A trio of cupcakes

My great friend Karen is turning the BIG 3-0 and there is a dinner planned with her family. In honour of her birthday I'm making a trio of cupcakes! (It's such a grand occasion, the fancy British spelling of honor is called for).


Pumpkin Cupcakes: Topped with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've made these before and people love them. Always use freshly grated nutmeg as the recipe calls for and you won't regret the extra step.


Devils Food filled with Raspberry Jam: Topped with Whipped Chocolate Ganache and a mini meringue



This was my first time using this recipe and I probably wont be using it again. I don't have a lot of luck using cake recipes that call for water. These tasted fine but it had a bit of a dense texture and wasn't so chocolate-y.

I used the Wilton method for the filling but the somehow I ended up with not so much filling in my version. It could be that the dense texture threw off the method. I may try the cone method next time.

Chocolate Ganache:
-One bag semisweet chocolate chips (12oz)
-one pint whipping cream

Melt chocolate in a double boiler with chocolate chips, stir often until smooth. Cool uncovered mixture in refrigerator until cool but not firm. Whip mixture with whisk just until fluffy.


Devils Food
Topped with Whipped Chocolate Ganache and chocolate sprinkles(for the kiddies).


I made these on a Thursday night with my friend Jenn (aka Grey's Anatomy viewing partner). I baked and Jenn decorated. We had to take breaks to watch Grey's and worked ferociously during commercial breaks. It was fun and we made a mess.

P.S. I do have photos but they are currently being held hostage in my Mac notebook, I broke the plug to the power supply. Well technically the vacuum cleaner got in a fight with the plug, but I digress.... Photos coming soon!