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!