Happy Birthday, AmazingPhil!

It's been far too long since I made cupcakes.

FAR. TOO. LONG.

So, here I am! Making cupcakes inspired by one of my favorite YouTubers, the one and only AmazingPhil.

Me too, Phil, me too.
[Source: chipotlou.tumblr.com]

He was one of the first YouTubers, if not THE first, that I actively watched. (Well, him and Danisnotonfire).

Oh, stop. It was the least I could do.
[Source: explodedovariesexplodedovaries.tumblr.com]

I spent a good amount of time *cough month or two cough* catching up on all of Phil's past videos. While I was at my old job.

Oops.

(I had nothing else to do, I swear)!

I'll just hide under a blanket too. Don't tell on me!
[Source: amazingphil-gifs.tumblr.com]

Anyway, he's still one of my all time favorite YouTubers! He's quirky, slightly awkward, super down to earth, and British! Great, right? Well, his birthday is today, and I know this is cutting it close, but I wanted to make some Lion Cupcakes in his honor anyway. Because that's how I roll. Or bake, as the case may be.

He's all about the lions.
[Source: chipotlou.tumblr.com]

These cupcakes are adorable, oh so tasty little treats. I'm really quite happy with how they turned out. I've never been much of a frosting/cake/etc. decorator, so these are a work of art compared to my other experiments. I decided to go with an orange cupcake to get away from the usual, super rich flavors. Granted, the frosting is pretty sweet, but it's all about balance after all. I think the flavors mesh well together (they're like a creamsicle!) so give 'em a go to find out for yourself!

And, no, you don't have to wait another year to make these for Phil. Make them anytime you'd like. I don't think he'd mind. ;-D

Oh, I might be mistaken!
[Source: pinterest.com]

Cupcake Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
Zest of 2 oranges
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Directions

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2) Cream together the butter and sugar.

There's only so many times I can show you guys a picture of butter and sugar.

3) Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Raw egg or alien embryo?
[The truth is out there. Cue X-Files theme].

4) Add orange zest and combine.

Zesting powers, ACTIVATE!

5) In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

6) Add the dry ingredients alternately with the orange juice to the butter mixture.

Look at how delicious that looks! Fresh squeezed juice is the way to go.

Action shot. BOOM.

** The cupcakes already have a slight orange tint to them with the addition of the orange zest and juice, but if you'd like them to be more vibrant, add some orange food coloring to the batter. **

7) Divide the batter into a lined cupcake pan. I ended up having enough batter for 15 cupcakes.

They smelled so good. I wish we had smell-o-vision for you.

8) Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the tops are golden. My oven baked them in 14 minutes.

9) Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a minute or two before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
Milk
Orange food coloring

Frosting Directions

Mix together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add a small amount of milk at a time to get your desired frosting consistency. Don't forget to add orange food coloring to keep with the lion theme!

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Once all of your cupcakes are cooled, add a layer of orange frosting to the top of them. I just used the tried and true "spreading with a knife" method.

It's that homemade look.

Lion Decorations

- Airheads, cut up into triangular pieces (I was a goof and ended up getting Strawberry instead of Cherry, so the mane is more pink than red. Oops).
- Chocolate Chips
- Licorice strips (Mine were of the sour variety. The sugar granules give the lion a little more texture).
- Black gel frosting

Assembly is pretty straight forward. And you can always tailor the decoration choices to your tastes. Remember to let your imaginations run wild!

...Badum tsh.

Almost too cute to eat!
... ALMOST ...

If someone made you birthday cupcakes, what would you want them to look like? Or what flavor would you want them to be? Let me know below! And if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below as well!

Thanks for reading and, as always, bake on with your bad selves!

Love,
Jackie

Earl Grey (wait for it...)

Cupcakes.

That's right, cupcakes. They're glorious creations that just so happened to grace my palette recently. And I actually had a reason to make them! Other than, ya know, baking just to bake. My roommate, Jamie, had been in Italy for 3 weeks, so I decided to welcome her back to the States with these morsels of deliciousness. Plus, she decided to start the Paleo diet once she got back, so I thought I'd make her one last baked good before her diet adventure began. Because I'm evil nice.

Also, this is the first time I had a guest to accompany me on my baking adventure! My friend, Bobbi, graduated from grad school (she's a bad ass like that) and got back home to Montana just in time to help! And by help, I mean she supervised. And by she supervised, I mean she took pictures and taste tested everything. EVERYTHING. Which I appreciate because she helped make the lemon frosting taste amazing.

And because she took SO MANY pictures, this post is going to be a little different from my previous ones. I'm going to post the recipes for the cupcakes and frosting right away and then post our cupcake picture saga.

(Brace yourselves. The pictures are coming).

Earl Grey Cupcake Recipe
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup loose Earl Grey tea

Lemon Buttercream Recipe
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- pinch of salt

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Line a muffin tin with paper liners. The cuter, the better. It makes them look extra fancy.
3) In a bowl, add the loose tea to the melted butter. Let the tea steep in the butter for at least 5 minutes. (I'd probably let the tea steep much longer the next time I make these. It'd really amp up the tea flavor in the end product)!
4) While the tea is steeping, put the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice in a bowl. Whisk it together!
5) Then add the remaining ingredients to your flour mixture, including the beautiful tea-infused butter*. Mix it together until just combined.
             *Side note: You can strain the tea leaves out of your butter if you really want to. I went ahead and left mine in. They didn't add a weird texture to the cupcakes at all and made them really pretty to look at. It was almost like poppy seeds! But better.
6) Divide the batter among the liners and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. The tops should spring back when you poke them. (Gently, mind you. Don't want to put a hole in them).
7) Take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While those are cooling, you can whip up some delicious frosting!

1) Add the butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt to a bowl and mix until combined.
2) Add the vanilla and lemon zest and beat the frosting until it's creamy.
3) Add the milk and lemon juice* and keep beating until it's nice and fluffy.
                *Side note: Add as little or as much lemon juice as you want. It all depends on how lemony you want the frosting to taste! Bobbi loves lemons (YEAH, LEMONS), so we just kept adding more and more. But, be aware that you'll have to add more sugar as well! Otherwise, the frosting becomes a goopy mess and, while yummy, it's not the best thing to put on top of these cupcakes.

Then all you have to do is frost those cupcakes like there's no tomorrow! Make sure they're cool enough, though. You don't want your frosting to melt off. Or maybe you do! I probably don't know you. I don't know your intentions with these cupcakes. (They better be honorable, though)!

And there you have it! Super wonderful tea in cupcake form. Life doesn't get much better.

Except it does! Because pictures.

And here...we...go...

Please note the mustache tattoo.
It still tickles me pink every time I see it.
...Shut up. I'm punny.

IT SMELLS SO GOOD. Oh, lord.

This is my "Um, rude. I'm trying to steep this tea in peace," face.

Look at me.
Pretending to be a baker or something with that towel on my shoulder.

Bobbi wanted to be artistic.
I think it worked.

She's kind of ridiculous. And I love her.

Probably the prettiest picture of me.
EVER.

I should probably be on the Price is Right.

It looked really gross!
But, oh man, it tasted so good.

Million dollar action shot here!

I told you she taste tested everything.

Rise, my minions! RIIIIIIIIISE.

She caught me red handed.
Doing what? I dunno. Baking or something?

Insert something witty here.

Frosting is the best.

Look at those cupcakes!
And also our faces.
But mostly the cupcakes.

Hey, look! Bobbi helped make the frosting!
Proud of her.

And then this happened.
Goodbye, lemon. We barely knew ye.

MMM, MMM, GOOD.

Back to tasting everything.
Side note: Hot damn, I've got a nice ass!

Staring contest with the cupcakes.
I lost.

"Well, it looks good..."

"Ehr mehr gerd, Bobbi. It's the best."

I obviously had to shove the rest of it into my mouth just to make sure, though.

It's frosting time!

And here we find the baker in her natural element.
Side note: I love this picture, hence all the filters.
You're welcome.

I look slightly crazy.
I probably am.
Shh, don't tell anyone.

THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS, GUYS.

Bobbi says this is what my friends look like from my perspective.
#AllMyFriendsAreShort

Just keep frosting ... just keep frosting ... 

I wish smell-o-vision was a thing.
You need to smell this for yourself!

Gotta line those bad boys up all nice and purty.

This was my David Tennant cupcake.

Behold his beautifully coiffed frosting hair!

Behold a super awkward way to hold him!

My "I see what you did there" face.

What'd you say about my mama?!?!

Paparazzi can get really annoying.
And I apparently threaten people with butter knives.
Who knew?!

The cupcakes were still a little warm. (Because I'm impatient).
But! The slightly melted frosting made an adorable hat.

YEAH, CUPCAKES, YEAH.

An almost normal picture!

Just kidding. Normal pictures aren't a thing.

The end?!

DUN DUN DUN.

...

Yeah, I won't add all of the pictures that she took. I think this is about a third of them? She was camera happy. And I love her for it! You got some gems, Bobbi, you got some gems. 

(You're the best and thanks so much for all of your help)!

Anyway, if you made it through this post, thanks! And if you didn't and skipped to the end, thanks too! Also, if you love Earl Grey tea, you should definitely give these cupcakes a try. They're easy and oh so nommy. If you make these yourself, or have enjoyed what you've read, or have ideas for a future blog post, please leave a comment below! They're very welcome and very much appreciated!

And, as always, bake on with your bad selves!

- Jackie

PS,

I used a lot of ifs at the end of this post. 

I must be 

....

An iffy person.  

SHUT UP, YOU LAUGHED.