White Hot Chocolate Cupcakes: Bringing Christmas cheer to those on duty : (

Thankfully, Nate did not have duty (for those non-military: duty is a 24 hour work shift so that the boat is able to operate at all times while in port) on Christmas!  But, 8 poor souls did!  So, I made white chocolate cupcakes with a hot chocolate buttercream frosting to bring a little Christmas cheer to an otherwise bummer of a day.

White Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: Merry Christmas Tahoma!

This is Nate's favorite cake, made into a cupcake!  This is a white chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting, topped with crushed candy cane.  When the candy cane sits on the frosting, it softens and give a delicious, but not overwhelming, peppermint flavor - a trick I learned from Grandma!

Chocolate Orange Cupcake: A Tribute to Terry's Tradition

Every Christmas growing up, Santa would put a Terry's chocolate orange in my stocking.  Making these cupcakes was nostalgic.  They are an orange cupcake with an orange and chocolate cream cheese frosting.  If a chocolate orange could be a frosting, it would be this one!  I made these cupcakes to welcome Nate home, home in time for Christmas!

Peanut Butter Chip Cupcakes with a Banana Buttercream: An Inside out cupcake?

Peanut butter and banana is a timeless combination.  People usually make a banana cupcake with a peanut butter frosting, but I took the combination in a different direction.  These are Martha Stewart's peanut butter cupcakes with peanut butter chips added to the batter for some change in texture.  The cupcake is topped with a banana buttercream.  These cupcakes fed a lot of hungry cadets at the Academy!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes: An impossible cupcake to beat

This is Nate's favorite cupcake.  I think it always will be. I have tried to surpass it with flavors such as chocolate peanut butter and canoli, but they can never compete with this one!  It was a snow day, what could be better than baking cupcakes for Nate's ship on a snow day!?  This cupcake has half an oreo at the base. It is then topped with a batter filled with oreo quarters.  The cupcake is topped with an extra creamy cream cheese frosting and an oreo.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes: A lunch date

Friends were coming to lunch, and of course the dessert was cupcakes.  It was beginning to feel like fall and I had picked apples from a local orchard, caramel apple cupcakes naturally followed.  These cupcakes have an apple spice cake and are filled with cream cheese filling.  The cupcake is then covered in a homemade caramel sauce.

Pina Colada Cupcakes: Another Welcome Home Cupcake

Coconut and pineapple rum cupcakes with a coconut cream cheese frosting.  This might be the moistest cupcakes I have ever made!  I made them for my brother's homecoming party the summer he came home from Marine Corps. boot camp, an amazing accomplishment deserves an amazing cupcake!

S'mores Cupcakes: And He's Finally Home!

In late August, Nate arrived home!  But, I was still making cupcakes.  These cupcakes were delicious, but I would never make them again!  The cupcakes have a graham cracker crust topped with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and chocolate cocoa cake.  Then you come to this horrible frosting!  This was my first egg white frosting and the first one was a complete flop!  It was midnight, and I was baking these cupcakes for the boat picnic, I was beyond frustrated.  As I began to cry, Nate stepped up to save the day.  He made the second frosting slow and steady, and it turned out perfectly.  I would never make these cupcakes without Nate, he also torched the tops with a blow torch.  Finally, we hit the sack at 2am.  Cupcakes are the only things that can keep me up that late!

Peach Cupcakes with Peach Buttercream: A tribute to Jersey

It was the beginning of August.  Another way I keep busy while Nate is away is travel.  So, on to Jersey I went.  But, of course, I couldn't travel alone, my cupcakes came with me!  It was peach season in Jersey and so we picked up the over-ripe peaches on super sale at the market to make our cupcakes, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting: For Newport

It was July, what else was I to do to pass the time until my beloved came home from sea?  Pick blueberries!  Funny as it is, I actually like the blueberries from New Hampshire better than Maine, but none-the-less, I picked pounds and pounds of blueberries that summer.  Naturally, a blueberry cupcake followed.  This cupcake was brought to the annual Barnes gathering at Newport.

The Cupcake That Started It All: Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

My husband, Nate, and I married on May 21, 2011.  Nate is an officer in the US Coast Guard and so a few days after our honeymoon to Antigua, I followed him to his station in Kittery, Maine.  We spent a blissful, newlywed month together and then Nate went out to sea in late June.  What was I to do?  To start, I needed to make some friends.  So, I did.  The friend I made happened to be a food and fashion photographer and had invited me over to a dinner at which I was to bring dessert.  I had just watched the food network's "Cupcake Wars" and was inspired to make a chai cupcake.  The pressure was on, I had to make this dessert look and taste good!  So, I went out and bought a professional froster.  And so my love for cupcakes began.