work 2 jobs so, sadly, that leaves little time for baking). now, there are a number of talented bakers in our church (uh...Bite Me Cupcakes? Debbie Fawcett? and who can forget Nella's classic biscotti?) so i don't dare think i'm on that same level but last saturday, i decided that i wanted to do something special for the church snack the next day. and i don't know about you but, in my mind, "special" is synonymous with "cupcakes"! so cupcakes it was!
so on saturday, i went grocery shopping at about 3pm but unfortunately had to leave for work at about 4:30pm so i couldn't start baking as the butter had not softened in time. so when i was done work at 11pm, i came home and baked til 3am. i baked the majority of the cupcakes and decided that i would ice them in the morning. i slept from 3am-7am and woke up and had to go shopping at the drug store (as safeway was out of icing sugar and there's no way i was going to buy store-bought vanilla buttercream for my cupcakes). once home, i iced, and iced and finally by 9 am they were ready! below is what i made: chocoate-raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and Oreo cupcakes with buttercream frosting topped with a mini Oreo. let me tell you...these bad boys were delightful!
though the chocolate cupcakes take up the majority of the picture, they're not the subject of this post. (i'm still trying to perfect that recipe and when i do...i'll let you know) but let me tell you about these Oreo cupcakes! my oh my! if i may say so myself...they were so good!
honestly...if you're looking for a yummy cupcake that people will love, then make these. i'm not saying all these things to be full of myself but only based on the excellent review these received. i've never had people enjoy my baking as much as when i made these. my heart was so warm and happy last sunday and i felt like, you know what? this is why i love to bake-cause it brings others so much joy. but...enough chat. let's get down to business...
the cake base recipe was found online via an amazing site called Annie's Eats. love her baked goods and am looking to follow more of her recipes! The base is basically a white cake recipe with chopped Oreos added. Amazing. and the best part is the Oreo surprise at the bottom.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Line wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
for the frosting, i followed this recipe which i've also stored in my recipe box...it's extremely basic but very good and versatile.
Quick Vanilla Buttercream
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream
In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency. Pipe frosting on to cupcakes and garnish with a mini Oreo cookie!
As you may have noticed, i topped these cupcakes with a different recipe than the original recipe suggested. i did this because i wanted the cupcakes to be as true an interpretation of an Oreo cookie as possible. As the original recipe called for a cream cheese frosting (and there is no cream cheese frosting in Oreo cookies), i felt it was best to stick with buttercream. But of course feel free to experiment if you're so inclined. Enjoy!
xo
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