holiday cupcakes

Inspiration for cooking and baking comes in many forms like from the simple cupcake papers I used here. I've been thinking about making these cupcakes since I bought these cupcake paper liners with poinsettia design long before the holidays. I must admit I took the shortcut and used a boxed spice cake mix for these cupcakes, which worked quite well. I just folded in finely chopped walnuts to the batter. The cupcakes turned out moist and light. While letting them cool down, which didn't take very long, I started making the cream cheese frosting. Half a box of cream cheese and half a stick of butter were mixed together until well blended, then sifted confectioner's sugar was gradually added until the desired frosting consistency and sweet flavor were achieved. The cupcakes may even be refrigerated briefly, just to be sure that the icing doesn't soften or much worse, melt. This is the same basic cream cheese frosting used for carrot cake. Cupcakes are great for a quick additional dessert or teatime snack. Perfect to bring for potlucks and very pretty to serve at parties or gatherings.

cupcakes cooling down before frosting