Cupcakes — Page 11

How to Make a Fondant Pumpkin

October 10, 2011 by Jenn

My newest cupcake that I have been baking is perfectly fitting for the cool evenings and mornings that fall has brought to us . . . pumpkin! I had high hopes of growing my own, but after planting, fertilizing and watering my beloved pumpkin seeds, the season proved to be too short. I have been left buying my pumpkins from the store. Fail.

Oh well, there is always next year! Except our brand new house (yes, we bought a house!) doesn’t have room for much of a garden. BUT, I would love to get a little strip of dirt where I could grow some carrots, beets and peas. I’m good at growing those 🙂 obviously it would have to have a GIANT deer fence.

Since my growing pumpkin test this year was such a failure (they did bloom . . . just not until September!), I have had to create my own pumpkins out of fondant!

They are super quick, easy and most importantly CUTE! Check out the video tutorial on how to do these on our YouTube channel. Hope you like it!

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: cupcakes, fondant pumpkin, fondant tutorial, pumpkin

S’mores Cookies

June 26, 2011 by Jenn

SUMMER!!

I love the LONG hours of daylight.

I love the warm mornings and evenings that you can wear tank tops.

I love camping and living in the lake. I’m convinced that my mother birthed me in a tub (even though she says she didn’t) because I LOVE the water. I would live there if I could . . . lakes, rivers, oceans. But, take a bath . . . NEVER. I hate the bath, I feel it is a chance to for you to sit in your own dirt. At least in the lakes, rivers and oceans you have a chance of encountering fresh water!

As I said, I love camping and nothing brings about the feeling of summer better for me than it! I haven’t had the fortune of getting out in our trailer yet, but, that hasn’t prevented in me from indulging in my favourite summer time treat . . . S’MORES! I adore the fire toasted marshmallow, gooey chocolate, and crunch of a graham cracker delight.

I had been craving one so badly, that when I saw this post, I had to make them for my staff’s next social luncheon. The recipe was fairly simple, the one hiccup being that you need to let the dough sit in the fridge for an hour (and not snack on it while doing so). For some reason, I hate letting the dough sit. I know it is a baking necessity, but it seriously bothers my patience…or lack-there-of!

Other than the dough in the refrigerator problem . . . the rest of the recipe is fairly straight forward. I scooped out the dough using my cookie scoop (to ensure equal sized cookies) and then you bake for around 8 minutes, pull them out, put on the chocolate chunks, and mini marshmallows and put it back in the oven until the marshmallows swell up nice and beautifully!

The original recipe comes from une-deuxsenses blog and I have adapted it to the steps that I took!

Smores Cookies

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

2 regular Hershey bars, roughly chopped

In your KitchenAid mixer (or other, less superior mixer hahaha), combine the butter and sugars and mix until fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Next, add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, baking soda and mix well.

Stir in the chocolate chips then cover and refrigerate the dough for about one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Using a cookie/cupcake scoop, portion out the dough and roll into a ball. Drop onto a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of dough, leaving about 2 inches between each to allow it to spread. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Push a 3 – 5 marshmallows and a few pieces of a Hershey’s bar into each cookie. Return to oven and bake for another 2 – 3 minutes until golden brown and the marshmallows are a bit toasted. Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy the cookies . . . and the summer!

And in case you haven’t heard, I have the CUTEST NIECE in the world! How intelligent is she . . . reading at the age of 6 months. Love her. xoxoxo

What is your favourite summer time treat?

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: chocolate, cookies, marshmallow, smores, smores cookies, Smores Cookies Recipe

Healthy-er Carrot Cupcakes

June 21, 2011 by Jenn

If you are a regular reader, or a friend of mine, you know that I also teach spinning at our local fitness facility . . . I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus lately, but I’m starting back up in July . . . oh, that saddle is going to be painful! Good thing I’ve been riding my mountain bike around.

Anyways, the point of me telling you this, is that for our last group instructor meeting, where we all get together (as we hardly see each other due to our various schedules) and talk about what’s going well, classes we might want to look at adding etc, I was asked to bring cupcakes. BUT, do you think that a group of fitness instructors want to eat a huge sugary cupcake? My guess, was no, they’re not like me (aka they are F.I.T. and I’m the round (literally) odd-ball), so I set out to find a “cupcake” that was:

1. not a muffin (an easy disguise),

2. low in sugar,

3. low in fat, and

4. that tasted like it was none of the above!

(Side note, I’m making a new cupcake for JJ’s and I’m going to call it the Fun Free cupcake and it’s going to be Gluten Free and Dairy Free…bahahaha!)

A carrot filled cupcake seemed like a good start, as I knew the vegetable thing had to be on my side! So I searched my beloved Tastespotting (which I recently had gotten my photo rejected from AGAIN. Lord, how do people do it!?!?!) and found just the recipe that I had been looking for! It is from Tessa at Handle the Heat, and is called Healthier Carrot Cupcakes! This recipe uses whole wheat flour, a small amount of oil, and applesauce for binding!

Here is what you do:

Carrot Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Icing

Found at Handle the Heat

For the Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup natural applesauce

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots (about 2 medium carrots)

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts (I omitted this as I was unsure about allergies)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the first 6 ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar and eggs until well combined.

Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

If using, stir in 1/4 cup of the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 ounces 1/3 fat cream cheese

• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts. The cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

I hope you enjoy them . . . and make them for the fitness buffs in your life!

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: carrot, carrot cake cupcakes, cupcakes, Healthy, whole wheat

Spring Flower Cupcakes

May 19, 2011 by Jenn

It is FINALLY spring. It has been a lllllooooooonnnnngggggg, cold, grey winter/ “spring” ’round these parts this year (was that country enough for y’all?).

It’s almost the May long weekend and we are finally getting sun. I finally had to cut the lawn. I finally had to weed out the dandelions (which took Paul and I two hours each! . . . WITH a handy dandy dandelion digger-upper thingy). Some of you may think that weeding and mowing the lawn is not something that one would be looking forward to, but I totally was! Nuts.

But, I had my reasons for this . . . two reasons . . .

One: having to weed and mow a lawn means I have a lawn! WHOOT! I’m so happy where I’m living now. A real house! Who would have thought 🙂

Two: If the grass and dandelions are growing (weeds included) it means that the sun is shining and bringing everything back to life . . . from the doldrums of winter. S.A.D. anyone? Vitamin D is my best friend . . . best natural head meds you can find!

THREE (I said I had two reasons, oh well): My garden is growing! Rhubard is up, raspberry stalks are sprouting, and the seeds are in the dirt. Yay! I planted some stuff that I plan to use in my cupcakes, and I will be able to say I really made them! Like, really!

This was my Mother’s Day Spring Bouquet. Happy belated Mother’s day to all the fabulous Mother’s out there . . . especially to my own!

These next ones were an order for Mother’s Day cupcakes. I had free rein to try whatever I wanted, so I got out my tools and set to work!

I love the orange rosette on these ones!

Happy spring everyone . . . knock on wood . . . fingers crossed . . . salt over shoulder . . . and all other superstitions that could work in our favour and keep the sun out!

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: cupcakes, flower cupcakes, flowers, mother's day, mother's day cupcakes, spring cupcakes

Monster Truck Cake

April 19, 2011 by Jenn

This blog should now be called the “Ode to Paul’s Decorating Skills”. And I mean cakes . . . ’cause I just have to say, thank god I am there to shop for him! “Lo0-boo-who?”

He is getting so good . . . at boy cakes! Haha . . . I still have complete ownership on girlie cakes and all things cupcake! But, seriously, he is invaluable to me and he is becoming incredibly talented. Look out Buddy, there’s another Italian on the cake decorating block!

This cake was done for a very special six year old, whom I have the fortunate of getting to see each and everyday. He was very specific when it came to directions for his big birthday party . . . at the bowling alley of course (because where else would you take a group of kids around these parts) . . . to play in their camo in the long grass? This little man wanted “a cake with monster trucks ON it, NOT a cake that IS a monster truck.” Paul totally wanted to build a monster truck, but he was happy playing with these ones while he built 😉

Filed Under: Cakes, Cupcakes Tagged With: chocolate cake, monster truck, monster truck cake, monster truck cupcakes

50th Birthday Party Cupcakes

April 3, 2011 by Jenn

This was a really fun project! I love doing anything in mini, so as soon as my suggestion of “mini” cupcakes with a spring theme to everything got accepted, I got excited. I knew exactly what I was going to do.

My directions for this order were to have large carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing, mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, 50’s all over the place, and lots of spring flowers.

For the Carrot Cake cupcakes, I went with a new recipe, and though it tasted really delicious, I wasn’t that happy with how it looked. It was actually kind of difficult to bake. I’m not sure if this is common for carrot cake recipes, but I’m still on a search for the perfect recipe that I can use regularly with the Cakery.

Has anyone ever made Ina Garten’s Carrot Cake recipe that can be found on the Food Network’s website? How did it turn out for you? Like I said, it tasted great . . . hearty, sweet with lots of flavour to it, but it’s appearance was less than stellar. I hoped all the decorations and icing would hide it’s “unique personality”. The base of the cupcake was perfectly cooked, but the top was on the crispy side. It was my weirdest baking experience to date . . . except for the one time I mixed up baking powder for baking soda. Boy does that ever make a difference! Who knew!?

For the decorations on the mini’s, I used a simple flower cutter, with a gum paste/fondant mixture. *Note: Whenever you add gum paste to your fondant, the fondant will become much harder that it would on it’s own. The pearls in the middle of the flowers are just pastel coloured dragees. (WTF is a dragee anyway?!?!?). The leaves are cut with a mini leaf cuter and then touched up with a veining tool for a more lifelike appearance.

I’ve heard the birthday was a successful surprise, and that the cupcakes were a great hit! I’m so glad I could be a positive part of the event. Happy 50th Birthday Donna!

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: 50th Birthday, birthday, carrot cake cupcakes

St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes and Cake

March 17, 2011 by Jenn

I love holidays! It’s a good thing that I’m a Kindergarten teacher, because we celebrate every holiday that we possibly can! Except right now . . . I’m on Spring Break. I’m not complaining (I LOVE my breaks . . . baking everyday!), I’m just simply saying, “Sorry world, instead of celebrating with 22, five year olds, I have to send my happy holiday baking creations out to everyone!!”

As it turns out, it’s a good thing that I’m a cupcake baker too, as I can celebrate every possible holiday as a baker too!

I’ve been working on a new flavour over the last couple of weeks . . . Salted Caramel! It’s a vanilla cupcake base, filled with dulce de leche, and topped with caramel buttercream and pink himalayan salt.

It. Is. So. Good. I can’t express that enough.

When I first tasted the icing with the salt on top . . . oh god, it was ‘O’ worthy (if you know what I mean!)

For St Patricks Day, I’m calling these “Pot o’ Gold”. They are definitely what I would want to find at the end of a rainbow!

I have also spent the last couple of months perfecting a fan favourite . . . the Irish Car Bomb cupcake!

I’m not a Guinness, or a Whiskey fan and this cupcake has both in it, but upon first bite, I knew it would be with me forever.

In case you missed my first post back in November 2010, the Irish Car Bomb is a Chocolate Guinness cake, filled with Whiskey Ganache, and topped with Bailey’s Buttercream! YUM!

Here it is dressed up for it’s Nation’s special day 🙂 March 17, 2011.

To finish up my St Patricks Day celebrating, I made a special order holiday cake!

You guessed it, fan favourite Irish Car Bomb is the cake inside!

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Holiday Baking

Hockey Cupcakes

March 15, 2011 by Jenn

HOCKEY CUPCAKES

About three years ago, my dad decided that he was going to learn how to play hockey. At the age of 59.

What was he thinking!?

He was thinking: it will give me something to do when I retire, it will give me a way to stay in shape, and it will give me something to be passionate about! At least, that’s my interpretation of what he was thinking!

He did it, took skating lessons, joined a “old, old timers league” and every Tuesday and Thursday, texts his family his “Stats” from his games.

I am very proud of my dad for venturing into something brand new for him. He has spent a lot of time learning . . . and falling . . . and scoring goals! With a goalie in the net . . . sometimes 🙂 Kidding aside, I am very proud of him, and can’t wait to get to see him play again soon.

In honour of my Dad, I wanted to name a cupcake after him. His FAVOURITE kind of cookie is a peanut butter with a scoop of raspberry jam on the top. So, what better cupcake to make for him than a PB & J! I asked him what he would like me to name it, and he chose “The Classic”, named after his hockey team! How cute . . . and perfect for a name, as what is more classic than PB & J!?

Here is The Classic, customized for a special order, in honour of my dad’s hockey team. Apparently the “guys” like the cupcakes.

Well done Dad, I’m proud of your hard work.

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: cupcakes, hockey, hockey cupcakes, jam, peanut butter, sports