Florida State University Cupcakes!

This weekend marks a very bittersweet occasion for my family - my youngest sister is leaving for college ... talk about feeling old! She is going to FSU, which, thankfully, is only 2 hours from me; not too far for lots of visits =)  I'm super duper proud of her though, and I know she will do just great!  Anyway, I am going to Alabama this weekend to visit family, so I wanted to send her to school with something from me, since I won't be able to help her move in.  Meeting new roomies can be stressful, so what better way to break the ice than delicious cupcakes with a little school spirit, and they just had to be chocolate because chocolate makes everything more fun!

To create these cupcakes, I used gold foil cupcake papers and an adaption of the classic Martha Stewart One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  I topped the cupcakes with maroon-colored buttercream icing, sparkly gold sprinkles, and a cute little FSU logo.  I think I achieved the 'garnet and gold' look I was going for.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (adapted from Martha Stewart):
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 + 1/8 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 tsp. meringue powder
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 + 1/8 cup milk
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 + 1/8 cup warm water

The best part about this recipe is that it is 'one-bowl'!  Simply sift together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coffee, and meringue powder.  Add the eggs, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and warm water to the bowl, and beat on low with an electric mixer until the ingredients are just blended (about 2 minutes).  The batter will be very runny and you should see little fizzy bubbles on top.  Fill your prepared baking cups about 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.  TIP: When baking in foil cupcake papers, make sure you spray everything very well with nonstick spray or the liners will stick and the cupcake tops will be ruined!

The cakes baked up perfctly - firm enough to hold the icing, yet they had a light and fluffy texture

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (from Wilton, medium consistency):
1 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla flavoring
1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla latte coffee creamer
9 tsp. milk or water
1 tbsp. meringue powder
1 lb. powdered sugar

This buttercream recipe uses Crisco because this summer heat tends to melt butter.  The Crisco holds up  much better, and the butter flavoring gives the yummy taste we are all looking for! To make the frosting,  cream together the shortening, flavorings, coffee creamer, and milk with an electric mixer.  Add the meringue powder and powdered sugar and beat until creamy.  I used one small container of  Wilton Christmas Red and 1/2 container of Wilton Burgundy icing colors to create the garnet color. To make the swirl, fill a disposable bag with icing and fit it with the 1M star tip.  Start at the edge of the cupcake and work around in a circle, applying firm pressure.  For these cupcakes, I left a little room around the edge so I could press in the sprinkles.

For the toppers, I cut out little FSU logos and taped them to toothpicks - super easy!

I just can't wait for my sister to taste and share these cakes - GO SEMINOLES! And, of course, Happy Baking!