First Day of School...or Blogging!

So, I figure I'll start out chatting about the Fresh Peachie Cupcakes with Banana-Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting that I made last night. 

I was all set to whip up some Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Marshmallow Creme Frosting, but I had 5 small peaches and a slowly shriveling grapefruit that I had kind of forgotten about. So the peanut butter was put back in the cupboard and I started peeling peaches! 

Though the cupcakes were pretty fabulous, they could have had a stronger peach flavor and I couldn't find my microplane grater to add the grapefruit zest to the frosting. When I make these next time, I'll add a little natural peach flavoring to the cakes & definitely add some zest to the frosting. 

Without further babbling, the recipe~

Peachie Cupcakes 

Preheat oven to 350˚ ~  Makes about 24 cupcakes(with a little leftover batter for a mini breakfast cake)

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder 

¾ teaspoon salt

2 sticks of unsalted butter(room temp)

4 large eggs(room temp)

1 cup whole milk(room temp)

1½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 small peaches~skinned & finely diced

*An easy way to skin peaches~ drop into boiling water for about a minute and then dunk in ice water and they peel SO much easier!

Blend all dry ingredients in separate bowl & set aside. Cream butter, sugar & vanilla for 4- 5 minutes, add eggs, one at a time, then peaches.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture one cup at a time & let mix thoroughly(Don't overmix!). 

I just learned to use a freezer bag to dispense the batter, a gallon bag works best. I just snip the corner and it makes it so easy to measure into the muffin cups. 

Bake for about 17 to 22 minutes(my oven is a little wonky ☺), the cakes will be very moist slightly golden on top. Let cool completely before frosting.

Banana-Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package of cream cheese(room temp)

1 stick unsalted butter(room temp)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ squeezed grapefruit

1 ripe smashed banana

1 lb. powdered sugar(about 3½ cups)

*grate a little grapefruit zest into the mix 

Cream butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, banana & grapefruit juice. Add powdered sugar by the cup, until it's thoroughly mixed. I refrigerated the frosting for about 30 minutes to let it solidify a bit, making it easier to frost the cakes.