Carrot Cake Nests

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

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

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

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!

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

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

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray mini bundts with cooking spray
3. In a small bowl, combine flours and set aside.
4. 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.
5. 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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

1. heat oven to 350
2. beat all ingredients except egg whites in large bowl at low speed for about 2 minutes
3. pour in egg whites and then beat on high for at least 2 minutes
4. 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

• 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)

1. Bake according to box instructions, but start testing 5 minutes before earliest time and continue checking every 2 minutes.
2. 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

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

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

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

1. Prehead oven to 350
2. Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with pretty papers or foils
   
3. In a small bowl, combine flours and set aside.
4. 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.
   
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
   
6. 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

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

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Fill your cupcake tin with pretty liners
3. In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
4. 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.
   
5. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full with batter
6. Begin testing after 15 minutes and continue to test every 2 minutes until done
7. 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

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

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).