Disney Junior Meatloaf Cupcakes

Meatloaf Cupcakes

Happy weekend everyone! As a celebration to end this last week, I decided to revamp a Disney Junior recipe that my friend Holly and I tried (and I briefly blogged about Here) with my two kids, and loved. The original recipe is very health conscious which, while positive, takes away a great amount of flavor. So, by adding a few ingredients back in (and in much smaller amounts than normal), I have made this much tastier, and more interesting. 


You will need:

1 1/4 pound ground beef (or for a healthier option try turkey)
3 large eggs
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1/4 cup shredded cheese (or any cheese)
1/4 cup tomato sauce (any spaghetti sauce works)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (or piece of bread soaked in milk)
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
4 potatoes (peel if you'd like, I leave the skin on for extra nutrition)
Food dye (can be Jello/Kool-Aid packet or actual food coloring)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and either line a muffin tin with liners (there are some adorable Minne Mouse themed liners at Michaels), or grease the bottom well.

Start cutting potatoes, and placing in a pot of water and bring to a boil.

Season and boil potatoes

In a  bowl mix together beef, eggs, carrots, cheese, tomato sauce and bread crumbs. It's best to use your hands to mix everything well together.

Meatloaf mix

Now, place mixture into cupcake tins and make sure to completely fill it so it is at the surface of the tin. Bake for about 22 minutes (or until completely cooked), and then let cool before removing.

Before baking

After baking

While the meatloaf is baking, mix the potatoes, milk, butter, and salt together until it's light and fluffy. Then, add a small amount of food dye to the potatoes (unless a huge quantity of the dye is used, this will not affect the taste). Spread over tops of cupcakes  with either a knife or use a decorative piping bag. Enjoy!

Pre-frosting

Finit!

Buttercream Frosting Perfected

If you're anything like me as a mom and a baker, you're always looking for ways to make treats extra special with ease. Before reading some tips from the one and only Cake Boss, I found it easiest to get my frosting in a can and go from there. Now, I know that there are a few simple things to making the lightest, fluffiest, and tastiest homemade buttercream frosting.

First things first, ingredients:

1 pound of confectioners sugar
1 cup of butter flavored shortening (any shortening works, but this flavor is best)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear works best, but if coloring frosting, any will do)
Milk

Start by sifting your confectioners sugar. This takes about two minutes to do, and will really help alleviate any lumps in the final frosting product. I always try to sift it directly into my mixing bowl. The reason for this is to help get rid of any excess air (more air means heavier frosting).

Sift a full pound of sugar

Sift well

For the next step, use your dough hook instead of whisk for mixing - this is another tip to help keep down the amount of air being mixed into your frosting. Put the dough hook in place prior to setting up your bowl, and then add all ingredients except for the milk. Begin mixing, and little by little add in milk and stop when it as your choice of consistency (I use about 4 teaspoons full. If you're wanting to do more than ice a cake - piping on letters, for example - start out with a teaspoon and then separate batches and add more for whatever else you happen to be doing).

The wonderfully versatile dough hook

Mix well until wanted consistency

Now that the frosting has actually been completed, try adding in a bit of color. Normally, I do this by dipping a toothpick into the color and dragging it through the frosting. For a deeper color, I will remove a chunk of the food coloring and mix on high. Once you are satisfied with the color, put into a piping bag and start making cute designs!

Use about 1/2tsp of color

Finit! 

Tips:

1. Use butter flavored shortening instead of regular - it really helps with the flavor.
2. Only use butter if you are simply frosting a cake. The butter taste is wonderful, but very difficult for decorating. This is true even if you decide to make buttercream frosting with butter and use a more stiff frosting for decorations - everything will simply slide.
3. Sift the confectioners sugar to avoid extra air pockets, and to make sure that there are no clumps in the finished product.
4. Instead of a regular whisk, use a dough hook to also keep the extra air from getting in. Make sure the dough hook is already in place before setting up your mixing bowl.

Black Bottom Cups

This is a recipe that has followed me since high school. It is very easy to make, delicious, and is on the healthier side as it has no frosting. It is a regular favorite in this household, and I hope you will give it a try!

Add some Mickey with chocolate chips

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then, line muffin tins with cupcake liners (or grease each part of the tin).

In a medium sized bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup of sugar, and salt together until fluffy (like a light frosting). Then, mix in chocolate chips and set aside.

It is now time to stir all of the dry ingredients for the cupcakes together! Choose a large bowl, and mix the flour, 1 cup of sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. After everything has been thoroughly mixed, make a dip in the center and pour in the wet ingredients (1 cup of water, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, cider vinegar, and vanilla). Mix everything together until all is well blended.

With everything completed, now take the cupcake mixture and fill each of the lined tins at least 1/3 of the way full, and then place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top. Place in the oven, and bake for approximately 20 minutes (you will know they are done if, after a toothpick is inserted and removed, there are no crumbs on the toothpick. If there are, continue baking for a few more minutes.).

Mickey Cupcakes

Hey Everyone! Welcome to this months Bibbidi Bobbidi Bake with Mia. I really hope you all enjoyed listening to the show, and will try out these delicious cupcakes!

What is wonderful about these cupcakes is the small list of ingredients. All you will need is :

1 cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the box)

1 package of Oreo's

1. box of whipping cream

1/2 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 paint brush

Serving: Yields 18 cupcakes

So, what I did first was use a chocolate cake mix (or substitute any other flavor) and added a few dollops of sour cream (this just adds a little extra moisture to the cake, and doesn't leave behind any flavor). While the cupcakes were baking I started to make some homemade caramel. Though this sounds difficult, it's actually really easy. All it takes is putting the can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of boiling water for 2 hours (you have to make sure the can stays covered by water, and is always laying on its side or else the pressure can cause an explosion). By the end of the boiling process you get a delicious, and rich, caramel.

While everything cools, start making up some homemade whip cream to substitute as frosting. Just poor the whole container of whipping cream into a bowl and start mixing until peaks form. At that point, gradually add sugar and vanilla. Once that is done, whip on high until at your choice of consistency. I like mine a bit on the stiff side, so I whipped it for about 2 more minutes.

After this is done, take a paint brush and dip it into the caramel. From here, take an Oreo and paint a Mickey directly on top of it and immediately put into the freezer for about 2 minutes. While the cookies are in the freezer, cover all the cupcakes in the whip cream and drizzle some of the caramel on top. Then, one the design on the cookie is firm, place the Mickey designed Oreo standing up in the middle of the cupcake.

Upcoming confections - next month I will be featuring a chocolate yule log (also known as Buche de Noel) with hints from Beauty and the Beast. This has always been popular with my family during the holidays, and adds an extra layer of beauty to any holiday table!