Bring it on 2012! I'm ready!

Hi readers! Happy 2012!

To start off the brand new spanking year, I had my first order of 2012! Yay! Here are some sparkly New Year's Cupcakes! They are Red Velvet with a tangy cream cheese frosting! Super yummy.

Before I send you off and running (to go and watch the Laker game---yes the NBA is back!), the recipe that I used was fantastic! If you are looking for a very moist and tender red velvet cupcake, you've found it here. For the cream cheese frosting, its not so sweet but has a tang from the added extra cream cheese which makes it really creamy! And its fantastic because its not an overpowering amount of powdered sugar that goes in here. So please check out the linked blogs for great recipes, you won't regret it!

Special thanks to: "Carrot Top" Mom and Our Best Bites blog!

 All of the decorations (besides the sprinkles) are fondant dusted with edible glitter. To make the curls, I cut out strips of fondant (they don't have to be perfectly straight) and used the tip of a small paint brush to get the even curled look. To get the edible glitter to stick to the fondant, the box suggests using lemon juice or clear vanilla extract and mix a small amount of the glitter (because it goes a long way!). I ended up using a water/edible glitter combo to brush it on the fondant (which is cheaper if you don't have the clear extracts on hand).

Thanks for reading! Have a safe, healthy, and happy start to the year! Cheers!

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!