Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MSC: Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Have I mentioned how excited I am to be a part of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club (MSC)? Well, I totally am. I am so honored to be a part of it, and so excited to bake my little butt off.

What is MSC? Well...MSC is about cupcake love, freedom, and community. Our goal is to make and bake the 175 cupcake recipes in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. All of those involved share one major thing - a love of baking and especially all things cupcakes.

And now, I've officially survived my first cupcake challenge with the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club!

See! I did it!

Tracey from Tracey's Culinary Adventures selected this month's recipe, the Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes (pg. 44) with Cream Cheese Frosting (pg. 303). To be honest, I've never baked anything with zucchini before, so it was an adventure from the get-go for me. I'd also never zested a lemon, so that was interesting too. All in all, despite the fact that I was doing some things I've never done in baking, I still enjoyed making this recipe. Maybe it was because I baked these while Husband was home to watch the munchkin and because I could kind of zone out and get into the baking zone.

I did omit the nutmeg, mainly because I wasn't about the drag my butt to Publix for just one missing ingredient that I could go without, but the flavor still seems to be quite amenable. I also wasn't a huge fan of the consistency of the frosting. Mine was really soft, and a little difficult to work with as a result. I had to immediately refrigerate the cupcakes, otherwise the frosting started to slide off the cupcakes, which wasn't so fun. I've made a few different cream cheese frostings and never had that problem before, so I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if that's just how Martha's is. Then again, the recipe did say something about refrigeration and the frosting recipe said to hand frost, not to pipe - I can't imagine this frosting piping too well, but I'll bet when I check out everyone else's blogs I'm going to see some piped cupcakes, because I am clearly a big novice compared to some of the other bloggers participating in these monthly challenges.

Mmm, look at all that frosting!

Next month's recipe will be hosted by Kim at What the Whisk, and she has selected the Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes, which I'm sure Husband is going to be counting down the minutes for. Pumpkin is one of his all-time favorite things about the fall, so I have a feeling he's going to love these. Stay tuned!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

These look terrific and I'll bet you didn't even miss the nutmeg. I hand frosted mine too.

Colleen said...

Yum! I should make these as I have HUGE zucchini sitting in my kitchen.

k.a.r.e.n said...

I never baked with zucchini before either. This was fun... it was just an ok cupcake to me.

Yours do look great!

Hindy said...

Your cupcakes look lovely! How did they taste?

Jen said...

I did buy some nutmeg, only because I happened to be at the store -- or I would have left it out too! I had the same problem with the cream cheese frosting, too soft, but still yummy! Keep up the good baking!

Kayte said...

So fun that you are loving this...I am loving it, too. Have no clue what I am doing, but loving it still. The guys here are willing to eat most anything, so I have an appreciative audience who can all afford to splurge on the calories. Your cupcakes look delightful, inside and out! See you next month (or maybe at the end of the month if you do the bonus cupcake).

Julie said...

My first MS Cupcake bake was this month, too. Yours look wonderful. I am guessing you didn't miss the nutmeg.

Just Anything said...

Aw...a newbie like myself! :) I've never grated zucchini!

The Food Librarian said...

These look fantastic! Isn't this group fun?!?! Looking forward to baking with you in the coming months! - mary the food librarian

Megan said...

Frosting sliding down is not a good thing. Unless of course it's sliding down into my tummy.

Mary Ann said...

Congrats on your first baked item with zucchini! I think they look great and tasted great too. This is going to be fun-looking forward to seeing your future cupcakes!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for baking with me this month Elizabeth! Kudos to you for baking with zucchini for the first time and zesting your first lemon. I only zested my first lemon in the past year or two but zesting citrus fruit is now one of my favorite things :) Your cupcakes look lovely. Can't wait to see how your future efforts turn out!

Bella Baker said...

My frosting was very soft too! Your cupcakes look great though and I am so glad that you enjoyed them!!!

Sarah said...

Your cupcakes look very yummy! And I agree, the frosting was a bit on the soft side. I'm thinking it may have been the difference of using my hand mixer rather than a stand. It tends to heat it up a bit more than with a stand. Regardless it sure was delicious! So excited for next month!

Katiecakes said...

They look wonderful! It's such a fun group, isn't it :D

Katie xox

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the group!! I think the hand-frosted look is perfect, kinda wish I'd gone with that actually!!! (as opposed to wacky blue-tone..) I'm really looking forward to the pumpkin patch cupcakes too.. YUM.. see you then! xx

TeaLady said...

Those look absolutely super. And they were really good, weren't they.

Lori said...

Yours look great! I also hand frosted mine.

betty geek said...

Yours look divine! Look at that frosting! Wowsers!

So glad you are a member of the group! I love your enthusiasm!

Thanks for baking along with us this month! YAY!

Tania @ Larger Family Life said...

I love cupcakes!

Tammy said...

Welcome to the group! I love to see how you're diving in head-first with zucchini and lemon zest. ;)

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