Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

Did someone say cupcake?!

So I had about 50% inspiration and 50% motivation.  How's that for a reason to make 2 dozen cupcakes?

Let's start with the 50% inspiration.

One of my very best girlfriends took a trip to Cancun for her birthday present to herself.  And being the good Aunt I am, my husband and I watched her baby, (her little Yorkie) while she was having an amazing trip of a lifetime.  She brought back some fun gifts and one of those happened to be Mexican vanilla extract.

Bam.  Inspiration.  I knew I needed to do some baking but wasn't quite sure what to do.  I like to try my hand at baking every so often, even though cooking is my first passion.

Next, the motivation.

My husband has a friend who coaches his son's football team and they were doing a fundraising car wash/bake sale today.  I was off doing an event for my Scentsy business and my husband was home watching the kiddos so we knew we couldn't make it up in time before he had to be at work to help donate to the football team.

Instead we thought we could at least contribute to the bake sale portion and make up a dozen cupcakes to let him auction off in the bake sale in our absence.  Bam.  Motivation.

So at this crossroads my husband and I set off to the store to see what we could come up with, knowing we had this amazing bottle of Mexican vanilla extract at home.

I wish I could take credit for this combination, but alas it was my husband's suggestion.  Kudos were applied.  And the idea of making Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes was born.

We grabbed the essentials:

• French Vanilla Cake Mix
• Vegetable Oil
• Cherry Icing
• 3 eggs
• 1 jar Maraschino Cherries
• Mexican Vanilla extract

Now of course you don't have to send your best friend off to Mexico to get you some Mexican vanilla extract, but it's a nice gesture.  You could add in your regular vanilla extract from the local store, or perhaps not even add it.  I happen to think it was an amazing addition to these cupcakes.

As I've stated .... I'm not a baker by heart.  Cooking is natural to me.  Baking I really have to be in the mood.  My mother knows this and therefore bought me an amazing Christmas gift about 2 years back: a cupcake maker.  I love gadgets and this little guy is great.  I can make quick muffins, corn bread, cupcakes and more.  Time. Saver.  (and no, I'm not getting paid to endorse any product - I will brag on this one for free)

When baking don't stray from the measurements.  I'm not a rebel and not good enough at baking to eyeball anything, so the measuring cups and spoons come out of hiding when I bake.  Mix your cake mix to the stated directions on the box.  This is where the magic happened.  I added 2 teaspoons of the Mexican vanilla extract to the batter and mixed in.  Delicious.

One tip I have is to use a scoop to fill your cupcakes with.  This way all your cupcakes come out the same size.  Then, fill your cupcake liners with your batter.

 

{I have already heated up my cupcake maker.  I'm telling you this gadget is great - the little green light comes on, you close the lid and set the timer for 10 minutes - perfect cupcakes, muffins, etc.}

 

My maker does 6 cupcakes at a time.  So first batch went in, timer for 10 minutes and you can sit and take in the aroma of sweetness.  Pure bliss.

In my case I kept on doing batches until I ran out of batter; about 24 cupcakes.  Allow to cool completely.  This is important.  If you put the icing on while they are still hot the icing will only melt.  This is not the result you want.  

Icing is all a matter of choice.  Pipe it on, spread it on, use a baker's decorating tip - choice is yours.  I did some piping on mine by just putting in a small Ziplock and cutting a hole in the corner.

Then the finishing touch : place one perfect Maraschino Cherry. 

I couldn't resist.  My son was drooling, (and so was I) and what good baker doesn't do a taste test?!  We split a cupcake and we were both extremely pleased with the result.  Sweet, but not too sweet.  A perfect summer cupcake.

Whether it's inspiration, motivation or just hunger - make something in your kitchen.  Have fun with your food.

Cheers!

~Jacqui