Almond Joy Cupcakes…

…Because sometimes you feel like a nut. The Almond Joy candy bar was introduced to the market in 1946 by the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing company. Peter Paul Candy was founded by an Armenian immigrant named Peter Paul Halajian in 1919. One of their best selling candies was the Mounds bar, made of a coconut base enrobed in dark chocolate. Almond Joy was introduced as a sister product to Mounds, made of the same coconut base but with two almonds and a milk chocolate coating. During the 1970′s the company created the slogan “Sometimes you feel like a nut / Sometimes you don’t / Almond Joy’s got nuts / Mounds don’t,” It has remained a well recognized slogan for many years and always puts a smile on my face. Today Almond Joy is still a popular candy, but it is now manufactured by Hershey’s. These ode to Almond Joy cupcakes are an almond cake with a chocolate ganache filling and coconut buttercream frosting that tastes like fresh coconut. Stop by and try one out, you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store.

Cafe Mocha Cupcakes:

The Cafe Mocha is similar to a cafe latte. It was inspired by a coffee beverage from Turin, Italy called Bicerin. Bicerin is a hot beverage made of espresso, drinking chocolate and whole milk layered in a glass. The Cafe Mocha we know today is one third espresso, two thirds steamed milk, with chocolate added either in the form of sweet cocoa or chocolate syrup. The name Mocha is not typically used in Italy or France. It is thought that the name is from the Red Sea coastal town of Mocha, Yemen, which as far back as the fifteenth century was a dominant exporter of coffee, especially to areas around the Arabian Peninsula. These moist chocolate cupcakes topped with a rich coffee buttercream will satisfy any coffee lover’s sweet tooth.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

When I think of cookies & cream the first thing that comes to my mind are Oreo cookies. However, the term cookies & cream was first used to describe an ice cream flavor. The “Cookies and Cream” ice cream uses sweet cream ice cream and chocolate wafer cookies of any type. The flavor is widely associated with the Oreo cookie, so my first instincts were not far off. The inventor of cookies & cream ice cream is widely disputed. According to Wikipedia here are a few claims: John Harrison, the official taster for Dreyer’s/Edy’s Ice Cream, claims he invented it first for the company in 1982. Blue Bell Creameries claim they first mass-produced the flavor two years earlier in 1980 after an employee tasted it in a Houston ice cream parlor the year before. South Dakota State University claims the flavor was invented at the university’s Dairy Plant. Whatever the origins, cookies & cream would probably not exist without the the Oreo cookie, which was invented by Nabisco in their New York City factory in 1912. It is considered the best selling cookie of the 20th century. This white fluffy cupcake is swirling with crushed Oreo cookies giving it the classic “cookies & cream” look. Topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream it is definitely Milk’s Favorite Cupcake*!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes:

Today white chocolate may seem very common in the United States, however we have the Swiss to thank for being able to enjoy it. Chocolate comes from the Cocoa tree that is native to Mexico, Central and South America. It was not until the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in the 16th century that chocolate could be imported to Europe. For many years it was enjoyed just as a drink that only royalty and well-connected people could afford. Chocolate in the solid form, as we know it today, wasn’t invented until 1847. Advances made during the industrial revolution made many improvements to the chocolate making process including the ability to extract Cocoa Butter. It is thought that White Chocolate was invented in Switzerland sometime in the 1930’s as a way of using excess cocoa butter. White chocolate is a combination of sugar, cocoa butter and milk solids. Raspberries, native to Europe and North America, go well with milk or cream like other berries. These fresh raspberry cupcakes are topped with a delicate white chocolate buttercream. The creamy nature of white chocolate makes it the perfect paring for the raspberry cake.

Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes:

Green tea is another item that is now easily found in many grocery stores here in the United States. There are many types of green tea originating from both Japan and China. However, matcha is a very special kind of green tea. To create matcha, the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves darker and makes them sweeter. The leaves are hand picked, laid out to dry, de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as matcha. It can take up to one hour to grind 30 grams of matcha powder. In Japan matcha is used for the Japanese Tea Ceremony, which is a ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea together with traditional Japanese sweets. The purpose of the ceremony is not about drinking tea, but it is a zen and meditative experience. “…sharing Tea is not about the past or about the future, it is not about accomplishment, ambition, possessions, but about a fragment of time where peace, serenity, and respect become One”.(Taken from The Tea Journey, by Joy Mari Sato) To see a Joy’s video demonstration of a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony click here. These cupcakes are made with Japanses matcha green tea powder and topped with honey buttercream to represent the “sweets” eaten during the ceremony.

Mango Ginger Cake Pops

The Mango Ginger cupcakes were so popular that I thought I would make them into Cake Pops. Cake pops are just what they sound like, little balls of cake and frosting dipped in white chocolate and served on a stick just like a lollipop.

Here is what I made for last weeks market menu. To see what is coming up this week sign up for the 80Cakes Newsletter!

Give me S’more Cupcakes:

Ever since I was a kid my favorite part of any Barbeque has always been making S’mores on the hot coals after all the food has been cooked. With all the Barbeques that will be going on this weekend I decided to make some S’more cupcakes. I then started thinking “Who invented the S’more”? A little googling later and I discovered that we actually have the Girl Scouts to thank for this wonderful concoction. Originally called “Some Mores”, the first recorded version was found in a Girl Scouts publication from 1927. The S’more cupcake consists of a moist chocolate cake that has been baked with a graham cracker crust, topped with marshmallow frosting and graham cracker crumble. They will be decorated in red, white and blue in honor of Memorial Day.

Italian Lemon Anise Cupcakes:

Growing up in an Italian-American family Anise was a flavor I became familiar with at an early age. It is used in many Italian desserts like biscotti and pizelli. There is even an Italian anise flavored liquor called Sambuca that is often added to coffee to make what Italians call Caffe Corretto. Anise, also reffered to as Aniseed, comes from a flowering plant naitive to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southeast Asia. The flavor resembles that of liquorice or fennel. One of my favorite Italian cookies is a lemon anise cookie covered in lemon glaze, so I decided to use this refreshing combination in a cupcake. The cake is flavored with lemon juice, natural anise extract, and a little Sambuca. The anise flavor is very subtle and really adds extra depth to the lemon. It is topped off with a light lemon buttercream frosting.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes:

Irish coffee is a cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar that has been mixed together and then topped with a thick layer of cream. The origins of the drink are highly disputed but one belief is that it was invented by Chef Joeseph Sheridan in the 1940′s. He worked at a restaurant in the terminal building at the Port of Foyne in Ireland, which was a busy air traffic point between Europe and United States. After a bad flight he offered tired passengers the coffee drink mixed with Irish whiskey. One American passenger asked if it was Brazilian coffee, and the chef answered, “that’s Irish coffee.” The Irish coffee was brough to the United States in the 1950′s and it is still very popular here and in countries around the world. In the 1970′s Gilbeys of Ireland started producing a liquor they called Baileys Irish Cream. It is a combination of Irish Whiskey, cream, and sugar; the main components of the Irish Coffee. This cupcake is a coffee and Irish cream infused cake topped with an Irish cream flavored buttercream. Perfect for an after dinner treat!