Cupcakes (again...)

My best friend and her family were out in CA for her daughter's first birthday in August and she asked me to make cupcakes for the party (anyone else starting to notice a trend...).  I choose to make two "plain" versions, since I knew there would be a lot of kids, and two spruced up flavors.  All of the recipes are from VCTOTW. 

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I made both the cupcakes and the frosting with vanilla bean paste so you can see the specks.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Straight up chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream.

Uber Lemony Cupcakes

I don't know about you, but I *love* citrus and hate it when baked good which advertise themselves as such have weak flavor.  This is an especially common malady among lemon flavored baked goods.  So I used three different types of lemon to punch up the flavor in these babies.  Lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract all went in.  Next time I think I'm going to try adding a couple of drops of lemon oil as well.  They were topped with a simple glaze of confectioners sugar and lemon juice.  You can add zest for extra flavor and pretty flecks which I typically do, but left out of this one. I can not tell you how much I love this glaze. It is actually indecent.

Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

Made with Trader Joe's Joe Joe's. 

I have a number of recipes and new things I want to share with you, however I left my camera in Oregon (boo) and I'm waiting for B's brother to mail it down to me.  Hopefully I'll have it soon!