1 cup guiness
1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
8 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk

preheat oven to 350°. place liners in cupcake tins.

combine the guiness and the butter, cut into 1″ chunks, in a large saucepan; heat to melt the butter.

remove from heat; whisk in the cocoa and sugar.

in a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla; add to the beer mixture.

sift together the flour and baking soda; fold into the batter.

pour batter into cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

let stand 10 minutes; remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

to make glaze: using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth. sift in sugar and beat. add milk; beat until smooth. spread glaze over cooled cupcakes.

makes 12 cupcakes

1 (18.25 oz) butter recipe cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges, undrained and separated
3 eggs

FROSTING:

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla OR french vanilla instant pudding mix
13 oz cool whip, thawed

for the cake: add the cake mix, oil, eggs and mandarin oranges to a large mixing bowl. put a few of the mandarin oranges aside for garnish (about 6-8 segments). mix using an electric mixer. pour into two greased and floured round cake pans. bake at 350° approximately 30 minutes. remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. remove from pans and cool completely on a baking rack. frost when cakes are completely cooled.

for the frosting: mix pudding mix and pineapple together with spoon. fold in cool whip until well blended. keep refrigerated.

1 (10 3/4 oz) frozen pound cake
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 pints coffee ice cream, slightly softened
1 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits (such as heath bar bits)

arrange 12 paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. cut pound cake into 1/2″ thick slices. use a 2″ biscuit cutter to cut 12 circles from slices, reserving scraps for another use. place circles in bottoms of cupcake liners.

combine heavy cream and powdered sugar in a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until cream holds stiff peaks.

scoop ice cream into a large bowl. reserve 1/4 cup heath bar bits; add remaining bits to bowl with ice cream. combine by mashing ice cream and candy with the back of a large spoon. (if ice cream gets too soft, place bowl in freezer for 10 minutes before continuing.)

top each pound cake circle with a scoop of ice cream and cover with whipped cream. sprinkle with remaining heath bar bits. lightly drape cupcakes with plastic wrap and place in freezer until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

makes 12 cupcakes

1 (21 oz) can apple pie filling
1 (15 1/4 oz) can sliced pears, drained
1 (15 1/4 oz) can sliced peaches, drained
1 (9 oz) package yellow cake mix
1/4 cup butter, cut into 1/8″ pieces

in a large bowl, combine the pie filling, pears and peaches; spoon into an 8″ square baking dish. sprinkle with cake mix; dot with butter.

bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. serve warm.

6-8 servings

CAKE:

1 (18 1/4 oz) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

FILLING:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16 oz) box confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

combine cake mix, eggs and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13″x9″ baking pan.

to make the filling: in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. add the eggs, vanilla and butter, and beat together. next add the confectioners sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. spread the pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

serve with fresh whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE LAYER:

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs

BANANA LAYER:

2 1/4 cups bisquick
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

FROSTING:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon milk (if needed)

preheat oven to 375°. line 2 cupcake pans with liners and set aside.

in a large bowl, combine all ingredients to make the chocolate layer. beat on medium speed until no longer lumpy and well blended; set aside. add the confectioners sugar and brown sugar. beat until light and fluffy, adding milk if needed.

in another bowl, combine all ingredients to make banana layer. beat on medium speed until well blended. spoon banana layer into cupcake tins about 1/3 of the way full. top with chocolate layer until tins are 2/3 full. bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

to make frosting: cream together the butter and peanut butter until light and creamy.