Page 114 Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

"Boston Cream Pie - which, of course, is not a pie at all - originated at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in the 1850's. When home cooks replicated the dessert, they baked the soft yellow sponge cake in pie tins (hence the name), which were more readily available than cake pans. This petite variation is at once familiar and novel." - Martha

Interestingly, when looking at the photo in the cookbook I noticed that the cake seemed to be crisp and hard-looking. The cut that halves the cupcake is pristine, no crumbs, pricise edges, and I wondered...sponge cake looks like that? I remember making jelly rolls with my mom and our sponge cake always looked rather "spongy." I was worried that the cake was going to be flavorless, and frankly, it was. I followed the recipe to the tee this time...can you believe it?...and these cupcakes were tough and unforgiving. The only thing I did diferently is that according to the recipe, Martha wanted these baked directly into the muffin tin and I chose to use silicone baking cups instead. At least that gave me a softer outside crust, because if had I baked them in the tins, I would have had a crustier crust and I think that would have made them even more tough to eat. The pastry cream just sat on the cake never introducing itself to the baked batter. It began to drip off as you can see by my photo so that by the time one would eat a cake, it had all but schmooshed out already just from the weight of the topper.

Now don't get me wrong, the pastry cream is the best thing since sliced bread! So creamy, so comforting, and the ganache is to die for! But combining them with this sponge cake just didn't work for me. The look is lovely and it seems as though it would be heaven-on-earth to eat, but the cupcake is dry and not very sponge-like. These were too hard to eat as cupcakes; definitely needed a fork to accomplish the task.

Page 71 Pumpkin-Brown Butter Cupcakes

"These cupcakes are made with a combination of ingredients, commonly found in a beloved autumn pie - pumpkiin, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves - and enhanced with brown butter and fresh sage. To cut sage into chiffonade, or very fine strips, stack the leaves, then roll up tightly before slicing thinly crosswise with a sharp knife." - Martha

Here it is the first week of Fall and there couldn't be anything better to remind me of the fantastic comfort food that goes hand in hand with this season than to smell cinnamon and spices baking into a delicious pumpkin pie. These cupcakes, while baking, emit the same flavorful scents which deliver the same mouth-watering sensation as pumpkin pie itself. We have been inundated with rain for the past couple of weeks, after a droughtful spring and summer, and so the hint of Autumn creeping into our lives has settled.

These cakes were a breeze to make. The ingredients are standard (albeit, the fresh sage) and the process not too bad considering you must brown the butter first. I was sceptical about performing this task...why is brown butter so much different than simply creaming butter in to the batter as many of the recipes call out? But it's true. The flavor of the butter did change hence the flavor of the cupcakes is pronounced. Martha says you don't have to add the sage to the butter browning process; since I didn't have any fresh sage, I didn't. I thought about adding dried sage, but chose not to do that either. Funny thing though, I had just returned from a home improvement store earlier in the day and almost bought a sage plant for my garden. When I got home my middle son suggested I make the pumpkin cupcakes, and I regretted not having the sage in hand.

I also chose not to make the Brown-butter Icing that the recipe suggests because I had previously made it on another cupcake early on. So instead I made a pumpkin buttercream frosting, which I placed in the microwave for 30 seconds before applying to the cake. I like to do this with some buttercreams because it makes a glaze rather than an opaque frosting. FYI...The color in the photo is true-to-life. These are very bright pumpkin-colored cupcakes and the glaze is just as bright too! A perfect treat for the months ahead.

Page 151 S'mores Cupcakes

"The old campfire classic takes on a new identity as a charming cupcake. Graham flour, available at health-food stores and specialty markets, flavors the cupcake base, which is topped with chocolate glaze and piled high with piped sticky marshmallow frosting, browned to mimic the effects of toasting over a fire." - Martha

For everyone who knows me, they know that over the past weekend I won a recipe contest for making s'mores! Guess what I used for the inspiration of today's cupcakes? That's right, my winning recipe. My winning recipe was titled German Chocolate S'mores; I changed up this cupcake recipe by adding some ingredients not found in the original. Just like the coconut-pecan frosting most bakers would make for topping their German Chocolate cakes, I smeared this frosting on my grahams and coupled it with the standard Hershey bar and toasted marshmallow. (Of course, getting the toasting perfect is an art. Caramel colored mallow, not too dark, certainly no charring at all and rotating the skewer as if it's a rotisserie for marshmallows is the best technique.)

In this cupcake recipe, I added about 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips, a 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut and a 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Otherwise the recipe could have stayed the same. However, it falls back to not having all of the ingredients in the house to complete Martha's recipe, specifically, no graham flour. One might say that with no graham flour you'd be defeating the purpose of the s'mores flavor. But, I subbed a cup for cup of graham cracker crumbs (very finely pulsed in the food processor) and reduced the baking powder by a tad. The cupcakes baked a little quicker than the 25 minutes stated but they look and taste just fine.

I made the recommended marshmallow frosting to go with the cupcakes (Would they be s'mores without the marshamllows?) but right after I completed the mixing, my husband called, long distance, and so I took the phone call. The recipe directions say that you must use the frosting immediately because it hardens. I bet you can guess what happened when I returned to frost my cupcakes. So, when viewing my photo, keep in mind the frosting turned out perfect, at first, then it became exactly like the texture of a store-bought marshmallow...unrelenting in its mobility.

Page 117 Jam Tea Cakes

"You can use any variety of jam to fill these versatile little cakes, as well as, vary the type of citrus used in the batter and in the glaze. You could also substitute milk glaze for the citrus glaze used here." - Martha

I was having a ladies luncheon at my home today and I needed a treat to serve that would be appropriate to such an event. OK, super easy recipe; great tasting cupcakes. There isn't much to be said for these because they are so simple and sweet. I chose to use orange zest as my citrus flavor in both the cupcake batter and in the glaze to frost them. I also chose to use peach jam as the filling. Peach is one of those flavors that to me is just flavor-ful enough to give you the taste and scent of its existence, but it is also just plain enough to be able to add other flavors with it to enhance a new taste.

For instance, you can use peach jam in stir fry just as easily as you can use honey, or orange marmalade and pair it with crushed red pepper flakes or teriyake. By itself, it's delicious; but always with an additive, it's better. So in this case, the peach jam didn't hinder the experience of the citrus (orange) glaze or muffin; it only made it better.

As a side note, I have really enjoyed taking the photos of my cupcakes just as much as baking them. In this photo, I hoped to achieve the look of a full-sized cupcake, but indeed these are minis. I have a very tiny spoon in the picture with which I drizzled my glaze. The drip pan is toaster-oven sized.

Page 95 Cookie Cupcakes

"Inspired by everyone's favorite cookies, these (packable) cupcakes were created with bake sales in mind. Chocolate Chunk cookies are transformed into golden brown cupcakes..." - Martha

Right off the bat, I took this recipe and gave it a twist because I had aleady made her chocolate chip cupcakes and I thought this would be similar to that recipe. As I found out it was a different texture of a cake, though. Packable, indeed. These are dense and the fact that you shouldn't fill them as high in the cup, helps with the travel aspect.

I call these my "Heath Bar Cupcakes." In lieu of the chocolate chunks, I added Heath bar chips to the batter and then I also sprinkled the tops with Heath bar chips. I chose to add a swirl of deep chocolate ganache to frost so that true 'chocolate-toffee' taste would reign. They looked so good that I couldn't resist before I took the picture!

Page 38 Tiramisu Cupcakes

"Ethereal mascarpone frosting blankets sponge cake in this adaptation of a famous Italian dessert. Extra yolks in the batter make the cake sturdy enough to hold a generous dose of coffee-liqueur syrup without becoming too soggy. Freshly brewed coffee or espresso would be a natural accompaniment, as would little glasses of marsala, a fortified Italian wine used in the soaking syrup." - Martha

My plan was to make these cupcakes on Friday night to serve on Saturday morning as I was having some ladies over to perform an audit on one of the charitable groups in which I am involved. I could bake them and soak them on Friday PM and then frost them in the AM very quickly; since I don't drink coffee I had asked them to bring their own as they usually are holding a Starbucks cup at each meeting. What an appropriate treat to go with their cappaccinos or their lattes...a tiramisu cupcake.

This began as a another recipe with multiple bowls and pots to simmer and mix and fluff and fold this and that. I didn't want another disaster like the previous one so I held my ground and followed this recipe. The only thing I did differently was to cut the recipe in half. I didn't need any extra cupcakes lying around after the meeting so instead of the 18 it mentions; I made a dozen. Just enough.

My problem ensued when it was midnight and I hadn't yet begun to make them. So, at that late hour I proceeded with the sifting and mixing and heating and beating. Oh my, they looked so light and airy as I filled each muffin cup. The extra yolks fluffed up so silky smooth and the vanilla scented my entire kitchen. However, while waiting for the cupcakes to bake, the whole 20 minutes, I decided to lay down on the couch and watch a little late night TV. I set the timer on the stove, laid down, snuggled with my couch blanket...and fell asleep! Why did I use that blanket? I know what it does to me. It calls my name so discreetly that I don't even realize the trap I am falling into!

Needless to say, I slept right through the beeper and the cupcakes baked for an extra hour and a half. Now the sweet smell of vanilla bean had turned to the putrid scent of burnt batter. No wonder I finally woke up! I had to do something and I wanted to make it quick because I was definitely tired but wanted to have a treat to serve the next morning. I got up and made a doctored box mix, white cake, added whole eggs not just whites, added other ingredients to make it taste a bit better than a box then completed the tiramisu cupcakes as if they were original. They turned out fine. But that's it, fine. An easy replacement for a botched job; no one knew but me...and now you.

Page 26 Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

"You will likely make these cupakes again and again, varying the frosting and sprinkles to suit your whim or fancy. Two types of flour contribute to the cupcakes' singular texture: Cake flour makes for a delicate crumb, while all-purpose flour keeps them from being too tender." - Martha

I can't say much about these cupcakes...either I really did something wrong or this isn't the best recipe! I have been wondering how things would turn out with this recipe, since it called for so much buttermilk (hence the name) and I had hoped not to do any subbing on that issue as well. I had everything I needed for these golden treasures. But something definitely went wrong!

The batter was tasty; I always eat leftover batter from the bowl as a test...right! But the finished product was dense, thick, dry and all-around uneventful. I made the chocolate buttercream frosting and added jimmies as a garnish, so they looked so perfect. But one bite said, "Put me down!" And I have never said that about many cupcakes! I went over all of my work and couldn't find my mistake. I guess someday I will make them again to see if it was Martha or Marie!