I know I have said it before, but you guys ROCK! Cranberry was a hit! Thank you so much to all of you who sent in a cupcake. You really do make my day with your posts and recipes. Cupcake Hero is more of a success than I ever imagined it would be. Thank you, thank you!
This month was a scavenger hunt for me. Several of the cupcakes I chose to bake had ingredients that I don’t have on hand. Between the beer distributor, the liquor store, starbucks, the reg grocery and the fancy grocery, I was worn out. Of course, I’m a total doofus and did that all in one day.
I didn’t think it was possible, but after many a cranberry cupcake, I can almost say I am cran’d out. I have OD’d on cranberry cupcakes. And as you read about this months entries, you will see why. So many tasty cranberry cupcakes and so little time this month. Then when it came down to picking a winner. Jaos and I disagreed. As I type right this second, I don’t know who the winner is. I am staring at the cupcakes in my kitchen, begging them to tell me what to do. It may come down to eeny meeny… So while I ponder the new Hero. I’ll let you get on to the Round-up. Here we go…
To start us off, we have Michelle of Culinography, with White Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes. She made these sweet treats for Thanksgiving. I wish they had been a choice at our dinner! I totally agree with you Michelle, cupcakes are tasty, totally portable, and don’t require dirtying any dishes! Thanks!
Sihan of Fundamentally Flawed baked up Cranberry Earl Grey Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese frosting. YUM! I am a huge tea fan. These sound absolutely dreamy! Thanks Sihan!
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Sage Frosting are the creation of Anthony at Defiant Chef. You had me sold with merlot. And sage frosting…OMG! These are perfect ending for any fall meal. Thanks Anthony!
These fancy numbers are from Mary at Shazam in the Kitchen. Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes, who so kindly donated them to the ladies at Catholic Charities. WOW Mary! I dont know how you gave them away. But I know they were appreciated. Thanks!
“Cranberry Cupcakes with Dried Berries and Lindt Chocolate, topped with Cranberry Buttercream and Grated Lindt” Whew! Jessica of Princess of the Kitchen baked these beauties up for her nephews. Very lucky boys I’d say. What a sweet Aunt you are! Thanks Jessica!
Alexis and Giao of See Us Eat baked Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting for their Thanksgiving. Again, I am ever so jealous. What a fabulous Turkey Day dessert. (The dinner at my Mother-in-Laws had store bought pie. And I had to buy the pie, as there was NO dessert to start.) Thanks so much Alexis and Giao!
Cranberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Dulce de Leche Frosting are the super sweet entry from Rosanne of Rosanne’s Blog. With dried cranberries, cream cheese, dulce de leche, and pecans, I call them sheer brilliance. Thanks Rosanne!
Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon played off a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. The kicker is, she has never had one! Ha! Her Cranberry Bliss Cupcakes look better than the original bliss bar, no doubt. And her brother proclaimed them “f-ing amazing”. What more is there to say? Thanks Steph!
Gretchen at Canela y Comino brings us Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcakes. Apparently, cranberries do not find their way to Peru very often. (Yes, I am a spoiled/dumb American who does not know the trouble other countries have in getting the ingredients most of us take for granted. My apologies.) I am so glad you were able to find some Gretchen! I’d love one of these sweet cupcakes right now, with my coffee. Thanks so much!
The Fabulous Cheese Babe, Grommie brings us a very sweet, pink cupcake. They say cupcakes with pink frosting sell the most. Pumpkin Cupcakes studded with Cranberries and Cranberry Spiced Buttercream would be no exception. It is the pink frosting I tell you. No one can resist it! Thanks Grommie!
Carrot cake is by far my husband’s favorite. I think it is just because of the frosting, although he would never admit to that. Jenny of Foray into Food took the old classic and tossed in cranberries to create her own Carrot Cranberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. I can see this becoming a classic in our house. Thanks Jenny!
Linda of Make Life Sweeter! used cranberry juice in the frosting and the cupcake. Way to Go Linda! These wickedly pink Cranberry and Lemon Cupcakes with Cranberry Whipped Cream Frosting also have white chocolate melted inside. Oh so sneaky. Linda, I hope these made you a fan of baking cupcakes! Thanks!
Thayer of I Like Cake is a real trooper. Having used cranberries in her awesome entry last month, she came through with Almond Cranberry Cupcakes and Barely Cranberry Buttercream Frosting. Thayer, I totally agree, pink decorations are the best! Thanks so much!
For our cheeky cupcake of the month, the winner is, Vineela of Vineela’s Cuisine with Cranberry Pecan Cupcakes. Thats right. I allow naked cupcakes. I have been told by various people a cupcake with no frosting is a muffin. BAH! How scroogey is that? If this bothers you, think of them as breakfast cupcakes. Or oh so naughty, bare naked cupcakes like I do. Whatever you want to call them, stick delicious in there. Thanks Vineela!
Jelly of Fragole & Cioccolato whipped up Cranberry and Ricotta Cupcakes. A combo I never thought of, but sounds delightful! And topped, ever so high, with pink cream cheese frosting and tiny little hearts. Adorable! Thanks so much Jelly!
Lovely Caramelised Pear & Cranberry Cupcakes with Maple Icing come from Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy. She says this is her first blogging event. Not sure I buy it. Look at that cupcake. I love brittle, and what a wickedly cute garnish it makes. Thanks so much Tammy, hope youll play again next month!
Cranberry sauce gushing out the sides. Thats what I like to see. Jen of Beantown Baker baked us Maple Walnut Cranberry Cupcakes with Cranberry Sauce with Maple Frosting. Jen doesnt even like cranberries because of a past overload experience. But you would never know it with these bad boys. Thanks Jen!
Tina of Sweet Designs came up Cranberry Carrot Cupcakes with Cranberry Cream Cheese Icing. Her husband loves carrot cake too. (I’m beginning to see a trend here, what is it with men and carrot cake?) Tina took her recipe and added dried cranberries to it. Fantastic idea! Hope your husband liked the addition Tina, I know we do, Thanks!
My late comer this month was Iisha of The Fabulous Life of..”I [dot] J. Yes, I take late entries too. Cupcake Hero is a free for all! Muahaha! Her luscious creation is Cranberry Frosting atop a beautiful White Cake. And we all know how I feel about pink frosting. Thanks Iisha!
Last months winner is back at it. I’m talking about the kick ass Tempered Woman. This month she made a very boozey cupcake, Cranberry Mandarin Blossom Cupcakes with Cranberry Mandarin Cream Cheese Frosting. Oh my. With manadrain blossom vodka and champagne, perfect to sneak some hooch in during Xmas! Brilliant! Thanks TW!
Nicole of Audaciousness had her Mom send dried cranberries to Nicaragua!! She gathered other ingredients on a motorcycle. Holy dedication!! Cranberry Rum Cupcakes with Ginger Buttercream are perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Let me say, OMG are they perfect. In fact, I could eat the cupcake naked. No frosting needed. They are that delicious. Thanks Nicole, I will be making them again. I’ll have to just to use the whole bottle of rum!
What can I say about the following cupcake…
Well, first, I spent the better half of my Saturday trying to find the key ingredient to make them. I didn’t need a ton of it as it wouldn’t get used in my house. And it is quite pricey. Yet, no one seemed to want to sell me just 1 or even just 6. Finally, the local tavern agreed to sell me 1, for the whopping price of $4.00. Geez, I could get tanked on $4.00 of another brand. You see, I am talking about Guiness Gingerbread Cranberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Pure genius of Carla from Dessert Lounge. When I finally got a hold of 1 can of Guiness, I immediately started to make them. I admit, the smell in the kitchen while cooking the guiness and molasses made me worry. It was strong, and not in a good way. I was scared I had spent my whole day on a less than stellar cupcake. I could not have been more wrong! This cupcake is perfect. PERFECT! The gingerbread cupcake has a bold, rich, deep flavor. The fresh cranberries tartness cut through the gingerbread complimenting the cake. And cream cheese frosting on top add the perfect sweetness. The flavors blended together so well. Oh so good. Better than good. Great! Anyone who is a fan of gingerbread should give it a try.
So Carla, I say to you.. You are The Cupcake Hero!
Your prize is a rad Cupcake Hero t-shirt. Well, and bragging rights and the envy of all the other wannabe-cupcake heroes. I’d say that is a pretty sweet deal!
A huge thanks to everyone who sent in entries. Again, you really do shock me with your participation. Keep them coming! I have a killer co-host for December. (Meaning cool/rad/wicked, not the law and order variety. ha!) Check back tomorrow for the December theme. I wanna get it out there fast because December is so busy!
*If anyone made a cupcake for CH but it isnt included above, send me a quick HEY, you forgot me!!!!! to superslush AT gmail DOT com. Ill get it right up for you.
slush 
What a wonderful roundup! I haven’t got my fill of cranberries just yet…I just pulled mini cranberry panetone breads out of the oven!
All of these cupcakes look wonderful! When I saw Carla’s entry, I knew I didn’t have a chance…the decoration and ingredient combo is just to die for!
So…what’s next??!!??
Wow, I think when I get the chance I’d like to make Carla’s cupcakes too! They look really tasty and I’d have to say the best cupcake won.
Everything looks great! Congratulations to Carla!
Congrats Carla!
Umm slush… you really make all the cupcakes??? Sheesh I thought I was dedicated.
Gretchen- OoOo cranberry panetone bread, I am SOO jealous. You’ll find out whats next tomorrow. 🙂 I hope you all like it!
Mary- They really are sooo good. I stressed this month because they ALL looked fabulous.
Steph- Thanks!
Grommie- Aww, I wish! I admit I do not make them all. But I do make a decent sampling. I hope that doesnt make me a fraud! Even if I dont make your cupcake, it doesnt mean your not a contender. Last month, the winner was made by my co-host. I wish I had the time and money to make all of the entries that come in. Until my dream of corporate sponsorship is reality (hahah), I have to keep picking and choosing. Question is, would you like to know the ones I made or would you rather I keep that to myself? I think its nicer to keep that info to myself. I dont want to hurt anyones feelings. Cupcake Hero is all about the fun of baking. Unless, like this month, it comes down to a few that I really could not decide on. I let it slip which ones I did make. You tell me what ya think.
Well you had your hands full this month- holy moly! And if you would have told me I would have been more than happy to take the extra Guiness off your hands- hah!
I think it’s pretty funny that the last 3 listed in this post are all cupcakelushes. I would have been SOsoso torn between Nicole and Carla’s cupcakes. Thanks so much for hosting and giving me an excuse to drink, errrr, I mean bake.
😉
Wow! This is amazing and getting the Cupcake Hero on my birthday is the sweetest present I could have wished for. All the creativity is mind blowing!
Oh and I’m sorry I didn’t warn people about the gross smell from the Guiness and molasses. It’s quite strange and hard to put into words, but don’t fret, they are really tasty.
I can’t wait for the next challenge.
Tempered Woman- I love the lushcakes. Gives me an excuse too. 😉
Carla- Happy Birthday! And congrats!
Hello. I was surfing the net and found this Dec 2007 blog. These sound amazing. Is there a way to get some of these recipes? Am I missing a link on this page?
Heidi- If you click on the red links it should take you to the recipes. If there is a specific one you want, let me know and Ill try to get the link for you. 🙂
HMMM… when I click the link it often takes me to a different blog page, and sometimes that page includes the recipe. The one I especially would love to get my oven mitts on is the Earl Grey Cupcakes with orange cream cheese. I love cooking with tea, and this recipe intrigues me. I tried both links and I could find no recipe on either. Thanks so much!