Saturday, May 21, 2011
Cupcakes in a Jar
I've seen these cupcakes-in-a-jar on a few websites, but when I saw these ones a while back I completely fell in love with the idea and planned to make them for my fellow teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. As it turns out, I didn't end up having enough time to make them.
So I made them this week instead! Jonathan and Carolyn had a "Meet the Baby" party for their little Kaleia, so I made some cupcakes-in-a-jar to take with me! I think they look much cuter in the taller jars from my inspiration, but I would need to put two cupcakes in each jar, and that just seemed like a lot of cake for somebody to eat in one sitting. So I opted for shorter jars. I think my favorite thing about these were how well they traveled, so much easier to transport than actual cupcakes!
So I made them this week instead! Jonathan and Carolyn had a "Meet the Baby" party for their little Kaleia, so I made some cupcakes-in-a-jar to take with me! I think they look much cuter in the taller jars from my inspiration, but I would need to put two cupcakes in each jar, and that just seemed like a lot of cake for somebody to eat in one sitting. So I opted for shorter jars. I think my favorite thing about these were how well they traveled, so much easier to transport than actual cupcakes!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Cinco de Mayo, Anyone?
I started following RecipeGirl a while ago on fb because she had a lot of kid-friendly recipes. A few days ago I saw her recipe for Margarita Cupcakes and decided I had to try them. No, they're not exactly friendly to my diet, and no, I don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo. But I like to find any excuse for a margarita. Cinco de Mayo sounds like a good excuse to me!
Ingredients:
CAKE:
9 ounces Margarita Mixer, bottled liquid
3 ounces tequila
3/4 ounce Grand Marnier - I used Triple Sec because that's what we had in the bar
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
3 large egg whites
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon lime zest
LIME BUTTERCREAM ICING:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 to 6 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lime zest
green food coloring, if desired
small lime slices for garnish, if desired
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two dozen cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. Prepare cupcakes: Whisk together margarita mix, tequila and Grand Marnier in a small bowl. Measure out 1 1/4 cups for the recipe; pour the rest on some ice and drink it while making the cupcakes :)
3. In a large bowl, blend cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest and 1 1/4 cups of the margarita mix from step 1. Blend on low for about 30 seconds and then increase speed to medium and blend for two additional minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
4. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners (about 3/4 full). Bake for 20-25 min, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then remove them to a rack to cool completely.
5. Prepare icing: Once cucpakes are completely cooled, prepare the icing. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until butter is fluffy. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar, salt, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix until thick and creamy. Add more powdered sugar until the frosting is of a good spreading (or piping) consistency. Mix in a tiny amount of green food coloring or gel paste if you'd like the frosting to have a green tint. Ice cupcakes in whatever manner you prefer... spreading or piping the frosting. Use small lime slices as garnish.
Her recipe yields 24 cupcakes, but I did away with a few of those and made some minis, well, just because. I love mini cupcakes!
Ingredients:
CAKE:
9 ounces Margarita Mixer, bottled liquid
3 ounces tequila
3/4 ounce Grand Marnier - I used Triple Sec because that's what we had in the bar
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
3 large egg whites
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon lime zest
LIME BUTTERCREAM ICING:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 to 6 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lime zest
green food coloring, if desired
small lime slices for garnish, if desired
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two dozen cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. Prepare cupcakes: Whisk together margarita mix, tequila and Grand Marnier in a small bowl. Measure out 1 1/4 cups for the recipe; pour the rest on some ice and drink it while making the cupcakes :)
3. In a large bowl, blend cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest and 1 1/4 cups of the margarita mix from step 1. Blend on low for about 30 seconds and then increase speed to medium and blend for two additional minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
4. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners (about 3/4 full). Bake for 20-25 min, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then remove them to a rack to cool completely.
5. Prepare icing: Once cucpakes are completely cooled, prepare the icing. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until butter is fluffy. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar, salt, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix until thick and creamy. Add more powdered sugar until the frosting is of a good spreading (or piping) consistency. Mix in a tiny amount of green food coloring or gel paste if you'd like the frosting to have a green tint. Ice cupcakes in whatever manner you prefer... spreading or piping the frosting. Use small lime slices as garnish.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Jolee's Smash Cake
So, maybe you say I got a little carried away. I can live with that. This was Jolee's smash cake. Yes, I must be out of my mind because I made a 2-tiered smash cake. I've wanted to do one that was 2-tiers for a while now, and Jolee seemed perfect for it!
Her cake was made to match her party decor (Hugs & Stitches), which looked like this:
Her cake was made to match her party decor (Hugs & Stitches), which looked like this:
In pictures, this cake looks a lot bigger than it really is, so I took a picture of it next to the first thing I could get my hands on so you can compare the size. Closest thing was my desk, so a stapler it was!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Police Man Cake
This cake I made for two adorable little brothers, Blake & Luke, who have birthdays that are very close together. Their mama Lindsey did an amazing job with all of the decor, including a cardboard box jail, and a donut and coffee (chocolate milk) station. Too cute!
The cake is covered with fondant and all accents were made out of fondant.
The cake is covered with fondant and all accents were made out of fondant.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Easter Egg Cake Pops
I did a test run of some Easter cake pops. These ones are vanilla and buttercream frosting.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Cupcake Cake Pops
My first cupcake cake pops were a disaster, but after a little practice, the 2nd ones were a little better. I had a fellow cake friend recently tell me about a place in Temecula that sells cake pops. When I looked at their pictures, it was clear that they used a mold to create the "wrapper" for the cupcakes. I did some research and found two molds that I liked. I went with my least favorite first, and will hopefully try out the one I really like very soon. Using the mold was so much easier than trying to shape the "wrapper" part with a cutter. It also made it much cleaner-looking after it was dipped. I also found some round red candies that I like much better for the "cherry" than the red M&Ms I was using.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Learning as I Go
Lately I've been getting a lot of fb messages and texts asking about how I do some of my cake pops or other things. People have asked how I get my cake pops so round. Quite honestly, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I learn by doing and practicing, practicing, practicing. Often, when people ask me to make something for them, I will usually do a test run before I will tell them yes. One example of a cake pop I wasn't sure I would be able to pull off are the Blue's Clues cake pops. The test run worked beautifully the first time, except for the fact that the paws were dipped in red candy coating instead of blue (I did the test run the same day I made the mushrooms for Sawyer's cupcakes, so red is what I used!) For cake pops in general, I get a lot of information from Bakerella's website. Then from there, I practice to see what works best for me. My cake pops were NOT so round in the beginning, but with practice they get better. I don't usually post the pictures of my practice work, just because it is very embarrassing to somebody like me who is super self-conscious as it is. But I decided that maybe I should start posting some of my practice pictures.
I got an email from a friend who first asked if I would do her wedding cake. After I told her no (I've had to turn so many brides down, I just don't think I'm ready for a wedding cake) she suggested that I make some cake pops instead. After giving her a list of ideas I had, I was very confident I could do all of the ideas except for one. So I did a test run, and it was a disaster!
The idea was to make little wedding cakes. The cutters that I used to mold the pops were clearly the wrong sizes and I didn't refrigerate the cake long enough so that my edges stayed sharp. More practice very soon!
I got an email from a friend who first asked if I would do her wedding cake. After I told her no (I've had to turn so many brides down, I just don't think I'm ready for a wedding cake) she suggested that I make some cake pops instead. After giving her a list of ideas I had, I was very confident I could do all of the ideas except for one. So I did a test run, and it was a disaster!
The idea was to make little wedding cakes. The cutters that I used to mold the pops were clearly the wrong sizes and I didn't refrigerate the cake long enough so that my edges stayed sharp. More practice very soon!
Frosting Bombs Instead of Cake Pops?
Uhmmm, yeah, these bad boys could definitely get me in trouble. Just came across these frosting bombs, which are the same concept as cake pops, minus the cake. As a corner-piece grabbing frosting lover, I think I will have to try making these sometime.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Braysen's Pirate Party
Because I have SO MANY pictures from Braysen's 1st birthday party, I decided to put the goodies on my cake blog. More pictures from the party can be found here, and there are many more on facebook.
A ton of stuff, right? I know! I have a serious problem when it comes to ideas for goodies. I get so many ideas and want to all of them. I really have a hard time eliminating things, so I just went with it!
All of the decorations on these cupcakes were edible. I used raw sugar for the "sand" on the cupcakes.
The treasure chests were made out of fondant. The treasure is sprinkles and hand-made coins.
Fondant X-marks the spot
The coins I used fondant to create. I punched them out with a circle cutter and searched everywhere around my house for something that I could stamp with in order to make them look like coins. I ended up using the top of a tequila bottle. :) I then brushed the coins with gold and silver lusterdust.
Fondant sword, also brushed with silver lusterdust.
Braysen's smash cake. This cake was the first time I used what is called a buttercream transfer. I'm not completely happy with how some of the edges turned out. I don't think I piped the icing thick enough. I'll know better for next time!
Marshmallow pops.
In many of these pictures you will see these little tags that were originally supposed to be cupcake toppers. They were designed by Rhiannon at Doodlebug & Dimples. I used them on some of the sticks for the goodies, on table centerpieces, and sprinkled on the tables.
Cannonballs (red velvet cake balls)
In the background ar more marshmallow pops and skull-shaped vanilla cake pops.
One thing I don't have a closeup of the chocolate pretzel rods, but you can kind of see them in the bottom of this picture.
I called these cupcake sandwiches simply because I couldn't think of a clever way to word whoopie pies, but they are really just whoopie pies!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Valentine Lady Bug Cupcakes
Lady Bug cupcakes for an adorable Kindergarten Valentine's Tea. You can check out all of the details at Doodlebug & Dimples.
Red velvet cupcakes with buttercream icing.
Hugs and Kisses Twin Birthday
Zoe & Mia's first birthday was a Hugs & Kisses theme.
Red Velvet topsy turvey with buttercream icing.
Sugar-free & egg-free smash cake with buttercream icing.
Gender Reveal Cupcakes
I was so excited to do these cupcakes because I've wanted to do them for so long. One of my friends is pregnant and just found out the sex of her baby. She let me make cupcakes to reveal the gender to some of her good friends. I can't reveal who this person is, because as far as I know, there are still some people who don't know she's pregnant yet. :)
Which is it? Boy or girl?
It's a GIRL!!
These are vanilla cupcakes with buttercream filling and icing.
Better Than WHAT???
For the Jackson's Superbowl Party, I made cupcakes. They were based on a cake that Tony's Aunt Jeri made one year for Christmas. You can find the recipe here, on Tony's cousin Steph's blog.
Anywhoo, the name of the cake is "Better than ____" cake (I'm not putting the real name because I know for a fact I have at least one student who reads this blog...Hello Makenna!!). Since I'm not too fond of the name for the cake, I will call them Hanky Panky Cupcakes. Much better! :) I copied and pasted a majority of her recipe then highlighed my adaptations.
I followed Steph's recipe, but made a few changes:
1 box German cake mix bake cake as directed in a 13 x 9 pan - I baked 2 dozen cupcakes instead
After baking while still hot, punch holes all over the cake using a fork, knife, skewers- whatever.
Pour over the hot cake 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 jar caramel ice cream topping - I heated and mixed together the sweetened condensed mink and the caramel topping on the stovetop before I poured a little over each cupcake.
Let the cake cool.
On the top of the cake spread 1 (12 oz) tub of cool whip and sprinkle chopped Heath bars all over (3-4 candy bars) - I made my own whipped cream frosting to pipe on top of the cupcakes. Recipe is below.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Super Easy and Super Yummy Whipped Cream Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
11/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.
I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, or even cake for that matter (yeah, go figure!), but everybody at the party seemed to love them!
Anywhoo, the name of the cake is "Better than ____" cake (I'm not putting the real name because I know for a fact I have at least one student who reads this blog...Hello Makenna!!). Since I'm not too fond of the name for the cake, I will call them Hanky Panky Cupcakes. Much better! :) I copied and pasted a majority of her recipe then highlighed my adaptations.
I followed Steph's recipe, but made a few changes:
1 box German cake mix bake cake as directed in a 13 x 9 pan - I baked 2 dozen cupcakes instead
After baking while still hot, punch holes all over the cake using a fork, knife, skewers- whatever.
Pour over the hot cake 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 jar caramel ice cream topping - I heated and mixed together the sweetened condensed mink and the caramel topping on the stovetop before I poured a little over each cupcake.
Let the cake cool.
On the top of the cake spread 1 (12 oz) tub of cool whip and sprinkle chopped Heath bars all over (3-4 candy bars) - I made my own whipped cream frosting to pipe on top of the cupcakes. Recipe is below.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Super Easy and Super Yummy Whipped Cream Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
11/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.
I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, or even cake for that matter (yeah, go figure!), but everybody at the party seemed to love them!
MORE Woodland Fairy & Friends
More pictures from Sawyer's First Birthday Party. These were taken by Nicole from Touch the Heart Photography.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
I'm ba-aack!
Had a little snafu and decided to delete my cake blog. Then I realized that I wouldn't be able to stand the disorganization of having all my cakes and baking stuff on my other blog (which you could probably just call my Braysen Blog). Soooo, the answer was to un-delete this blog, and to just revamp it instead. Stay tuned...
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