A Naughty Mother's Day

We hope the special Mamas enjoyed their very own "Naughty Jar" gifts this Mother's Day - a mix of The Naughty Lil' Cupcake's own chewy oatmeal cookie mix - just add your wet ingredients, and "Voila!" your very own homemade NLC cookies :)

Know someone who needs their own Naughty Jar?  We currently offer oatmeal mix with your choice of toss-in (raisins, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chips).  More flavors coming soon.  Email naughtylilcupcake@gmail.com to order yours...we ship anywhere in the U.S!

xoxo

Doin' Shots with Naughty Lil' Cupcake

I hadn't made the Body Shot muffin in quite a while so I wanted to give it a go to make sure I hadn't lost my touch.  This time I mixed in some poppy seeds because lemon and poppy seeds go together like Patron and margaritas.   It would have helped if I had actually remembered to ADD the poppy seeds to the batter before baking them (doh!) but my excuse (besides being a generally forgetful person) was that I don't normally add poppy seeds - but I think they will be an excellent addition to contribute a lil' je ne sais quoi.  So...this batch just got the poppy sprinkled on top - the result was still delicious.

And, so may I officially present to you Naughty Lil' Cupcake's Body Shot muffin - featuring tart lemon-poppy seed cake dipped in a Limoncello glaze.  There you have it - guilt free, tasty-delicious body shots to enjoy whenever you please - even at the office.  Drunk girl not included.

For orders, give us a shot - er...a shout!  naughtylilcupcake@gmail.com

The Rabbit

Introducing The Naughty Lil' Cupcake's new and improved carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting -- AKA "The Rabbit"

Springtime is here, the sun is shining, and The Rabbit is just waiting to make you happy ;)

Our Inspiration -- Hint: don't embarrass yourself at Sharper Image, just let The Rabbit make you feel better instead. Ordering inquiries: naughtylilcupcake@gmail.com

Blue Balls, Anyone?

So I was craving blueberry muffins this past weekend, and with spring in the air i thought a refreshing lemony-blueberry confection would do the trick.  But it was raining all weekend and it didn't have me in a very lemony-citrus-sunshiney-sweet mood, so I decided to go with a more cozy rustic "Sunday-at-grandma's house" variety of blueberry muffin (yeah, that's right, I used the word "rustic" to refer to a baked good, so what?).  

This one uses part whole wheat flour, oats, no butter (a small bit of canola oil instead), and some brown sugar, and the result is a snack that you don't have to feel guilty eating...but in all honesty, is there really any reason to feel shame in enjoying a delectable treat that wants nothing more than to make you happy?  Ok, i'm ranting now...but seriously this is one awesome muffin -- not too sweet, perfectly moist, and makes your heart sing.

I should note this is not an original recipe of mine, but rather a Papa specialty --my dear old grandpa who first made these muffins to help compliment a new diet after being diagnosed with diabetes - so while they're not quite vegan/gluten-free type of healthy - they are still nutritious nontheless - now stop counting calories and enjoy!

My co-workers gobbled these up and enjoyed how they were more muffin-like than sweet cake-like.

Yep - gone in minutes

Stay tuned for the recipe which I'll be posting soon...just a special lil' Easter-time treat from me to you ;)

Some Special Lil' Birthday Cupcakess

The Naughty Lil' Cupcake put a new icing recipe to the test for a very special birthday celebration last weekend and we must say...it was delightful!

Our chocolate cupcake incorporates canned beets, blended to a smooth finish in a blender, and mixed into the batter.  The result is a deliously airy and light chocolate cake - like nothing you've ever tasted!

Normally I'll top these cupcakes with a chocolate ganache (heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate, that's it!!) but this time, we went for a light and airy frosting at the request of the birthday boy -- consisting of whipped egg whites, simple sugar syrup, and vanilla extract.  

While it's a rather simple flavor, the texture makes it interesting and it pairs really well with the chocolate cake.  As a matter of fact, we went ahead and layered the chocolate ganache AND the whipped icing for a double decadent treat!  For a final special lil' touch - top with chocolate shavings!

Sharing the frosting icing recipe below because it's quite an interesting concoction...not quite whipped cream, not quite  marshmallow.   Apparently the method itself is known as Italian meringue.  Either way...YUM!!

• 2 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Vanilla extract to taste (approx 1T.)

Beat egg whites with whisk attachment in stand mixer until white and frothy (but not stiff).  In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, salt, and cream of tartar over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved.  Once dissolved, immediately and slowly pour sugar syrup into eggs while mixing on medium speed.  The mixture will begin to thicken.  Now add the vanilla - depending on your taste you can add more or less.  You can now turn the mixer on high - but will take a good 5-7 minutes or so for it to really get a nice spreadable consistency with soft peaks. 

***DROOL***

We have a winner!

Ok...said margartia cupcake recipe from yesterday's post were bangin! I did make a few tweaks to See Brooke Cook's recipe, and they turned out great!


These lil' ones are delicious and deserve to be added to the Naughty Lil' Cupcake arsenal. Therefore, they need a naughty name to become official...and therefore...I'm taking submissions. If you have a great "naughty" name that you think would be a great fit for these margarita cupcakes, email me at naughtylilcupcake@gmail.com. Whoever submits the winning name will receive a free dozen cupcakes in a flavor of their choice for their next event!

So...here are my tweaks to the recipe:

For the batter, I upped the lime juice to 3 Tablespoons and 1 Tablespoon of orange liquor (Cointreau).

For the icing, I used my traditional Naughty Lil' Cupcake buttercream and added the lime juice (again, upped to 2 Tablespoons) the tequila, and again, some Cointreu (1 Tablespoon)

I didn't have any fresh limes on hand, so I didn't include the zest, but store bought lime juice worked just as well! I do like the zest for a final garnish so I'll be sure to have some around next time I make these!

For the finishing touch of salt on top, i sprinkled them liberally with kosher salt to balance out the sweetness and it really does taste like a margarita! Yum!

Is It Cinco de Mayo Yet?

I've had my eyes on this recipe for a bit, and thought I would hold out on trying it until closer to Cinco de Mayo but i couldn't resist any longer. Now that it's March and spring seems so close, yet so far away, I thought we could all use a little taste of summer with these fun margarita cupcakes.

My inspiration comes from See Brooke Cook and i'm excited to see how they turn out!

Stay tuned folks!