Posy PartyCakes

Red, White & Blue

2010-07-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Better Than Poundcake, by local bakery Upper Crust, fresh berries from local farms, fresh cream from local dairy. Delicious patriotic dessert. Happy Summer!

Little Flowers for Spring!

2010-04-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

These orange yogurt pound cakes are delicious. The recipe came from this book. I would have loved to have crafted something like these cuties, or these incredibly delicious looking candbury creme egg cupcakes (!!!), or even recreated these, but I am working with a 2 1/2 year old assistant, and I have a photo session today, so I needed to stick with something simple. And simple is just what this recipe is, everything in one stand mixer, no frosting required, though I will be serving them with fresh whipped cream, and the taste is simply delicious.

Double Rainbow Cake

2010-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

I was recently reminded by a friend that I have a cupcake blog that has been significantly neglected for the past 2 1/2 years. I'll say. But I have been back to baking, here and there, and though I highly doubt I have any readers left, I figured I could start blogging about the baking I have been doing, whether or not it's cupcakes. So here it goes...

I cannot believe this baking accomplishment was not blogged immediately - I made it nearly six months ago. But it was a fabulous accomplishment and deserves to be recognized! The rainbow cake inspiration and instructions came from here, however I did not want to use a cake mix, so I used the Amy Sedaris vanilla cupcake recipe but added a little lemon juice and lemon oil to cover up the taste of the food dye (I used food gels), and I topped it with cream cheese frosting. It was a HUGE party success and made my little rainbow-loving 2-year-old very happy.

Next time I'll pay attention to which way is up and hopefully won't end up with upside down rainbows! I don't think she noticed though...

file this under "I want"

2010-03-16T13:31:00.001-07:00

They have them at Costco!!!!!
[Update: File it under "I still want that!" - look a few blog posts down. A trip to Costco is clearly in order, as I am now reminded that I have wanted one for years!]

banana sour cream cakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting

2009-05-25T14:39:00.001-07:00

I intended on using this recipe but got tired/lazy/blame-the-baby-late and ended up going with a box mix recipe from here, except instead of a pkg of powdered sugar for the frosting I used 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. They were absolutely delicious. One special little person especially loved them...

deep fried cupcake w/ chocolate sauce and sprinkles

2009-02-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

I just recently discovered this blog (thanks Melanie!) and am loving each delicious, ahem, I mean disgusting, post. I thought I should share this one here. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:06:00.001-08:00

This is how I said Happy Valentine's Day (a day early) to my husband last night. What's better than coming home to a plate of cupcakes?! Easy chocolate cake, raspberry cream cheese frosting, sprinkles and picks from Target. Simple and simply delicious!

It is Time for Change, and Cookies...

2009-01-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 egg yolks
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon each orange and lemon zest
2 tablespoons amaretto (almond liqueur)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg white
Chopped nuts or dried fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together butter and 1 ½ cups of sugar.
Add egg yolks one at a time and beat until smooth.
Stir in flour, zest, amaretto and salt, and mix only until everything is incorporated.
Spread dough evenly onto baking pan and brush top of dough with egg white and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Sprinkle with nuts or fruit if desired.
Bake until golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. Cool for a short time, then cut while still warm.

Bake for Barack!

2008-06-12T14:19:00.001-07:00

cute as a

2008-05-01T06:40:00.001-07:00

cupcake storage bag set?

I'm baaaaack...

2008-04-13T07:12:00.001-07:00

Well, sorta. Not really. I'm not even totally sure what to do here. Maybe I'll bake something once a month and blog it, but will anyone even look? I'm not baking cupcakes like I used to, I'm not doing anything like I used to. I really just need a place to reflect upon and store my recipes. So I'll be back from time to time with party cakes and other baked treats.

These baby cakes were my first attempt at cupcaking postpartum so I went to super easy cheater's route - I bought a box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix and used butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. Oh and added a splash of vanilla. I frosted with the super easy cheater's buttercream (1 stick unsalted butter, splashes of vanilla and milk, confectioner's sugar until it is right).

I was asked recently for some help in the cheater's cake department - someone was requesting homemade cupcakes but the baker didn't have time for all that nonesense. Here are the tips I have, that I know I have given here before but will repeat just so I have something else to say while I'm here.

Cheater's Baking Tips:

Use a boxed cake mix and add a box of pudding - I prefer Duncan Hines Devil's Food with chocolate fudge pudding, Duncan Hines Strawberry with vanilla pudding, or any mix that doesn't come with the pudding already in it, then you get to add the pudding yourself (it's better, I promise).

Use melted butter instead of oil.

Use one of the following instead of water: milk, buttermilk, 1/2 sour cream 1/2 milk, coffee, white wine (really! you don't taste it and it makes it nice and moist).

Soup it up with spices - cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, lemon or lime zest, get creative

Add flavor bombs - chocolate, butterscotch or peanut butter chips add a surprise inside - or you can add sprinkles and make your own confetti cake

Frost with easy cream cheese frosting - 2 sticks cream cheese, 1 unsalted butter, confectioner's sugar to taste; lighten with milk if you need to. Add vanilla, almond extract, a pint of raspberries or blueberries, pomegranate juice, flavored syrup, or just brighten it up with food coloring.

Use pretty cupcake liners. Put your cupcake tins on baking sheets so the bottoms don't burn. What else? I don't remember, I haven't even finished my coffee.

xoxo

cupcake in a jar

2007-12-14T21:10:00.001-08:00

this is f-ing genius! it's almost as good a gift as this. merry x-mas, or whatever you celebrate!

xoxo

maternity leave

2007-09-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, I'm officially going on maternity leave from this blog. I've been slacking on the cupcake blogging (and baking) for most of my pregnancy, but as of now I am officially done, until, you know, I feel up to it again, which will likely be in 2008. We shall see.

I was happy to discover this morning that the one true Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson, is coming out with a new cookbook of quick recipes called Nigella Express one month after my due date. Thank you Nigella. If I do any cooking at all in the coming months, the recipes are sure to be quick and easy ones, so they may as well be tasty, and you know, accompanied by fabulous photos (as all Nigella recipes are). I've already placed a copy on hold at the library. Yay!

Maybe next year around this time I'll be crafting up a cupcake costume like the one seen above, but for now I'll leave you with the darling photo (she's so cute!) and article with instructions from Wondertime Magazine.

Happy Halloween, and all the holidays that follow until I return.
And, of course, happy cupcaking! xoxo

Cupcake Jones

2007-08-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

My husband picked me up from work on Friday with a trio of cupcakes from Portland's new Cupcake Jones and roses (!!) 3 days before our anniversary (I was having a bad pregnancy day). He really is the best.

The cupcakes were beautiful, unfortunately I dropped them as soon as we got home. I managed to get a couple of good shots of them anyway, but they really were much much more beautiful pre-drop.

Here's what we tried:

Mimosa: orange yogurt cake pastry cream, filled with orange champagne pastry cream, topped with champagne buttercream and a strawberry "floating" on top

Downtown Chocolate Brown: delicious devil’s food cake filled with sour cream chocolate ganache, topped with rich fudge icing and fresh grated chocolate

S'mores Please: rich chocolate cake with fresh made marshmallows melted in the center, topped with rich fudge icing, graham crackers, and homemade toasted marshmallows

I really really wanted cupcakes, but I probably shouldn't have eaten any. I was having a sick day and I should have avoided heavy sweets. But I didn't, I ate the Mimosa (how could I not?). Unfortunately it's hard to review a cupcake that made you sick (which it did), but I will say this, the cake was very moist and dense (which I love) and, different. I don't know how else to say it. It wasn't your standard fluffy cake, and I loved it. Just a hint of orange, and filled with a yummy orangey filling. Now the description says "topped with champagne buttercream" but I don't know, after nearly 8 months of not drinking I think I'd be able to detect champagne, and I didn't. The frosting was really heavy and possibly what made me so nauseas, so I probably shouldn't review it at all. It tasted like cream whipped to almost butter. I would probably love it as the normal me, but the pregnant me thought it was too rich and heavy. I didn't try the DTCB but Matt declared it "super chocolatey" and "yummy." It looked it. The S'mores sat in the fridge for two days until this morning when he decided to eat it. I sliced off a little bite and will say that the cake didn't have the chocolate cake problems I've discussed in past posts, it wasn't dry after being in our fridge for two days, and the creamy filling was the way you want a hostess filling to taste (really yummy, not gross-out yummy). The chocolate fudge frosting was perfect perfect perfect, just the kind you want on top of a homemade yellow cake, which unfortunately they don't make at Cupcake Jones! Like the hostessy middle, the fudgey frosting tastes how you think the frosting in a can should taste. It's the real version of that and it is oh so good. So yeah, I'll be going back to Cupcake Jones when I'm feeling better. They're fancy and expensive, but I'm impressed thusfar and I'm really enticed by their menu (especially the Almond Joy, Black Forest, Belmont Berry and most intriguing, rose-water flavored Rose City).

they were so pretty and then...

cupcake heaven

2007-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Cupcake Heaven cupcake tree, by Wilton. It was anything but heaven to put this thing together - it took multiple attempts, three people (at once), and a hammer, but we got it! The cupcakes are peanut butter chip dipped in chocolate, always a crowd please. The recipe can be found here.

Amy & Her Cupcakes

2007-07-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Apparently the every so fabulous Amy Sedaris hostessed the signing for Todd Oldham's new book, Charley Harper, last night at Barneys in New York. And being the hostess with the mostess, she brought cupcakes. She really couldn't be much cuter.

(photo: Getty Images)

adorable!

2007-06-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry, kids, I haven't been baking, at all, so I'm sticking to blog posts about cupcake related items for the time being. I'll whip up a batch of something yummy soon, I promise.

Fabulous covered cupcake bowls - and a steal at $15!

super cool cupcake courier

2007-06-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute

2007-06-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Those William Sonoma geniuses are at it again.
I love this cupcake tin!
Love love love it.
Happy Tuesday. xoxo

Saint Cupcake - Part 3

2007-05-27T05:37:00.001-07:00

As any Posy Party Cakes reader knows, my first visit to Saint Cupcake was disappointing, my second was much less so, I actually liked most of what I ate and started to turn the corner on my Saint Cupcake dislike (and jealousy). Well, as noted in the post below, I had a cupcake-mergency on Thursday that required an immediate cupcake injection. I met my husband at Saint Cupcake after work for a pre-dinner dessert treat. While there (sitting outside on a lovely evening) I had Pumpkin Spice, which if I've had before. The Pumpkin Spice is heavier on the spice than the pumpkin, but it's nice and moist (like all St. C cupcakes, they don't lack moisture). The Pumpkin Spice is topped with cream cheese frosting that is good basic cream cheese frosting. I think it was a little sour the first time I went there, but it's either been improved upon or I just hit a bad day (or started it with a sour taste in my mouth!). Because I was in such a state that one cupcake (full size!) would not satisfy, we got four more to go. I didn't taste my husband's choices (all chocolate based) so I can't report on those, but here's what I'll say about what I did eat (oh and how cute is that cupcake carrier?!!):

Fat Elvis: There's more to love than the clever name. This is their signature banana pound cake with chocolate chips (we at Posy's Party Cakes call them "flavor bombs"), topped with peanut butter fudge frosting. While I don't love peanut butter, and would prefer this cake without it, the peanut butter fudge is good. Again, I'd say too peanut buttery and that the pb flavor over powered the yummy banana, but I'm probably the only one with this complaint. Though I think I prefer a chocolate cream cheese on banana cake, this is yummy nonetheless.

Turtle: Perfectly described by St. C as "chocolate cupcake coated with gooey caramel, topped with a toasted pecan, then drenched in hot fudge," I have saved the best for last! GOOD GOLLY I could eat these all day. Maybe I've said it before, I don't think this is the best chocolate cake I've ever had, but who cares? This caramel topping is like a melted praline from New Orleans. It is the most perfect homemade caramel taste and is only made more perfect by drizzling that delicious hot fudge across the top. And those pecans? They just make it better. I am really in love with this cupcake and in awe of Saint Cupcake for creating it. I will def have to go back for another!

One note on the chocolate cake - why does it seem that often in homemade chocolate cake recipes you can taste the flour more than the chocolate? This is a problem, no? It is for me. Luckily the topping on the Turtle is so delicious it covers up that problem, and this isn't just a Saint Cupcake problem either, I've had this happen before and I don't understand it. Increase the chocolate!!!

Ok, but clearly, the bottom line is, I can't bad-mouth Saint Cupcake anymore, and now, I just want to try all the other flavors I haven't had. Like, um, now!

cupcakes more fattening than pizza

2007-05-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

I heard this on NPR today and found it to be hi-larious! Based on the report, I'm lead to believe you could have one Magnolia cupcake and a slice of pizza and be A-OK! Just avoid the giant cupcakes at Crumbs, right? Oh whatever, we all know cupcakes aren't diet friendly, they're just cute and delicious. So rather than letting this sway me from cupcakes, it just made me hungry for them. And because I'm pregnant I can't just think "oh that sounds yummy." Nope. I have to sit here thinking about cupcakes all afternoon. AND because I'm pregnant, I'm too tired to even think about whipping up a batch, but not too tired to make a stop by Saint Cupcake on my way. Hope ya'll have a yummy evening, I know I will...

ps I didn't take this photo, it's by Mike Pesca and swiped from the NPR article linked above, it was just too fab not to re-post!

jungle boogie

2007-05-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

i'm not totally sure that there are lions, monkeys and pandas in the jungle, but whatev, babies sure don't seem to care. here are some pretty goofy jungle cakes i made for a little monkey's first birthday...

real monkey cakes these were not. i just made easy chocolate cupcakes with easy cream cheese frosting. however, i wanted to make the monkeys with banana cakes and chocolate cream cheese frosting, but i ran out of time. so on sunday i whipped up a batch (because i've been craving them since i went to tribeca treat s) and they were deeeeelish! i used chockylit's recipe for banana cakes found here, but i didn't do any of here fancy additions. i just used the basic cake recipe and added a couple teaspoons of toasted cinnamon. and i used some defrosted chocolate cream cheese frostin g that i made sometime last year. these cupcakes were so good i think i'll be whipping up yet another batch as soon as these are gone. i may add pecans, or chocolate chips, or both.

Tribeca Treats

2007-04-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

tribeca treats, a bakery and party supply store, hmmm... exactly what i should have done a year ago. i hear there's a place in seattle now that sells yummy flavored cupcakes and vintage party supplies. you know when you say "we should open a/start a/do a___" and then you don't do it. someone else does, they do it right, and you could just _____? well that's how i feel. but oh well, i have a much bigger project on my hands (or rather, in my belly) and can't worry much about couldawouldashouldas. so anyways, the treats:

red velvet, not fabulous, but tastyish. good density, moist, etc., just not the yummiest. but their cream cheese frosting was done to perfection. and though you might think that's easy, many places over sweeten. no sugarbitus here.

ok, so a little disappointed with the red velvet, but the banana cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting? perfection! the cake wasn't fakey banana, but delicious fresh banana cake, like banana bread, but not so dense, and topped with perfect (better than2 G's!) chocolate cream cheese frosting. oooooweeee, i'm going to have to replicate this one!

some flavors i didn't try - pbj (left) and chocolate caramel (right)

and they make the cutest birthday cakes! i hope jack enjoyed his rocket ship!

and the party supplies were fab too, though not a huge selection, what they did have was cute and clever, and they have a great selection of cards too!

buckle up!

2007-04-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

(photo from marthastewart.com -
I forgot my camera but swear mine looked
almost identical,without the
powdered sugar)

Last night, at the request of a birthday tyrant for "something raspberry," I whipped up a raspberry buckle ala Martha Stewart. You can find the recipe here. It was super duper easy and even more delish. I served it with fresh whipped cream. It was a huge success and led the group of us to discuss future buckles. Marion berries were mentioned, which would be yummy. I'm thinking dark chocolate and sour cherries. Or rhubarb. Martha has a peach buckle recipe that calls for cinnamon and almonds (yum!). There will definitely be more buckles to come...

Drunken Irish Cakes

2007-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

In honor of good ole Saint Patrick, I whipped up some drunken Irish cupcakes. Easy, tasty, and boozey, these cakes are a perfect way to celebrate.

Dark Chocolate Fudgey Guinness Cakes

1 box Dunken Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix
1 box Jello brand Devil's Food flavor instant pudding
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup Guinness

Mix it all up, put in it your cupcake liners, bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes.

Irish Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks cream cheese (I use the low fat)
1 stick unsalted butter
about 3/4 box powdered sugar (to taste)
1 little airline size bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream

Frost, decorate, serve, do a jig!

Happy Valentimes!

2007-02-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

Lazy cupcakes here folks. I bought the Duncan Hines Red Velvet box mix, which turns your tongue, teeth and fingers red. I mixed up 1 pkg cream cheese, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg and 1/2 bag mini chocolate chips. Set it aside, mix up cake batter according to box, fill cups 2/3 full, drop a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center (or try, like I did, to make hearts, it didn't work out so well). Bake for 25 minutes. Sweet!

i heart brownie edges

2007-02-01T06:12:00.000-08:00

this is brilliant!

I was just asking myself the same thing...

2007-02-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

This was the cover of the Oregonian's FoodDay on Tuesday. I've been wondering the same thing myself (and had guessed/hoped it was pie). Layer cake and Madeleines? I dunno. I do know that when I started this blog I did it out of my love of baking and requests from friends to make my recipes accessible. I've loved cupcakes since childhood and always preferred making them over making a big layer cake, for special occasions and whatnot. But I'm a little burnt out. I'm sure you've noticed, as I seem to post more about baking-related things rather than baking myself. I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I want to test out. And I'm by no means quitting, but I may start blogging about baking things other than cupcakes. Whaddya think?

I thought this was the best part of the Oregonian article:

Five recent baking obsessions

Muffins: A staple of early 1990s coffee breaks with wide-ranging variations, from super-sized cakey monstrosities from warehouse stores, to pop-in-your-mouth mini sizes. Their popularity made big sellers out of special pans producing just the muffin tops.

Bagels: Though frozen bagels had been widely available since the 1970s, they reached critical mass only in the mid-'90s, when chains like Noah's and Einstein Bros. made freshly baked varieties widely available. Sales dropped significantly in 2002, as low-carb dieting became a national obsession.

Scones: Starbucks is directly responsible for the ultra-sweet updating on this Scottish biscuit. In the late '90s, the coffee giant began filling its bakery cases with dense cookielike pastries filled with cranberries, blueberries, nuts and what-have-you. These days, they're touting "healthy" multigrain versions with zero grams trans fat. Not surprisingly, they aren't very good.

Doughnuts: Oddly, while Americans were shunning bagels during the Atkins era, we were also obsessing about sugar-glazed rings from Krispy Kreme. When outlets arrived in Oregon in 2003, customers lined up for hours for the sweet treats. Interest waned in 2005 as the brand's cult following faded. In the end, it was a very good doughnut, but it was still just a doughnut.

Cupcakes: The recent return of these staples of the '60s and '70s inspired best-selling cookbooks, specialized baking equipment, even the popular blog Cupcakes Take the Cake on the Internet (http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com). The resurgence gave legions of home cooks new uses for all those muffin pans they bought in the '90s.

-- Grant Butler

go here now

2007-01-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

just a quick post to say: go to cupcake bakeshop or vanilla garlic and admire all the creativity! i mean, these baking masters have some crazy delicious recipes on their sites, and now they've kicked off this contest bringing out all the crazy cupcake heads. the 60+ recipes have my head spinning. i don't know which recipe i will try first! avocado?!! cuba libre? vanilla saffron, figs and mascarpone, lemon curd & whiskey? pear walnut and cardamom?

A Yummy Smelling Valentine's Gift?

2007-01-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

new from philosophy - red velvet and buttercream frosting 3 in one shampoos (hair, body and bath). i'm gonna git me some.

xoxo

Stay Super Sweet!

2007-01-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Over at Fred Flare you can get a hand-made by Amy Sedaris FAKE CAKE! There's only one of each color, and they are expensive. But they're made by and SIGNED by Amy! I think I'll stick to baking real cakes, it's much cheaper and yummier, but I might have to order some of these overpriced Amy Sedaris Jimmies. Cute!

how did I miss these cuties?

2007-01-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

My mouth is watering on overdrive because of this post at Orangette! How have I missed these little lovelies right here in my own fabulous city?!! I've been to Pearl Bakery, I've eaten their scrumptious treats, but I've never seen, tasted, or even heard of a bouchon! Where have I been? I love me some chocolate! And brownies, scones, and stale cake! And I looooove champagne, so all of these flavors, textures and tests rolled into a mini cupcake slash champagne cork? That's just too good to be true. OH! And the creator is a baker whose last name is Posey?! How did I not know of her? I'm feeling a little silly and embarrassed about all this right now (and very hungry). I'm going to make a special trip to Pearl Bakery this weekend and will report in as soon as I do. And I'm going to test out that recipe as well. Thanks Orangette!

xoxo

thank you.

2007-01-06T08:40:00.001-08:00

I'm playing catch up today and writing out my overdue "thank you" cards for birthday and christmas presents. I got so many cupcake and baking related gifts that I thought I should share some. One you've already seen the results of, the gingerbread pan in the post below. SO cute! I never knew I needed one until I owned it. I can't wait for Christmas to come back so I can do some more cute Christmas baking! Thanks Maureen!

Birthday bowls - set of three of these fabulous mixing bowls. They are perfect for mixing and pouring (love that lip). Thanks Dan!

Also these fabulous measuring bowls. No idea where my mom-in-law found them, but I adore them and have used them in every cooking adventure I've gone on lately. (I love that you can get two measurings out of one little bowl!)

Cookbooks galore! I got cookbooks from both moms. Some how I'd made it this far without owning Nigella's How to be a Domestic Godess;
Chocolate Obsession is so good I can't read it without a piece of chocoltae in hand, well, mouth. I'll let you know as soon as I've tested out some recipes!

The Amy Sedaris book is fabulous! The day after Christmas I made turkey pot pie with leftovers (her recipe calls for chicken, but I thought she'd approve of the substitute). Really, if you don't have it you must run out and get it now!

My husband stocked my stuffing with Sili Cups from Sur La Table. I've used them and they're superfantastic!

Miss Erin got me these stylin' rain boots that I love to pieces (they're so comfortable!)

and Gretchie gave me this super cute necklace and Tina made me the darlingest (totally a word!) cupcake tray bracelet...

I have very very good friends and family and I feel very loved. I also received all kinds of crazy fabulous gifts of the non-cupcake kind. Thank you, everyone.

Julia Child's Gingerbread

2006-12-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

I followed the recipe to a T, 'cept I added candied ginger. It was delish. I served it with lemon curd. 'Was going to make a white chocolate lemon sauce, but ate too much turkey and, well, you know how that goes.

One more post to follow, before the year's end...

Happy post-Christmas week.

xoxo

Happy Christmas

2006-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

While celebrating my birthday in Sonoma, we took a quick trip to SF for some birthday shopping. While there, we visited Citizen Cupcake (oddly placed in the Virgin record store). More on that later, but I will say that I was more impressed with their decorating than the cakes themselves. But this little gingerbread house is so cute I had to post. I'm going to make Julia Child's Ginger Babycakes on Monday (p. 247 Baking with Juila), though I'm going to use my new gingerbread pan, I might have to make a little mini gingerbread house too.

Anyway, here's to a happy 3-day weekend! I'll try to be a better blogger in 2007. I've got a lot on my mind, but I'm too fogged up with Christmas to express myself properly right now.

cheers!

Her Royal Pie-ness Part 2

2006-12-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

I recently celebrated a birthday over the course of about 2 weeks - the first of the celebrations came with Pink Lady Pie from HRP. Bits of the other celebrations call for blogging as well, but it being the Christmas season and all, I'm a little behind. I'll do my best to catch up this week.

I realize pink pie isn't very Christmassy, unless you're celebrating at my house (pink tree), but it is quite possibly the most delicious pie I've ever had, so it needed to be blogged and you need to go make yourself some. If you're not willing to make it a pink Christmas (or New Year's!) then store the recipe away for Valentines pie, or Easter, or for one of those days when you just want something sweet and pink, in the form of pie (or mini pies). Ok, that's it, here's the recipe (look at those yummy insides!):

PINK LADY PIE

2 c. diced rhubarb
1 c. sugar
1 pkg. (3 oz.) strawberry gelatin
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 c. whipped topping

Cook rhubarb and sugar slowly until tender.

Add gelatin dry; stir gently until dissolved.

Let cool and add lemon juice.

Cool to room temperature, fold in whipped topping.

Pour into baked crust and refrigerate.

Top with whipped topping when served.

Guest Bloggamist: Her Royal Pie-ness

2006-11-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

Today, in honor of the pie season that kicks off with Thanksgiving, I bring you my first guest bloggamist, Her Royal Pie-ness, and her super scrumtious mini pies:

If you like your pie dough extra flaky and aren’t opposed to a little hydrogenated oil, I would suggest this pie dough recipe

Double-Crust Flaky Pie Dough

Mix in a bowl:
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt

Take ½ lb cold unsalted butter (2 sticks) out of fridge and quickly cut into ¼ inch pieces. Add to dry ingredients. Chop the butter into pea-sized pieces with a pastry knife.

Then add ¼ cup solid butter flavored vegetable shortening.

Cut into pea-sized pieces with pastry knife. Don’t let mixture soften. Then drizzle over the mixture 1/3 cup ice water.

Cut into the mixture with a spatula until it is evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Continue cutting in ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together. But don’t get it too wet.

Split dough into two halves and form into balls. Wrap each tightly in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

When you are ready for the dough, roll it into a 9-10 inch circle. Then place it in a pie dish and form a fluted rim with your fingers.*

If you are opposed to using shortening, then use the same recipe as above without it. It will be equally as delicious, just a little less flaky.

*For mini pies, cut rolled dough into 5-5 ½“ circles. Slip them into the a cupcake tin (I have found that the silicon cupcake tins cook the mini pies more evenly and are easier to clean afterwards). Use every other cup to give the pies enough space. This means you will need 2 cupcake tins to make 12 mini pies. Smooth the dough into the cup and flute the rim with your fingers. Top as you would a normal pie.

Another tip for mini pies is to cook them at a slightly lower temperature and sometimes for a shorter period of time than the recipe calls for. Just keep an eye on them and when they get golden brown on top and the filling bubbles up through the crust and look syrupy.

Grandpa's Cafe Chocolate Pie

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large eggs, separated
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoons vanilla
1 (9-inch) basket pie crust

- In saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, cocoa powder, salt and cornstarch. Add egg yolks and milk stirring until well mixed. Cook until thick (10-15 minutes- *it took me longer). Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

- In medium mixing bowl beat egg white on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly. Add vanilla. Beat egg whites until stiff and glossy.

- Pour filling into baked pie shell. Top with beaten egg whites, being cared to completely cover filling, sealing at edges of crust. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until light golden on the peaks. Remove and let cool. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to set.

Apple Pie

Prepare and roll out double crust pie dough. Line a pie dish with half of the dough (or 6-12 mini pies.) Set the other half aside for the pie top.

Peel and slice 6 cups of cooking apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. In a large bowl, mix together:

¾ cups sugar

2 tbsp flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon (I use more to taste)

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Add apple slices and mix until thoroughly coated. Place mixture in pie pan. Trim dough if necessary. Place other half of rolled dough on top and cut edges if necessary. Seal and crimp edges as desired. Cut slits into the top of the pie to vent. If making a normal size pie, cover edges with foil to prevent burning. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire wrack.

Rhubarb Pie

Prepare double crust pie dough. Roll out half and line a pie dish. Trim edges if necessary and refrigerate. Roll the other half out and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut 1 ¾ to 1 ½ pounds of rhubarb stalks. (Use thin skinned, pink rhubarb, no bigger than your thumb.)

Measure 5 cups and combine with:

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups sugar (use larger amount when rhubarb is more mature.)

¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca or cornstarch (cornstarch for lattice top)

Grated zest of 1 orange (optional)

¼ tsp salt

I also throw in cinnamon to taste

Let stand for 15 minutes, then stir. Pour into the pie crust and dot with 2 tbsp unsalted butter. Cover with lattice top crust, then seal the edges, trimp and crimp.>

Bake pie for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Then slip a baking sheet underneath and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake about 25-35 more minutes, until thick juices bubble through the vents. Let cool completely before serving.

i heard a rumor that next week she'll be bringing you a recipe for Pink Lady Pie...

Panda Jonx

2006-11-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

my little sister turned 16 recently and requested i make her "cute" cupcakes. what's cuter than a panda?

i made amy sedaris vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream (dreamy!), used large dark chocolate discs for ears, junior mints for dark around eyes, and plastic eye balls from the craft store. you could do that part in frosting, but i was being lazy.

Cupcake Royale is King

2006-11-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

a few months ago my darling husband went to seattle for a rock show and came home with a box of cupcake royale cupcakes. oh.my.gawd.YUM! above you see the delicious delicious delicious raspberry, which was the special flavor at the time. raspberry cake, cream cheese frosting, super yummy fruity topper. did i saw delicious? deeeeeeeeeelish!

the whole lot -

lemon drop:
missing a lemon drop topper, but lemony and delicious. the lemon buttercream was perfect!

peppermint patty:
yummy chocolate cake with super minty buttercream. tastes just like a peppermint patty!

orange you glad:
YES I AM! I love, love, love chocolate and orange. their orange buttercream is perfect. tastes of real orange, not fakey flavor.

the barbie:
of course. tasty vanilla cake, tasty vanilla buttercream, pink. what could be better?

the mocha:
oh the mocha. their perfectly perfect chocolate cake topped with a glob of mocha buttercream. can your taste buds imagine it? it was better than that! i want more.

overall i'd say cupcake royale is definitely providing the best cupcakes i've had on the west coast. we could really use a portland branch! and though they don't beat cupcake cafe in NYC, they could rival most of those hoity toity east coast cupcakeries. the cakes were moist, even a day or two old. the frostings were perfectly flavored, not too sweet. the amount of frosting was perfect - a thin spread that provided enough extra moisture, creamy-ness and flavor without overwhelming the cake or your blood sugar level. i can't say enough good things about cupcake royale!

desperate for chocolate

2006-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

friday night just off work, umpteenth day of driving rain,
running errands, ready for dinner,
st. cupcake on my route.
why not?
the situation called for nothing more than chocolate.
above you see the chocolate trio of:
chocolate on chocolate
caramel on chocolate
hot fudge on chocolate
and what you don't see is the red velvet
that didn't make it out of my car.
the red velvet is perfect, delicious, light chocolatey,
with that perfect red velvet taste and topped with a
creamy and good cream cheese frosting.
i took a photo with my cam-phone but now the cord is broken
and i can't get the photos off. yum yum yum! so now i can say
i love the st cupcake red velvet.
i'm also fond of the banana chocolate chip pound cake
that i tried on another emergency visit.
about the three up top... well they satisfied my need
for chocolate. i adore the hot fudge frosting, as i posted after my last visit,
and the chocolate buttercream was super tasty, a little too much,
too rich for me, and left me with a case of sugar bitus, pronounced with a brooklyn accent - "shuga-bite-us"
but tasty nonetheless. i didn't like the caramel,
but not because it wasn't good, because it actually was,
i'm just not a great fan of caramel flavored things that aren't caramel...
the chocolate cake is just ok. i felt like i tasted more flour than chocolate, and that just ain't right. but it was't greasy, which was my beef with st. c last time, and overall i was satisfied.
so there you have it.
and actually, i have more to say, about another angle, but i'm going to try to get my cam-phone photos to go along with that post.
have a good monday!

xoxo

Yum

2006-11-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Get yourself an extra sweet,
chocolatey cupcake
with a yummy suprise inside
at St. John's Tulip Pastry Shop.

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEN!

2006-10-30T19:37:00.001-08:00

Well I didn't make Halloween cupcakes this year, but I did make a Jack-o-Cupcake
whaddya think?

Sushi Anyone?

2006-10-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

The sushi cupcake idea came from the lovely and amazing Clare Crespo's Hey There Cupcake! but the recipe came from the Barefoot Contessa. Except of course I cannot take direction and had to change it up a bit. Instead of buttermilk I used coconut milk. And I added a tablespoon of lime juice to activate the baking soda (because I took away the buttermilk).

And I made my own cream cheese frosting, I just added lots of coconut. I think that's it.

And I served it with Momma Krause's delicious fudge sauce (as soy sauce).

bloggy kisses

2006-10-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

right back atchya Shelterrific! I think you are just peachy....

Project Runway Finale Cakes

2006-10-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

My "project" was to recreate these 4 looks of the final 4 designers using only cupcake liners. I modeled the designs of Jeffrey, Laura and Uli from the garbage challenge, and Michael's from the apt. challenge.

I used upside down cupcakes to hold the models in place. Pink cake, of course, because pink is so fashionable.

Until Season 4...

O Valencia!

2006-10-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I made orange chiffon cakes filled with orange cream and topped with orange buttercream. I used fresh valencia oranges and orange oil. They were orangey delicious! I'll post the recipe soon.
xoxo

Amy Sedaris Cupcake UPDATE

2006-10-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the Fabulous Amy's new book Ms. Sedaris publishes her famous cupcake recipe and a DIFFERENT version of her buttercream - this time with butter. If you read this post you'll know I was very impressed by the Lovely Lady's cakes, but not so much with the frosting. It NEEDED butter! But, I consulted two "official" recipes and neither called for it. And yes, I alter recipes ALL the time, but I wanted the real thing, and this was as close as I was going to get (remember, I tried to get Amy's cakes while visiting NYC but wasn't so lucky). But the published book version calls for butter, so there you have it, I'll be retrying the recipe (which can be found online here) and reporting back soon. In the meantime, everyone should rush out and buy this book! And buy me a copy while you're at it,

Chocolate with a Twist

2006-10-04T06:23:00.001-07:00

Chocolate with Lime Buttercream inspired by Cake Love

Chocolate Buttermilk cake topped with Lime Buttercream is simply this chocolate cake and this frosting, but with lime instead of lemon. Easy and super deeeelish!

ps - I found these cups to be nothing more than good looking. They were difficult to get open and made devouring these delicious treats very difficult.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY-WEEK MISS VICKY!

2006-10-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

pink cake - a must for all birthdays

Too Cool for School

2006-09-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

So Shelterrific, a super fantabulous blog that doesn't quite fill the hole in my heart left by the absence of Budget Living but at least keeps me bloggily entertained, blogged about these cupcakes, and well, I have to as well because they are SO cute, creative, clever, and all things back to school are way way cool. So there you have it. I'm in awe...

The Organdy Cupcakes

2006-09-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

A contest! Whoever finds me this book gets a liftime of cupcakes!!

(I'm just kidding, of course, I can't promise a lifetime of anything...)

Gretchen Bemis was a little plump by some standards, but she was the kind of girl who usually set her own standards, and if she wanted to be noticed by a man — even in a baggy nurse’s uniform — she usually was. In fact, among the internes [sic] at Sibert Memorial Hospital she was affectionately known as “Bemis de Milo.”

Not all of Gretchen’s friends in the hospital were like her. Not the delicate Rosemary Joplin, who resented her stepmother because her face always looked as though her feet hurt, and because she was not charmingly helpless like the playmate-mother who had died when Rosemary was fourteen. Not Nelle Gibson, whose square figure and dun-colored hair had made her decide that, not being beautiful, she’d better be bright.

This is the story of senior year at nursing school, when Gretchen and her friends, realizing that they were now adult human beings, began to come to grips with their problems. It was an exciting time for them, and most of all, perhaps, for Gretchen. For her wish was granted in a way that was as unexpected as it was delightful, and graduation day brought to her more than the stiff organdy graduate cap, so like a cupcake, that was the prize for all her hard work.

thank you thank you thank you to Tina for finding this!

Wedding Cakes

2006-09-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Mark & Val !!!!!

What does it take to go from baking cupcakes for your friends' birthdays to baking 150 for a wedding? A lot of planning and prep, yes, but mostly it takes getting up early and having a team of good friends to help out - "Team Cupcake" got up with me at 5:00 a.m., kept my coffee cup full, fed me, sprinkled, taste tested, lent advice, took photos, did dishes, frosted, played guitar... well they kept me sane and some how enabled me to make cupcakes for a wedding. So thanks a thousand times over to my cell mates Muffin, Cured Meat, Bone$, Queen Woo, Bagel, Juice, and Dre & Trey, who weren't there early enough to get prison names, but aided in my post-cupcake relaxation by pouring large amounts of whisky and telling me my hair looked good and my dress didn't make me look fat! I couldn't have done it without all of you - I realize that is totally acceptance speech, but it's true! You were more help than I realized I needed, or ever expected, and I can't imagine what we would have ended up with if you hadn't been there to help. And to Vark, there couldn't be sweeter people to make sweets for, I felt honored to provide your wedding dessert and am so happy you are my friends.

Dipping (photo by Jessie Sue Hibbs)

Legalizing Frostitution in Pacific City... (photo by Cousin Ali)

Sprinkling (photo by Jessie Sue Hibbs)

Chocolate dipped Peanut Butter Cups

Bourbon Infused Yellow Cake with Mini Chocolate Chips & Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin with Mexican Chocolate topped with Toasted Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

The Recipes

Peanut Butter Cup and Pumpkin w/ Mexican Chocolate have already been blogged. Though, thanks to a tip from my genius friend James, I toasted the cinnamon first, by putting it in a pan and cooking it on low until it smelled really strong. This made for a much more pungent and cinnamony flavored cream cheese frosting. It was deeeelish!

The only new recipe is the yellow cake. This one was my least favorite, though I do think it was good (and I was told it was the favorite of many).

Bourbon Infused Yellow Cakes with Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

(Tastes like a chocolate chip cookie, boozed up, and covered in chocolate!)

Makes 48
5 c Cake Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 large eggs
4 c. sugar
2 c. melted butter
2 pkg vanilla pudding (shhh... it's the secret ingredient!)
2 c. sour cream
1 c. bourbon
1 bag mini chips

Sift flour, bp, bs, salt in med bowl

In mixer Â on medium, beat eggs and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes or more.

Stop mixer, scrape sides. On low speed, mix in the butter. Mix in sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in pudding and bourbon. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Bake at 350, start testing after 20 minutes (mine took at least 25).

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (this is essentially 2 G's frosting without the second G)

4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 pkg light cream cheese, room temp
12-16 ounces milk chocolate chips, melted
2-4 cupsconfectionerss sugar
4 tbsp unsweetened, dark chocolate cocoa powder

Mix it all up in the Kitchen Aid, taste - addconfectionersr sugar, liquid, coco powder, melted chocolate, to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slathering on your cakes. I sprinkled with Jimmies just for looks!

Oh and the mini cake - I ordered a pan from Confectionery House and filled it with the pumpkin batter. It took forever to bake, but ended up perfect. I froze the cake (so the frosting wouldn't melt off of it) and then James frosted it for me (because I'm impatient and don't have a delicate hand, and because he was fabulous enough to offer). I used plain cream cheese frosting so it would be white, and topped it with a mini bride and groom ordered from Plum Party.

One last thing - my photos are a little dark and not so great, mainly because I was tired and distracted with my cupcake job. The lighting wasn't fantastic for photographing and I didn't have my flash with me, so I did the best I could with my tired brain. And Jessie helped enormously by photographing me at work (those came out great). I also wasn't too worried about getting the perfect cupcake photo because there was a real, professional photographer there doing the job. It is very exciting that my cupcakes were photographed by Portland's HOTTEST photographer, and will end up online in something like 4-6 weeks. I'll be sure to post a link to them when they're up. I'm super excited!

Pretty Portland Cakes

2006-08-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm kicking myself because I've gone and lost my notes on the above Red Velvet cupcake. I bought it at New Season's on aFriday night. I'm fairly sure it was from Joseph's but their online menu doesn't offer Red Velvet, so I can't be too sure. The presentation was beautiful, clearly, a perfect red, nice piped frosting with a fabulous lavendar flower (that was so well done it even had a green stem), and extra special shiny and sparkly flakes for a little added flare. Unfortunately the presentation was much better than the actual cake. It was incredibly dry, with a good mild chocolate taste, but not at all moist or buttermilky as it should be. The frosting was sweet and pastey and not yummy at all. Oh well, at least it was photogenic! That evening we also sampled a carrot cake from New Seasons that was absolutely to. die. for. Again, I lost my notes so I've got no idea who made it. It was super moist, with a perfectly perfect cream cheese frosting. Oh and they added pineapple just like I do! I couldn't have eaten more of those.

Now for the others, please forgive the crummy camera phones photos. My husband and I were out buying more pickets for our new fence at Home Depot when we realized it was time for lunch. We went to Zupans on Hayden Island for sandwiches and I decided we needed cupcakes as well (it was our anniversary after all!). The Triple Lemon Cake (above and below) was from Joseph's and GOOD GOLLY it was SO good! The cake is a lemon buttermilk cake, and it is dense and moist and absolutely perfectly lemony and perfect all around. BUT the best part is that the cake is topped with a thick layer of lemon curd. Ohmygawd why hadn't I thought of this?!! On top of the curd is a nice thick pile of lightly lemony buttercream. Geeezus, this is by far the best cupcake I've had out and about in Portland. Yum yum yum yum yum! And pretty too (they also used the sparkly shiney flake things)!

The carrot cake was for the husband - it was actually called a Carrot Muffin and was from a place called Ruth's that I've never heard of. It was moist and yummy, with a good cream cheese icing (though a little too sweet for me). The cake wasn't very spicey and didn't contain pineapple, coconut, nuts, or anything else special. But it was perfectly good. I think I'm finding that carrot cake is the hardest to scew up.

Ok, time for lunch, I've gone and made my self starved!!!

xoxo

Garden Party Cakes

2006-08-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

1 box white cake mix
1 box vanilla pudding
4 egg whites
butter instead of oil
1/3 c. Ameretto
1 c. milk

bake, cool, serve with whipping cream and berries
and look out for bees!

"A+ #1 Best Ever!"

2006-08-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

peanut butter cups

My husband's favorite sweet treat is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup so for his birthday I decided to try and make a cupcake version. I used Clare Crespo's brilliant book Hey There, Cupcake! and only made a few changes (Iadded chips and changed the frosting/presentation).
My husband proclaimed these cupcakes "A+ #1 Best Ever!" and the other party goes seemed to feel the same way. They were a smashing success, much more than I'd ever expect something peanut butter to be. And so much so that they've made it onto the cupcake menu for an upcoming wedding I'm baking for (more on that later).
Try them yourselves...

35 cakes for 35th birthday
3 1/2 c. all purpose flour 6 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2/3 c. unsalted butter, softened 2 1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar 4 eggs 2/3 c. salted peanut butter 1 c. whole milk 2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 - 3/4 bag Reese's chips
Preheat oven to350
Line cupcake tins with liners Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl In a seperate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar Add eggs one at a time beating each until light fluffy Add peanut butter and mix until smooth and creamy In small bowl combine milk and vanilla To butter mixture, add about 1/4 of the flour mix and mix well
Add about 1/4 milk mixt ure and mix well
Continue, beating after each until smooth Pour batter into tins and bake for about 18-23 min,
until they cakes bounce back when touched Remove and let cool about 10 min before turning out of tins and onto rack to cool completely Chocolate "Dip"
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips 3 sticks unsalted butter 1-2 c. confectioner sugar 1-2 tbsp godiva liquor (or other liquid as needed)

Melt chocolate in double boiler until melted, remove and let cool but not re-thicken
Beat butter and 1 c. confectioner's sugar until smooth
Add chocolate slowly, beating lightly
Add more sugar if needed, and liquid if needed
Dip cupcakes into chocolate slowly, refrigerate before serving

I decorated with mini beer can picks found at the Decorette Shop
(see post below for more on them)

Delicious Fishes

2006-08-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Another brilliant idea from Martha Stewart (or rather, one of her minions) - how will I find time to try them before this summer is over?

Ingredients

Makes 12

1 1/2 pints sherbet in assorted flavors, such as pineapple, lime, raspberry, and orange
24 jelly fruit-slice candies in assorted colors, for decorating
1 tablespoon chocolate chips, melted and cooled
24 small round white candies, for decorating
1 store-bought pound cake, (10.75 ounces)

Directions

Wrap a rimmed baking sheet with plastic, pulling wrap taut over top of sheet. Scoop desired flavors of sherbet using a 2 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, gently dropping them onto the plastic wrap as you work. (Scoops should not touch the metal; this will help them keep their round shape.) Freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make decorations: Stand jelly candies upright on a cutting board. Cut candies lengthwise (vertically) into 3 thin slices. Cut outer slices in half for the fins and tails. (You should have 6 halves of the same color for each fish.) Cut long, thin strips from middle slices (12 strips total); pinch ends together to form circles for the mouths. Using the blunt end of a skewer, dot melted chocolate onto the white candies for eyes; let stand until set.
Cut cake into 3 layers. Cut out 4 rounds from each using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Place each in the bottom of a double layer of paper muffin liners.
Working quickly, place 1 scoop of sherbet on top of cake in liner. Gently place 2 jelly pieces on sides of scoop for fins, 3 in the back for a tail, and 1 on top for fin. Add candy eyes. Return fish to freezer. Repeat with remaining scoops,working with 1 at a time. Freeze until set, 1 to 5 hours, before serving.

i want...

2006-08-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

I could say that I've just been terribly busy and also distracted and consumed with a very exciting task (wedding cupcakes - promise to report back after Labor Day). But really I'm just a bad blogger. I love reading other peoples blogs and am disappointed when they aren't updated daily. It is true that I can't possibly bake cupcakes daily (if only!) but I'm weeks behind on blogging cakes I've already baked and photographed. So why would I even consider starting another blog? Oh I don't know. I'm just thinking it'd be fun to blog about parties I throw, attend, create crafts for. Good gifts. Lipstick. Madonna. My sister. My cat. Sugar-free popsicles and other things I love. We'll see. Does anyone who doesn't know me personally read this blog? Would you read/look at another? Leave comments, and we'll see what I feel like in a few days.

For now I'm posting a couple cupcake related things that I love and think are fabulous, and one sweet, but not cakey, thing I desperately want but so don't need...

The Cup-a-Cake. You know, for lunches and stuff.

Sili-Cups

Reusable, non-burning, colorful, I think I need them, no? They come in pastels, white, mini and jumbo. Sweek!

Ooooh, and leave it to those wizards over at Crate & Barrel to make them in brown (and cheap!)

Ok, and quite possibly the only thing that could replace my obsession with chocolate fountains is this super fabulous soft serve ice cream maker from Cuisinart!!!!! I want one so much, but it is so silly. And we don't have the kitchen space. And I'm "allergic" to dairy. But damn! I love soft serve, even more than I love regular hard ice cream and almost as much as I love Ralph's Italian Ices. I especially love the sprinkles and cone holder. So cute, so sweet, so soft...

Read more about this wonder contraption here, or better yet, buy one (only $129!!!) and report back to me. Look, it puts the sprinkles right into the ice cream for you. Wouldn't it be the perfect wedding/birthday/anniversary gift?!!!

Amy Sedaris Test Kitchen

2006-08-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to the Decorette Shop on SE Foster street and my only disappointment was that I hadn't been there before. Well and that they didn't have a huge variety of cupcake cups. But they made up for it in their enormous selection of cake toppers, picks, and candies! I bout all the goofy things you see in these photos, as well as beer can picks and candy hot dogs (I haven't used those yet). Clearly I was in a silly mood that day, but they have quite the variety of non-silly toppers as well (beautiful candy flowers, fruits, animals, and holiday themes) and picks (ballerinas, boy scouts, babies, kitties) and commercial themes too! They also have all kinds of baking goodies, cake stands, candy making goods, icing dyes and glitters. I could have spent all day there!

So I decided to test out Amy Sedaris' famous vanilla cupcakes the next day, because I'd heard that Ms. Sedaris loves to use silly picks. I was both delighted and disappointed with the recipe. The cakes themselves were better than Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cakes. Really. Perfect texture, flavor, sweetness, truly the perfect vanilla cake. But the frosting was simply powdered sugar and milk (and vanilla) and tasted just like that - a sweet vanilla paste. I willing to accept that I got something wrong in my recreation, but I won't attempt it again. I think the next time I have to make a vanilla cake I'll make Amy's cakes and Magnolia's vanilla buttercream. Or maybe Warren Brown's, or the Cupcake Cafe's, there are so many options.

PDX Cakes!

2006-08-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes from Sweet Pea Bakery (served at Extracto), Vita Cafe and New Seasons.
Quick summary:

Extracto/Sweet Pea - Chocolate with Vanilla "Butter"cream was dry but tasty. It was early in the a.m. but I'm thinking these were day old. The vegan buttercream was great, it had a nice thick texture and wasn't greasy or too sweet. My favorite thing was that they looked like little purses!

New Season's (I don't know what bakery they came from)- Carrot cake was dry (why?!!) but the cream cheese frosting was very yummy. Chantilly was ok- I didn't think the chocolate cake was chocolatey enough and I thought the buttercream was ok but too sweet. Pink frosted chocolate cupcake was dry and yucky with a fake raspberry flavored frosting, one was really bland and greasy and the other was too sweet. Why did too matching cakes taste so different?

Vegan and Wheat free cakes from Vita Cafe -
ok, first of all, cupcakes shouldn't be $4.00 each.
Ever. We tried three flavors: Orange with cranberry, chocolate raspberry, and Irish oat. The orange cran was yummy but much more muffin like than cake like. The frosting was tart and tasty.

The chocolate cake was dry, topped with raspberry jam (ok) and an incredibly delicious chocolate ganache (I don't know how they do it without cream). This ganache could challenge any dairy-filled ganache any day. Superb. But the best cake was the Irish Oat - yummy sweet oaty cake (not muffin like, more carrot cake like, with oats instead of carrots) and topped with fake cream cheese frosting that tasted just like the real thing. I wouldn't buy these again because of the price, but they were definitely the tastiest of the three places I've been to in the past few weeks.

Irish Oat

Care Bears are Back!

2006-08-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

I loooove a theme! I tend to be "too matchy" and I over-do everything, so when I heard that the theme for Miss Imani's first birthday was Care Bears I went for it completely! Pink cake with pink cream cheese frosting in Care Bear papers with Care Bears on top (and a Care Bear candle too!).

I bought Care Bear papers and candy toppers at Michael's.
All was perfectly pink and matchy, but as it turns out, the birthday girl doesn't like sweets!

Cake Love - Love Cafe

2006-07-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Cake Love is truly lovely. A bakery in Washington, DC, Cake Love is run by Warren Brown, cake-baker extraordinaire and host of Sugar Rush on the Food Network. Across the street from Cake Love is Love Cafe, where I visited in late June (along with my super fabulous mother-in-law and her super fabulous son) and was, what else, super impressed to find a wide variety of cupcake and frosting flavors.

Of all the choices, and there were so many, we picked these to sample (not all in one setting, we took some home): Chocolate cake with lime buttercream, chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream, vanilla cake with orange buttercream, chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream, chocolate cake topped with ameretto buttercream, chocolate "dipped" chocolate, new German cake, and chocolate topped with chocolate buttercream. There were four of us doing the sampling over an entire day, but even so I was in a pretty serious state of "sugarbitus" by the end of the evening.

Cake Love makes some fabulous frosting. I had NO idea how much there was to learn about buttercream, but now that I know there are so many options out there, I'm eager to try more. This was my first adventure outside of the world of simple, or American buttercream, and I loved it! (Though now I'm thinking Casa Cupcakes uses a French buttercream style, maybe, because theirs was def. not simple or American, so I guess this wasn't my first time out... I digress.) The texture was wonderful, melt in your mouth, yumminess! I couldn't figure out how they made it so smooth and thick and yet not too buttery or too sweet. (See more on this later.) The cakes were good, but not outstanding. Cake Love instructs you to serve cake at room temperature (72 degrees) but because they have to keep them refrigerated at the cafe, so maybe this makes them little dry. The flavor was good, just dry. But who cares, the frosting was outstanding!

Ok, so my top 3...

#1 favorite flavor (also my MIL's favorite, I think) was chocolate cake with lime buttercream. Call me unimaginative, but I never would have dreamt this up. It was deeee-licious! The buttercream was not too sweet and not too tart, the perfect lime buttercream, even though I didn't know such a thing could be considered perfect. I'm thinking they use lime oil for the flavoring. Or lime essence. But maybe lime juice. I'll def. be trying this one at home! Being a certifiable chocoholic, you'd think I'd pick the chocolate/chocolate combo over all else, but I have to say, that comes in second. Lime is just the most perfect compliment to chocolate.

#2 (father-in-law's #1)
The Chocolate Dipped was just what it says, chocolate, dipped! Chocolate cake, dipped in chocolatey frosting/sauce, refrigerated until it set. Yum. Yum. Yum. (and cute, no?)

#3 (husband's #1, natch)
Peanut Butter Buttercream on Chocolate
Let's just start off by saying my husband would be happy if all he had to eat for the rest of his life was Reese's PB Cups. Me, not so much. But this was good. The peanut buttercream was (like the lime) just the perfect amount of peanut butter in the perfectly strange and lovely buttercream. On top of the chocolate cake that was, by the way, perfectly chocolatey. And very nice to look at. (Note: I made an even better PBC cake on his birthday just this past weekend, that post - and recipe - is coming soon, I prooomise!).

Raspberry buttercream, not quite as delectable as the lime. Same weird-but-good buttercream frosting, but this time the "hint" of flavor wasn't enough. I want to really taste raspberry when it's there. I felt this raspberry was just a tease. A good tease, because I wanted more... but the lovely pink cakes were fun to look at!

The "honorable mention" would have to go to the vanilla orange. Right amount of orange, yummy vanilla cake. Totally tasty. Enough said? I think so.

Oh and there's more... New German, you get it, German Chocolate Cake, I don't know why it is "new." But, YUM! I loooove German Chocolate and this one was very good. Perfect coconutey goopy topping. I'm telling you, this place should be called Frosting Love not Cake Love. The cake was fine, but the frostings, wow! The only real disappointment was the Ameretto. It was just boring. Not any (as far as I could tell) ameretto flavor, just some candied almonds on top of the plain buttercream (which, is actually quite plain when not "umphed" up with something sassy like lime or orange).

And we sampled the chocolate raspberry, because, well why wouldn't we? I loved the swords!

I know, Posy, shut up already, but I'm sorry, as always, I have more to say... When I got home from DC I got right on my computer (I know, I know, if I was on my computer why wasn't I blogging? I don't know)... anyway, I found this wonderful artcle titled "How to Eat a Cupcake" by Warren Brown! And yes, he not only tells us how to chew the paper, but tells us how to make his perfectly odd but perfectly perfect buttercream. You make a meringue, and a sugar syrup. Now I get why it doesn't taste like butter and powdered sugar! His recipe for lemon-white-chocolate cakes looks yummy enough to try, and you KNOW I'll be trying out that buttercream, and yes I'll be blogging it. So, there you have it. A month and a half later, I've concluded my East Coast Cupcake reviews. Now, I have to blog about the three Portland places I've since sampled, the cute (themed!) 1st birthday cakes I made, the Amy Sedaris recipe test, my visit to the Decorette shop, and my "a+ #1 best ever" peanut butter cups. Ugh, I need a cupcake...

Ketchup Cupcakes

2006-07-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

I have A LOT of bloggy catch up to do! I sampled cupcakes across New York City and Washington, DC and am way over due with my reviews. I've since returned from the East Coast and provided party cakes for another 1st birthday (this time with a theme to follow) so I've got lots of blogging to do. So much catch up that I think I'd better quit writing about how behind I am and just get on with it! Soooo.....

New York City is the epicenter of the current cupcake trend. From birthday BBQs in Queens (left), to fabulous pastery shops in the city (that a few years ago only displayed elegant tarts and fluffy-puffy sweets in the window)(below), cupcakes in bread bakeries, cupcakes were everywhere!

As we know, Sarah Jessica Parker is the epitome of New York Fashion and everything she touches turns to gold, so not surprisingly, many speculate that the national cupcake trend was kicked off with the ladies of Sex and the City's visits to Magnolia Bakery. It is true that there are now Sex and the City tours in NYC that will take you to Magnolia. I hear the lines there are atrocious and the cupcake goers just obnoxious trend whores, so I avoided it entirely (I'm a little disappointed in myself for not at least getting you a photo of the lines). I have the Magnolia cook books and adore their Vanilla Vanilla cupcake, but I felt confident enough in my re-baking of their famous cakes that I didn't really feel the need to trek over there, stand in line, get annoyed, feel like a tourist... well you get it, I didn't go to Magnolia. And I'm sure that the Cupcake Wars of New York City will go down in the history books (or at least the cupcakes blogs) and I am a bit sorry to not have sampled each and been able to report back. Instead I avoided both Magnolia and Buttercup Cafe and ventured on to the much hyped cupcakeries I'd read about on other cupcake blogs, magazine articles, and flickr galleries. I only had 2 1/2 days in the City so I read all the reviews, visited websites, and mapped out a few hot cake spots. I had a few disappoints and some nice surprises along the way. So here we go...

SUGAR SWEET SUNSHINE

Goddammit! this place is CUTE! Located on the Lower East Side/Bowery on Rivington Street (which I'd never even heard of and had a bit of a long walk -in the sweltering NYC heat- trying to find) Sugar Sweet Sunshine is a cutey cutey cute cute cupcakerie tucked away among used clothing stores, boutiques that sell $100 t-shirts, and scummy old bodegas that remind you of what this neighborhood used to be like.

SSS has a mixed reputation, some say they make the best cakes in the City and some say their cakes are just overly sweet and bland. I would disagree with each of those statements. The cakes were definitely not the best in the city, and were quite possibly the worst of the three bakeries I sampled. However, they weren't bad at all. The ladies who started SSS hail from Magnolia Bakery, and I would agree (having not visited Magnolia but baked their cakes at home, strictly following the recipes) that these cakes are just as sweet as Magnolia's and maybe not quite as tasty. But these were the first cupcakes we had in the City and I thought they were good. Not great, but good. I would bring these cakes to a party and not be ashamed. Of course, I only sampled two flavors, maybe the most boring choices, but I feel that cupcakeries should be judged on their ability to make a great chocolate and vanilla cupcake.

SSS offers a variety of yummy sounding flavors, which is one of the reasons I chose to visit. However, based on my statement above, and probably just my mood that day, as well as the fact that it was fucking hot out and we were to be walking around the city all day, it wasn't feasible get flavors to go, and I didn't feel like eating more than one cupcake. From the choices below, I went with the Black & White, because I was in NY and I love a b&w cookie. I had high hopes. My husband tried the Ooey Gooey.

Sunshine: Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream

Bob: Yellow cake with chocolate almond buttercream
Ooey Gooey: Chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream
Sexy Red Velvet: Red velvet cake with "The Moose"
Black & White...Just Right: Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream
Pistachio: Pistachio cake with "The Moose"
Pumpkin: Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing
Lemon Yummy: Lemon cake with lemon buttercream
Coconut: Coconut cake with meringue

The b&w was pretty yummy; the chocolate cake was not chocolatey enough for my taste but the vanilla buttercream was sweet and vanilly with a perfect texture. If I were to make a "black and white" in New York City, I would make an almondy white cake with their chocolate almond buttercream. But that's just me.

The Ooey Gooey was the same blah chocolate cake (good texture, density and moistness, just sweet without enough chocolate). The chocolate almond buttercream was good, but also wasn't very chocolatey. I liked the addition of almond and will try that at home, but I would have liked a chocolate chocolate cake to taste like, well, chocolate. My husband said "it taste just like yours" before he realized that was the wrong thing to say and correct to "I mean... it's disgusting?" He was a good sport and let me drag him all over the city in search of the perfect cupcake, so I didn't put up much of a fight. But I think mine are better.
One last thing. The women in the photo above came in after us and ordered 2-3 cupcakes. She sat in a chair near us and spoke into a cell phone (with a British accent) making appoints at her next cupcake stop (I didn't catch which one). She said (into cell phone) that she was a calling from some magazine I'd never heard of, it sounded to me like she was doing an international story on NYC cupcakes. I found this exciting but was too shy to approach her and find out more. Interesting...

***

AMY'S CUPCAKES

My main goal in New York City cupcake hunting was to track down Amy Sedaris's famous cupcakes. I loooooooooooooove Amy Sedaris and I've read so much about her cupcakes that I was more intent on trying them than any others. I read that she sells them at Joe's in Greenwich Village, where she lives. I had fantasies about strolling into Joe's, ordering a couple of Amy's cupcakes and turning around to see her strolling in with a fresh batch. A girl can dream. Instead, I walked all over New York in the sweltering heat of an East Coast summer day, and landed at Joe at 5:00 pm. I walked in, spotted the baked goods and noticed immediately that there weren't any cupcakes in it. Sadface. No Amy Sedaris cupcakes for me. I didn't end up in the Village again so I never had the chance to sample these famous cakes. The only consolation is that upon my return I discovered that while Amy was out promoting Strangers with Candy the movie (yay!!!) she did an interview on NPR and they posted her much coveted recipe for vanilla cupcakes. I haven't yet tried them, but will do as soon as it stops being so hot in Portland. Here's the recipe for now, I'll report back once I've made them.

Oh, and here is another article where she reveals her much coveted recipe, I think there are a few differences, hmmm. Take note that the write says she sells her cakes at Gourmet Garage. Actually, Amy sells her cakes at Joe (except when I'm there!) and her famous Little Smokey Cheese Balls at Gourmet Garage. See, I did my research!

Oh oh, one more thing before I move on, this article both confirms that Joe sells her cakes, but that they are rarely there, and that my fantasy was a realistic one. I guess I'll have to allow more time on my next trip, so I can stalk her properly.

I did end up having an Amy's cupcake, but it didn't come from the comic queen, it came from Amy's Bread located in Hell's Kitchen. We were on our way to "Restaurant Row" for dinner when I spotted some beautiful cupcakes in the window of this bread shop (I do have an eye for cupcakes). I darted inside and ordered up each available flavor (there were only 3 flavors left): Definitely Devil's Food Cupcake with Chocolate Silk Frosting, Simply Yellow Cupcakes with Mellow Milk Chocolate Frosting and Yellow Cupcakes with Pink Frosting! Their menu of cakes looks so intriguing, I wish wish wish I'd been able to try the Monkey Cake! Oh well, next time.

Anyway, the lovely ladies working behind the bread counter gave me my cupcakes in a cute little box and sent me on my way. Unfortunately (for the cupcakes, good for us) we at a huge delicious meal at Becco that left us way way way too full for dessert. The cupcakes sat in my dad's fridge for 2 days untouched while we ran around the city stuffing our faces with everything we could find. Yum, I love NY.

Anyway, on ourlast morning in NY, before we picked up our car and drove to DC, I decided we should try out these Amy cakes with our coffee. And I'm so glad I did. Even after a few days of refridgeration these cakes were delicious. The cake itself was very dense and very flavorfull. The yellow cake was quite possibly the best I've ever had. The chocolate devil's food was also dense and delish, perfectly chocolatey, not too sweet, perfection. The Chocolate Silk frosting was so divine that I'll be attempting to replicate it soon. Divine. Delish. Dense. YUM. The pink frosting was beautifully and delicately pink, but wasn't the best buttercream I've had. It was nice, but the milk chocolate on the yellow was way better than the pink on yellow. And the silk chocolate was better than the milk. This was certainly the best surprise of my cupcake hunting. I can't believe I haven't heard more about these cakes. And I wonder if their expertise in breads, which they are famous for, has any influence on how the cakes are made. Maybe there's a special bread technique that carries over into cupcake baking. Hmm... She does have a cookbook that I've put on hold at the library, I'm hoping for some cake recipes! As always, I'll report back.

pretty wrapping in lieu of cake cups, i like.

*foto of Amy Sedaris not by Posy, obviously.

***

cupcake cafe ~ casa cupcake

CUPCAKE CAFE AKA CASA CUPCAKES IS #1 IN MY BOOK!
AS MATT AND I WALKED TO OUR HELL'S KITCHEN, 9TH AVENUE, CUPCAKE DESITNATION, I WAS SURE WE WERE IN THE WRONG PLACE. SOMEHOW I'D WRITTEN IT DOWN WRONG. SURELY THIS RENOWNED AND COOKBOOK'D CUPCAKERIE WAS NOT STATIONED NEXT TO A FOOD BANK AND HOMELESS SHELTER. EVEN AS I APPROACHED, AND THE STENCH OF 100 DEGREE URINE FILLED MY NOSTRILS, I THOUGHT "THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS I'D EXPECTED." HA HA! HOW I WAS WRONG! ONCE YOU ENTER THIS LOVELY LITTLE CAFE, THE SOUNDS OF A CAPUCCINO MACHINE SCREECHES OVER CHIT-CHATTING PATRONS. AS WE LINED UP IN FRONT OF THE COFFEE STATION WE WERE INFORMED THAT CUPCAKES WERE IN THE BACK (HOW DID HE KNOW THAT'S WHY WE WERE THERE?).

THE CASE OF BEAUTIFULLY FLOWERED CUPCAKES WAS A BIT OVERWHELMING. I WANTED TO ORDER ONE OF EACH JUST SO I COULD PHOTOGRAPH THEM. LUCKILY THEIR WEBSITE HAS A
GALLERY OF THEIR CUPCAKE ART.
THE MENU OFFERED A VARIETY OF FLAVORED CAKES AND FROSTINGS: VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, LEMON, ORANGE, CARROT AND WALNUT CAKES, ACCOMPANIED BY CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, MOCHA, VANILLA CREAM CHEESE, MAPLE, AND LEMON FROSTINGS.

THOUGH I READ COMPLAINTS ABOUT THESE CAKES BEING PRICEY, I THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH EVERY PENNY. NOT ONLY ARE THEY EXPERTLY DECORATED, BUT THEY WERE COMPLETELY DELICIOUS!

MATT ORDERED A CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MOCHA FROSTING. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! WHILE I OFTEN ADD COFFEE TO MY CHOCOLATE CAKES, I HAVEN'T YET MADE A MOCHA FROSTING. YUM! THEIR BUTTERCREAM IS PERFECT, DELICATELY FLAVORED AND THICK. THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF SWEETNESS TO COMPLIMENT THE CAKE, BUT WITH A FLAVOR OF ITS OWN. DOUBLE YUM TOPPED WITH A PRETTY PINK TULIP!
I ORDERED A WALNUT CAKE WITH MAPLE FROSTING.
OH...MY...CUPCAKE GOD! THE WALNUT CAKE WAS DENSE, KIND OF LIKE CARROT CAKE OR BANANA BREAD, BUT STILL CAKEY. IT HAD JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WALNUTS IN IT WITH A PERFECTLY PERFECT TASTE OF WALNUT AND THE SWEETNESS OF CAKE. I'M HUNGRY FOR ONE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. THE MAPLE FROSTING WAS TO DIE FOR. SERIOUSLY. AGAIN, A PERFECTLY THICK BUTTERCREAM WITH JUST OVER A HINT OF MAPLE, WITHOUT TASTING SWEET AND MAPLEY LIKE A MAPLE BAR. YUMMY YUMMY YUM YUM YUM. CAN I SAY "YUM" OR "PERFECT" ENOUGH TIMES? NO. WHAT'S BETTER? THE BEAUTIFUL ROSE ON TOP! OH, IT JUST COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER.

ANNNND! THEY HAVE A COOKBOOK! I'VE GOT IT ON HOLD AT THE LIBRARY AND PROMISE TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT AT THEIR CAKES. I WILL, OF COURSE, REPORT BACK ON THAT. I MAKE NO PROMISES, HOWEVER, THAT MY CAKES WILL LOOK ANYWHERE NEAR AS PRETTY AS THE PROFESSIONALS. AND DESPITE MY CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITY TO BAKE, I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS ONE. HOW CAN I LIVE UP TO IT? I'LL FOLLOW THE RECIPE STRICTLY AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

Oh so there you have it! After 2 1/2 hours of blogging in my hot attic-office, I'm far too sweaty to tell you about the fabulous cupcakes I discovered in Washington, DC, or the 1st birthday cakes I whipped up last weekend. Please stay tuned for that report (I promise not to take such a long break this time!). xoxo

1st Birthday Cakes

2006-06-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

A very very special boy turned 1 last week and in celebration I made Magnolia's Vanilla-Vanilla cakes (recipe at the very bottom of the blog, my first post) and a fudgey chocolate cake ("recipe" below). I was a little tired while baking and somehow ended up with all self-rising flour instead of the 1/2 1/2 Magnolia calls for. I panicked while the cakes were in the oven, expecting them to explode in some way. But in the end they came out tasting as delish as they always do. I served them at the fancy party and got lots of compliments. So I guess you can use all SR flour in a pinch and be fine. Hmm...

For the chocolate I cheated. I bought a box of Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge cake mix. But I didn't really follow the directions (I'm not so good at doing what I'm told). I substituted buttermilk for the water, butter for the oil, and added a package of Devil's Food flavored instant pudding. I topped them with the Magnolia Vanilla Buttercream and red candy-melt stars (how-to a few posts down, with blue stars), and sprinkles of course!

The kids (big and small) went crazy for these Party Cakes. I was even told that "Saint Cupcakes has nothing on [me]!" from a family who had been raving about SC before mine were served (and I didn't even let on that I thought their cakes were bland and oily). Another smashing success, but I was just pleased that the boy liked them (see post below).

boy's first birthday & first cupcake

2006-06-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

I scream! You scream! We all scream for cupcakes?

2006-06-14T07:07:00.001-07:00

To disguise a cupcake as an ice cream cone is as easy as making a cupcake! Just whip up a batch (or 2) of your favorite flavor (I made Magnolia's vanilla-vanilla - recipe at the bottom of this page- and a mocha chocolate chip: devil's food mix with coffee instead of water, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips, a touch of cinnamon, and butter instead of oil). Fill your cake cones just as you would cupcake liners (1/2 - 3/4 full). Even if they overflow a bit, it just adds to the drippy ice cream look. Start testing after about 20 min. Mine seemed to take about 5 minutes longer than the recipe said it would. Oh, and I stood the cake cups up in cupcake tins and put those on top of cookie sheets so the bottoms wouldn't burn. I topped with Magnolia's vanilla buttercream and marachino cherries. It's a perfect summer treat. Yum!

Bye Bye Miss Jaime - We'll Miss You!!!

2006-06-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

that is, indeed, a cupcake in jaime's hand - recipes & photos to follow shortly.

Pumpkin and Mexican Chocolate w/ Toasted Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

2006-06-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Cakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-oz can pumpkin purée
3.1 oz. Mexican chocolate (4 “wedges”) shaved or grated

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

2. In a Kitchen Aid, mix together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add shaved Mexican chocolate. Add dry ingredients, and mix until smooth. Mix in pumpkin purée.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

4. Frost with cream cheese frosting (1 stick unsalted butter, 2 pkgs light cream cheese, confectioners sugar to your liking) with lots of toasted cinnamon* added (at least 1 tablespoon). I decorated these with chocolate covered sunflower seeds from Trader Joe’s. *Toast cinnamon by heating it in a frying pan on low heat until aromatic.

this recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for pumpkin cupcakes - I added the Mexican chocolate, took away some sugar, changed the brown sugar from light to dark and used different spices. And the frosting is all me!

Oh! And one more thing, these sparkler "candles" are super super cool, however, you have to light both at once or one will be 1/2 way done by the time you get the second lit. I found mine at a local boutique, but you can also get them here. See them aflame (and the excitement it evokes) below!

Birthday Pink Cake

2006-06-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

Pink Cake is a birthday tradition in our friend group - it's nearly mandatory that each person's birthday gets celebrated with a pink cake. For Kristine's 30th, I put the pink into little silver cups and added aqua stars for an extra special touch.

Using 1 box Duncan Hines Strawberry cake mix, follow recipe on back of box, but use butter instead of oil, and blush wine (or white) instead of 1/2 the water (2/3 c. wine, 2/3 c. water)

Top with cream cheese frosting (1 stick unsalted butter, 2 pkgs light cream cheese, confectioners sugar to the level of sweetness you like, but remember, the cake is quite sweet). Color with red food coloring to a shade of pink to your liking.

If you're feeling extra loving towards the recipient of the pink party cakes, go to Michael's, or your local bake shop, and purchase a bag of candy melts in the color of your choice. Purchase molds in the shape of your choice. Melt candy (which is just colored white chocolate) per directions and melt in molds. Very easy and super duper cute.

And remember, it isn't a birthday without pink cake!

Happy 30th Birthday Kristine!!!

2006-06-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

photos and recipes of the birthday girl's cupcakes to be added shortly!

Grand Review

2006-05-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well I'd heard a lot of superlatives thrown about in the descriptions of Grand Central's cupcakes so I finally dragged by lazy butt over there last night (to buy my mom a belated birthday cupcake) and ended up with the very last one. I've been on a quest for a good coconut cupcake so I was pleased to see this was the flavor of the month. Thanks to their crafty take-out method (not as cute as the boxes from Starbucks, but much more single-cake friendly) the cake made it home unharmed. After my mom made her wish and blew out the candle, we cut into the dense cake only to discover that it was much more macaroon than cupcake - which made me quite happy actually. If I'd purchased it as a macaroon I may have complained that it was too cakey, but because it was a cupcake I was delighted with its texture and flavor. I'm a bit of a macaroon snob, ever since I experienced the ultimate macaroon (at Red Fox Bakery in McMinneville, OR), but this cake was quite quite tasty. Not too sweet, and no fake coconut flavor. It was jussst right! The frosting was a little bland, just butter whipped cream. I could have gone for a light coconut buttercream. The heavy cream was a little much for me, but I ate it anyway and enjoyed every moment. So go get yourself a Grand Central coconut cupcake before they change their flavor (I hear a chocolatey one is next, yay!).

Yummy macaroon like center

nice use of a to-go cup, and Rusty considering the cupcake

Derby Cakes

2006-05-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Derby Cakes (inspired by delicious derby pie)
1 yellow cake mix (one without pudding added)
5 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. coconut
1/3 c. bourbon whiskey – Early Times is the official Kentucky Derby whiskey
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 1/3 c. chopped pecans
8-12 oz. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
(or butterscotch chips, or none at all)

Mix all above ingredients (except chips and nuts) in your Kitchen Aid, on high, for 5 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Place in lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350, start testing after 20 minutes.

Boozey Glaze

Approx. ¼ cup bourbon
Approx. 1 cup confectioners sugar

Mix bourbon and confectioners sugar until you have a fairly liquidy brown glaze. Spoon over cakes immediately after they are removed from the oven (while still hot in tins). Let sit for 10-20 minutes before transferring out of tins on to cooling rack. Let cool completely, until glaze has hardened into crust, before serving.

Easy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cakes

2006-05-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

1 box devil's food cake mix (I like Pillsbury)
follow directions, substituting butter for oil
& adding a tablesoon of Godiva liquor, a tsp of cinnamon
& 3/4 of a bag milk chocolate chips (I prefer Ghiradelli), making sure there are at least 24 left over for decorating.
Bake in lined cupcake tins according to directions on box.
Frost with 2 Gs frosting and top with a chocolate chip!

(they also look nice unadorned by chips)

for the foils, I used metal red from confectionary house
they just expanded their color collection and now have
tons and tons of bright festive foils (metalic and matte)

Carrot Cake Nests

2006-04-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

For these Easter cakes I used the Tropical Carrot Cake recipe (down on this page a bit), which is an alteration of Magnolia Bakery's carrot cake recipe. For the frosting I made a batch of cream cheese frosting (2 pkgs lowfat cream cheese, 1 stick unsalted butter, confectioner sugar to taste) with a little vanilla and cinnamon added to it. I then toasted coconut in the toaster oven, dumped it in a bowl, and dipped the frosted cupcakes into the bowl of coconut. I topped them with blue peep chicks and blue candy eggs.

An Army of Peeps

2006-04-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Zucchini Cakes
with 2 Gs Frosting

Make chocolate zucchini cake recipe (below) and let cool completely
Whip up a batch of 2 Gs Frosting (below)
Refrigerate frosting for at least an hour
Slather frosting on the cakes, using enough to hold up a peep!

Hoppy Easter!

Chocolate Zucchini Cakes

2006-04-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are delicious! What's better, picky teenagers will eat them without any suspicion that they contain something good for them. The addition of cinnamon, and the chocolate chips inside (which my husband refers to as "flavor bombs"), as well as the zucchini, of course, make these chocolatey cupcakes so much better than plain old chocolate (which isn't to say that plain old chocolate isn't delicious!).

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (I use dark chocolate)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
3 eggs at room temp
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated (unpeeled) zucchini - I use the Cuisinart to quickly grate them

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the cocoa, baking powder & soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternately, stir the dry ingredients and the sour cream and milk into the sugar/butter mixture, reserving the last ½ cup of flour mixture.

Mix the grated zucchini and the chocolate chips with the reserved flour mixture, and toss to coat. Fold in the batter, and blend thoroughly. Pour into the lined cupcake tins and bake for about 20 minutes before you start testing them. Could take up to 35 minutes, but be careful not to burn bottoms (I put my cupcake tins on top of cookie sheets to prevent burning).

2 G's Frosting

2006-04-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 pkg light cream cheese, room temp
6-8 ounces Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips, melted
1-2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp Godiva liquer
2 tbsp unsweetened, dark chocolate cocoa powder

Mix it all up in the Kitchen Aid, taste - add confectioner sugar, liquer, coco powder, melted chocolate, to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour before frosting.

One Week 'til Easter!

2006-04-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Easter Basket Cakes
(photo circa 1995)
At the time I made these cupcakes I was 18 years olds and stuck on a farm in southern New Jersey. I got the idea from either Better Homes & Gardens, or Ladies Home Journal, or some other awful mag I probably wouldn't have been reading were I not stuck in the middle of Nowhere's Ville. I've since made them for Easter many times, but can't seem to find any more current photos. I'm pretty sure I used a cake mix for the cakes, as it was the decorating I was most concerned with. I have a few ideas for cake flavor for this year, which I will post below. Next Sunday I'll let you know what I ended up with.

As for the decorating you need:

Pretty Easter cupcake liners
Coconut
Green food coloring
Eggs for the baskets (I like the Cadburry mini eggs because they are delicious and look like kind of real, you can use jelly beans, chocolate foil eggs, egg shaped gum, or even Peeps - the baskets don't have to only hold eggs ) you have many options here, it being Easter and all.
String licorice, fuzzy pipe cleaners, or something crafty for the handles (I used these pretty wired flower bouquets that I found at a craft shop - something South Jersey isn't lacking in)

Directions:
Make cupcakes per recipe and let cool completely
Frost with favorite frosting
Mix coconut and green food coloring in bowl
Dip frosting cupcakes into bowl of coconut shreds
Put your basket fillings in the center
Poke a small hole in each side of cupcake and insert whatever you are using as a handle.
Display and prepare for "ooohs" and "aaawwws" from kids of all ages!
Possible recipes I will be choosing from (though there are so many options):
Tropical Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (see March archives for recipe)
Creamy Coconut Cakes with Billowy White Frosting from "A Country Baking Treasure" by Lisa Yockelson, which is meant to be a layer cake, but anything can be turned into a cupcake! I'll post the recipe after I've tested it out and altered it in the ways that I do.
I think I will also make some chocolate zucchini cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and bunny peeps popping out of the top! You can see for yourself next Sunday! yay!

Lemon Cakes with Honey Lemon Glaze

2006-04-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

My lemon cake recipe (a favorite on the baby shower circuit)

1 1/2 c. Self Rising Flour
1 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 tbsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350
Spray mini bundts with cooking spray
In a small bowl, combine flours and set aside.
In your Kitchen Aid (or large mixing bowl) on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts alternating with wine, juice and extract. Be careful not to overbeat.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, though I start testing after 15 to avoid burning.

Honey Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup Buckwheat honey
Juice of 1 large lemon
2-4 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Mix honey and lemon juice in small saucepan until runny. Whisk in confectioner's sugar. Remove from heat and let set up a little bit (just a few minutes). Pour over cakes either immediately before serving, or pour over cakes and immediately refrigerate. Yum!

tiny candy bees from Confectionery House

Baby B Shower Cakes

2006-04-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

the baby shower theme was bees
the colors were red & aqua
the cakes were delish:
dark red velvet cakes
with aqua-colored cream cheese frosting
(I got the red foils & candy bees at Confectionery House)

Dark Red Velvet Cakes

2 c. sugar 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp 2 eggs
1/4 c. dark chocolate cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring, I use Wilton's gel Icing Coloring
2 1/4 c. all purpose cake flour

1 dash salt
1 c. buttermilk
1-2 Tbsp. Godiva Liqueur
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until well blended/creamed
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between
Mix in the cocoa powder and red food coloring
Add flour and salt alternately with buttermilk, in 3 segments
Add chocolate liqueur
In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture
Pour batter into tins, liners, whatever you're baking in
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes, 25-30 for mini bundts, 30-35 for cake pans

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 pkgs light cream cheese (room temp)
2 pkgs Neufchatel cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
confectioner sugar to taste (about 2 cups)
a tiney tiny bit of turquoise gel "icing coloring" from Wilton

who ever gets the "baby" cake wins a prize!

Snifferific!

2006-03-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

When I started this silly blog I thought it was just going to be a spot for my friends to easily access my recipes (and where I could show off my cupcakes photos). Now it seems I've delved into the cupcake obsession and can't find my way out! I couldn't resist posting about this website because it is oh so cute and clever, and because you can custom order a cupcake pendant with the colors AND SCENT of your choice. The creator of Pancake Meow is a genius, and currently my hero.

Saint Cupcake - A Completely Biased Review

2006-03-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I ventured out to Saint Cupcake, Portland's first exclusive cupcake bakery (something Tones & Bepo should have done first!). Upon entering I was very very impressed, in fact, I was jealous. If I were to open a cupcake bakery it would have looked just like Saint Cupcake. Their color scheme (pink & brown), the polka dot molding, the frilly font and cute story of Saint Cupcake, and the aqua colored formica tables. Saint Cupcakes looks the part. They serve good coffee (stumptown) and very wisely offer bite-sized "dots" in addition to full sized cupcakes. Each day Saint Cupcakes offers up a different selection of flavors. I decided to try the three that sounded most interesting: Big Top (said to taste like a chocolate chip cookie & cupcake combined), Hot Fudge and Toasted Coconut Cream. I ate the Big Top first and was disappointed. The cake is just a simple vanilla cupcake, nowhere near as good as Magnolia's, with chocolate chips and a somewhat sour cream cheese frosting. Pretty, but not so tasty. Next I ate the Hot Fudge, which I was most excited about. I loved the frosting, it was perfectly hot fudge like - I have got to figure out how to make one of my own. But the cake was the same boring vanilla cake. I feel a cupcake called Hot Fudge should be all fudgey. It was pointed out to me that maybe it is supposed to be like a hot fudge Sunday, vanilla with hot fudge sauce, but if that is true the cake needs to taste more like vanilla ice cream and less like a boxed white cake. The last, and what had most potential, was the Toasted Coconut Cream cupcake. Great idea! As a matter of fact I'm going to start working up a recipe, because I love this idea. The cake is supposed to be vanilla toffee, but didn't taste any different than the boring vanilla of the others. The creamy frosting was good, but not coconuty enough, just sweet and creamy with some toasted coconut shreds on top. Overall I was very let down by Saint Cupcake. I was told by friends who'd visited before me that mine are better, but I thought they were just being good friends. Based on only the three flavors I tasted, I would have to agree that my cupcakes do indeed taste better. And I have no doubt that there are many, many, many cupcake bakers out there that are WAY better than me, I'm just having fun with baking. But it seems to me that an exclusively cupcake bakery should offer outstanding cupcakes. I should have been jealous of not just the look and feel of the place, but of their genius cupcakes as well. But I was underwhelmed and sad. Of course, that won't stop me from returning to Saint Cupcake and testing all of the flavors. Once I have done that I feel I can give a real review.

Still no camera cord

2006-03-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

I am still unable to post any new photos but will have the issue resolved by the end of today. Until then, here is a photo of how you can make Silver Cupcakes colorful (these were for Easter 2004, more on Easter cupcakes to come!).

Oh! I'll be making my first trip to Saint Cupcake today - scientific research purposes of course - will report back and post photos by tomorrow. Promise!

Dark Red Roses

2006-03-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

Beautiful and delicious! Seriously, I'm tooting my own horn on this one, these Dark Red Velvet cakes were quite possibly the best little cakes I've ever made. I reviewed numerous recipes and adapted them into my own by tweaking the things I think should be different. What follows is just about the yummiest thing you'll ever taste in cupcake form. Their only truly rival maybe being the Lemon Drop Cupcakes.

Dark Red Velvet Cakes
2 c. sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
2 eggs
1/4 c. dark chocolate cocoa powder
1-2 ounces red food coloring, depending on how red you want them
2 1/4 c. all purposecake flour
1 dash salt
1 c. buttermilk
1-2 Tbsp. Godiva Liquer
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until well blended/creamed
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between
Mix in the cocoa powder and red food coloring
Add flour and salt alternately with buttermilk, in 3 segments
Add chocolate liquer
In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture
Pour batter into tins, liners, whatever you're baking in
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes, 25-30 for mini bundts, 30-35 for cake pans

Oh my they are so good I want to go whip up onther batch! YUM

NO MORE GREEN CUPCAKES!

2006-03-17T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't get around to making St. Patrick's day cupcakes but I saw a lot of them online and I didn't like the way most of them looked. Here's my favorite, made by Martha, of course (or more than likely a Martha slave). You can find her recipe on her website or you can make the super delicious Magnolia Bakery recipe for Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes (below) and decorate them with a shamrock/clover and save yourself from having to eat more green food coloring. OR you could make any chocolate cupcake recipe substituting the required liquid with Guiness and top it with a cream cheese frosting and a clover or two.

Have a fun beer drinkin' evening! I promise to get to work on some of my own this weekend and post a pretty one by Monday.

Silver Shower Cakes

2006-03-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

silver cupcakes are perfect for a wedding shower
but can also be frosted in any color and served at any party
they are especially delicious when baked for you on your birthday by a special girl named Juniper

Cakes:

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 2/3 c. sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. milk
2/3 c. butter, room temp
1-2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
5 egg whites

heat oven to 350
beat all ingredients except egg whites in large bowl at low speed for about 2 minutes
pour in egg whites and then beat on high for at least 2 minutes
pour into cupcake tins (lined with silver foils) and bake for 20-25 minutes

Ingri's Creamy Frosting:

3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
about 2 tbps milk

mix powdered sugar and butter, add vanilla and milk until right texture, food coloring, sprinkles, whatever you like

*silver cupcakes are also delicious when made in mini bite size form*

easy & delicious chocolate party cakes

2006-03-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

1 box Pillsbury devil's food cake mix (or any devil's food mix that has 1 c. pudding in ingredients)
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3/4 cup coffee, room temp (use more or less depending on how mocha-like you want them, just make sure that you compensate with the milk/water so you end up with 1 1/4 c. liquid)
1/2 cup milk (or water)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Bake according to box instructions, but start testing 5 minutes before earliest time and continue checking every 2 minutes.
Frost with regular cream cheese frosting colored however you like, rocking raspberry cream cheese frosting (my favorite) or 2 G's frosting for extra chocolatey goodness.

rockin raspberry cream cheese frosting

2006-03-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

2 pkgs Neufchatel cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 container raspberries
1/2 lb confectioner's sugar (that's 1/2 of one box)
1-2 tbsp raspberry liquer

beat it all together in your Kitchen Aid, slop it into a pastry bag, chill in fridge for at least one hour, slather onto cupcakes (I like it on chocolate cakes the best) and enjoy.

tips for a perfect cupcake

2006-03-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

There are no rules, or even guidelines for making the perfect cupcake. I've received tips from a cupcake extraordinaire, feedback from friends, and just general trial and error, and this is what I've discovered helps to make for a perfect cupcake:

always double the vanilla (unless you're following one of my recipes b/c I've already doubled). AND for the love of cupcakes use good bourbon vanilla (I like the Madagascar bourbon vanilla). Trader Joe's is a good place to find good, not too expensive vanilla (and other extracts)
use booze (substitute wine or liquor when it calls for water)
keep it moist (add milk, sour cream, pudding mix, buttermilk, crushed pineapple, juice...)
use melted butter instead of oil
don't overbeat (unless making silver cakes)
don't burn the bottoms -- keep your cupcake tins on top of cookie sheets and start testing 5-10 minutes before recipe says too
when a recipe calls for self rising flour cut the amount in half and use half all purpose flour (to avoid tunneling)
substitute yummy liquers or other extracts (lemon, orange, mint, cherry, almond) for vanilla
spice up a cake mix with cinnamon, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, coffee, vanilla/extracts, booze, melted chocolate... be creative and don't be scared
when making cream cheese frosting, use light (Neufchatel) instead of regular, it is less heavy and makes for tastier frosting

If I was a drink I'd be a LEMON DROP

2006-03-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

Cakes:

1 1/2 c. Self Rising Flour
1 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 tbsp lemon extract

Prehead oven to 350
Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with pretty papers or foils
In a small bowl, combine flours and set aside.
In your Kitchen Aid (or large mixing bowl) on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts alternating with wine, juice and extract. Be careful not to overbeat.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
Cool the cakes completely before icing them with lemon buttercream frosting (see recipe for frosting under Strawberry Lemonade recipe)

Decorate with lemon drop candies or thin slices of lemon jellies

Tropical Carrot Cakes

2006-03-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

These cakes are from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook, with a few minor changes - I've put in the parenthesis what they recommend. Enjoy!

Cakes:

2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. melted butter (Magnolia calls for oil)
1 1/2 c. sugar (Magnolia says 1 3/4)
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla (Magnlia says 1 1/2)
2 c. freshly grated carrots (I use a bit more)
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1 c. coarsley chopped pecans, toasted
3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325
Fill your cupcake tin with pretty liners
In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In your Kitchen Aid on medium speed beat together melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a timeand beat until light and thick, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until well incorporated. Stir in the carrots, pineapple and juice, pecans, and coconut.
Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full with batter
Begin testing after 15 minutes and continue to test every 2 minutes until done
Frost with tropical cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Tropical Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 pkgs light cream cheese (room temp)
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2-1 tsp. vanilla
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp pineapple juice concentrate
confectioners sugar to taste (about 2 cups)

Chill frosting until it becomes the consistency that you want.

I decorated these with a sprinkling of toasted pecans (and colored the frosting to a shade of pale green with a little food coloring). You could also top them with lovely candy carrots (which can be found at Confectionery House).

If you feel a tropical overload just make regular cream cheese frosting (use recipe above minus cinnamon, coconut, and juice)

Strawberry Lemonade

2006-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Cakes:

1 pkg Strawberry cake mix
1 recipe lemon buttercream frosting

Follow directions on cake box except:
replace 1 1/3 cups water with 1 c. rose (pink) wine and 1/3 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice

let cool completely then heap on the frosting:

2 sticks butter (unsalted) softened
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon lemon oil/essence/extract
a few drops yellow food coloring
fresh lemon zest (if you must)

Mix it all together in a kitchen aid - you may need to use more or less confectioners' sugar, just remember that the cakes are super sweet.

Confetti Cakes

2006-03-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

Devil Ducky Confetti Cakes:

1 box confetti cake mix (follow directions)
1 batch cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)
brightly colored edible confetti
mini devil ducky pencil toppers (I found them at Archie McPhee)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 pkgs light cream cheese (room temp)
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
confectioner sugar to taste (about 2 cups)

Mix it all together until in a kitchen aid, add confectioner sugar until it tastes good (remember when using boxed cake mix the cakes will be sweet so you don't want the the frosting to be too sweet).

Vanilla Vanilla from Magnolia Bakery

2006-03-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

The Cakes:

· 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

· 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

· 2 cups sugar

· 4 large eggs, at room temperature

· 1 cup milk

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I double it)

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from tins and cool completely on cooling rack before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

· 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar (I only use 4-5)

· 1/2 cup milk

· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.