Chocolate Toffee Espresso Cupcakes (Regular or Gluten Free)

I have been in a baking mood lately. There is so much inspiration from blogs and Pinterest. Recently I came across a blog post from Kevin and Amanda for Caramel Toffee Latte Cupcakes. I cannot tell you how amazing these fun cupcakes are. Not only are they over-the-top delicious, they are beautiful as well!

Even though I followed the recipe exactly, I felt that these cupcakes needed a new name. Since they are chocolate cake, I thought the name needed to tell you that. And because I thought the toffee and coffee flavors were more distinct than caramel, I decided on Chocolate Toffee Espresso.

I made these with a King Arthur Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix, which I buy at my local Fresh Market store. These are readily available in supermarkets everywhere, and also online. This cake mix bakes up beautifully, and I use it all the time. All the gluten eaters in my family love it! And it is delicious with all the added ingredients from this cupcake recipe.

These cupcakes taste as good as any I have ever eaten, homemade or from a specialty cupcake bakery. I encourage you to get in your kitchen and bake! Have you made any yummy things lately? Please leave a comment and share what you've been up to!

Mini Key Lime Cupcakes

Over the past several days I have had fun planning an engagement party with some friends. There is nothing like celebrating a new marriage! For dessert, we are serving three small desserts, one of which is Mini Key Lime Cupcakes. I had so much fun making these! They were very easy, and I am pleased with how they turned out.

I used a white cake mix and added lime juice, lime zest and neon green food coloring. I used the paste food coloring that was at the supermarket--I just squeezed in enough until I thought it was the appropriate green color.

Surprisingly, I found some really pretty mini cupcake liners at the Kroger. They were the perfect color green for key lime. I was anticipating having to go to Michael's or a specialty shop for pretty papers, or maybe even shopping online, so it was wonderful to find these at the grocery store.


To fill the liners, I put the batter in a gallon sized ziploc bag and snipped the bottom corner off, then squeezed enough batter to fill the liners up approximately 3/4 of the way. It was a lot less messy this way!
I baked them for 8 minutes on convection bake in my oven--ovens cook differently, so use a pick to test and see if they are done. It may take up to ten minutes.

To ice them, I used a disposable pastry bag and an extra large star tip. You could also use a gallon ziploc bag (as you did for filling the cupcake liners). Simply snip the bottom corner off and squeeze the icing onto the cakes. Garnish them with a very thin lime slice cut into 1/8ths. I used the limes that were zested for the recipe--they are cut so thin you can't tell that the zest is gone.
So happy with the finished product! And after being taste tested by my husband, he says they are good. He did say, however, that next time he would like me to add a little more lime juice and/or zest to the cake part. He likes a lot of key lime flavor!
The complete recipe is below:

Mini Key Lime Cupcakes
1 White Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic)
1 1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
3 egg whites
2 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice (my husband would use more!)
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
Neon green food coloring

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Add lime juice, lime zest and food coloring and mix until incorporated. Place mini cupcake liners into mini cupcake pans; fill approximately 3/4 full. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Limes (leftover from zesting) for garnish; slice very thinly and then cut into eighths

Spread or pipe icing onto cupcakes; garnish with lime slices.