'Ah! Sunflower' Cupcakes #BacktoSchoolTreats #Sponsored

I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of 

the #BacktoSchoolTreats week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Summer is winding down, and we are celebrating with #BacktoSchoolTreats hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures. All week-long 30 bloggers will be sharing 100+ fantastic recipes for both parents and kids, with breakfasts, snacks, desserts, and drinks to get you back in the school routine. Thank you sponsors for providing the prize packages. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below! 

PRIZE #1 DIXIE CRYSTALS

Dixie Crystals is giving one winner a Keurig K-Select Single-Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker. Since 1917, Dixie Crystals® has been the South’s choice for high-quality sugar and sweeteners. For generations, Dixie Crystals has been at the heart of family traditions and celebrations. Our pure cane, non-GMO sugar products guarantee that treasured family recipes will turn out right every time. Bake with love and Dixie Crystals.   

PRIZE#2 SWEETS & TREATS

Sweets &Treats is giving one winner the Year of Sprinkles that contains holiday mixes, classic sprinkles, and some of their most popular sprinkles. Sweets & Treats, a party and baking supplies manufacturer and wholesaler, started out of a baking industry need for truly grease-proof cupcake liners. From there, the company expanded into a handful of specialized categories including the latest, Sweet Sprinkles, their one of a kind sprinkles and sprinkle mix line. With hundreds of truly unique products, they are a one stop shop for your next party!

PRIZE#3 TORANI

Torani is giving one winner a year supply of Torani: 12-750ml glass bottles, flavors will be winner’s choice, plus pumps for each bottle. 

We believe in flavor for all and opportunity for all. In the beginning, Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre visited family in Lucca, Italy. They returned home to San Francisco with handwritten recipes, which they used to create authentic flavored syrups. Needless to say, the syrups we’re a hit. A lot has happened since then, but our belief has remained the same: Flavor for All, Opportunity for All. It means that not only are the products we make inclusive and approachable, but so is our success. We believe everything starts with people, and the only way to truly succeed is to succeed together. Today, you can use more than 100 of our naturally flavored syrups, sauces and beverage bases in coffees, sodas, teas, smoothies, cocktails and more.

PRIZE#4 TAYLOR & COLLEDGE

Taylor & Colledge is giving one winner a selection of their gourmet extract pastes, including Organic Vanilla Bean Baking Paste, Lavender Baking Paste, Almond Baking Paste, Coconut Baking Paste, Lemon Baking Paste, and Peppermint Baking Paste. Taylor & Colledge has been making award winning Vanilla products since 1897. As a family owned business, Taylor & Colledge has always been committed to the fair, ethical and sustainable sourcing of Vanilla. Over the years they have pioneered a number of country specific programs to support growers, their families and to make the vanilla industry more sustainable. They have also taken this knowledge and expertise and applied it to their full range of baking pastes. Whether it’s sourcing the finest peppermint (mentha piperita) to make the best Peppermint Oil, or using only real Almond Milk and Oil of Bitter Almond for their natural Almond Extract Paste, Taylor & Colledge is committed to transform your baking with premium quality pastes, made with only the finest ingredients from around the world.  

PRIZE#5 FLAHAVAN'S

Flahavan's is giving one winner an oat prize package including a jar for overnight oats and a selection of Rolled Oats, Quick to Cook Oats, and Steel Cut Oats. Ireland’s oldest family-owned food business is situated at the family mill in the Southeast of Ireland. Flahavan’s can trace its oat milling history back to 1785 and its expertise in producing naturally creamy oatmeal back over 230 years. A seven-generation family business, Flahavan’s is the bestselling oatmeal brand in Ireland, where people eat more oatmeal per capita than anywhere else in the world. Flahavan’s is a founding member of Origin Green, the first-ever national initiative to mandate 100% sustainability for food exports.

Enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post!! And, now, for all the kick-off recipes...

Back to School Breakfasts

• Baked Funfetti Doughnuts from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins from Comfortably Domestic
• Breakfast Cookies from Home Sweet Homestead
• Brioche Bread Pudding from Simply Healthyish
• Chocolate Chip Maple Pecan Granola from Family Around the Table
• Chocolate Malt Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coconut Oatmeal Breakfast Bars from The Beard and The Baker
• Homemade Honey Buns from The Domestic Kitchen
• Nutella Waffles with Strawberry Syrup from The Redhead Baker
• Oatmeal Pear Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• PB&J Overnight Oats from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Peaches and Maple Crunch Breakfast Jars from My Sweet Zepol
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins from The Spiffy Cookie
• Triple Berry Overnight French Toast from The Nifty Foodie

Back to School Snacks

• Lavender Rice Krispie Treats from Nik Snacks
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars from Simple and Savory

Back to School Desserts

• 'Ah! Sunflower' Cupcakes from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Almond Joy Cupcakes from Daily Dish Recipes
• Back-to-School Sundae from Our Good Life
• Caramel Apple Back to School Cupcakes from Big Bear's Wife
• Caramel Apple Dip from The Mandatory Mooch
• Chocolate Cupcakes with PB Fluff Buttercream from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Easy Chocolate No Bake Cookies from Jen Around the World
• Chocolate Pudding & Caramel Parfait from Girl Abroad
• Oatmeal Cream Pie Layer Cake from Love and Confections
• Vanilla Bean Pudding Pops from Hardly A Goddess

Back to School Drinks

• Caramel Apple Iced Tea from For the Love of Food
• Dairy-Free Apple Pie Smoothie from Frugal & Fit
• Iced Apple Ginger Ale from Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
• Iced Salted Caramel Latte from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

'Ah! Sunflower' Cupcakes

I was inspired to make something sunny when I received these yellow dot cupcake liners from one of the event sponsors Sweets & Treats.

Then I used their chunky black sugar crystals as my sunflower center. So cute! As for the name of this recipe, speaking of school, I was an English literature minor in college and harkened back to a poetry class on British poets of the Romantic age. So, I am fully embracing my English-nerd status today.

Ah! Sunflower

William Blake, 1757-1827

Ah! sunflower, weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the sun,

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller’s journey is done;

Where the youth pined away with desire,

And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,

Arise from their graves and aspire;

Where my sunflower wishes to go.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1/4 C butter, softened
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 t lemon extract
• zest from 1 organic lemon
• 1 C whole milk
• 1-1/2 C flour
• 1/3 C almond flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• Also needed: cupcake tin (I used a stoneware pan), paper liners (I used Sweets & Treats' yellow dot cupcake liners and doubled them up)

Buttercream

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 C water
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1 T organic corn syrup
• 2 C butter, softened
• 4 drops lemon essential oil
• yellow food coloring, as needed (I prefer vegetable and fruit-based dyes)

For Serving

• chunky sugar (I used Sweets & Treats' chunky black sugar crystals)

Procedure

Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until lightened and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add in the egg yolks, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Mix again, then pour in the milk.

In another mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients: flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and fold in gently with a spatula until just moistened.

In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until medium peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter, taking care not to deflate the egg whites too much.

Divide the cake batter evenly between 12 cupcake hollows.

Place cupcake pans on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the trays from the oven and cool the cakes completely on wire racks.

Buttercream
Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat on high until they are thick, pale, and ribbon off the whisks.

Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. You can attach a candy thermometer to the side; I just kept testing until it reached soft-ball stage. If you're using a thermometer, heat until it reaches 238 degrees F. For testing otherwise, dip a spoon into the syrup, then into ice cold water. The syrup should immediately set up into a soft ball. Mine took about 8 minutes to reach the correct consistency.

Once the syrup is ready, remove it from the heat. While one hand hold the mixer, use the other hand to pour the syrup into the yolks. When all of the syrup is added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the yolks have doubled in size and have reached medium peak stage. The bowl should be cooled and just lukewarm to the touch. Mine took about 9 minutes.

Begin adding butter, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. The more butter you add, the more firm the buttercream will be.

Once your buttercream resembles what you think of as buttercream, add in the lemon essential oil and the food coloring.

For Serving
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe the buttercream on top of your cupcakes to resemble petals. Garnish the center with black sugar. Refrigerate the cupcakes to let the buttercream set, then remove them about 10 to 15 minutes before you want to serve them.

There you have it - my #BacktoSchoolTreats kick-off recipe, inspired by a poem by William Blake. Stay tuned as the group will have all sorts of deliciousness for you this week.

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Thank you to #BacktoSchoolTreats Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Sweets & Treats, Torani, Taylor & Colledge, and Flahavan's for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BacktoSchoolTreats recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BacktoSchoolTreats giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Five (5) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. Winners have 48 hours to respond once chosen, or they forfeit the prize and alternate winner(s) will be chosen. The #BacktoSchoolTreats Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #BacktoSchoolTreats posts or entry.