For a Different Holiday Dessert, Try These Special Cupcakes

They're cute, they're sweet, and they're perfectly proportioned. Cupcakes are not only one of the hottest food trends this year, but they're also easy and fun to make at home. These holiday-inspired cupcakes were created for the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) by renowned California pastry chef and dessert cookbook author Emily Luchetti.

• Gingerbread Cupcakes are topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and a tiny gingerbread-man cookie for a festively-edible adornment.
• Cocoa Cupcakes, stuffed with marshmallow cream and topped with a dollop of whipped cream, conjure up the warmth and perfect sweetness of hot cocoa

A tip Luchetti offers bakers is to never skimp on ingredients. "For truly delicious cupcakes you need to start with high-quality ingredients, and the best cupcakes are made with real butter," said Luchetti. "The rich, natural taste of butter gives cupcakes the ideal flavor and texture. I always use fresh, unsalted butter from California when I bake. I prefer unsalted butter for baking because it allows me to better control the amount of salt in the recipe. But, if you don't have unsalted butter, salted works fine. Just be careful about adding extra salt."

More tips for baking with butter and holiday cupcake recipes from Emily Luchetti are available online at www.RealCaliforniaMilk.com.

To help consumers identify California dairy products, the CMAB created the Real California Milk seal. It certifies that butter and other dairy products bearing the seal are made exclusively with milk produced on California dairy farms.

California is the nation's leading milk producer and also produces more butter, ice cream, yogurt and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese, which is available nationally under the Real California Cheese seal.

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About Emily Luchetti
Emily Luchetti is a well-known and respected pastry chef and author of four dessert cookbooks, including her latest, "Classic Stars," and is currently the pastry chef at San Francisco's Farallon restaurant. She has received numerous awards and recognition from organizations and publications, including the James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef Award. Emily recently appeared on "Martha Stewart" and has been featured in national newspapers and magazines, including Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart Living, Newsweek and People. She is the co-host for the PBS series "The Holiday Table."