Lemon Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

Although so much time as passed... :( I still managed to get out #5!

- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
Everything but the lemon and lavender. It called for lemon juice and lemon zest so I HAD to have a lemon and not just just juice. I think the flavor would have also been a little weird if i would have used lemon juice.

- What's on the iPod?
The only song that still sticks in my head is Hosanna from Christy Nockels. Really nothing to do with baking at all, but the only real song i could recall.

- Why this cupcake?
I have tried a lavender cupcake in champaign with a friend. We went to Cakes on Walnut and they had a lavender cupcake with lemon frosting, so I wanted to try my own hand at it. The final product wasnt the most attractive, but they tasted great!

- What did I Change?
It asked for lavender buds. All I had were the leaves. The flavor was still there for me.

- The Final Results....
Have you ever heard of a refreshing cupcake? That's really how this tasted. Nathan's words,"It's weird. First i taste lemon but then it's not really lemon.

- The Mac-O-Meter....
Mac got in trouble. *with a stern face.* so he was not privileged to try this cupcake and him and Jesus know why!

This is def. a batch i want to finesse. These have the potential to be really fresh and good cupcakes.

*Will post a final pic soon.*

#4- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I did it! #4! And man, were they good! When you join a family with a to-die-for chocolate chip cookie recipe, this is something i gotta try.

- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
Today i had to pick up the chips. We kinda ran out. I also ran out of butter and Nathan had to run and get me a extra dozen eggs. He's such a GREAT husband!

- What's on the iPod?
The sound of Wineinger Kids playing G rated poker in the basement! :) I loved it.

- Why this cupcake?
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is my all time favorite and when ashley and josh told me i should make this one, hands down no disagreement!
- What did I Change?
In the recipe, it asked for a tube of frozen cookie dough that you get at the store. But why do that, when we have the best family chocolate chip cookie recipe in the midwest?! So i just made up the cookie dough and froze it over night. SO GLAD i did that!

- The Final Results....
AMAZING! Best when eaten warm so that the cookie dough is still gooey. I topped them with a great chocolate butter cream and of course on of Nathan's favorite chocolate chip cookies!
- The Mac-O-Meter....
Record timing for this one! 4.3 seconds! I'm telling you, they were good!

PS I found some real vanilla bean and I was so excited to try making a vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. AMAZING! It gave me cream just frosting the final kick to my best batch. Now, all i have to do is find a killer red velvet recipe and we've got it made. Argh.

PPS Sorry for the slowness of these posts. I'm going to try and make up my losses. Who knows, maybe for Christmas i can make my favorite cookie flavor into a cupcake!

I CAN DO THIS!!! We had too much fun with this batch though. I am def. going to make these again!

#3- Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes

Sorry for delay in post. I made these last Tuesday night but haven't had time to post them until now.
Ok, Backstory...as you have slightly gained sight of my obsession with cupcake, last weekend I was watching an episode of Cupcake Wars. One of the judges was a fellow blogger (although way more popular than I) Natalie Slater, creator of the blog, "Bake and Destroy." There she talked about her experiences on cupcake wars and her times with the founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Candace Nelson. Do you know Sprinkles Cupcakes, because you should if you don't...here's the back-story. Click Here So on this website, she gave out the recipe of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Strawberry Cupcakes. I knew it would be good, so I copy pasted, printed and preheated the oven.

- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
What I love is that this recipe called for fresh strawberries! The picture below is the REAL strawberry puree' that i added to the cake batter and the icing. And i had depleted my sugar and powdered sugar supply, so I picked up those as well.

- What's on the iPod?
Now I wanted to feel kind of cool here b/c i was making such a sophisticated cupcake, so I listened to some Michael Buble' and some Jazz. Completely necessary.

- Why this cupcake?
When you find a Sprinkles recipe, or a successful recipe from any famous eateries, you should at least try to make it once. And Cyd's has a strawberry cupcake that's REALLY good and I told Bonnie, our pastry chef that I would try it and bring it in.

- What did I Change?
I added just the slightest hint of almond extract. Rumor has it, that's like the magic dust of any vanilla based cakes. Also, i discovered that the way to a moist cupcake is to take it out as soon as you can touch the top without any sticky residue.

- The Final Results....
The final result was amazing. I actually took the batch with me to work to compare with our strawberry cupcakes. We compared what was in each cupcake that made them different. I LOVED the cake. It was sooo lite and refreshing. Now the frosting tasted very amateur and over sweet. I used 3-1/2 cups of powdered sugar and it seemed like a lot but i did it to stay with the recipe. That would be about the only thing I would cut back on.

- The Mac-O-Meter....
Mac did not get to eat one until the other day. When he did eat it, he had to take two bites. I assume it was to savor the flavor. Moose, Mac's sidekick at the moment, got one as well. Between the two of them, I would say around 10.5 seconds.

All in all, I think this is my favorite cupcake so far. It is so smooth which is a weird adjective for a cupcake, but man! Not sure what the next flavor will be, but I'm starting it here in a few minutes. I'm feeling a good ganache.

#2 Red Velvet- DISASTER!

Dear Cake Flour, I think I hate you... Yours Truly, Lindsay

So today was red velvet cupcakes. I had made these once before using a recipe that called for cake flour. It failed so I figured it was me just generally making mistakes, but this is twice. No, not cool. Please...share my failure with me...

- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
Ironically i had EVERYTHING!

- What's on the iPod?
Kim's amazing playlist she gave me once..I'm a Barbie Girl
As Long as You Love Me, Backstreet Boys... yes.

- Why this cupcake?
I wanted to see if this recipe would work... hmmm.

- What did I Change? I used red color paste instead of food coloring.
- The Final Results.... BLAH! They were really hole-y and i couldnt even get them out of the paper without tearing them apart. They taste..ok..but not WOW! I think it was the cake flour... i really do!
- The Mac-O-Meter....
Why would i feed my dog something so not good?!

I ended up making the rest of the red velvet batter into a cake. It wasnt big, but the cream cheese frosting made it ok. Nathan ate a piece so that's saying something.

Now on a positive note, I thought I would introduce you to my trusty sidekick in the kitchen... BIG RED!
He def lets me have control! And he makes me look like i know what im doing. Oh, Kitchen Aid how you make me happy. Ok. I have cooked my next cupcake already. I'll write about it in the morning.

My hint: REAL STRAWBERRIES and Bake and DESTROY!!!

Rocky Road Cupcakes

Ok... so Day 1 of 365! I hope this is a good first day! I think I picked a pretty promisings first cupcake...It's like Lindsay & Anne, like Julie & Julia. I am getting help from the book, "Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor," by Anne Byrn.

- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
Cocolate Chips, Vanilla Pudding, Rice Crispys, Devil's Food cake mix, and whole milk. Then I ran out of eggs and had to rush to Aldis! ARGH!

- What's on the iPod? So I thought I would listen to country because of the answer to the next answer.
Rockin' the Beer Gut (or should I say cupcake gut)
There's One in Every Crowd (And it usually IS me)
Big Green Tractor

- Why this cupcake?
There was so much chocolate, i thought this one would be one that Nathan would like. Hence the country play list on the iPod.

- What did I Change? The rocky road asked for peanuts, as would most. So i swtiched rice crispy out. They kind of got stale, but still a good crunch.

- The Final Results....
So they turned out really well. The tops were kinda crispy...i bet I over cooked them, but they were still good!
Helpful tips...- There are usually 2 cups of Chocolate Chips... yea i didnt know that...
- Have a glass of milk ready. You basically have to take a drink after taste testing anything because of how much chocolate there is.
- Don't overcook! The more moist the better!
- The Mac-O-Meter....
Are you ready?!?!

9.6 Seconds with NO CRUMBS!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!

I had some extra chocolate cupcakes with no frosting, and when i took them to a friends house those were gone too! Maybe this is a good chocolate cupcake recipe!

Preheating the Oven...

So you've seen Julie & Julia right... yeah, well, me neither. But i really liked the idea. So similarly, in an attempt for a temporary hobby, i setting a slightly extensive goal...

I, Lindsay Wineinger (which still sounds SO weird), am attempting to bake 200 flavors of cupcakes in 365 days.

Now, I understand that you may be thinking, "Lindsay! Are you crazy?!" And I would reply, "Psh. Do you know me?" I think this will also tickle that little dream of mine to open my own cupcake shop. And why am I calling it "Mac + Zay's Cupcake Adventure?" Because what's more awesome then a girl and her loyal dog's adventures, even if it is just in the kitchen?! But please believe me when I say that he and his hair don't come anywhere near any of the results. So here is my playful kick for these next few months...

Each entry will include some very fun questions...
- What I Didn't Have in the cupboard...
Now, I understand that I am not the average person and I have some weird ingrediants in previous attempts of cooking experiments, but still good stuff to know...
- What's on the iPod?
And yes... i probably danced to it.
- Why this cupcake?
Sometimes it helps to know the inspiration to each cupcake. It adds. :)
- What did I Change?
Just in case something changed from the original recipe
- The Final Results....
Now this will also include a picture of the final product and "Nathan's Scale of Approval." Now, Nathan, my husband, was given VERY strict orders from the very beginning of our marriage to tell me exactly how he feels about the food he eats. If he doesn't speak up on something he hates, he'll probably get it again.
- The Mac-O-Meter....
Pretty sure, i think this is my favorite part...and I know it's Macs...I will time Mac to see how long it takes for him to scarf down one cupcake. AWESOME right!?

Lastly please let me introduce u to my team of experts...

This is my handsome and wonderful husband of 71 days, Nathan. Although a somewhat picky eater, he's getting more adventurous. He is definately my encourager for this project...and im anxious to see his reactions on some of these crazy flavored ones...








This is Mac. My beloved dog. He will break any barriers to snuggle with me, and when he sees me embark on the kitchen, he knows there's something eatable come out of there soon. And the great part about him... he'll always eat my mistakes!







I will add more pictures as we go, but I look forward to watching this crazy dream of mine unfold and so glad you are here to watch me do it as well...happy baking...
-zay