cupcake decorating party

i dropped by a little cupcake shop i used to frequent last week, and it was gone! or changed, i guess. i walked inside to check things out and there were masses of children with sticky fingers everywhere i turned. the amount of frosting and toppings on the floor was a site to see....it was a cupcake decorating birthday party. all the little bakers had on chefs hats and were creating there very own cupcake masterpiece. so even though i probably would not want to be the one to clean the floor afterwards, cute idea. www.sweetspotbakery.com

cute as a cupcake

i want to have a child just so i can buy this hat....is that wrong? found of course on my favorite site, etsy.

birthday cupcakes

my friend felisa was having a birthday party over the weekend for her one year old daughter, calista. we popped by for a quick birthday wish, some hellos, and of course...some delicious cupcakes. she made them all from scratch....and decorated them with pink girly flowers. so cute, and very yummy. she is so creative and fun.

fond memories

every friday night during the summer my fiance and i meet friends and family down at the beach. each family brings an item for dinner and we bbq and sit with our feet in the sand eating good food and watching the beautiful sunset...this is truly the meaning of life. anyhow, my point is...this week i brought cupcakes!

i thought i would take a step back in time and try to recreate the chocolate hostess cupake. i found a great recipe from none other than martha stewart. the recipe was for a cream filled chocolate cupcake and it looked like an almost exact match. but it was missing one thing, the yummy chocolate ganache type frosting, which my fiance told me was a must. this is where things went horribly wrong.

after reading the comments on the recipe, most people were saying it was much easier to pipe the filling through the top of the cupcake...i thought great! so i did. however, the chocolate ganache frosting that i made was far to thin to cover up the massive hole that i had created on the top of the cupcake. in order to get the frosting to an acceptable consistancy i had to add two bags of confectioners sugar and a package of cream cheese. i could have frosted our entire house with chocolate frosting....it is still in the fridge, so needless to say my next project will include chocolate frosting. but they were yummy!

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

FOR THE FILLING
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (7.5-ounce jar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 6-cup (each with a 1-cup capacity) jumbo muffin pans; dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Cool in pans, 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and cool, right side up, on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter until smooth. Chill until slightly firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and seal; cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening.

Using a small melon baller, scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, and reserve (you will use this to plug cupcake after filling). Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs. Insert tip of plastic bag into each cavity, and squeeze to fill; replace plugs. Using remaining filling in plastic bag, decorate top of cupcakes.

oh so cute cupcake keychain

oh my gosh, how cute are these? i stumbled across the cutest website today, red velvet art. they promote crafty handmade items, art and more. i will definitely be adding them to my sweet favorites.

talent i will never know

check out these amazing cupcakes...a friend of mine sent me a link to a woman's day article that she ran across while searching for a cake recipe for her daughters upcoming one year birthday party. i am always in awe of people who posess such talent....i become inspired and think "i can do that", but then i try and realize that this is an artistic talent that i will never have.

this is just one of the photos in the article - the cupcakes were created by naomi of newcastle, australia and the photo is from her flickr account.

you should definitely link to the woman's day article and check out the rest! very cool!

ooey, gooey deliciousness

these cupcakes were as close to heaven as i've ever been. named "better than banana cream pie cupcakes", they lived up to their name. banana muffin type cupcakes with banana pudding pie filling, and a vanilla pudding frosting rolled in cinnamon graham cracker. they were a little bit of work but well worth it.

i had a little difficulty following the recipe - it kind of leaves you hanging on how to actually assemble the cupcakes. i ended up taking a pairing knive and cutting out a pieces from the center, then filling with banana pudding and replacing the cupcake lid...then frosting. oh yeah, i also had a hard time with the frosting...it turned out very runny. but that could have been due to the fact that i used canned whipping cream instead of the extra creamy whipped topping. so i made my own version of french vanilla frosting and it turned out just fine. but the vanilla pudding frosting sounds delicious, so hopefully it works out for you! This recipe is by Lauren Kirkland of Arden, NC and was and was featured in the quick & simple's best cupcake contest.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cup(s) flour
1 tablespoon(s) baking soda
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) (unsalted) butter, softened
1 cup(s) (granulated) sugar
3/4 cup(s) (packed ) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
4 (very ripe) bananas, mashed
3/4 cup(s) (plain) yogurt
1/2 cup(s) (chopped ) walnuts

Filling:
1 package(s) (instant ) banana pudding
2 cup(s) milk
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Frosting:
1 package(s) (instant ) vanilla pudding
1 cup(s) milk
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
8 ounce(s) (container ) extra-creamy whipped topping
3/4 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar

Garnish:
2 cup(s) (crushed) cinnamon graham crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with -bananas and yogurt, mixing on low speed just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy; do not overmix. Gently fold in chopped walnuts.

Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in pan, then remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare filling and frosting. Mix banana pudding with milk according to package directions, adding vanilla. Chill for at least 30 minutes. For frosting, mix vanilla pudding with milk and vanilla; fold in whipped topping and confectioners’ sugar until frosting is creamy. Chill for at least 30 minutes to set.