German Chocolate Cupcakes and Lemon Cream Cupcakes

We had 2 Christmas parties in one weekend, so I whipped up 2 batches of different kinds of cupcakes, split them in half, and took a gorgeous box to each party! I wanted two flavors very different, so I picked German Chocolate Cupcakes and Lemon Cream Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Both recipes are from Lizzy at Your Cup of Cake.



I use cake boxes from Hobby Lobby or Michael's, and people always assume they're from a bakery. I could purchase something more attractive, but these cakes boxes are doing a bang-up job for now. Plus, I ordered a personalized stamp from SweetPaperie, which makes me weep with joy every time I wiggle it in my little stamp book, and press it lovingly onto my cheap cardboard cake box.

Back to the cupcakes. When I made the German Chocolate cupcakes, my 4-year-old son ran to tell my husband in excitement, "Daddy! Mommy made cupcakes," and as his face fell in disappointment, "but they have throw-up on them."



The "throw-up" took about 15 minutes of constant stirring in a saucepan to come to the consistency and color that I expected. It came together easily, though, and thickened slightly after I added the coconut and pecans--fresh from my mother-in-law's tree! I don't like the canned Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines version of this "throw-up" frosting (aptly named in those cases) but this was divine. I could have--and did--eat it with a spoon.

The Lemon Cream cupcakes had a fantastic lemon glaze hidden between the top of the cupcake and the frosting. It really added a natural, tart, lemon taste that made this cupcake the favorite at both parties. I added Ameri-Color yellow food coloring to the cream cheese frosting and quartered lemon slices for garnish.

The amount of frosting in both batches was just enough for me to have enough leftover to place a small dot on the under-side of each cupcake before I placed it in the box. This kept them from sliding or tipping during transport.