Frosty in a Glass!

Hi everyone,

Christmas is upon us and nothing better to celebrate this holiday season with Frosty in a Glass. While grocery shopping for my Christmas Baking (gift giving for the neighbors), I thought I would make something special for my amazing friends! Baking gingerbread cookies seemed like a great idea but didn't fit my idea of a snowy Christmas treat.  Then it happened.

Several months ago, I remember flipping though the Martha Stewart Cupcake Book. In it was a adorable snowman with marshmallows and a chocolate covered hat. It was simple but so cute! So I recreated it and decided to add a couple more things to my snowy man.

First, I wanted to put Frosty in a glass and make it snow. At the dollar tree, they have an amazing assortment of jars, glasses, and vases. For the snow, I ended up using my extra shredded coconut.

How to make Frosty in a Glass!

Things you will need:

1. Cupcakes
2. Marshmallows
3. Whipped Cream for Frosting
4. Shredded Coconut
5. Brown or Black Jimmies
6. Orange Fondant, or chewy orange candy like starbursts will do
7. Pearl Sprinkles
8. Junior Mints
9. Toothpicks and Bamboo Skewers
10. Bowl of Water
11. Various Holiday Sprinkles to decorate
12. A jar, glass, or vase
13. Christmas Tag

To start, first sprinkle the shredded coconut at the bottom of your jar. Insert your cupcake (non-frosted) into the jar. Next, dollop your whipped cream frosting on top of the cupcake to make it look like mounds of snow (It's okay if its messy, snow is never perfectly rounded). After your cupcake is frosted,  start to assemble the snowman. Take 2 regular marshmallows and cut one of them in half. Stack the marshmallows, sticky side facing down. Then dip a toothpick in water and make two holes where the eyes should be. Insert the chocolate jimmies into the tiny holes. Next, take the orange fondant and form it into the shape of a carrot. Take another toothpick dipped in water, and make another hole for the nose. Repeat these steps for the buttons on Frosty. Once you have finished, stick a toothpick on the bottom of Frosty and attach the other end of the toothpick inside the cupcake so it stands upright. Finally dab the junior mint with some frosting to complete the hat. Finally, add the Christmas tag and tie them to top of the bamboo skewer. Stick the skewer in the cupcake with the Christmas tag on top. Sprinkle the remaining sprinkles on top or coconut if you'd like. 

Enjoy! Have a fantastic Christmas everyone. Hopefully I'll see you all before 2012 :) Thanks so much for reading!

I'm here. YOUR Welcome."

If it bothers you, just pretend it says "you're welcome".

Anywho, its week 3 of December! Yay! Only a few more weeks til my well deserved vacation! Wheeeee.

My dear friend Stephanie, requested that I make cupcakes again. This time with 3 different flavors and to spell out "I'm here. Your Welcome". My different flavors included:

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with a Vanilla Buttercream
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream and Chocolate Chips (to garnish a lovely Chocolate & Mint combo--- courtesy of Ghirardelli)
Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes with Kahlua Buttercream and a Dark Chocolate Espresso Bean to garnish!

*All of the cupcakes I made in this post are from recipes taken from Annie's Eats! Thanks Annie! If you haven't already checked out her amazing blog/website please do! Everything I have tried, I absolutely loved!

Here we go...

Thanks for reading! I have a few more orders to do this weekend that I'll be posting soon! Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)

December Madness!

Hi ho folks! I've been looking through my mobile uploads (because I have over a hundred saved) and realized what an amazing year its been so far! When sometimes I'm having a bad day, I love to go through these photos and just remember what a great year its really been. And for that I am so grateful! :)

This year I've decided to conquer the Kransekake Cookie Tower! Seemed simple enough, but I totally underestimated how hard it was to make. Long story short, sugar cookies expand in my oven. I even tried putting them in the refrigerator right before baking (a tip I heard in the online blogger world), but they still ballooned up. Go figure. On the plus side I get to make about ten more towers. One down! I will let you know in my next post if I have succeeded. Let's hope!

Today, I also was psyched to be making more cupcakes for yet another order! It was for a baby shower, for my former CSULA Boss. Oh how I miss those peeps! Anyway, she's having a girl which means tons of super cute girly clothes and a dash of pink in those cupcakes! I really couldn't resist adding pink fondant hearts in the center of the cupcakes (PSL=Pumpkin Spice Latte flavored!).

When I arrived the cupcakes were ready to be dressed up with pink cupcake holders and a cute bird to go in the center. The result? Adorably delicious!

Last but not least, I also made some Mint Chocolate (Chip) Cupcakes. I actually had to experiment with a few recipes but finally I found one that required no eggs or butter. Intrigued? It's true, no eggs, no butter and no MILK. I was psyched, because whenever I do buy milk to put in my cake, I really don't know what to do with the rest of it because I'm lactose-intolerant. Flargh! Anywho, I stumbled upon this Chocolate Cupcake Recipe online, the recipe is here. Really, easy! For the frosting it is a simple buttercream with a hint of peppermint extract (you can also tint the frosting green if you so desire). For the recipe click here! I also topped it with Ghirardelli Chocolate with mint filling on the inside, some green sprinkles, and a sprig of mint! Oh yes, and green fondant letters :)

As always, thanks for reading! Hope everyone is enjoying this month!

Thanksgiving 2011!

It's been about a week since Turkey Day has come and gone. I'm sad to see it go, but Christmas is going to be just as amazing. But here is my recap for Thanksgiving 2011!

I went to the supermarket just 2 days before and found out my dessert finalist was going to cost way more $$$ than I expected. Who knew pecans were that expensive? Dang it! Anyway I had to go with my backup plan, Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes (see previous post) and tiramisu. The Tiramisu recipe I used was from, "The Pastry Queen" By Rebecca Rather.

Instead of using the basic raw egg yolk mixture, the recipe called for a basic cream cheese mixture with the soaking syrup (Kahlua and rum) mixed together. I also used store bought lady fingers (big shock, I know), but its because I find them such a hassle to make especially since I never get any sleep the night before Thanksgiving.

In between the layers I added some shavings of bittersweet chocolate and raspberries to decorate on top. Bam, finished and ready to serve (of course, after a night in the refrigerator to let the flavors mingle a little :)

Here are my Turkey Day pictures! Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for reading! As always, stick around I'm bound to post more treats to celebrate the upcoming month. Happy December :)

Happy Thanksgayving! :)

Thanksgiving, my favorite day of the year is just less than a week away! A part of me wants to expect less from this great holiday so that I won't be disappointed, but in all honesty I'm never disappointed with Turkey Day. Okay, well maybe that it goes by way too fast!

Recently, I've been in "Thanksgiving Dessert Overload", which means I can't decide what the heck I'm going to make for Thanksgiving. Countless ideas of desserts (pumpkin! pumpkin! pumpkin!) are in my head, I've written on post-its with ideas and torn them up a day later, realizing that they weren't good enough. Boo.

Alas, this past week I've written a post-it for 3 dessert finalists. We shall see what happens next week!

In other news, I had a great opportunity to make cupcakes from one of my oldest friends. Her idea was to bring dessert (smart idea! I always do dessert for a potluck. Super easy :) : Cupcakes, spelling out the words, "Happy Thanksgayving" for her gay friends. How creative! Anywho, here are the pictures below:

Awesome, no? :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my readers! I'll see you back here after Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes!

I absolutely love the fact that living in LA gives me the opportunity to take weekend getaways to San Francisco or San Diego anytime I feel the need of a new change of scenery. It feels so refreshing and relaxing!

Before I left this weekend, I had the chance to bake something up in my kitchen. Lately, I've been struggling for a few weeks to find a fantastic recipe that is perfect for Fall. I flipped through all of my books and magazines, trying to find some sort of inspiration but came up short handed. Nothing was clicking until I found a recipe online that proved to be just what I was looking for! Just my luck :)

Of course it's a take after the Pumpkin Spice Latte drink at Starbucks, how awesome is that?

Here is the recipe below courtesy of, Annie's Eats. Thanks so much!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes:

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

2 and 2/3 cups of regular all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons of espresso powder (Can be found @Ralphs!)

2 teaspoons of baking soda

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves

1 teaspoon of salt

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin puree

1 cup of white granulated sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of vegetable oil

4 large eggs at room temperature

For the Whipped Cream Frosting:

2 and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream (chilled)

1/4 cup of confectioners sugar

To garnish:

Caramel Topping

Ground Cinnamon

To make the cupcakes: First preheat your oven to 350 Degrees F and line your cupcake/muffin tins.

In a bowl combine the first 8 ingredients and set aside. Using a electric mixer combine the wet ingredients: pumpkin puree (I used Libby's), white and brown sugar, and veggie oil. Add one egg at a time until each egg is fully incorporated into the mixture. Next, add your dry ingredients in two parts.

Fill your cupcake/muffin tins about 2/3rds full and bake for 18-20 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Let the cupcakes cool in tins for about 10 minutes, then remove them from tins and put them on a cooling rack.

For the whipped cream frosting, use the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, slowly increase to high speed when mixture gets frothy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar until stiff peaks form. You may use a pastry tip to frost the whipped cream or just dollop in on with a large spoon. Sprinkle your cinnamon and drizzle your caramel sauce with a spoon (in a zig zag motion). Cupcakes should be refrigerated overnight and brought out to room temperature before serving. 

Enjoy!

The cupcakes are moist, really easy to make, and a super crowd pleaser. This goes on my list for the Thanksgiving treats I am going to make! 

Happy Halloween!

How could I not forget this awesome holiday? When I was little I had the pleasure of trick or treating, three times a year! Maybe that can explain why I have such a sweet tooth and a bunch of cavities.

Yesterday, I visited my favorite area in Pasadena, Lake Avenue. It was absolutely gorgeous! With the red, yellow, and orange leaves falling onto the ground. People drinking their Pumpkin Spice Lattes and whatnot. And the beautiful fall decorations in the stores. Lovely.

Here are my creations!

I used a Dark Chocolate Cupcake and Vanilla/Chocolate Buttercream recipe.
Here are the ingredients below:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes: Makes about 12 cupcakes

1 stick of unsalted butter
2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
3/4 cup of regular all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Large Eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of sour cream at room temperature

This recipe is different from most cupcake recipes because it doesn't involve the regular creaming of butter and sugar. First, preheat the oven @ 350 F. In the microwave melt the chocolate chips and stick of butter. Once it has been fully incorporated mix both cocoa's into the butter mixture. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder & soda. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully combined. Once the chocolate mixture is cooled, at it to the egg mixture.

Next, add about one-third of your flour mixture into the chocolate/egg mixture. Then add your sour cream. Continue adding the rest of your flour mixture until fully incorporated. The mixture should be thick (almost like a brownie batter).

Scoop batter into cupcake tins. Put in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Make sure to rotate your tins halfway through the baking process. Insert the toothpick and you know the rest!

I adapted this recipe from, "The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011".

For the frosting, I just used a basic vanilla buttercream and added unsweetened chocolate to get the chocolate buttercream.

For the decorations:
Mummy: For the eyes, I used bittersweet chocolate chips and tiny red/yellow sprinkles. Frosted the cupcake using a 45 Tip from Wilton.
Cute Creature: Oreo's for the giant eyes and Reese's Pieces. You may need some extra buttercream to make sure the candy adheres to the eyes.

And there you go! Have a great halloween everyone! Now onto my festivities! :)

There is nothing like Fall...

Fall is lingering in the air. With the nice warm sunny days and cold crisp nights. Which I absolutely love, love, love!

This past weekend I had a craving to make something that was absolute perfect fall deliciousness. Well nothing says it better than than a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten!

A recipe found on the link here.

The pumpkin cake itself smelled amazing coming out of the oven. It rises beautifully and makes about 10-11 small cupcakes. These would also be great mini-cupcakes for a great breakfast treat. What's interesting about this cupcake is that it doesn't involve the creaming of the sugar and butter (a typical cupcake base for most recipes). For the Maple Frosting, I just used some maple extract (the generic, cheaper kind of course) but I'm betting that you can use a teaspoon of maple syrup and it'll taste just as delicious! I also increased the cream cheese dose to the typical 8oz package, and the butter to 4 tablespoons which was just as creamy. As for the c.sugar its all up to your taste buds! Cheers.

I also made some chocolate chip cookies with reeses pieces! Now all you need is a glass of milk right? :)

.....

Weeks ago, I saw a really cute mickey mouse cupcake picture on pinterest.com and decided to replicate it (without actually having to create the mouse entirely made of fondant/gum paste). Great idea for a gift don't you think? So the perfect shape for the ears is a giant pastry tip-- not the plastic kind since it makes it harder to cut out perfect circles. I also decided to use red paper liners, but ended up making my own using red construction paper from a template I found online (click here for template)  Thanks to, lovelypapershop.blogspot.com!

Have a great last week of October everyone! Halloween is next week! Get excited :)

Cupcake Bouquets!

Hi ho folks! I decided to get into that fabulous fall mode. October has been a super busy month! It really is the best time of the year. With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in the days ahead, the ideas to make even more fabulous delicious treats are endless and that makes me super excited!

My first project was a fantabulous cupcake bouquet. Please, tell me how come I've never done this before? This is really such an awesome idea because it can be an awesome gift, centerpiece, or surprise for a dear family member or friend! For those who are just starting this project for the first time, I advise that you research, cut coupons, and research!

From what I have experienced:

•  You need a great buttercream and cake recipe that will not only give you a moist and delicious cake but one that is firm enough to hold on the styrofoam. 
• I know that this tip has been mentioned before, but don't frost the cupcakes until you have placed them on top of the styrofoam! It is amazingly easier! 
• Colorful Tissue Paper, Ribbons, and other plastic leaves can help you hide the holes or gaps in your bouquet. 
• If you purchase a styrofoam ball make sure you use a coupon because they are extremely pricey! Also, you will need a fairly large knife/saw to cut the styrofoam ball in half. (Young kids performing this project should ask an adult to cut it for them because it can be dangerous if you aren't careful :)
• A great edible glue is royal icing! It dries hard to a matte finish. (All you need is meringue powder, a little bit of water, and powdered sugar)

Hope this helps! Here is my first bouquet, I made it for my dear friend Stephanie (who absolutely loved it!)

Stay tuned folks for more pictures! And always thanks for reading! Have a super wonderful week!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival!

In less than a year, San Francisco will be my new home! Actually Pleasant Hill will be, but I'll only be a bridge away in the East Bay! :) This past weekend, I made another well deserved trip up North to visit my sister! And the visited concluded with the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival! I'm posting some of my pictures below:

Some Chocolate Tarts with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream!

Some Chocolate pieces infused with different kinds of tea.

Kara's Cupcakes! Vanilla, Chocolate Ganache, And Peanut Butter :)

My Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbet!

My sister taking a shot of fruity tasting liqueur. 

So the price is $20 for 15 samples. My sister and I split it and it was more than enough. The only con: The super long line for Paul Frank. As it turns out, they were handing out free tote bags. Made to order! That was crazy. And of course we snagged some free drink holders too. :) It was such an amazing day, the weather was absolutely gorgeous!

Our amazing view! Although we totally wished we ate our lunch @ Fisherman's Wharf instead of that dirty pier. Too bad! 

 This month has been surprisingly full of ups and downs. I need more weekends like this! Cheers to another successful road trip to SF. I hope to see you soon. 

 Have a great week everyone! I already can't wait for October!

SoNo Brownies and other updates!

For those of you that don't know, its one month til my 23rd birthday! I'm strangely excited because frankly, I can't wait for Fall!
My absolute favorite season of the year, hands down! I'm thinking of all the warm, sweet and savory pies, tarts, and pastries (oh and fresh baked bread!) that I can make and eat :) Whoo hoo!

You know I've been spending so much time at the library lately (I know total nerd status right?) and I found some pretty amazing pastry, baking, cooking books which inspire me oh so much! I wish I could make everything in those books or try out all the different techniques. I'm just itching to be back in the Kitchen with my handy mixer. But I can't because my funds of $ are slowing diminishing. Disgusting, I know. So all I can do is dream for now...

Finding a job, any job sucks right now. All I know is to keep applying and interviewing, and repeat the process until necessary. That's all I can say. Not inspiring, but if you keep going you will always have hope of reaching your goal. So take out your inspiring pictures, quotes, and music and go for it!

So back to these SoNo Brownies! Super Delicious, ate half of the batch myself (Give me some amazing brownies and cookies and I will be fat but happy!)

I'm going to post the recipe below, but you should also check out the delicious cooking book as well. It should be at your local library (except at my library, because i have it for now :)

SoNo Brownies: Makes 16 Brownies give or take.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup of unsalted room temp. butter
1 cup of white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips (I used a mixture of chocolate chunks and chips from Ghiradelli)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. Coat an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray/butter. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set Aside. With a saucepan, melt butter completely over low heat. Then off the heat add your white sugar and corn syrup. Whisk to combine. Then add one egg at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Combine this mixture with your dry ingredients. Add your chocolate chips and chunks (or nuts if you wish). Pour batter into your pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let it cool completely and eat it straight out of the pan if you desire! :)

This recipe was taken from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook. By John Barricelli. I do not own this recipe. No copyright intended.

Sorry no pictures! I absolutely suck at taking pictures! haha

Now I must pack my bags and head to...Las Vegas with the fam. Cheers!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I need taste testers! Anyone?

This has been one of the longest weeks I've had in a while!

First off, being unemployed is extremely frustrating! Frankly I don't know how much longer I can stand it! To be honest this past week I just wanted to quit, quit it all. And you know start collecting cans on the street. And that my friends is what rejection after rejection does to me.

But that was a momentary lapse of judgement. I'm back and ready to hit the ground running!

Tonight, I took a break from job searching/applying and did something super fun, premature but fun! I decided to go on craigslist and browse the bedrooms for rent in SF. It is SO exciting looking at "my future home" (or for at least the next 2-3 years). I can really just imagine being there and learning even more amazing things about the culinary world and myself for starters. And if that makes ANY sense is what helps me to keep going on this endless job hunt (which is Part I of my so-called master plan).

This week I also did another video with my awesome cousin, and my grandma who stopped by to watch and in turn ended up being in the video! :) I'm saving this video forever, FOREVER.
If you haven't watched it please do! I'm posting it below:



Also, follow me on twitter: TdashCakes (t-cakes)

So this past week, was my dear friend Wing's birthday! She's been in Minnesota, and came back to SoCal for a few weeks (then she's off to St. Louis!). Well she absolutely loves, loves, loves Nutella--- really who doesn't? So I did a spin on a Nutella cupcake. I combined a few recipes from a couple of really cool blogs I found:

http://confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2011/05/guest-post-nutella-cupcakes

http://pieceofcakeblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/living-spoon-to-jar-to-mouth.html

So the final cupcake product turned out to be a Nutella Cupcake, with buttercream, drizzled over chocolate ganache and almonds! :) Check out the blogs above if you have the chance!

Also, I've been looking for taste testers! Really, because after video shoots or my experiments in the kitchen I am left with a TON of leftovers. So if you are ever in the TC area let me know!

Thanks! Happy Sunday everyone!

I'm on You Tube! Holla!

Thanks for watching!

NEW UPDATE: My twitter name has changed to: TdashCakes! Follow Me :)

Have a great week everyone!

Thank you my readers!

Hi my dear family, friends, and fellow readers!

I just want to say THANKS for all of the support you have given me! It means a lot when you give me advice, tips, and just encouragement to reach for the stars. I'm not as confident as I should be, but your support does SO much :)

Alas, my campus job ends tomorrow. I wave goodbye to my home for the past 5 years and look ahead to the path of uncertainty. It's going to be interesting that's for sure.

For everyone who has a twitter (yes, I joined!) you can reach me at: CakeNThings. I will tweet about cool baking things, tips and such for starters. So follow me! I also have a youtube channel coming soon, I'll give you more information on that later. Special shout out to: my cousin Chrissy who came up with an awesome name. YAY!

This week I made: Kahlua Brownies, Red Velvet Goodbye Cupcakes, and Cupcake Pies. What a way to end June right? Here comes the pictures!

Small goodbye flags, in the only languages I know: English, French, German, and some Spanish! :)

 My toppings! Sprinkles and some Hi-Chew. Quite Yummy!

 I actually didn't want to use fondant because its way too expensive and tastes icky (if you ask me). So I was super smart and thought of that chewy candy, rolled it and cut it into hearts and spades. Quite cool right?

 You can see the candy cut out of the spade! 

 Crazy story! These cupcake pies didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Long story short, my frosting solidified while I napped. So it turned out into a big mess. Note: If you are ever trying to do this project make sure you use a stabilizer in your frosting like meringue powder! Otherwise on a hot, sticky day it will droop like crazy.

 Those are skittles!

I think I'm going to be baking on a budget starting tomorrow. Flargh. This will be interesting but fun no?

Happy early July 4th everyone! SF here I come! HOLLA!