Pots of Love Cupcakes!

Being inspired by Cupcake Hero's February entry for baking a cupcake with Olive Oil!

I started to think about what taste great with olive oil. Something that the flavor of the olive oil will add to and not take away from. I didn't want to do the typical chocolate or something you could find at a usual bakery. I wanted to be creative.

So 'Pots of Gold' cupcakes it is. Then I found these cute little heart decor at Michael's and thought...since its Feb (the month of love n' all), why not 'Pots of Love ~ cupcakes'! Divine!

Here's what I ended up with...

Yes, I have to admit...I'm not the best photographer ever. The picture hardly does it justice, but it was über cute!

Stayed tuned for the recipe for this gingerbread tasty delightful-ness of a cupcake! I used virgin olive oil, really you can use extra-virgin (or as Rachel Ray would say EVOO!), pure, or even the citrus or lemon olive oils from Temecula Olive Oil. You'll see the ingredients of this cupcake is pretty great for you ~ No guilty conscious here! & so fulfilling that it'll warm up your tummy & your sweet tooth!

I started with some cute (must-have) Terra cotta pots from any craft store. Applied the cupcake liners. No greasing, no oiling...so simple! Then filled them with the 'pots of gold' batter. Of course, if you know me, you know I love a little chocolate on anything! I melted down some chocolate bars & added just a teaspoon on top of each cupcake batter.
You wanna stir the chocolate (if you choose to add it) into the batter with a chopstick or toothpick in a circular motion. You can even get creative & make a heart shape with the chocolate. Think cappuccino designs!

Then it is all about:

Baking It. Eating It...& Loving It! ~

I put another piece of chocolate right on top of the cupcake when it is fresh out of the oven. Ohhhh the yummy morsels melting in my mouth with each bite! These suckers are divine a few minutes out of the oven. When you see the steam from the cupcakes melt down the chocolate piece... Its time to DIG IN!!!!!

There aren't many things in life as satisfying to all your senses as baking your own little piece of heaven. From the fresh ingredients that include: wheat, honey, ginger, + olive oil (pretty darn healthy!) to the cupcake smell that fills your kitchen n' home to the reward of eating it! At least for me it was nothing but warm-gooey-goodness in these little pots of gold ~ made only with love!

Recipe for Pots of LOVE Cupcakes:

1/2 cup of olive oil (pure, virgin, or extra-virgin)
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup whole wheat self-rising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ginger puree (or ground ginger)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
1/2 cup of honey
3/4 cup milk

Optional:

Chocolate (Hershey's chocolate bar or any chocolate you prefer)
I used a black-tea infused chocolate bought at a specialty store in Williamsburg, VA. I really thought ginger + blacktea infused chocolate sounded divine! :)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake paper holders into small Terra cotta pots. Mix dry ingredients first. I used fresh ginger. I shaved the ginger skin off with a vegetable peeler. Then I just used a small piece into the food processor until it is nicely pureed. You can also just use ground ginger instead if you don't have fresh ginger. Mix the wet ingredients separately until well blended. The Olive oil really help infuse all the wet ingredients together and almost melts it down into a cohesive mixtures with the sugar, honey, eggs, and etc. Then slowly add the wet ingredients (you can use a mixer). Mix until well blended. Then fill the small cupcake sleeves in the Terra cotta pots about 3/4 full.

*Optional Chocolate (I'm a chocolate lover by design so any chocolate is welcomed. However, this recipe can simply be about the aroma of the gingerbread-like cupcake.)

Then bake for about 20 minutes & Gobble!!!!! :D

Satisfying. Healthy. Divine!