Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

I love the way these cupcakes look. They're so festive! And not only that, they're chocolate mocha cupcakes that are topped with peppermint swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate sauce, crushed peppermints, and a whole peppermint for the very top.

I am very impressed with what Bakers Royale did with these cupcakes. When it get closer to the Christmas season, I will definitely give these a try!

For all the recipes and blog post, check out Bakers Royal!

Coconut snowman, Nerds, neopolitan, Elvis, Harry Potter, spumoni and more ultra fun cupcakes

All these cool cupcakes are by the bakery Confectioneress Cupcakes and Sweets in Zionsville, Indiana, via their Facebook page. Wow! Love the creativity. Contact at mica at confectioneress.com or 317-873-0880.

Also from Facebook, up to the minute: "today's flavors are butterbeer, cotton candy, cookies and cream, chocolate peanut butter, carrot cake, "the king", chocolate chip cookie dough, malted vanilla caramel, red velvet, pumpkin pecan caramel, choc/choc, choc/van, van/van, van/choc."


chocolate snowman


Nerds cupcake: "vanilla cake speckled with nerds inside. Then it is topped with our vanilla buttercream frosting and rolled in nerds."


Neopolitan


The King (Elvis) cupcake: "Banana cupcake with a peanut butter and honey cream cheese buttercream frosting. Topped with peanuts, local honey, and some candied bacon."


pretzel cupcake


Harry Potter butterbeer cupcakes (from July, but still cute)


Spumoni: "Chocolate cake with pistachio and cherry buttercream, then topped with a hand dipped dark chocolate cherry."


chocolate mocha crunch


personalized cupcakes


and....80's cupcakes!

5 coffee cupcakes and a recipe link to wish you a Happy National Coffee Day!

Happy National Coffee Day! I've been drinking coffee for about a year and can safely say that I'm now addicted to the taste and feel and, yes, caffeine. It's gotten to the point that until I've had my first cup in the morning I'm not really all there (sometimes, I'll admit, it's more like until I've had my second cup).

What about you? Do you like coffee cupcakes or would you prefer to enjoy a cup of coffee alongside a cupcake? Long before I started drinking coffee, I enjoyed the flavor of coffee ice cream, and to me that is what a coffee frosting should try to approximate, a sweet but strong flavor. But there are all sorts of ways to incorporate coffee into a cupcake, from the cake to the frosting to adding beans on top and much more.

In the spirit of coffee-loving as well as appreciating the spirit of food holidays, here are 5 coffee cupcakes as a way to celebrate.


Caramel latte vegan cupcakes by Sweet Elites Vegan Cupcakes of Fresno, California, via Flickr



coffee and chocolate cupcakes by purecakes (lizzie) on Flickr



Mocha bean cupcake (Devils food cake, mocha frosting topped with chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate covered coffee bean) by cup.cake.CT in Durham, Connecticut, via Flickr



Coffee and donut cupcake (the frosting is a very strong, delicious coffee flavor) I recently tried by Retro Bakery in Las Vegas, Nevada - and yes, I know my photograph perhaps doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it was good, and if you're ever at Retro I would definitely try this one. The coffee frosting and glaze on the cake balance each other out very well.



Coffee cupcake by blogger dulcis in fundo, where you can get the recipe!