cupcakes Archives • New Nostalgia

Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes

Blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate are 3 must-haves in our family for the 4th of July weekend, and these Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes have all 3!

Yesterday our dear friends from Chicago–who we are to this day amazed that they are still here on this earth— stopped in to visit on their way to a family event. It was a brief overnight visit, but boy, did we pack in a whole bunch of beautiful life moments in those 15 hours!

We both have 3 children, around the same age (teens and preteens) so it was a lively and eventful visit. We started the evening out with pre-dinner cocktails for the adults. They were delicious Amerretto Sours –I will be posting the recipe soon. We then got to work visiting & making dinner together. We had these amazing cupcakes as a dessert, and they were perfect as it was July 2nd..my dear friend Sharon’s birthday!

I was sure I had birthday candles on hand, but as we all gathered to sing, I couldn’t find them. Not even one. We had to make do with what I could find in the moment, and of course my friend Sharon was a great sport about pretending to blow out a cheesy plastic candle.

Isn’t she just full of life? Doesn’t she look great? Despite our sweet birthday treat, she embraces a healthy lifestyle & is New Nostalgia’s new Health and Wellness Contributor. I can just hear her laugh while looking at these pics and miss her already. She is a ball of fun and we have had many, many laughs together. She is a friend of my heart and we have had many tears together, too. She is the one who came to take care of me the week after my mastectomy, and was everything I needed during that fragile time & more. I was so happy to celebrate the woman she is yesterday, even if it was with a plastic candle!

We finished up our dessert and headed out to my in- laws pool house for an evening swim. We stopped at my favorite local coffee shop and Sharon’s husband Porter treated us all to yummy beverages…lattes & toddy’s for the adults, granites for the kids.

After swimming we headed back home and made a fire to make apple s’mores. We sat out by the fire and our friends shared pictures of their recent family mission trip to Uganda. It was amazing to see what they did as a family there! We then went inside and watched a few old movies of our 15 year old girl meeting their 15 year old boy when they were just 6 months old. Needless to say, we laughed A LOT!

We got the kids settled down, the hubbies started dozing on the couches and Sharon and I girl talked. The hubs eventually went to bed but not us girls! Oh no, we stayed up gabbing until 2:45 am!

We woke up and I set up a ‘make your own waffle’ bar. It was a hit and I will write about it soon. The teens went for a run together while we packed up the car. They were on the road by 9:30 am. A quick but super fun and meaningful trip.

Back to the cupcakes, they were really delicious. I cannot take credit for them, as my little baker girl, Avery, made them. We found a simple chocolate cupcake & white frosting recipe online, and she whipped them up, frosted them, cut up all the fruit and decorated them. She amazes me–she is quite talented for 11 years old!

These cupcakes were moist and are made from ingredients most can find in their cupboards.

The frosting was a perfect pairing, and the touch of fruit added color and a great fruity & festive finish. I will be keeping this recipe as a simple go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and pulling it out on all types of occasions, not just the 4th of July!

Enjoy!

Berry Chocolate 4th of July Cupcakes

{recipe source}

10 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)

White Frosting (recipe below)

Chopped strawberries & fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer for 1 minute.

Stir in eggs and vanilla and beat.

Slowly add in cocoa powder and baking powder and mix until just combined.

While still mixing, alternate adding milk and flour into bowl until blended.

Evenly distribute batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with white frosting (recipe below) and fresh berries.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

White Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter with a mixer at medium-high speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk if necessary for desired consistency.

GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Peanut Butter Cream Filled Cupcakes With Fudgy Frosting {Gluten Free}

Don’t these cupcakes look scrumptious? They were. I can’t take credit for them, that goes to my amazing sister-in-law, Wendy. She had us over for dessert and I knew she would come up with something delicious…she always does. She has a son with Celiac disease and her desserts are always gluten free. I have found I am a big fan of gluten free desserts. They can tend to be a bit more dense than gluten desserts, and my palate LOVES that denseness and can never get enough of Wendy’s recipes.

These peanut butter filled cupcakes with fudgy frosting are actually a gluten-free cake mix, but the cream and frosting are both homemade. Wendy’s presentation was so beautiful and a major wow factor, and much easier than trying to get cream into each cupcake and perfectly frosting the tops. I thought they were just beautiful.

Are you drooling yet? Nothing like a cupcake that you must eat with a fork!

Isn’t her home and presentation of her desserts so pretty? I always tell her that when I come to her home, I could sit and stay forever. There are many reasons for this. Her home is beautiful, but never does one feel intimidated being in it. That is because Wendy is a beautiful person and just has a way of making those around her feel loved, cared for & wanted. She is a gift to me.

Angel food cake and peanut butter cupcakes

She also served angel food cake, with simple sliced strawberries and whipped cream. If you eat gluten free or have friends who need to eat gluten free, this is a great dessert to quick pick up at the market, slice some strawberries, sprinkle berries with a bit of sugar, and serve with cream. Easy!

Large bowl of strawberries on a kitchen counter

Back to the cupcakes, they do not have to be gluten free if you do not have a gluten sensitivity. Any chocolate cake mix will do…but…when I make them, I will use a gluten free mix, just because the denseness really made me happy and stood up to the cream and frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER CREAM

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3-3 3/4 cups (16-oz. box) powdered sugar

Beat peanut butter and butter until combined. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency.

………………..

PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

RECIPES/ Sweets

Gooey Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes-Easy!

My step-mom was having a birthday and I wanted to bring her a birthday dessert. Something that looked special and was full of chocolate. We share our love for chocolate! I was still in zombie-land due to a medication I was taking, so I knew I had to figure out something simple.

Trader Joes to the rescue! I picked up a box of their chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting mix, and a bottle of their amazing caramel sauce. I stopped at the craft store to find paper cups that were cute- a special touch. I grabbed 2 Skor candy bars, and got a bit excited as I envisioned myself taking a hammer to them. 🙂 I also grabbed a squeeze bottle that I found it in the cake decorating aisle, it was only a buck. Lastly, I found some candles that sparkle and trick the birthday girl by re-lighting themselves over and over. Hee. Hee.

Of course, any box cake mix, frosting mix and caramel can be used for this, but I am a HUGE Trader Joes fan. Why?

All Products In The Trader Joe’s Label Promise:
NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
NO genetically modified ingredients
NO MSG
NO added Trans Fats

Let’s take the cake mix. When I read the ingredients, they were the ingredients you would read on a recipe card. All pronounceable. This is true, REAL convenience food. Taking ingredients I would use to make it from scratch, and putting them together for me.

Trader Joes Cake Mix Ingredients:

White Flour

Wheat Flour

Cocoa

Corn Starch

Baking Soda

Soybean Oil

Salt

Buttermilk

Natural Vanilla Flavor

Pillsbury Cake Mix Ingredients:

Ingredients:

ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), MALTODEXTRIN, SUGAR, MALTITOL, WHEAT STARCH, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, BAKING POWDER (BAKING

SODA, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE) CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONOESTERS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SALT, CELLULOSE, CORN STARCH, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, CELLULOSE GUM, XANTHAN GUM, POLYSORBATE 60, SUCRALOSE (NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER), COLORED WITH RED 40, TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID (ANTIOXIDANTS), SOY LECITHIN.

The Pillsbury cake mix has sugar, plus artificial sweetener. Does that make ANY sense to you? Me either. It also adds artificial red food coloring. Many, many food allergies in children are caused by artificial colors. I am not saying these cupcakes are healthy by any means, but I enjoy knowing that they are not full of man- made ingredients, some of which are chemicals. So…on to the good stuff!!

How I made Gooey, Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes:

~Made Chocolate Cupcakes according to the directions on the box of Trader Joes Chocolate Cake Mix

~Made Chocolate Frosting according to the directions on the box of Trader Joes Chocolate Frosting Mix

~Used a hammer to crush 2 Skor candy bars (while still in the wrapper)

~Warmed Caramel sauce and put into a squeeze bottle.

~Squeeze some caramel into the center of each cupcake. This makes them super moist and gooey!

I gotta stop here and take some time to rave about this particular caramel sauce. IT IS SO GOOD. I think it should be called “Salted Caramel Sauce” because there is just enough salty to the sweet to make your mouth water. It is divine.

~Frost cupcake

~Drizzle with more caramel

~Sprinkle with crushed Skor bar

~Enjoy!