Strawberry Rhubarb Pie in a Cupcake!

When faced with two such delicious options as pie and cupcakes...why choose? Instead, let's put them together into one new, completely delicious and tempting sweet treat! I'm so excited about these cupcakes it's not even funny. Seriously. I may not even share them with anyone. Actually, I take that back...I just did the math on how many hours I'd have to spend in the gym and how many calories I'd have to give up over the next few weeks to make up for it. Nevermind. I'll just make the one that I do eat last. :)

My all-time favorite pie is strawberry rhubarb. If you've never had it, you must give it a try. You MUST. The tart rhubarb pairs so well with the sweetness of the strawberry that you'd think they were made for each other. A match made in heaven. A treat for your taste buds. I really could go on and on but, suffice it to say, it's fabulous.

Rhubarb - just beautiful!
*original photo here*

Here in Florida, we have a hard time finding rhubarb because it's such a hit or miss thing for the grocery stores to have it in stock. I actually mentioned this to my boss's wife and two days later she came into work with a package of this delicious vegetable for me - sweetest lady EVER! Rhubarb looks like celery but is a pink color and can be found with the berries. Funnily enough, not two days after she brought this in for me, I found a larger package at Publix and bought it too. I chopped all of it up and it's been sitting in my freezer, just waiting for me to decide what to do with it. Well, now I have and I'm sharing it with you.

"Spring"ing Forward With Almond Cupcakes

The pretty little cupcakes :)

Hey friends. It's back to the sweet stuff from the land of meat and potatoes for this post. This is where I'm comfortable. It's home. The fluffy deliciousness of these white almond cupcakes is one of the many reasons why I have a love affair with cupcakes. I made this cake for the first time for my sister's wedding last year. It was such a huge hit and my cousin, Elizabeth (or "Licka" as we call her), fell in love immediately. Yes, she may kill me for putting her nickname out there in cyber space for all to see but it's how I think of her. She turned 18 last month but I still remember her as a little 2 yr old squirt with blond hair who used to look up at me from her playpen, waiting to be picked up. She has grown into quite the young lady with a personality bigger than life. She makes me laugh constantly and we love when she comes down to visit! So, Lick, this one's for you! ;)

Licka - isn't she adorable? Love this girl!

First things first. The cupcake. I came across this recipe last year when I needed a fluffy almond cake for one of the tiers of my sister's Mad Hatter Tea Party wedding cake. I needed something that would be light and moist but also somewhat sturdy as it was to be formed into a topsy-turvy Mad Hatter's top hat. Cool, right?

Mad Hatter Tea Party wedding cake that I made for my sister's wedding. Photo credit goes to Lauren Mason from  Piccadilly Pictures.

Anyway, I found this as a result of a google search and will never make any other almond cake again! I love it. Now, when you read the ingredients, do not freak out! Are you ready for this? It starts with a....gulp....box mix! I know! So not like me!! However, I went with it because it is so doctored that by the time you're finished you don't even remember that Betty Crocker or Pillsbury helped. (Don't get me wrong...they have a time and a place...I just don't usually use them.) I also used this recipe for the groom's cake (my BIL asked for a vanilla/white chocolate concoction) and just left out the almond extract - also gave a great result! Another key ingredient in this cake is sour cream. I've decided that I just love sour cream in my cakes. If I'm looking for a new cake recipe and one of the options has sour cream in it, chances are I'm gonna pick that one.

White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake: (adapted from here)


2 18 oz boxes white cake mix
2 cups AP flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 t salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
2 t almond extract
2 cups sour cream
8 egg whites

1. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large* mixing bowl. *If you're using the full recipe, then I mean LARGE. This recipe makes a ton of batter. The full recipe made about 4 doz standard size cupcakes. And, when you're using your countertop convection oven because your regular oven is broken, and can only bake six at a time....well, you can guess how long that took!


2. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for two minutes. 

3. Pour into prepared liners, tapping to let out air bubbles. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.